Naples, Florida takes second place!
Credit the romanticism of promoters in the late 1800s, who saw a town much like its Italian namesake, with abundant fishing, the temperate climate on the Gulf of Mexico, and a view that surpassed the Bay of Naples in its grandeur. This lively town lives up to its international reputation.
Americas Happiest Seaside Towns – Coastal Living.
We are really pleased to have a special offer on our Alamo cars, from an Economy up to a Full size 4 door, these cars have been reduced by £7 per week. The rates are already loaded and apply to all collections before June 27th 2012. The standard package includes all the insurances that you will require along with all taxes and fees in Florida. The fuel tank is supplied full, and you can return it full for no charge, or choose to pay upfront and then return empty.
Elle,
Now returned from our trip to Australia. Just wanted to say thank you.
Everything went very well indeed. We are extremely pleased with your service and will continue to use you, and recommend you to our friends.
So is a change in business name in order? Carhireworldwide?
Thanks again,
John
Thank you John, for that very reason we now have Trip Wheels to take us beyond the Florida state line, and while we currently only have USA rates displayed, the rest of the world is in the pipeline !
It appears that Budget has listened to our protests about its unpopular restriction on the ‘free additional driver’ included in the standard package of car hire in the US. The rule allowed only the main driver’s spouse or domestic partner to drive for free, any other family member had to pay additional driver charges. The alternative was for renters to choose only the Diamond package of Budget car hire, which on a rental longer than 3 weeks is not always the economical choice. Of course, this was never the case in California, which has a state law allowing two drivers on all rental cars which superseded any supplier restrictions.
For collections from April, 1st, 2012, onwards, Budget has lifted the restriction and travellers can choose who they like as their ‘free, additional driver’. This new rule is also noted on the voucher for your convenience.
We have just heard that with effect from 1st, Feb, 2012, for collections after 1st, April, 2012, the Alamo Gold insurance (our Diamond package) will only be available for bookings of 4 days or longer in Florida and the rest of the USA. Bookings already in the system will be honoured as they stand. However, as clients will now be able to opt to refuel themselves before returning the car – the impact of this change will be minimal.
Great news for Alamo car hire fans. Firstly there is a bit of a sale on some Alamo cars currently, for collection before 31st March 2012 – new bookings only. This brings the price of the Economy 2 door car down to just £107 a week!
Secondly, Alamo have removed the unpopular summer surcharge, this just leaves Budget with a summer surcharge for rental car collections between 20th June and 20th August – the pressure may result in this surcharge also being lifted, watch this space….
Thirdly, from April 1 st 2012, Alamo will be offering clients the choice between refilling themselves to return the car, or pre-paying for the fuel – this is the same option as currently offered by Budget.
Finally, Alamo have included a new location for us at 6211 N. Atlantic Avenue, Cape Canaveral, increasing the options for this popular cruise embarkation point. With free one-way rentals from any Florida Alamo location such as Orlando International Airport, 3 drivers aged 21 – 24 with the Young Driver Package along with excellent Toll by Plate rates, this is really good news for cruise fans!
The Iconic Ford Mustang
We now have rates loaded around to next December for Alamo car hire, Budget car hire and Dollar car hire. Budget car hire rates are unchanged from 2011 – however, there is a summer surcharge on all cars collected between June 20th and August 20th. Alamo have also renewed the summer surcharge for the same dates, but just on the larger cars.
Dollar cars remain without a surcharge this summer – and with a guaranteed upgrade from the 2 door version to the 4 door model of each category!
Lovers of the Ford Mustang convertible will be delighted to see that the model is now showing as the convertible car of choice by all suppliers. Of course we can never 100% guarantee a particular make or model – but clients are going to have the best chance ever of driving one of these iconic cars with the top down this summer. Don’t forget that with both Dollar and Alamo you can choose your own car from those available in your category at all the larger locations – particularly Orlando International Airport. A great chance to try a different model for size…
If you are aged 21 – 25 you will need the Young Driver Packages from Alamo or Budget and don’t forget that Alamo’s Young Driver Package includes 3 drivers aged 21 – 24 for the same price – fantastic value!
As always, if you have any questions, please give us a call, or use the chat facility.
Elle
It is a sad fact that this summer saw the first seasonal surcharge on hire cars for years, and they are back again for Christmas. December 14th to December 31st are the dreaded dates, if you need to book a car for collection during that time then you really need to get it booked. We have just received notice that Alamo are charging a surcharge on their Van fleet during this period, but at the moment normal cars and SUV’s are still surcharge free! This may not stay the case though – so if you know your dates you should book up now to protect the current rate! Budget and Dollar already have the surcharges on all cars.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) is the official home of Winter the Dolphin, who has achieved world-wide fame in the recently released film, A Dolphin’s Tale. The true story began in 2006 when 3-month old Winter was found stranded in the Mosquito Lagoon (nr Cape Canaveral) with her tail caught up in a crab line by a fisherman. He alerted authorities and stayed with her until she was rescued which took several hours.
Once taken to the CMA Winter lost her tail, but was nurtured by staff around the clock and learnt to swim by using her movement to side to side rather than up and down. Worried about the effect of this on her spine, the CMA reached out to leading Prosthetic manufacturer Kevin Carrol. The collaborative efforts of Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc., with Dr. Mike Walsh, a leading marine mammal veterinarian, took 18 months and around $150,000 of the companies own money to get the tail right. Along the way a special gel was invented to soften the impact of the tail on Winter’s skin – this has proved to be hugely effective for human recipients too!
Winter is just one of four Dolphins in permanent residence at the CMA. Hope and Nicholas were both found as orphaned babies and lack the skills of hunting that a mother would have taken years to impart. Panama is a senior citizen dolphin found stranded, anaemic, sunburnt and underweight. Once returned to health it was decided that she would be unsuitable for release because of her habit of begging from fisherman – a practise that causes much ill health amongst dolphins. Other residents, either permanent or temporary include otters, nurse sharks, turtles and sting rays. The list of released creatures makes interesting reading including 8 Atlantic bottlenose Dolphins, 2 pan-tropical spotted dolphins, 111 turtles, 9 otters and a sperm whale (in 2001)!
There are a variety of activities on offer at CMA including behind the scenes tours and sea life safaris and with general admission prices for adults at just $14-95 this will come as a welcome change from Central Florida attractions!
Orlando International is sited on the former McCoy Air Force Base, hence its airport code of MCO, and opened the first $300 million phase terminal complex on October 2nd 1981. Prior to construction of the complex, whilst the airport was still a shared facility with the airforce, MCO welcomed around 5 million travellers annually. In 1981 the airport served 6,072,145 passengers. But, in a demonstration of the long term vision of the planners, the terminal opened with 48 gates and facilities to handle 12 million passengers. Enough land had been purchased, 14,000 acres, to make the airport the third largest airport in the nation (behind Denver and Dallas Fort-Worth) and to allow further expansion to handle 40 million passengers. Current figures show 35,574,947 passengers through 96 gates. MCO has the second tallest control tower in the US and has been a designated emergency landing site for the now defunct space shuttles.
Part of the long term vision was to create an airport that truly represented Florida, rather than just any airport anywhere. We have all noticed the wonderful lakes, swamps, forests, palm trees and ‘Florida’ feel of the airport – this was created rather than accidental. Likewise, managers encouraged the theme park operators to come into the airport and offer both a presence and merchandise – this way passengers coming from the cold north in the middle of winter instantly know that they have arrived in Florida and can start their vacation. The developers have even taken inspiration from the theme parks for the design of the terminals, using curves instead of corners, high ceilings, fountains and palm trees – all contributing to a more spacious relaxed feel. Contrast your experience in these terminals to change-over’s in Newark/Boston or Chicago and you will know the difference. Many other airports are now looking to Orlando for inspiration and attempting themes of their own.
The terminal design of a central landside terminal connected by rail to several airside gates was first tried at Tampa and with the use of the monorail is evocative of WDW. The airport is recognised as one of the most efficient and passenger friendly airports in the US and always seems to rank in the top five airport convenience surveys conducted by J D Power and Associates, but one downside has always been international travel. The first International terminal was added in 1984, but it has always seemed a bit of a mishmash, with passengers having to either re-check their luggage after customs to get from airside to landside, or to tote it along on the monorail. With all the ‘wheeled’ luggage options available now this doesn’t seem like such a hardship any more.
Inside Orlando International
Orlando International has also taken the lead in implementing many industry firsts. MCO was the first airport in the nation to initiate the CLEAR Program, an expedited security screening for trusted travellers; companies like Guess, Oakley and Build-A-Bear Workshop opened their first airport locations at Orlando International Airport; and in 1982, MCO hosted the world’s only simultaneous landing of two supersonic Concorde jets.
