V-Flyer

Firstly - apologies for the delay - work has been mad since I got back.

Secondly - apologies for the length of this TR but there are areas that needed outlining in detail.

Having secured the much coveted 19a/c at T+60 the time had some for me and Mrs Amex to take our annual Florida vacation. Poised over the laptop at 25hrs prior for check in and SUCCESS!!! Seq 1 and 2. So with bags packed we were off for the short journey to LGW at drop bags off at twilight check in.

With 1 family already being seen at UC check in we were quickly seen by the only other person on duty. Now last year I said that for me check in is the first part of the VS experience and the first real human interaction you have, and on last years trip I described the experience as lacking some warmth. Now, I don’t know if it’s just me but I still feel that standards at check in are still slipping. We were not asked the usual questions about our bags, ie did you pack them yourself etc? We already had our BP’s on our phones but as travelling in PE I thought it sensible to ask about the premium lane sticker for security – only to be told, oh you won’t need those! We shall see tomorrow I thought to myself. No customs form was offered as it was the last time we flew, although I will admit forgetting to ask myself but in all honesty you shouldn’t have to prompt the staff. Also, and I didn’t find this out till we landed at MCO, that our bags hadn’t been tagged as Premium!! So with that done off to Moneycorp to collect our $$$$'s

Even though we live barely 15 minutes from LGW the ritual is that we stay ay LGW the night before. It's the only way I can get Mrs Amex to stop working (she's self employed).

This trip we decided to give the BLOC hotel a try as we are always willing to give any new airport hotel a try. With the BLOC reception being situated right by security, You can’t get any closer!! Check in was swift, efficient and friendly. We had booked a room with windows as Mrs Amex gets a little claustrophobic. With key in hand up to the 8th floor – now as long as you know in advance – the rooms are a bit small, we booked what they call a smart double room which is 12sq mtrs in size. But the rooms are functional, it has a bed, smart TV, monsoon shower room, free wifi – pretty much all we need in a hotel room for a 1 night stay. The only they don’t have is a restaurant but you get a discount book to use at places like Giraffe. WE opted to have a meal and a drink in the wetherspoons, before popping down to M&S to grab a few supplies. Watched a bit of TV in the room before trying to get our heads down for the night – who am I kidding??? We are off to Orlando, we are too excited to sleep!!! I think I finally succumbed to sleep about 0100. Now, the BLOC prides itself on its technology, pretty much everything in the room is controlled by a Samsung tablet – this controls lights, the TV, the blinds and the AirCon. This is great – when it works. During the night there was a thunderstorm and this resulted in a power cut while we were sleeping. So woke up at about 0500 feeling very hot indeed – no a/c, couldn’t open the blinds. The power cut had taken out teh servers controlling the tablets, went down to reception to ask what was going on (no phones in the room – another little down point), apparently the servers boot up – floor by floor, so the higher up you are the longer you would have to wait . With that in mind a quick trip to caffe nero for a morning caffeine fix and back to the room to give the news to Mrs Amex. ‘If it’s going to be ages then I’d rather leave’ was her response – so decision taken to shower and get ready. It’s a shame as the hotel has such great potential but not much in the way of back up contingencies if/when things go wrong. Would I stay there again? Possibly but having stayed at the Sofitel, and the Premier Inn at North Terminal – we still have the Hilton and the Hampton to try at some point.

The power cut meant some systems within the airport were not working, like the e-gates through security so that caused a slight delay, got through premium channel without the sticker as our e passes sufficed. I don’t what it is with my wife, she always seems to get selected for a secondary bag search – lol, so had to wait for her to get that done.

No CH unfortunately as only flying PE and will probably never get to the heady heights of Au to gain CH access. Had eaten a little earlier so wasn’t looking to have anything more for breakfast, so we placed ourselves in some seats and while Mrs Amex did some last minute e-mails I sat and read, looked in smiths to see if there were any books/magazines worth getting (there weren’t –lol), I had more than enough on my kindle to get me by if needed.

Gate was called at about 1005 and saw it was Gate 32 over on the satellite, now I hadn’t flown from the satellite in years – in fact it was back in the day when you still had the little shuttle trains running back and forth. Now it’s all on foot  but we got there and found ourselves somewhere to sit. A slight delay due to the inbound being late but eventually the flight started boarding; the usual throng around the gate even though their rows hadn’t been called. Now I don’t know if this is the norm but when we presented our BP’s on our phone the gate staff said they are not allowed to touch the phones to show against the scanner? Has anybody else had this?
Anyway, G-VXLG (Ruby Tuesday) was to be the plane to get us there. Quickly seated in 19 a and c and immediately see why they are so highly recommended. In terms of seats they are great, in terms of food – not so, but read on dear reader for I shall tell you more. A pretty full load with 452 pax and 14 crew and at 1128 we pushed back (13 mins late). A quick taxi and within minutes we were airborne and on our way, a routing taking us out over the south coast past Southampton and I believe a quite southerly routing. IFE was on from gate to gate which I think is a great innovation but my headset had a broken jack on it and wifeys didn’t work at all. All quickly dealt with the CC though. Had a real problem deciding what to watch/listen to – the selection is brilliant.

Now, many have said 19a/c are great seats to sit in but this comes at a cost. The food! Now I don’t have a copy of the menu to hand but if i recall it was something like this....

Starter – salad
Mains – A Bolognese dish
A chicken and vegetables dish
Vegetarian option
Dessert
Cheese and biscuits.

By the time the CC had got to row 17 it was apparent that the Bolognese dish had already gone so when they got to us we already knew that our 1st choice had already gone So we both opted for the chicken. I took one bite and immediately had to spit it out, it might have been chicken but for want of a better word this was foul not fowl!!! The wife did the same – she said the potatoes had been boiled to within an inch of their life! This immediately had put me off the rest of the offering. So when they came to collect I had no choice but to say in all the years we have been flying that is simply the worst meal we have ever experienced. The CC were very apologetic – apparently they had only received a fraction of the Bolognese meals from the caterers and I’m guessing a shed load of chicken in its place. They asked if there was anything that they could do – they offered the veggie option but I am a carnivore at heart so i politely declined. A few minutes later they returned and said ‘we do have a couple of meals from our Upper Class menu, the fillet of beef and the Chicken Katsu – would these be of interest to us?’ The words Upper immediately raised our eyebrows in a very happy way. I opted for the Chicken and the beef for wifey. What a contrast – both meals were devoured, and as an added touch the CC also gave us a bottle of bubbly by of an apology  The meals in themselves would have been more than enough, but we will crack open the bubbly by the pool.

I ended up watching Thor: The dark world and Jack Ryan: Shadow recruit (big fan of the late Tom Clancy), did a bit of reading as well. The ice cream/ice lolly run – a mini FAB, ah memories of my childhood came flooding back . Then afternoon tea was served. Somewhere among all that was the liqueur run – I have never tried Amarula but it was very nice – in fact nice enough for seconds.

All too soon we began our descent into MCO, a view of the Kennedy space centre visible from our window. Got a bit bumpy towards the end, one particular bump bringing out a scream of terror from one passenger, but I couldn’t help but chuckle. Touchdown at MCO was right on time which was great and we taxied to our gate. Seat belt sign off and time for everyone to gather their possessions and brace themselves for immigration. We then received an announcement that due to the immigration hall being full at this time we will have to wait to disembark. Eventually after 15 minutes we are allowed off the plane and make our way to a very busy immigration hall, wending our way down the winding lines, it’s the usual story with MCO – a load of international flights all offloading in the region of 400 passengers each and a handful of CBP officers on duty. We were selected to try the kiosks, it scanned my passport but for some reason didn’t like it, but did like the wifes, so it printed off her picture (not very flattering but after a 9hr flight does anyone look good ) and I explained that it had not liked mine – not a problem join your wife and join this queue. Then it was the usual fingerprints, mug shot – passports stamped and off to get the bags. Now PE and Upper bags on one carousel so naturally I headed to that one but Mrs Amex says to me ‘they look our bags on that carousel’ referring to the economy one. So I wander over and lo and behold she is absolutely right, our bags had not been tagged premium!!! Had it not been for my sharp eyed Mrs we could have waiting at the premium carousel, and waiting, and waiting....

Through customs, took the bags on the shuttle and straight to the B side car hire, Alamo kiosk check all working nice and efficiently now (had problems with it last year). So from doors open to driving away – about 45 minutes which given the queues was brilliant.

Now for all that happened, the poor check in, and the food – this was still in my opinion a good VS flight – does anyone think I should write to the powers that be at Crawley Towers and let them know they still are not quite getting it right in certain areas?

Thanks for the TR
With the exception of your baggage not being tagged as premium it sounds like you had a great flight. The cabin crew went out of their way, you had a good meal and some bubbly!
Virgin CC are on form ATM!
Were you delayed for ages waiting for your bags?
Maybe a letter complimenting the CC with a small aside about the bags...but that's down to you! Not worthy of a complaint in my eyes. #firstworldproblems (I have many of them)
Darren

Thank you for such a detailed TR

I know what you mean about the Check In experience. When I have checked in, I have been quizzed about why I need a Boarding Pass as I had already done on line check in

An excellent result on board in relation to the food - whilst 19 A/C offers some benefits, sitting at the back of the Cabin has the downside of being last to be fed and not always getting the first choice

buns

A brilliant TR and very informative - thanks!!

I have been wanting to try the Bloc so it is good to hear a review of it.

The check in "experience" at LGW has been lacking a bit the last few times for me also. I have always had to ask for a customs form rather than being handed one (I like to fill this out properly before I get on the plane). I do wonder if the security questions are not necessary nowadays as they do ask you them during the online check in process....not sure though.

I also think a small note would be justified, especially about the bags and the food. It may seem like a small detail but you pay for priority baggage in the price of a PE ticket and for them not to do this, is not acceptable. Likewise you also pay more for your on board meals - it should be at least edible! Well done on the CC for sorting out the situation as best as possible - that also deserves a mention.

Excellent TR,

Cabin crew were on the ball, makes for a very pleasant flight.

Thanks for sharing