V-Flyer

Having had quite a few big bills I gave into temptation when I saw the BA price in comparison to VS. Yes, I should have waited a few days !!! Hindsight is a wonderful thing !

By the time the day to fly came round, however, I would have been delighted to fly with any airline if it meant we got to go on holiday. I have mentioned previously how my travelling companion only got the go ahead from the medical world two days before we were due at LGW. I was texted before I did online check in that the flight would be two hours late. Never mind. We were going ! With smiles of relief we drove to the Hilton for overnight and just kept grinning at each other !

Knowing I didn't want to eat at the BA lounge , we had breakfast at the Hilton Executive Lounge before getting the shuttle to the North Terminal. It was busier than I expected but we were called over to check in at the First Class Desk. I kept my fingers crossed and yes our boarding cards still had the seat numbers I had paid for . Security wasn't too bad but the Terrace Lounge was very busy. I got the text from BA asking about my lounge experience and this time decided not to be rude about their breakfast offerings so I wasn't called to the desk to explain ! The gate info came up at 11.50 and we boarded from Gate 571 at 12.20.

It wasn't till I sat in my seat that I totally believed that I had the chosen number ! No feet to clamber over hoorah . I do like the storage drawer at my feet on BA and the seats are comfortable.One glass of champagne was offered and then we were off stand at 12.50 so not as late as expected. We flew along the south coast then cut across to North Devon. CW had a few empty seats but it still feels crowded. Pre lunch drinks were served. I do like the nuts offered on BA.

My first choice of main course wasn't available but I didn't care. I was on my way ! I had the steak and it was tasty and tender. Someone had recommended the film "Into the Woods" so I started to watch it. Then I couldn't work out what was going on. " Well you slept through most of it !" I was informed . However, I did see and enjoyed all of Paddington once I had got over him not being the bear I expected.

About two hours away from MCO the headwind was averaging 90mph and we were buffeted about quite a bit with seat belts on. Then we had the announcement that sorry tea could not be served due to the crew needing to be seated. After about an hour suddenly we had sandwiches delivered with very little ceremony ( understandably ) but no liquids other than a water bottle. I really missed my cup of tea . The sandwiches fortunately were not too dry. I am not even sure that people in the other sections were given any further refreshments so I am not complaining.

We touched down at 5.30 and taxied for ages and then the plane did a strange sudden direction change which was a bit alarming. Apparently a rogue luggage trolley nearly ran into us. It took us all longer to get our things together as we hadn't been allowed out of our seats to start putting things back prior to landing so there was a mad scramble. CW were let off first. The cabin crew wished us a pleasant holiday and up until they had had to sit down they had been attentive and friendly.

One advantage of taking off later was that the immigration hall was more or less empty and I had an officer who actually smiled ! Then we had a 20 minute wait at the carousel for our cases. It was quite farcical. All of us from CW stood looking at all this luggage going round and round - the owners from World Traveller not being able to collect them as they were held up in immigration . The truth eventually dawned on us all. The so called
Priority Bags were the last to be delivered. BA really need to sort this out ! Then there was
a huge queue to hand in the customs forms.

Very soon we were waiting to check in for our overnight stay at the Hyatt Airport hotel which I really like. We had made it !
BA cannot be held responsible for the bumpy ride so all in all it was a good flight and I had my chosen seat . The 777 was clean, my seat was comfortable, the crew were pleasant, I enjoyed my lunch but most of all I was so grateful to be on holiday !

And it turned out to be a really super holiday .

Terrific to hear you had such a good time given the nerve shredding "will we / won't we" until almost the final hour. Your happiness in being on the way shines through.

hiljil wrote:It wasn't till I sat in my seat that I totally believed that I had the chosen number !

A first?

Your sense of relief of actually being able to get away shines through in this TR

Price excepted, your experience confirms there is a degree of "much of a muchness" when travelling on the dark side. Perhaps we should all be a bit more tolerant when it comes to VS

Hope you had a splendid time in the Sunshine State

buns

Brill TR.

You can tell you needed that holiday, glad it went well.
Even better they didn't change your seat.
D

Glad all was well, turbulence aside, and that you had a good trip.

buns wrote:Price excepted, your experience confirms there is a degree of "much of a muchness" when travelling on the dark side. Perhaps we should all be a bit more tolerant when it comes to VS

Indeed - it says something when you rate a flight good because you actually got the seat you paid for!

Good to hear all was good with the trip hiljil , thanks for the TR

Good to hear you got away - the sunshine state is at its best when you "really need" a break.

The BA product seems to do the job it's supposed to, transport you from place to place but still appears to miss the VS sparkle when VS are on song.

I've already started planning for the next trip which will hopefully be in around 10 weeks all going well but will maybe go back to the direct option.

Glad you ended up having a great time

Thanks

David

I echo the above and may the sun shine on the two of you from there til back again and more.

Welcome back! Great to hear you had a fantastic break in Florida.

Thanks for the TR Hiljil, pleased you to read that you had a good flight, have a great holiday.

oldboy

Pleased to hear it all went well for you and hope that 'iffy' Florida weather of this year was in fact good for you
No afternoon cuppa - that was not nice. However starting off your holiday by staying at the Hyatt was a brilliant choice, so nice to collect the luggage and then just go up that escalator into the hotel lobby
Hope your return flight was okay too.

Thanks for such an interesting and informative TR hiljil, lovely to hear you bubbling over with relief that your holiday was actually happening. I've avoided the Paddington film for similar reasons to your comment - my memories are the book illustrations and Bernard Cribbens's narrations.

Looking forward to the return TR.

Thanks for the TR. Pleased to hear everything went well and you had the nice holiday you both deserved after such a stressful time.

Glad you had a great time in FL!!! Seems so long agin since that meetup in the Clubhouse on the way to Miami, I think I need to get myself back to the sunshine state again.

Great trip report Hillary, glad you and your companion made it on holiday it must have been a worrying time, you cannot put a price on your health. Fantastic that you eventually got the seats you requested and had a wonderful time, back to the mixed weather at home not sure it knows its summer yet.

Soon be time to plan the next trip. Linda

Thank you all for your kind comments. I have finally located the menu jottings I made which may be of interest to those who like to compare VS with BA.

Didn't record starters, sorry !

Main
Lemon pepper breast of chicken with caraway scented cabbage & chicken jus
Pan seared British fillet steak with crushed celeriac with peas & red wine & peppercorn
sauce
Penne pasta with parsley bocconcini mozzarella in a 4 cheese sauce
Lemon poached prawns with roast new potatoes & fennel salad

Dessert
Apple & blackberry slice
Coastal cheddar cheese ( with pear something I can't read !!! ).
Selection of fruit

As I have said before, I really miss the restaurant style of serving food on VS UC. BA plonk a tray in front of you in what I think of as a cafeteria style.
Also, I am always disappointed by having only one dessert option & the cheese certainly falls short of UC cheese selection.

All this has now made me feel hungry !!

hiljil wrote:As I have said before, I really miss the restaurant style of serving food on VS UC. BA plonk a tray in front of you in what I think of as a cafeteria style.

Part of BA's catering enhancements will be the plating up of food by crew, rather than heating pre-plated meals, so this should change, if the crew can cope with the larger cabins! (quickly hand running 84 meals from a few ovens will be a task and a half!)