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#915718 by Speedo
11 Jan 2016, 14:17
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Hello all! My first trip report on here so I hope it is ok! Sorry it is a bit late, Christmas and work got in the way.

This was the first flight in a multi-hop trip in search of some winter sun and a bit of Christmas shopping. I had managed to bag two UC reward tickets earlier in the year for VS117 on the same day but, after some flight consolidation and time changes, we ended up booked on VS5.

We headed to Heathrow the night before to avoid any M25 issues in the morning. This ended up being a very good plan as Plane Stupid decided to block the tunnel to the terminals on the morning of the 26th! Luckily for us it only took an additional 15mins to get to T3 from our hotel but the traffic was blocked right up to the M4 and beyond.

Dropped the car off with Purple Parking at the Short Stay car park (included in our hotel deal) and walked to Check In. Check In was very quick and we had a nice chat with the agents. No one in front of us through security and after a quick stop to pick up some forgot odd-and-sods we were in the Clubhouse.

Despite walking through the door at 10:30 the CH was the quietest I have ever seen it. There can't have been many more that 20 people in there. This was due, it transpired in chats with the spa staff, to a) the tunnel traffic problems, and b) that is was Thanksgiving in the US (something that had completely passed me by) and they had consolidated a lot of flights.

We booked some Spa treatments (a hair cut for me and a manicure for Mrs Speedo) and grabbed some breakfast - a bacon roll for both of us - very good. The next two hours passed pleasantly with a few drinks and a couple of games of pool. Boarding was called and after finishing our last game (making me the overall winner :-D ) and remaining drinks we headed down to the gate.

The gate was busy and we were informed that there would be a delay in boarding as they hadn't finished the final cabin checks (not quite sure why they had made the call in the CH). They were apologetic and told us we could return to the CH. TBH I couldn't be bothered and 10 mins later we were walking down the airbridge.

Made our way to our seats (3K & 4K) and a pre-flight glass of champagne was quickly acquired. The cabin wasn't full (two empty seats) and there was a bit of musical chairs as the crew tried sit a group of people together who had been split up in the check-in process. I thought this was well handled by both the crew and the other passengers who were generally happy to help.

We pushed back on time (as far as I recall!) and after a short wait on the taxiway were airborne.

Lunch was served shortly after takeoff. Unfortunately I've lost the menu so I can't remember what I had! However this was the first time I've ever eaten at the same seat as Mrs Speedo - I was sat on her ottoman when they were sorting out the orders. I'm not sure I would do it again! It was nice to have a chat while having lunch but there really isn't much table space and the ottoman is a little small (and I'm not that big!).

Worked my way through a couple of movies after lunch and after a spot of afternoon tea, which was good, we were landing into MIA.

Having never been to MIA before I had no idea how long the walk is from the gate to the terminal! I've done some long airport walks before but this is the current winner! When we arrived at immigration there were no queues for the machines and we were through and collecting our luggage in about 10 mins (probably due to it being Thanksgiving!).

A quick cab ride to Miami Beach and checked into The Metropolitan. Couldn't quite stomach the full Thanksgiving dinner on offer so decided to call it a night!

Overall it was a great flight. The crew could have been a little more chatty (there were times when they seemed in a rush to get everything done as quickly as possible) but I've had worse!

After this it was a hop over to the Bahamas for a week and then up to NYC for some shopping before heading home.
#915719 by pjh
11 Jan 2016, 14:52
Speedo wrote:Hello all! My first trip report on here so I hope it is ok!


Passes muster for me!

Speedo wrote:After this it was a hop over to the Bahamas for a week and then up to NYC for some shopping before heading home.


That's some trip... :)
#915720 by hiljil
11 Jan 2016, 15:01
Thank you for your interesting TR. I did wonder if any V-Flyers had been caught up in the Plane Stupid antics.
Glad it didn't delay you much.

Pleased the flight went well. I wonder if anyone lands at MIA without having a long walk ?! There must be some gates somewhere that are closer !!!

Hope you had a good time in the Bahamas & NY. :-D
#915730 by oldboy
11 Jan 2016, 17:43
Thanks for your TR, pleased it was a good flight, we fly into Miami for the first time in March, looking forward to the flight & holiday (cruise) but not immigration.
#915824 by Speedo
13 Jan 2016, 13:37
pjh wrote:Passes muster for me!

Thank you!

hiljil wrote:Hope you had a good time in the Bahamas & NY.

Bahamas and NY were great. Had perfect weather in both. Mrs. Speedo is already planning a return trip :D

oldboy wrote:Thanks for your TR, pleased it was a good flight, we fly into Miami for the first time in March, looking forward to the flight & holiday (cruise) but not immigration.

Immigration is much better now they're introduced the ESTA terminals everywhere. Hopefully you'll have a smooth experience!
#916428 by Bretty
26 Jan 2016, 23:11
I don't know how this TR slipped by me but thanks for posting, sounds like all was well and your trip sounds wonderful.
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