#887250 by TimCrawley
05 Nov 2014, 12:39
Had real ‘fun’ trying to book the trip online at Virgin Holidays website as the full price being asked for (automatically) did not match the holiday price so it wouldn’t let booking go through – in the end I rang them and booked over the phone (which turned out cheaper anyway as I got my Frequent Virgin discount which is a few % better than my Flying Club discount since I fell down from Gold to Silver). Nicky at Virgin Holidays sorted out the whole booking for me and even emailed on the Flight Locator the next day so I could link it to my Flying Club account without waiting for the full booking details to come through. The worrying thing is that even 3 weeks later the Virgin Holidays website is still broken – wrong prices for hotel / meal plan upgrades displayed, £17,500+++ deposit on a £1,400 holiday (but at least you can manually change if booking is far enough ahead) and wrong amount filled in for full price to pay now (read only so you can’t correct it, meaning if full price already due you just can’t book).
Used the Twilight Checkin around 7pm the night before, all went very smoothly with only a short wait – passengers in front of me said they had come earlier but there was a big queue around 5:30-6pm so they had gone to checkin to their hotel first and come back. Of course you expect nice treatment on the day when you’re checking in Upper Class but it’s nice to see on Twilight that the staff are smiling and friendly to everyone in all classes so VA are trying to keep up good standards right from the start.
Cruised up to the airport on the morning of the flight and dropped car off at Valet Parking – smooth handover of car and an easy stroll across to terminal. As it was a late booking, only 2 weeks ahead, it was a bit pricey at £106 for 17 days parking versus the £45+tips round trip taxi fare, usually I get a much better price when booking a month or two ahead (have had as low as £49 for a 14 day stay).
Bit of a queue at the priority security channel as it was busy but only one line open …. Luckily the passengers were emptying pockets etcetera properly ahead of me so no beeps on walk through requiring extra investigation meant the line went quite quickly until I set the darn thing off! Still no idea why, must have been too sensitive to my bionic knees this time? Have to get the $6m ones next time, these 50c knees just don’t seem to be up to airport security standards.
Headed for the lounge, which was fairly empty, and the Virgin team there were just as nice as usual (although the BA staff aren’t rude they just don’t always seem quite as welcoming when I fly CW with them from the North terminal, perhaps my bad luck?). Just time for a few pages of the newspaper and a delicious cooked breakfast in the lounge – the orange juice was good enough to force me to have 2 glasses too – before they called the flight.
Got to the gate and no delays at all, just last few passengers going through and plane was pretty much fully boarded (257 passengers) apart from those of us coming from the lounge so no hold up on the entry to the plane either.
Despite the early hour I did risk a glass of bubbly before take off.
This was my first time in Upper on the A330, always been on 747 before. I guess everyone has already commented long ago on the A330 Upper Class useless armrest situation, worthless seat pocket that won’t hold a book & traps your hand etcetera but have to say I found it quite claustrophobic in the seat because it feels so narrow compared to 747 seats. I don’t know the relative sizes but BA CW, even with screen up, does not feel this way (and with that you are effectively closed in on all 4 sides on the window seats I usually choose). Crew talked me through how to turn seat into bed (they knew I was FC Silver, only once in 15 years have they mentioned it when I was Gold, so just asked me first if I’d flown in this style of Upper before) and I found it easy to do once I had needed a snore later in the flight. Certainly felt narrower and shorter than on 747 with comfort of ‘mattress’ not noticeably different. However, now I would only pay a little extra for UC on a 747 instead of CW but I really do not like this A330 version and will probably only choose it over CW if it’s substantially cheaper – quite a turnaround for me. Maybe the return trip will change my mind?
Service from the crew was really very good – always there to help but not over the top pushy, just the way I like it – and they stayed on great form throughout the 8.75 hours to St Lucia, where the crew changed for the 35 minute hop to Grenada.
Main meal I had the Salmon to start (this was really excellent) followed by the beef (pretty good)and the profiteroles (reasonable) …. Leaving just enough space in my calorie count for some cheese & biscuits (nice).
We were a bit early into St Lucia but a small delay while a paramedic crew came on to check out a passenger who was going on to Grenada but she had been feeling unwell on the first leg of the flight. Fortunately she was already feeling a little better and after a check she was good to carry on.
I had booked in row A to get the best views of Grenada on the approach and it was worth it – got great views of the Island which really sets the perfect tone for the holiday I think.
We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule and got through immigration quickly. Only about 10 minutes wait for bags then out front to be met by VH reps (bearing welcome gifts of cool bottled water). Not quite the usual scrum outside that you get at Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua sometimes – we were out and running on the transfer bus (6-8 in a mini bus, so once they have enough they send you and fill up the next one even though it’s a shared transfer) within 10 minutes maximum and after a couple of drop-offs arrived at the Flamboyant Hotel in good time for a quick swim before sunset ….
Journey was good but now the holiday really begins.
#887263 by pjh
05 Nov 2014, 15:06
Thanks for the TR. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on Grenada as I almost booked it last year instead of St Lucia...
#887265 by mrsw
05 Nov 2014, 15:24
I read your TR with interest, as will be heading to Grenada in Jan.

Shame about the seats... there really has been mainly negative comments about these UCDS. On the flip side, it is good to see that VS has come to their senses and ditched the UCDS on the new 787s!

Have a lovely time and looking forward to the return TR already.
#887271 by pjh
05 Nov 2014, 17:02
mrsw wrote:P.S. this is filed under "other trip reports" rather than on the main VS/VX TR board. Maybe mod wouldn't mind moving it?


Per an earlier discussion, the various "new" Caribbean flight numbers do not (yet) exist in the VS TR section and thus the TRs cannot (yet) be entered into that section.
#887619 by TimCrawley
10 Nov 2014, 12:19
I will try to add a bit of Grenada info to the return trip report as there are a few people planning trips - lucky people, lovely island(s).

Meanwhile, VH book local tours mainly with Sunsation (grenadasunsation.com) so if you already want to see some of the typical tours available then do have a browse. Sunsation prices same as those with VH but I daresay so you can negotiate a few $ cheaper if booking multiple tours for multiple people direct with Sunsation as they have no sales commission to pay VH or your hotel reception. I'll try to remember to include the VH trip sheet with prices when I do the trip report.

If I stop smoking outside terminal early enough to do the 'Golf Cart' trip to the new departures lounge at Grenada I'll see if they allow me to take some pictures as there was another question on the forum about that new lounge a month or so ago.
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