View Full Version : 12 / 15 seaters (Alamo)
Hi all,
Any experiences with the above?
Which make did you get?
How comfy?
How easy to park/drive?
How well equipped?
Usual enquiries. 9 of us travelling plus luggage and pushchairs.
Thanks in advance as always. [msnsmile2]
Just returned from our two week trip, there were 9 of us.
We had a Chevrolet Express. Driver and front seats are like captins chairs very comfortable with a good driving position.
The remaining seats are in 3 banks of 3 plus a 4 seat bench row at the rear. lots of leg room.
It was remarkable easy to drive the paking spaces are very big and we had no trouble parking. A couple of time I had to have someone see me back into spaces were there was another car there.
Very well equipped, the sat-nav was a call in system, you had a dial button on the dash. This called a number you told them where you wanted to go and they sent directions to the radio. I did not use thes feature as you could use it to call the emergency services as well, and the instruction book was huge. Air con could be controlled in th erear as well.
The only problem was there were no electric door mirrors, but onece set up it was fine.
There is no boot space so all luggage had to go on the seats, had a bit of trouble going back tt the airport, as had extra suitcases to carry all the shopping:)
Hired it from Alamo only had 37 miles on the clock as well.
Hi Sue,
Thanks very much for the information, sounds as if it is going to be better than i thought.
Would be interested to see any pics you have?
Does the back seat not fold so you can pile up the luggage on the spare back row?
Did they have a lot of 15 seaters to choose from at the Alamo depot?
Thanks again.
p.s...Glad you got away in the end at Christmas.
shakinsteve
11-01-2011, 11:10
Hi Garry
We visited in June 2010 and had a 15 seater booked for 11 people (5 adults and 6 kids)
I called Alamo before arriving and expressed a wish for the back seat row to be taken out so luggage could be stacked in the back. when we arrived we found that this had not been done on the grounds of H&S.
The Alamo rep advised us to try and get all the cases in but this was a NO GO situation. After a few minutes of chatting with the rep he offered us 2 x 8 seaters for the same prices. All the problems were resolved.
FYI - The back seat doesn't fold down, it's a 3 seater bench.
When we arrived in June they only had 2 available.
Hi,
Thanks for that. Can the cases not be slid in through the side doors then put onto and around the back seat that isn't being used??
We don't want 2 cars as we will always be together so both beach days and all parks will mean 2 cars, more fuel and double price of parking.
Hope you all agree on where you want to go each day. I can't imagine the whole group of us driving around all the time together. We often have the whole family, but would go nuts if we all had to stay together. Often we like to stick around the house and may just decide to go out for a short time - if everyone else was away in the van we would be stuck. We like to have at least one other vehicle available. But each to his own, just know it would not suit our family.
Andrena
Hi Andrena,
Yes we do, not only because i am the only driver but because we are 9 people including 5 kids. The adults are myself, wife, mum and sister.
With there only being 4 adults, 1 of whom does not drive then that leaves me, my wife and my mum who could drive.
3rd time in 3 years and it's worked perfectly for us so far. Yes there are occasions that most people will stay at the villa whilst me and my wife have been to Walmart or out for a meal one night but certainly not worth getting a 2nd car for.
Gary I can say the 15 seater is easy to drive, being that we only had it for a few days. We had arrived very late after a long delay and they had no 7 seaters and all they had that would fit my family was the 15 seater. I manage to pile quiet a bit on the back seat and between seats, you only going from airport to villa, so im sure comfort won't be much of an issue. It was a great drive but wife wanted a smaller one, hence I took it back to get what we initially rented.
That's great, good comments from all regarding the 15 seaters.
I/we feel more comfortable about this years choice (although it's a forced one with there being more than 8 of us).
Spuddybaby
19-01-2011, 12:57
Garry,
I had a 12/15 seater Ford E350 for 3 weeks last November.
Until that point i had never driven an automatic and the biggest car i had ever driven was my wifes freelander 2.
If i am honest i was a bit apprehensive about it, even though i consider myself to be an excellent driver (not sure how that sounds!) and when i first got into it i didnt know how i was gonig to get it out of the car park!
But i did and i took it nice and easy when leaving the airport and after about 15 minutes of the drive to Disney, i felt 100% comfortable in the car, and felt like i could drive it anywhere.
This made me relaxed and from then on, i was driving it with as much ease as my car at home.
The size of these cars is daunting, but in the end i absolutely loved it!
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/spuddybaby/201111985728_Picture2.jpg
belfastbob
06-03-2011, 02:06
hi all,
glad to read the comments,we have booked a 15 seater chevrolet from alamo for 24th june. its for 9 adults,3 teens and 1 3yr old.could we set our cases on our laps,or is this not practical.our villa is 26 miles from airport. my apprehension is through the roof! i may be the only driver as i'm the only one to have driven there but one of my sons is a named 2nd driver. my heart would be in my mouth if he took the wheel only because he's only ever driven in the uk. i also know that we all had to start sometime!
will alamo try and sell me any extras,and approx how much do they charge for a tank of fuel,any ideas of cost of an added driver as well.any other info greatly appreciated.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by belfastbob
hi all,
glad to read the comments,we have booked a 15 seater chevrolet from alamo for 24th june. its for 9 adults,3 teens and 1 3yr old.could we set our cases on our laps,or is this not practical.our villa is 26 miles from airport. my apprehension is through the roof! i may be the only driver as i'm the only one to have driven there but one of my sons is a named 2nd driver. my heart would be in my mouth if he took the wheel only because he's only ever driven in the uk. i also know that we all had to start sometime!
will alamo try and sell me any extras,and approx how much do they charge for a tank of fuel,any ideas of cost of an added driver as well.any other info greatly appreciated.
[/quote]
I am far more comfortable with the 15 seater now i have done some research and been given advice. We have had 2 x 8 seaters for the last 2 years, a suburban and an expedition. They were much smaller compared.
If you want some photos of the actual Alamo 15 seater then DM me your email address and i'll forward them to you.
Oh and we go in 3 weeks so i will be able to tell you exactly what they're like!!
Also, if you change your booking to gold you will get the tank of fuel and also extra drivers included so will be definitely worth doing that way.
We have booked silver as i am the only driver and Alamo's fuel charges are ok, i would expect to pay no more than $80 upon return. I paid $60 to fill the Suburban last year.
Hope this helps
Alamo will charge roughly the pump price for the tank of fuel, which is currently around $3.40 per gallon.
If you booked the car through us then you have 2 drivers on the Silver option. If you want more than 2 drivers then it's well worth changing to the Gold option.
If your son is age 21-24 then expect to pay around $25 per day + tax for him to be able to drive. Unless you go for our Young Driver's Package which will save you a fortune!
lafifille
06-03-2011, 13:24
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by belfastbob
hi all,
glad to read the comments,we have booked a 15 seater chevrolet from alamo for 24th june. its for 9 adults,3 teens and 1 3yr old.could we set our cases on our laps,or is this not practical.our villa is 26 miles from airport. my apprehension is through the roof! i may be the only driver as i'm the only one to have driven there but one of my sons is a named 2nd driver. my heart would be in my mouth if he took the wheel only because he's only ever driven in the uk. i also know that we all had to start sometime!
will alamo try and sell me any extras,and approx how much do they charge for a tank of fuel,any ideas of cost of an added driver as well.any other info greatly appreciated.
[/quote]
As Roger says, Alamo is very fair with fuel price.
If you haven't booked your car through this site and your reservation doesn't include the second driver (and all insurance), I would definitely consider cancelling and booking again getting an "all-inclusive" type. Adding the second driver at the airport will cost a small fortune, specially if he's under 25.
If you booked through here and thus have all insurances, the only thing, from memory, that Alamo will offer you to add to your contract is roadside assistance. Your choice.
Now, I don't have any experience in the matter, but I wonder if you'll be able to put in the 15-seater van 12 people plus their luggage (one each?) and hand luggage. Of course it's just the drive from/to the airport, but is it physically possible?
[/quote]
Now, I don't have any experience in the matter, but I wonder if you'll be able to put in the 15-seater van 12 people plus their luggage (one each?) and hand luggage. Of course it's just the drive from/to the airport, but is it physically possible?
[/quote]
There will be a small amount of space behind the back row of seats, albeit a very small space. There will also be space down the 'aisle' of the minibus where i'm sure cases could be piled up. Then there is a whole row if there is 12 people aboard. No problem fitting their luggage on in my opinion.
Here are some photos i got sent when enquiring about the Alamo 15 seater.
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/gpullan/201136205921_15-1.jpg
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/gpullan/201136205941_15-2.jpg
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/gpullan/20113621019_15-3.jpg
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/gpullan/20113621045_15-4.jpg
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/Data/gpullan/20113621126_15-5.jpg
I have driven both the Ford 350 and the Chevrolet and they are surprisingly easy to drive. I was very apprehensive as I am used to driving a Megane in the UK, but they are not at all difficult. I would not suggest reversing them in to parking spaces though, as it is hard to judge where the back actually is, and it is not recommended in Florida. I was told this is because the tag is only at the back,don't know if that is true, but I always drive in anyway. There is not much space behind the back seat in either, but there should be plenty of room to put luggage in one row of seats. I can be awkward using the back row for this, but obviously this depends on the size of the suitcases!
belfastbob
08-03-2011, 04:23
thank you,just took the plunge and cancelled my original booking with travel agent.nowhere near as good a deal as the gold option offered here.just made new booking on this site[msnsmile]<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by lafifille
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by belfastbob
hi all,
glad to read the comments,we have booked a 15 seater chevrolet from alamo for 24th june. its for 9 adults,3 teens and 1 3yr old.could we set our cases on our laps,or is this not practical.our villa is 26 miles from airport. my apprehension is through the roof! i may be the only driver as i'm the only one to have driven there but one of my sons is a named 2nd driver. my heart would be in my mouth if he took the wheel only because he's only ever driven in the uk. i also know that we all had to start sometime!
will alamo try and sell me any extras,and approx how much do they charge for a tank of fuel,any ideas of cost of an added driver as well.any other info greatly appreciated.
[/quote]
As Roger says, Alamo is very fair with fuel price.
If you haven't booked your car through this site and your reservation doesn't include the second driver (and all insurance), I would definitely consider cancelling and booking again getting an "all-inclusive" type. Adding the second driver at the airport will cost a small fortune, specially if he's under 25.
If you booked through here and thus have all insurances, the only thing, from memory, that Alamo will offer you to add to your contract is roadside assistance. Your choice.
Now, I don't have any experience in the matter, but I wonder if you'll be able to put in the 15-seater van 12 people plus their luggage (one each?) and hand luggage. Of course it's just the drive from/to the airport, but is it physically possible?
[/quote]