V-Flyer

After a reasonable taxi ride from Shangri La, Kowloon, we arrived (with a lot of luggage following a cruise from Japan to HK) to check in early at the very quiet Upper class desk. There was only us and another couple checking into PE. We couldn't see any priority so queued with everyone else to get to the depature area. It moved at a reasonable pace.

After a look around duty free, we tried to locate the lounge and discovered it was a tram ride of about 10 minutes. We headed over there and noted there were many lounges in this area and quickly found the Clubhouse. Had a quick photo outside and then a staff member offered to take a photo of both of us before we went in, which was kind of him.

We were shown inside (as we've never been there before) and took a couple of seats near the bar looking out to a quiet concourse. The staff mentioned a new drinks Quinary menu and hubby tried "on the meadow" which was very similar to a Mojito and very refreshing. I had a Redhead and Bellini. We both enjoyed the Clubhouse burger - it's served with crisps and not chips here though. The barman came and shook my husband's hand and thanked him for trying a drink on the new menu and was very pleased when we told him the drink was lovey.

We left the Clubhouse a little before we were called and boarded an empty cabin. I took a couple of photos of the 787 as I'd never flown it before and asked for a sleepsuit and quickly changed for the night flight. The toilets for UC are at the rear of the cabin and the first ones on left and right have more space, with a little seat to put belongings on when getting changed. The toilets immediately next to them, nearer to PE, were of standard size.

A glass of champagne was offered and readily accepted and a sheet of A4 paper handed out. This was the menu - not sure if it was because of a recent menu change or if it was cost cutting as I'm used to receiving a little purple booklet setting out the menu and drinks offered.

We booked 5 and 6A and pleased with the choice as the seats faced the wall of the middle row so very private. 7a has no window, so beware. The cabin was full. Drinks/crisps were served shortly after take off and dinner orders taken. I'd eaten in the Clubhouse, so just had a dessert.

Most of the cabin bedded down for the night with just 2 men sitting at the bar. We had a little turbulence so the seatbelt sign was turned on and the cabin was very quiet. I watched Mission Impossible and then turned in for the night.

After about 5 hours, I woke up to a still darkened cabin and the crew came around and offered a drink - just had water and a Green & Black chocolate bar which was nice.

Time went very quickly and breakfast was offered - I didn't need to pre-order this before take off as I usually do on the Vegas flight and just asked for it when the crew came round. i had the full English, and a scrummy chocolate muffin which was warm and had melted chocolate. As you can tell, I need a sugar fix on waking up!

We arrived into LHR 30 mins early at 5am and had a long hike to immigration. The automated gates are being updated so it was done manually. Thankfully, we were the only flight that had arrived at that time and the hall was empty so through very quickly.

Our 4 cases came off in the first batch and we collected the car quickly from meet and greet and on the road by 5.40am - truly a record for LHR.

Overall, a very good flight and I really do prefer VS over BA (as we did Club oubound to NRT).

I was surprised that the noise levels were not quieter on the 787 as I thought they would be so much lower. I will try a 380 in a couple of weeks with Emirates so it will be interesting to make a comparison.

Many thanks for the TR, is this a record for the shortest gap between landing and posting - 2 minutes!!!

Congratulations on getting five hours sleep, something I wish that I could achieve!
Never had the experience of the Virgin Lounge at HKG but have been in the Singapore (SQ?) and Cathay Pacific (CX?) ones which were ok but not memorable. Interesting that you thought the 787 would be a tad quieter, again never been on one but I am pretty sure you will enjoy the A380, especially 'up front'. Despite the size of the aircraft the toilet facilities remain a bit tight, although I remember the front upstairs one in business being a bit more spacious, could just about swing a cat if I had remembered to bring one!
Interested in your cruise from Japan, just wondered where you called in on the way?

Oh dear, I inserted the wrong date in the heading. We flew back on 1 April (landing on 2 April).

Hazban - nice to hear from you again. We hopped onto a leg of the QE's world cruise, starting in Yokohama, Osaka, Hiroshima, Okinawa, Keeling (Taiwan), finishing in Hong Kong. We were on board for 10 nights, having 1 sea day, 1 port day which was great for resting our tired legs.

The ship actually did a 20 night round trip HK-HK but we were limited with time off work and also not interested in stopping in Shanghai so we missed the first part. We really enjoyed it and loved what we saw of the country and everyone was so welcoming. It's certainly somewhere I'd like to go back to one day as there is so much more to see.

lynnewob wrote:Oh dear, I inserted the wrong date in the heading. We flew back on 1 April (landing on 2 April).

I've corrected it for you

Many thanks for the TR
Its those little extra touches which make all the difference - like the Barman thanking your husband

Hi. 1St reply to a thread. We are looking at doing a cruise from Hong Kong next year. Any chance of a trip report and details as can't seem to find any forums with info on.

Thanks for the TR, sounds like you had a wonderful trip. We love Japan very much, so much that it's getting a third visit from us next year.

Thanks for amending the title.

I probably won't be doing a cruise trip report as we did our own thing very often which wouldn't be that interesting to others.

However, for information, I used the Cruise Critis website forums and found lots of detail there. The 2 lines that go there often are Princess and Celebrity, so it's worth looking at their discussion boards for more info, together with the Asia board. I didn't glean much from the Cunard board as the ships only go there once a year on their world cruises in and around March.

VS have just announced they are closing their booking and reservation department in Hong Kong. This comes just months after they fired many HKG based cabin crew. There is obviously now speculation in the press that they may not continue the route.