V-Flyer

Because we had stayed in St. Augustine on Saturday but decided it was a rather tacky town and we didn't bother to go back into town on Sunday we took a very slow cruise down to Orlando and were at the airport very early. 3.30 for a 9pm flight.
Dropped off the hire car and hailed a porter who took our four bags to the Virgin Upper desk.
We made our way up to the Delta Sky lounge. I have been before and was not impressed then. It hasn't changed.
No sparkling wine for Mrs D
Only white option was Chardonnay which she would not normally drink, but she did have one glass.
Food option was raw vegetables or a more substantial ham and pea soup. I had a cup of that and it was quite nice.
We went out to the Outback and had a proper meal. Mrs D had a steak and I had a burger. Both good.
Back to the Sky Lounge until 8 pm when we went for a leg stretch and slow walk to the gate.
8.15 pm at the gate and they announce a delay boarding until 8.45 because the plane was in late.
There were 118 passengers to board so even the late boarding didn't delay the push back.
Upper was full and PE also looked quite full so there must have been a lot of space in Economy.
We each had a glass of Champagne during our 15 min on board prior to push off. No time for a top up.
For the main meal we both had a crab salad. We have eaten a lot of crab during our four weeks in South Carolina and got a taste for it.
Sadly this dish was a small roundel of salad with 2mm crabmeat on top. I could hardly taste it.
For the main I had the veggie option which was vegetable Korma.
That had little taste and less sauce. I left half of it.
Mrs D had the steak, which she describes as OK but not as nice as Outback's.
I had a portion of mango cheesecake for desert. It was dried out and I left most of it.
I had a glass of Sancerre before the meal and another with it. They were rather nice.
I tried to put on the in flight tracker but it would never work so I just gave up. I'm not one for IFE so didn't even bother to take out the earphones.
By about 11pm we were getting our heads down. The armrest on my seat would not stay down and eventually one of the crew wedged it with the bed liner. I put on my Virgin sleep suit which was quite comfortable two piece.
I started to doze off and was woken by talking. Two of the passengers had decided to sit at the bar and have a chat. Fair enough, that's what it is there for.
Open the amenity kit and take out the ear plugs. I struggled to get the plugs out of their little container but did manage and got off to sleep.
I was woken again when Mr Chatty and partner were trying to put their beds down and failing miserably. That sort of cheered me up as I saw it as Karma for them keeping everyone else awake.
Back to sleep and I woke with about one and half hours to go so I got up and changed back out of my Virgin sleep suit and went to wash up. Mr Chatty was in his reclined seat snoring his head off. I was so tempted to wake him, but thought that will bring bad Karma back on me.
Breakfast. Mrs D order the full breakfast and said it was cold and horrid so didn't eat it.
I ordered pancakes and cream, and got pancakes and bacon, but it was immediately changed for the cream. It actually tasted OK and was hot. I ate the lot.
We got a direct approach and landing and were on the ground by 9am.
Straight through immigration and customs and our taxi had just arrived at the car park.
M25 was at a standstill so we had a scenic drive round the back of Reigate and Dorking.
Two members of the cabin crew did most of the work for us and they were efficient and charming.
Plane was Hot Lips.
Dick D

Thank you for the TR. It sounds a mixture of disappointments balanced out by some good experiences. Hope you have plenty of good memories of Carolina.

Thanks for the TR.
The Sancerre is rather nice isn't it? Glad you managed to sleep even with the chatters!
D

Sounds like a "meh" sort of experience Dicky, some good some not, but glad you're home safe and sound and thanks for the TR. Hope you're whole trip was fabulous though.

Thanks for the TR Dicky. A shame it was not the ideal flight on Hot Lips. Chatteres can be a real irk if you want to sleep. I have invested in some neww Tempur eye shades and ear plugs (just in case) for my next flight. I hope my fellow passengers have too- for when I start snoring

Did your wife not return her cold breakfast for a new one? I would have as I'd be a right grump without eating.

Any more trips planned?

Thanks for taking time to report. I think Bretty sums it up, meh.

Hopefully you've the wonderful memories of your trip to help blot out the rather average flight.

A phrase to chill the heart...."M25 was at a standstill".

Shame the flight and food wasn't better; one of the benefits of flying in to LHR is skipping breakfast on the flight.

Many thanks for the TR Dicky, not a great experience by the sound of it.

oldboy

pjh wrote:A phrase to chill the heart...."M25 was at a standstill".

Fortunately anticlockwise was OK so our taxi driver saw the mess on the other carriageway and we totally avoided it going home. We saw some very pretty villages and made it home in much the same time as using the motorway.
One of the reasons we stay at the airport the night before travelling, even though we are only 45 miles away, is to make sure we avoid any panic when the roads jam up as they seem to more and more.
Dick D

Thanks for the TR, sorry to hear it wasn't quite as good as the outbound experience.

dickydotcom wrote:Open the amenity kit and take out the ear plugs. I struggled to get the plugs out of their little container but did manage and got off to sleep.

I found this an impossible task! I wonder if it was designed this way to keep passengers occupied on the flight - more subtle than a crossword book