This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Being a visitor to Orlando airport hundreds of times, I am still always surprised by the lack of things to do there. I arrived around three hours ahead of my flight and by the end was starting to lose the will to live. Luckily I had a book to read for most of the wait.
Anyway, being so early, I went straight to the front of the line as there was no line! Dropped my bags off at the PE desk and asked how full the plane was going to be. Anyone who read my other report will know that I booked economy in the vain hope that I would get a number of seats on my own - a dream not realised despite that flight not being full. The lady told me the flight was very light. My heart sank as I'd spent the extra money on PE because I thought it would probably be full downstairs. As an aside, I thought Florida was unusually quiet for the time of year. I think the recession must be really biting there, and saw A LOT beach front properties with "for sale" signs, and a previously VERY popular restaurant almost empty. I digress....
Having sat around on the airport for a thousand years, boarding finally came around. The lady talking very closely into the microphone told us that UC, gold card people and those needing assistance were ready for boarding. Cue about twenty people in wheelchairs and what looked to be one person in the UC line. Another member of the crew starting turning PE people away from the priority boarding queue saying that they weren't ready for them, even though there seemed to be no one else waiting. About five minutes later, PE were called, so we file off and the same woman stops us and says "we're not boarding PE yet", cue mumblings from the people at the front of the line and another crew member quietly informing here that we had been called. She promptly apologised and let us pass.
We made our way along the tunnel and arrived at a small queue of wheelchairs. About five minutes later I was being directed up the stairs. On arriving upstairs I took my seat, got my trusty book out and waited with baited breath to see if I was to get a lovely friendly person, no one at all, or a repeat of the outbound journey where we would all sit in silence. I was rewarded with a lovely chap who talked to me the whole way home, which was a good thing because my ipod died the day before flying and my IFE was patchy at best. Even the flight thing that shows your journey only half appeared on the screen. I didn't think to complain about this because I figured I would try and sleep and if not, the friendly gent was awake all night so I had the company. Should I have done, or do you think Virgin get enough of this kind of whining without me adding to it?
There were plenty of empty seats on board and people moved freely about the cabin before we even took off. I think there were only 125 people on the whole plane, so I bet the economy cabin was full of people happily sleeping across 4 seats, the lucky things!!
I thought the bubble was a nice experience, but did feel very far removed from the wings and the engines, I think it's easy to forget how big those planes are. I did like the fact that as we were so empty and we had our own toilets that there was no queuing after meals and the drinks run, anyone who's been in economy knows what I'm talking about here I'm sure.
Now, the food was horrendous. The options were lamb biryani, chicken and some sort of mushroom pasta. I didn't want a curry before trying to sleep, unless I know where the chicken has come from I won't eat it, which meant I was left with the pasta. It was gloopy and in some sort of white sauce. I had a hard seemingly white bread roll (although the outside was very very dark, and in places burnt), some plastic cheese and dry crackers. I swerved the wine and had a glass of fizzy water (actually, I had two glasses, the water glass and the wine glass, one of the nice cc ladies joked that it might taste different in each one). Speaking of the water glass, the one I was given was broken, but this was swiftly changed, even though I told the lady that I didn't really need it. The pudding looked like apple crumble and custard, but was cold and smelled of cinnamon which I don't like, so I didn't eat that either.
This experience meant that I didn't dare sample the breakfast, which was a muffin top (I always thought this was belly that hung over the top of your trousers) and a ham and cheese, or cheese and egg thing. The man next to me had the ham and it looked horrendous. He left his muffin top. Why a muffin top and not a muffin bottom? Why not a proper muffin or nothing at all??
In the end I did manage to get a couple of hours sleep, and did on the whole find the seat very comfortable when compared with that of economy. I thought the footrest was neither one thing or another. It didn't seem to come up high enough, it was almost but not quite, if that makes any sense. I can also see why people say the seats are a little tired, they do have lumps and bumps in a fair few places, and I noticed some of the seats seemed to recline a lot more that others. Now, the storage bin next to my seat had what looked like a large coffee or cola stain inside it. I was a bit disappointed that the cleaning staff hadn't wiped it out, because wafting a bit of cif and a cloth would have done the trick to remove it.
The cabin crew were excellent, they could not have done more for us. The one thing I will say is that the amenity kits were all placed on the front seats where no one was, and I picked two up off the empty seats for me and the chap next to me.
I held off from writing this as soon as I got back, because I wanted to see if my experience had lessened my feelings of jet-lag. I think in some ways it did, because I wasn't cramped. I managed some sleep and I really appreciated how quiet the cabin was. Was it worth it? The jury is still out for me.
That is why Mrs Buns and I use McCoy's Restaurant in the Hyatt above the Airport to get a proper meal before boarding so we know we have eaten something in case the menu is a dire as you suffered
and as such you'll likely think twice before spending the difference again.. 
(result VS 
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You either eat it or go without. 
So now when i get airside i go and get food for the journey, which ever flight morning or night. I feel that as a premium economy customer that reflects badley on virgin. We have been flying to florida since 1994, and not really seen ordinary edible meals served. We love most of the cc so this has always been our choice of carrier. Yes the planes are usually grubby and seats torn or tierd, but most aircraft are. So when we go in June on the A330 we might just get nice seating, but the food, i expect will be the same. 
