VS400 LHR-DXB 17 APR 14 (Upper Class)
Posted: 11 May 2014, 09:22This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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Checked in at the Upper desk and asked how I was rturning to the UK so had to show the e-ticket supplied by Cunard. Wandered across to the Qantas desks to check hubby in but they weren't ready so just hung around for 10 minutes. No one else was there so we were called forwarded to drop his bags off.
Went through a busy bag scanning area due to it being Easter holidays. Did some duty free shopping for champagne to take on board with us and then to the Clubhouse. As expected, hubby wasn't allowed in, so off I went like a bad wife to enjoy my meal, Bellinis and relaxation in relative calm! We agreed he should return to the Clubhouse entrance after he had done his whisky duty free shopping/tasting and had a bite to eat. When he did return, to retain the tranquility, we stayed in the chair/sofas at the entrance to the Clubhouse just re-organising our hand luggage and having a quiet talk.
I then took a long hike to the gate and was one of the first to board in Upper. I requested a sleepsuit and quickly got changed. It was a full cabin and I spotted quite a few people with Cunard labels on their bags and had a chat with them. Some were boarding the QE and others the QM2 a couple of days later.
I chose 2K as I thought it would be quiet but after a few minutes, the couple that were in 1 and 2F were asked if they would mind moving so a couple with a baby could sit there which was my personal dread. I can honestly say the baby was reasonably quiet with just a few cries when waking up thankfully.
Service was efficient prior to take off with drinks offered and then meals delivered quickly. As it was a night flight and I knew I had a busy day ahead in Dubai, I asked that my bed be made up and got some sleep. I woke up with about 2 hours to landing and popped to the toilet to change and was amazed to see my bed had been returned to seat mode without even asking. Super efficient again. I watched a couple of comedies and a full english breakfast was served about an hour before landing.
Love hearts were distributed and an easy landing in Dubai with an airbridge which was good news as the buses can be a long ride.
A very long walk to baggage reclaim, which is usual in Dubai, and my 3 cases came off the belt very quickly. It was fun dragging them off myself to put on the trolley without the assistance of my hubby!
I then caught a cab to the Intercontinental Hotel in Festival City which is a short journey and checked in before hubby arrived 25 minutes later.
Overall, a very smooth flight on VS - not superstars like I have had on some Vegas Upper flights but very efficient.
On the 343, I do think the aisles are too narrow and do not like the see through partitions but thankfully I'm quite small so don't have the issues that taller people have needing to have a pointy head to fit into the bed. I do prefer the smaller private cabin of the LGW fleet and particularly seats 8 or 9 with the wider aisle between. I did like the bar more though as it was away from the cabin.
On the Qantas PE offering hubby had, he said it was nice being on the A380 upstairs just behind business class with a small econ cabin behind. He had the window seat and was lucky that he didn't have a seat mate as the cabin was about 50% full.
He feels it's a better PE offering than VS, being more business light than economy plus. He had pre-take off champagne, crockery and metal cutlery as per Virgin but felt that the cabin was much more spacious with more legroom. There were 3 or 4 cabin crew looking after the section which was only 5 rows deep so service was very good. He doesn't really sleep much on flights and watched films, but still managed to catnap on board. He also mentioned how quiet the plane was in comparison to other planes he has been on.
We're now back after sailing on the QE for 20 nights and have enjoyed seeing all 3 Cunard ships in Lisbon with a wonderful sail in and sailaway and then all 3 ships returning to Southampton through the Bay of Biscay and the QM2 playing Happy Birthday (as it's 10 years old) on the ships whistles at 5.30am which I'm sure the residents of Southampton were not too pleased about.
A wonderful trip all round.
