V-Flyer

Easter again, which meant it was time for the annual RC family pilgrimmage to the Caribbean. Having spent a very damp week in St Lucia last year, we decided there was nowhere we would rather be than back in Barbados. Others have written more eloquently than I ever could about how wonderful Barbados is, but frankly there are few other places in the world that manage to draw me back time and time again.

We took advantage of the January sale window to bag some cheap(ish) class Os along with our usual room at Almond Beach Village - thankfully I have found a very helpful/knowledgeable travel agent that takes care of us year after year. We also did the standard thing of booking the Gatwick Hilton the night before, to make dropping off the luggage and getting up the next day a rather more leisurely process.

I was also determined not to be stuck at the arse end of the plane, which is where we had been pre-allocated seats with no option to change. So I manfully braved a hangover on the day before, to get up a few hours ahead of OLCI opening and see if more seats had been released. Luckily it paid off - the 'mini Y cabin' at the front of the plane had a row of 4 available, and I quickly grabbed them. And therefore it was with a mixture of smugness, nausea, and alka-seltzer than I went back to bed to wait for the elephants to stop dancing on my head.

The drive to Gatwick was easy enough, although every time I make the journey, I see more and more cameras popping up on gantries over the M25. Clearly not an issue for me, given that I would never, ever, consider exceeding the speed limit but thought it might be of interest to someone... We left the car at the valet parking drop off and headed over to departures to drop off the bags.

Now, in the past we've tended to find that twilight check-in is virtually deserted. Not this time though - and I suspect that was something to do with VS contacting people to suggest they take advantage of the facility given what a busy weekend it was going to be (that was the text that they sent to me...). So, loads of people, few desks open and of course, no seperate UC line that I could use being an AU. Took a good 30 minutes to get through - can't really fault the individuals on the ground, everything handled in a friendly and efficient manner - but VS, if you are going to steer people in that direction, please take another look at your staffing levels!!

Next stop was to check in to the hotel (quick and easy) and then back over to departures as the cherubs had made it clear - in their own subtle way - that Giraffe was the only possible option for dinner. Fine by me, as you can generally get a decent beer and burger there.

And so to bed...

Next morning was certainly busy at the South Terminal, but by no means the worst I've ever seen. Security only took a few minutes through the priority lane (can't remember what they call it now, but it's been rebranded with a black facade and a slighly poncey name IIRC), and we were soon heading towards the clubhouse.

Oh, no, hang on, we weren't were we... NO WE BLOODY WELL WEREN'T . I swear, having a family that outvotes you three to one in favour of going to... wait for it... Frankie and Bennies rather than the CH for breakfast would constitute grounds for divorce/disinheritance in most developed nations. Yet another unintended consequence of Emily Pankhurst's otherwise laudable actions...

Anyway, having consoled myself with a (paid for) full english breakfast, and a (very much paid for) bucks fizz or two, we headed towards the plane. No rush to board given that our seats were right by the door, and in fact, this is the first time I've had the pleasure of 'turning left' on a personal flight. Little steps towards PE... we'll get there... playing the long game... etc etc...

For anyone reading that doesn't know the area we were in, take a look at the seat maps for config 1/2 744s - there are 3 or 4 rows of Y seats just behind PE at the front, which make for a small and fairly peaceful cabin. Although the row we had didn't recline all that much (because of the wall behind), I'd definintely take anything in this area for future flights. The other benefit is that you get off quickly the other end - realistically there's no way for the CC to hold you back as they do for other Y pax until those in UC/PE have left.

The flight itself was more or less as expected. No hint of AU recognition (which was exactly as expected). The new food service was a bit gimmicky - I didn't try the 'welcome cocktail', but the white wine was fairly average. Likewise I had an OK pasta dish, but no real change in quality from what I've seen before.

One thing that did slightly annoy me though was that when I asked for a drink about midway through the flight, I was told that they had stopped serving alcohol for a few hours as they needed to check their inventory to make sure they had enough for the return flight. Well pardon me... but if you don't hold some reserves of stock at the other end, perhaps you ought to load a bit more on to start with! Still, by this point, I had already had the grand total of 2 glasses of wine, so perhaps they were using their discretion to deny me more on their new policy of 'consumption rather than behaviour' Ho hum.

And of course, there was the usual execreble standard of entertainment from Nova. Oh how I shall miss that once the refit is complete... but at least I had a shiny new iPad to play with.

It was a slightly shorter flight than usual, 8 hours on the dot. Which made me very grateful that we were among the first off, because there was a very long queue at immigration - we'd clearly got in soon after another flight. What was about a 25 minute wait for us must have been a good hour plus for anyone sitting at the back of the plane.

All in all, a functional flight with one or two minor irritants (not all of VSs making). Would I consider it value for money? Always a tough one given the price mark up in the school holidays... but it did the job it needed to.

RC

Sparkling TR, thank you!

A wonderful TR thank you - such a shame the Almond Beach Village is set to close on the 30th of this month.