We had taken advantage of the Upper Class sale and nabbed a couple of Z fares to St. Lucia - a welcome break for both Mrs P and I. This is our second visit to St. Lucia and back to the same resort - last time we were in PE in the bubble in 2008.
We left our home at 5.45am to make the short 30 minute drive to Gatwick and parked in the pre-booked short stay. At only a few pounds more than the Long Stay but without having to wait around in -3C we agreed it was definitely worth it.
We had already checked in online and so we headed directly to the Upper Class area to drop our bags. We were called over immediately by a man sat in front of an orange screen that said EasyJet (!!) - fortunately as we approached, the screen switched to the Upper Class logo. He was very efficient but had the oddest security question Ive heard so far - Have either of you brought any camouflaged clothes with you in your luggage? before proceeding with the usual ones and handing us a map to the Clubhouse and sending us on our way.
Despite putting FastTrack stickers on our boarding passes it wasnt open at 6.30am so we joined the short queue through the main security.
This was our first visit to the Gatwick clubhouse since it has been refurbished. The approach is down a corridor next to a the Sunglasses Hut. No signage was visible on the outside but taking one step down the corridor and you knew you were in heading for the Clubhouse.
Sadly there was no Eggs Benedict on the menu unlike at LHR (one of the best bits about travelling on a morning flight out of LHR) but I settled for a cooked breakfast with coffee along with Mrs P. As were 2 of only 4 people in the whole Clubhouse at this time of the morning I suggested to Mrs P that she should go and book her treatment which she did. We had been worried that they would be booked but arriving before 7am has advantages! Actually I wouldnt have minded getting a haircut but they dont offer this service at Gatwick sadly. After we had finished our breakfast, Mrs P went for her treatment and as the clubhouse was getting busier I heard some people were disappointed that the they couldnt get a treatment booked in time for their flight. We were obviously lucky (or just early as is the norm in our household!).
The man doing the shoe shine hadnt started work when we walked in but when he started he walked around asking people if they would like their shoes buffed. I actually answered no (as I was wearing the comfiest but most tired shoes I had). He looked at my shoes and said (are you sure???) and he embarrassed me enough that eventually I gave in. He took them away and brought them back a bit later suitably renewed.
Time passed quickly in the clubhouse and after a couple of Mimosas, our flight was called on gate 17 and we made our way to the flight. Boarding was quick with the only hiccup that Mrs P was told to turn right after getting on the plane. She soon corrected the guy and said Im following him! (pointing at me who had already got myself comfy in 21K)
We pushed back a few minutes early and were up in the air within 10 minutes, conditions being perfect it was a very smooth ascent and straight down over Devon and Cornwall.New menus were on board, I opted for the Lamb and Rosemary pie whilst Mrs P went for the pasta. Both were fine, though had the Lamb pie not had rosemary in it Id have said it was very nice beef! Sadly lacking were the lip balm, pens and polo mints (I didnt miss the polo mints until we started our descent!). Ice Cream (Vanilla Haagen-Dazs) was dutifully brought around mid flight.
1 hour to landing and still no sign of Afternoon tea, Mrs P was decidedly peckish at this point (having dozed through the Ice Cream and drinks run) but they were in no hurry. We waited patiently for our turn and we had a selection of scones and sandwich.
The plane was a LHR 747 based in its new configuration (LHR 747 Config 4). I managed to grab a photo of what the new Y section in the bubble looks like (http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/flyer_viewphoto.asp?viewres=full&photo_id=4068) for all those interested. The front section upstairs looked more secluded than I thought it would be, even though the curtain had not been drawn.
Arrival in St. Lucia was on time, front and middle steps were added and we were soon basking in the heat. Only 3 international security booths were open at which point we were glad to be nearer the front (though as suspected plenty of Y passengers from the bubble had descended the steps first). As we got through security all our bags had arrived and had been placed in rows for us to pick up. Fairly efficient for such a small airport. Though the 300-odd passengers behind us were due a much longer wait!
At this point I am unable to even look at my seat on the return journey as I made the mistake of selecting 10/11K on the way back in the bubble (as per the seat map shown after I bought the tickets) but it looks like the plane coming back is now a Config 4/Y in the bubble so those seats are now invalid. This unfortunately causes the seat map page on the website to break. The woman in Premier Services tells me that Ill be able to select my seat online when I check in for the return 24 hours before but we shall see...
One final note, Ive been travelling VS for 9 years now and only over the last 18 months have I been able to afford Upper Class (yes a free op-up helped!) - but Mrs P and I both agree that well probably just do a PE flight next time - apart from the excellent Clubhouse the differentiators just dont feel there anymore and especially on a daytime flight we think the LHR PE cabin would have suited us just fine.
