This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Even at 7 in the morning, the queue for Economy check in was immense and to be honest, I felt a little sorry for all those poor souls waiting for a free agent, when we just strolled up to the security agent guarding the Upper Class check in desk. 'Travelling Upper Class today, Sir?'. Never before had I felt so important. The agent had just finished filing her nails when she waved us over immediately. Once more, I thought of the poor souls who would have a long wait in the Economy queue with the obligatory crying child to care for/listen to. We were assigned our pre-booked seats 7A and 7K and we gleefully headed off to the Lounge for a bit of well deserved breakfast.
We arrived in the lounge and handed over our invitation. The lady on reception's reaction said it all, 'Wow, you're early! First time in Upper?' I wonder how she guessed. We had treatments booked in the v-Touch area at 9:30, so this left plenty of time for a spot to eat and a glass or two of bubbly. Time flew by, as my new wife and I enjoyed what the Gatwick lounge has to offer. Our treatments were called and whilst I was sat enjoying my 'Sensational Shave' and the wife was enjoying her 'Back Down to Earth' massage, we heard a loud voice from the reception area which was strangely familiar. My shaver commented that the person was a regular Virgin traveller and was often in the lounge. My new wife was so pleased as she is always complaining that I am the one that sees the famous people and she always misses them!
Soon, our flight was called and we took the long walk to the gate where G-VAST (Ladybird) was waiting for us and I was uncontrollably excited over getting Odyssey over Nova [oo]. Disappointingly though, Ladybird seemed a little 'well-used'. I shan't go so far to say 'tatty', but she's not far off it. Nevertheless, we were suitably impressed with the legroom and the Upper Class cabin as a whole. When the announcement of 'Would all ground staff now please leave the aircraft?' came over the tannoy, Mr. Celebrity strolled onto the plane and took his place in 9A. This sent the wife in raptures, as, not only had she seen a celeb in the clubhouse, but was on the same plane only 3 seats away from her!
Soon into the flight, the CSS came round and introduced himself personally to everyone. I told him in my introduction that I was a slightly nervous flyer usually but the Upper Class cabin was taking my mind off it! He remembered this little insignificant detail and kept checking on me throughout the flight, asking me if I was OK and how it was going. (To you, the CSS, and you know who you are, 'Thank you very much for your thoughfulness!').
Lunch was served and we were very much impressed with the food given where it was served. Quite simply, it was the best food I've ever eaten at 38,000 feet.
The FSM announced a competition for the children on board to guess the combined age of the crew including the pilots on the flight deck. See below for the results!
The CSS came back round and asked whether we'd mind if a couple from Premium Economy came and sat in the bar for half an hour on the premise that it was the girl's 21st birthday, when in fact, the man was about to propose to her. No-one had any objections and we were all quite excited actually about what the girl would say. The flight crew prepared the bottle of champagne and glasses and subtlely placed the ring behind the bottle. The pair were then shown in to Upper and was seated at the bar. The man then produced the ring and proposed and she (very tearfully and joyfully) accepted bringing a round of applause from the occupants of Upper Class. My wife and I went over to personally congratulate them and when they offered us a glass of bubbly to celebrate our wedding, we declined and decided to leave them to their own celebration. Mr. Celebrity then rose from his seat and personally offered his congratulations and signed a few autographs for them in the process.
I was fairly disappointed with my seat when converted to a bed. It was extremely hard and very uncomfortable to lie on. As 6A was only occupied by my (seatbelted in) hand luggage, I borrowed it's pillow as I figured my bag wouldn't need it and this made it slightly more comfortable.
The rest of the flight was spent playing 'Battleship' against my new wife and then getting out my PSP to play Worms when she kept beating me at it. I didn't want to take the risk of losing to little Johnny, aged 5 in 63F! Although to be honest, I was glad of an excuse to get away from Odyssey. Frankly, it's awful. It kept crashing and needed to be reset a few times and the games were basic. I found myself hoping for Nova on the way back as I knew there was next to no chance of V-Port!
I got talking with Mr. Celebrity and I mentioned v-flyer.com as he was a Virgin regular. He said he'd pay us a visit when he got back to England!
About an hour from Orlando, a passenger in 9K was struggling with her crossword, when she asked the CSS for help with it, very shortly, she was reading out the clues to the entire cabin and we were all trying to help her with her crossword! Mr. Celebrity and my wife were getting most of the clues.
The FSM announced the results of the aforementioned competition and noted that one entry had put the combined average age at 17, which she was very pleased with and one at 44. Her quip of 'You must have us confused with another British carrier' was met with much laughter.
This was a very smooth turbulence free flight until the final approach, which was as bumpy as I can remember on any flight. During one particular descent through some thick cloud, the aircraft bumped quite violently, which scared quite a few adults, not to mention the children. Quick as a flash, our CSS in Upper got hold of the PA system and said 'Why pay to go to Disney, when you get it free on Virgin?' This comment calmed everyone down so quickly that everyone forgot about the big bump and just remembered the joke. Once again, the CSS was an absolute star. [^]
Landing was smooth and after a short wait at immigration, we were officially on honeymoon!
I apologise if you thought my TR was boring! Return TR to follow soon....
