Orlando & Florida - Questions & Answers (Part 1) *CLOSED*

Amys

If you have the platinium (Gold) package with the holiday these will usually include the fee for under 25's. It is the top insurance package and will also inlude the tank full of feul. Maybe worth checking.

Murphy_The_Cat

Amys wrote:

If you have the platinium (Gold) package with the holiday these will usually include the fee for under 25's. It is the top insurance package and will also inlude the tank full of feul. Maybe worth checking.

Are you absolutely sure Amys ?

I've looked through a few this morning, and it doesn't seem to be the case.
The surcharge on a 14day holiday for a young driver would be about $350/£185, but the gold option for a car hire (extra drivers and tank of fuel) runs to about £30(ish).

Once again, I think that it well worth checking up on.

This firm advertise that they don't charge a daily premium for under 25's, but a quick serach showed that the range of cars that they do hire is limited, and that their rates are higher than for over 25's --- but nowhere near £185 higher.

Good luck O-V, and I hope that you get a good result.

MTC

Amys

Murphy_The_Cat wrote:

Are you absolutely sure Amys ?

I've looked through a few this morning, and it doesn't seem to be the case.
The surcharge on a 14day holiday for a young driver would be about $350/£185, but the gold option for a car hire (extra drivers and tank of fuel) runs to about £30(ish).

Once again, I think that it well worth checking up on.

This firm advertise that they don't charge a daily premium for under 25's, but a quick serach showed that the range of cars that they do hire is limited, and that their rates are higher than for over 25's --- but nowhere near £185 higher.

Good luck O-V, and I hope that you get a good result.

MTC

Yep, for some package compnaies the top insurance will cover those between 21 and 25, For example, if you look at the Virgin website, under the Platinum insurance it says the following

"This allows you to pay absolutely ALL charges in advance. It includes 3rd Party Liability Cover $1 million, LDW and UMP, plus all State Taxes, Airport Fees, Handling Fees, All Additional Drivers, a Full tank of Petrol and includes CFCs and HSFs. In addition to these, EXCLUSIVELY to Virgin it also includes Drivers Under 25 and FREE baby seats. If you require these additional extras then this is definitely the package for you"

You can see this for yourself at
http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/brochures/florida/info/flydrive/insurance/


At the top level insurances they are not cheap, but if booked over here, most, (but not all) package holidays will include the under 25's and this makes it the cheapest option for a young driver.

However, it is always worth checking with the holiday company. Travel City Direct do NOT cover under 25's in thier insurance.

Orlando_Virgin

Thanks MTC and Amys. I feared this might be the case, its just one of those things but well worth it I think, to make sure it is all covered and we've wanted to go to the USA for ages (particularly Florida) I'll ring my holiday agents and see what I can work out.

I'll let you know how I get on.

P.S. MTC, what kind of other stuff mate, e.g.s??

Orlando_Virgin

Just got this from the site I think my holiday agent uses:

Driving Licence: All drivers must produce both parts (if applicable) of their full, valid British/EU driving licence which must have been held for at least one year. International licences are widely accepted; please check with reservations at time of booking. In certain destinations, drivers must have held a full licence for a minimum of 3 years. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that they have the appropriate licence. Our reservations department must be advised of any endorsements at the time of booking, failure to do this could result in refusal of the car to the hirer. Please be advised that no refunds will be given for rentals rejected due to non-production of a valid driving licence. Photocopied or faxed licences will not be accepted.
Drivers Age: If the driver is under the age of 25 or over 65 years old, please inform our reservations staff at the time of booking as some age restrictions may apply in certain destinations. In some cases a young drivers surcharge is payable locally.


This is bad news!!

1. I will have been driving less than a year come Sept.

2. I am under 25, will contact Holiday Agent.

Murphy_The_Cat

Holy Cow Amys, what a ripoff the Virgin prices are !!!!

You pay for your car hire and then they charge you an extra £350 for two weeks top of the line insurance on a luxury class car- I thought that noone fell for that one anymore.

When you referred to 'gold' package insurance, I thought that you were referring to the common £30 for a tank of fuel & extra drivers cover - not a £350 insurance cover !

As a point of reference my top of the line, fully insured to the hilt luxury car booked via another company cost me £368 incl a tank of fuel, & multiple drivers.

One thing that this thread mabye has brought up, is the impotance of checking up on car hire deals to see what is & what isn't covered.
Virgin make a point of writing 'exclusively to Virgin' all over the site with reference to their Platinum Insurance and indeed it is very comprehensive, as well as being very, vey expensive. Also, unless O-V is going with Virgin, he'll still need to check and confirm the status of his car hire and any supplements that may be applicable due to his age.

Amys, have you found anyone else that hires/insures their cars this way, as it seems to be a regular question that pops up in the travel forum for under 25's.


MTC

Murphy_The_Cat

Orlando_Virgin wrote:

This is bad news!!

1. I will have been driving less than a year come Sept.

2. I am under 25, will contact Holiday Agent.

Not altogether bad news, you could simply cancel the car hire element that you have done with the travel agent, & rebook with that link that I gave you for a company that doesn't rip off drivers under 25.

Also, what 'stuff' would you like to know ? :beer:



MTC

Orlando_Virgin

Yeah I will have to do that won't I, good call!! Just you said there are many other things to do in Florida which i'm sure there are, I was just wondering if you could give me some examples of em!

Amys

MTC the price is a bit skewed as virgin 'give' you a 'free' car, so in relaity they are recouping the cost fo that in the price, also the fly drives are often cheaper than the flights only, so it is a matter of looking at the price as a whole, they can be expensive, but they can also do some craking deal, so it is the proce overall that needs to be looked at. For the under 25s the overall prce can be less. (BTW it is onlu about £2- £30 more than the fully inclusive package).

I have found some others that do it as well, I know TCD do not, I can'r remember the others that do, but I looked into it as next time I go I will have a 21/2 year old driver with me. There were some others, first choice and Thomas Cook signatiure are ringing a bell, but I can't remember atm, I'll check later when I get time. It is also possible some may have changed as we go into 2007.


As you said, it does highlight the differences and the need to check details and shop around.



If you lioke driving look at the Richard Petty driving expeirnce, wow!

Murphy_The_Cat

Orlando_Virgin wrote:

Yeah I will have to do that won't I, good call!! Just you said there are many other things to do in Florida which i'm sure there are, I was just wondering if you could give me some examples of em!

:eek: :eek:

OMG, what a question and where to start !!!!!!
I've been to Florida several times, but never been to Disney (I guess that i'm in a very small minority in that respect) - a good book (from the library, in true MSE style) like Rough Guide to Florida is absolutely superb.

Fuel is dirt cheap, the cars (if you've hired a bigger one anyway) are superb long distance cruisers and the place to visit / people in them will make your holiday complete. without having a pop at the people that do it, i'm surprised at just how many Brits (& MSE'ers) visit Florida and don't go anywhere else other than the Disnry parks, their hotel pool & the local mall.

Here are a few things that sprung to mind

Visited the Keys
Kennedy Space Center
St Petersburg
Beaches
Fruit Farms
Miami
Daytona
The entire Gulf Coast
Hired a car and drove to see what they could see
Scuba dived
gone fishing
visted museums
aquariums
golf
hiring a convertible
hiring a Harley
Jest Skiing
hangliding behind a boat
go across 7 mile bridge
visit the southern most point of the continental United States
sun bathe
the Everglades (& visit gatorland)
Hota air balloon trip
mini golf
etc etc

MTC