This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Anyway decided it had to be a direct flight so settled on Virgin which at the time was cheaper than BA who were until recently my airline of choice. [:I] You can tell i lead a very sheltered life. After we purchased our tickets i started reading Virgin reviews on this and other websites. I must confess i questioned whether it was the right choice after some of the reviews i read so it was with great trepidation that we set off for LGW on the 16th of December. I had checked in online and managed to change our seats from downstairs to the bubble upstairs so that cheered me up no end. We had booked long stay parking at the airport, took us all of 5 minutes to leave car and keys, sort out paperwork and hop onto the waiting shuttle. Bag drop at the airport was just as short. We were told we could use the fast track security lane. We went upstairs to look around the shops and as the security queue there was getting longer and longer enquired about the location of fast track. We told it was downstairs and when we got there people were being sent to the security queue upstairs. One of the yellow jumper people then proceeded to argue with me about how fast track was busy and if we went upstairs to the ordinary queue there, we could get through faster despite my insistence that we had just come from upstairs and the queue there was longer than downstairs. Anyway i stood my ground until he relented and showed me what he said was the fast track queue which was not the right one but the longest of all the queues as if to make a point. As soon as his back was turned hubby and i went under the barriers to the shortest one and in less than 10 minutes we were through shoes and all.
As we have no gold card status nor were we flying UC we could not access the club house. So after security it was off to Frankie and Bennys upstairs where we had a delicious breakfast with a view of the runway. We had so much time on our hands that we ate at leisurely pace and even had time to register for IRIS. When boarding was called we made our way to the gate where priority boarding was in place. I agree nothing beats that feeling of walking past eco passengers to the front of the queue although i could see the looks and over heard someone mutter 'typical blacks jumping the queue!' We were the first to board in PE and settle into our seats. I got so excited with the lockers on the side of the seat, i was like a kid putting things away in them. I got a chance to look around and must say i saw no indication of terrible wear and tear on the seats carpet etc that other people have complained about, maybe i was just lucky. Everything was clean, okay there was some gum underneath the seat in front of me that had dried up ages ago but nothing to cause a fuss about after all a plane is not going to be a sterile environment is it? Juice and sparkling wine were served and hubby and i excitedley toasted our holiday. There was a slight delay as there was one passenger missing. They turned up eventually but dont you just hate it when people are holding a full plane and they stroll in with no sense of urgency? Hot towels were dispensed as we taxied along and the used ones taken away qickly.
Drinks and dinner were served soon after take off. The two stewardesses serving us were fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble, they were polite but friendly. Hubby and i both had the sweet and sour prawns with rice and vegetables. The sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste but edible and hubby was more than happy to wolf down my leftovers. Bailey was served, seconds offered and later in the flight ice cream....oh joy never get that in BA![:D] Juice and drinks were offered so many times during the flight i lost track of how many times they came round. In flight entertainment was great no problems, cant remember what i watched but enjoyed it, took a nap and then persuaded hubby to take a walk to eco to stretch our legs. I am not being a snob but was shocked at how many people were in there, how dirty it was and most of all the smell! I remember someone in this forum writing about how they took their young daughter for a walk in economy and she remarked quite loudly about the smell. Needless to say we did not stay very long and made a hasty retreat. Only good thing to come out of the walk is hubby declared we would never travel eco. [^] Flight landed at MCO on time, immigration was would have been another 10 minute job if not for the family of 6 in front of us. Priority baggage worked like a dream. There was a separate baggage claim area for PE and UC and bags came with almost no wait. Picked up car [booked with car hire 3000] at Alamo and had left the airport within an hour of landing. Having never hired a car in the US before we had fun picking out which car we wanted from the ones in the range we had booked. Arrived at the villas after 2 hours in part due to rush hour traffic and hubby's inability to read a map [:(!] I drove because i have driven in the states before. It was his first visit. If our marriage can survive the stress and arguments caused by his poor navigational skills, it can survive anything. Famous last words. Anyway once we got to the villa and had a good nights sleep it was all forgotten in the excitement of our trip to Sea world the following day and shamu's amazing show. All i can say is......all hail Virgin Atlantic...[oo] despite the disappointments of the return journey [that is another report] i am well and truly hooked and already planning our next trip.
. Very poor show on the mutterings from Y pax though...
