This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
So just to let you all know the full trip, I flew out to LA on my own, had a week in LA, a day trip to San Fran with Virgin America, then I took the Amtrak to Chicago, onwards to Washington DC for three days, then a day trip to New York and down for a week with my friend Nick in Miami, just a little under three weeks in total, and all of this was for my 30th Birthday!
Nick flew out to Miami about a week before I arrived as he wanted a two week holiday but didn’t want the whole adventure and travelling that I was doing! Now in collaboration with the Reservations Manager at the hotel we were staying in, he had secured us an upgrade to a three bedroom penthouse suite, and arranged on my birthday itself for a teddy, bottle of wine and a cheese plate to be left in the suite! Was a lovely little touch from the hotel. If anyone was wondering it was the DoubleTree Ocean Point in Sunny Isles.
Anyway on our last day, as we were getting ready to head down to breakfast, I thought I was bound for Honey Lamb style holiday disaster when there was an almighty explosion just outside the hotel. The building next door had suffered a gas explosion it its rooftop boiler room which had showered debris across the beach, and injured a number of people, including one who needed to be airlifted.
Collins Avenue, which is the main sea front road along the Miami Coast was closed off for about half a mile in either direction, and nothing was getting in or out – including to our hotel! The fire service were threatening to evacuate the DoubleTree as they couldn’t rule out another explosion. So I had visions of being evacuated sans luggage and then somehow having to fly back! Anyway my worst fears were not realised, and when it came to 5pm the road had reopened sufficiently that our car could get in and out to pick us up! Phew!!
The driver annoyed me though as he had never heard of Virgin Atlantic, heard my Geordie and Nick’s Scouse accent and kept insisting “Oh yes I know British Airways” if he said “You fly British Airways” once more I think it would have pushed me over the edge! He dropped us by Concourse F, which is of course the VS and BA terminal, lucky for him they share a concourse!
Tubular Belle, G-VHOT had arrived on time to speed us back home to London!
There is not a lot to say about Miami airport, it’s a dump in Concourse F, was not particularly impressed with it to say the least. I am a stickler for branding and I noticed that the tensabarriers they use in the concourse have the very old Virgin Atlantic type face on, poor form Virgin!
Check In was just opening, I had done OLCI the night before with a measly Seq 12, the check in agent was really chatty, she was apologetic about the Club America lounge, and said they were looking at ways to improve and were putting pressure on the people who run the lounge to improve the food. She was very excited about getting the 787 in Feb and the new second flight next month. No issues with short checking through to LHR vice Dublin as both of us were on the Dublin trick!
Through security relatively quickly with no dramas but the lack of a fast track was annoying.
The lounge was not quite as bad as I was expecting it to be, the seating was far from comfy, and the little sandwiches and snacks were basic, but the drinks selection was really good, including Jagermeister! I do love my Jager!
Had a browse through the small duty free area, got some spirits and chocolates to take home, and a box of course for the crew!
Priority boarding was in force, and after collecting my duty free at the gate, a quick walk down the air bridge and I was warmly greeted at the door by two cabin crew and then escorted to my seat by the FSM. She had a second FSM with her that night and I have to say both of them were absolutely exceptional throughout the whole flight.
Pre Departure Champers offered and accepted, and even a second one was in the offing too! Very impressed so far!
We were in 12A and 14A, which were great seats, although we both needed the crew to store things for us, but this was done with no fuss. Sat across from us in 12K and 14K were an amusing elderly American couple who kept screaming the obvious at each other “Oh wow Janice the seat has a light” “Oh wow Bob we are taking off” and when I say screaming, I mean, screaming, but we got chatting to them and they were both quite lovable in the end.
There was a hurricane off the coast of Florida that day, so we took a very inland route, but even then we caught the tail end of some turbulence over northern Florida which at one point suspended the meal service for about 10 minutes but thankfully we hadn’t really got beyond placing orders.
My IFE suddenly went all distorted just before the crew had done their first drinks run, annoyingly I was quite excited about watching Jurassic World. The FSM came around, reset it twice to no avail and then gave up and gave me an iPad which sadly had a lot less of a selection on it, and didn’t include Jurassic World so I returned it and said it wasn’t an issue and I would watch some Miranda on my own iPad. She apologised profusely and agreed to credit me 10k miles.
On to dinner I had the Harrisa soup, the beef and then the fig orange and date cake. I had a nasty mouth ulcer on my tongue which hampered me eating it but all three were delicious! I have to give myself credit that I managed to not spill a drop of a red coloured soup on a flight with turbulence! I would struggle normally on the ground let alone at 35,000 feet!
Nick and a lot of people had bedded down by this point, but I don’t ever sleep on flights so I asked for a cheese plate and took it at the bar, due to the amazing crew, I ended up with two cheese plates and was offered a third! Sat for about an hour with the crew having a chinwag and a laugh including both of the FSM’s. Both of which were really outstanding in different ways.
Then the CC from upstairs came down with a problem, a ladies bed wouldn’t convert and she was getting very annoyed and wanted to sleep, they had tried everything and the seat was basically jammed in the seat position.
I wasn’t intending on converting to bed mode anyway, so I offered to swap with her till the breakfast service, which got me another 10k miles, and a few other treats!
I did manage to doze for about 40 minutes or so whilst trying to watch an episode of Miranda on my iPad.
Breakfast was served about an hour or so from landing, it was a consistent theme with previous trip reports – breakfast on board is a bit of a dud! Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, just didn’t really hit the spot, but was enough to see us through to revivals.
Just before the seatbelt signs came on, the member of cabin crew who I had inadvertently saved from the argument with the woman who wanted to sleep, came down with a bottle of champers, chocolates and an UC luggage tag signed happy birthday by the crew! What an amazing feeling to be made to feel so special! Contrastingly, Nick, feeling a little bit left out, thought that he was ignored in my favour, I just think he was being a little bit of a diva!
Had about 15 minutes in the hold outside Heathrow, but we were on the ground a little just before 11:25. Nick, in full on diva mode, had demanded fast track cards from the crew, despite them clearly only being handed out to non EU passport holders, and he then, despite us both having passport readable by the E-gates, demanded we go through the fast track aisle, with all of the American citizens, so it took a lot longer than it should really have done, lots of people were through before us who had been in PE and even in Y!
Bags were through quickly and the UC ones came off first, straight through into the haven that is Revivals! It was just what we needed, we didn’t both having showers, but being able to get some decent breakfast, a coffee and a haven away from the rest of the terminal before going for the Heathrow Express back to Paddington. We had a chat with the girl in revivals, who admitted that Miami is often one they hear bad reports about the airport experience about, and that they were trying to improve it and hopefully starting shortly they will offer Pizza Hut vouchers instead of lounge of access for those who want them.
I have to say, that the last year of planning this trip, booking it, and getting all excited for it has really paid off, I go to see some amazing cities, meet some fantastic people, and it’s solidified just why I do think so much of Virgin Atlantic, the whole experience has been really remarkable!
One interesting thing to note though, Nick, he is an Emirates veteran, he’s never flown economy with them, only ever once or twice in business and about 5-6 trips in First! He hated the whole Upper Class experience, he thought the crew were far too overfamiliar, they wouldn’t do dine on demand (a feature of EK First apparently) and he didn’t think that the standards where very good. I tried to tell him it was like comparing chalk and cheese, and that what he called “overfamiliarity” was what I classes as a bit of sass and fun! Now remember I loved everything about the flight but he hated most aspects, interesting comparison really?
This all being said, I can’t wait for my next chance to sample the UC Life! Hopefully won’t be quite as long a wait this time!
Pictures to follow!
Last edited by ColOrd on 10 Oct 2015, 17:13, edited 1 time in total.
Luxury & Boutique | Miles & Points Usage | Long Haul
TravelLessOrdinary | [email protected]
TravelLessOrdinary | [email protected]