This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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Suggestion: get a coffee & a rich tea or maybe a lemon puff, or a glass of wine & some honey covered cashews, or a Red Bull to keep you awake.
I have tried to keep this TR as short as possible but I knew it was going to be long because everything was so exciting.
Things change in life don't they?
Last June I decided that we should take our 2 adult daughters,'Miss Behavin' & 'Miss Understandin' on what might be the last 'family' holiday before they moved a long way away, got married, moved abroad etc.
So I was cock a hoop when I started searching & found 2 'G's available, for us, not them
. I knew I'd be able to get 2 econs for them 
As I searched for their flights I happened to look at e-bookers who had just loaded sale fares. Now then, I thought, I'd try a little trick I'd learnt on previous holidays & so booked the flights with e-bookers thru the shopping site with VA & got 4894 miles - result
. I know the website states that you don't get miles with flights but you do (or did do). Also e-bookers was (I don't think it is now) 4 miles per £ spent On 29th August, Miss Behavin' came bounding thru the front door with her boyfriend in tow, thrusting her left hand in my face to admire a ring sparkling on her ring finger. Gulp, they'd just got engaged. Thank goodness we'd booked & paid for the holiday
So, I am now mother-in-law-from-hell-in-training
And I'd like to say that I'm passing all the tests with flying clolours & even distinction 
Are coloured chair backs essential? Are they? Are they really? Are 2 Best Men & 6 ushers really necessary, all dressed the same?
Personally I think the biggest decsion for me will be Jimmy Choos or Manilo Blaniks darhlings
I reserved our UC seats & then reserved theirs & I chose 29 A & B. From June to 15th Feb when I went to bed, there their seats stayed, a nice 29 A & B.
First assignment was not to let on that 'love-him-as-I-do-but...' & I were travelling UC
. We wanted them to have the surprise of being able to enjoy all the delights of the CH with us 
. They did say in grumpy voices 'I suppose you're travelling PE? ' to which I truthfully replied 'no' & that with paying for 4 of us there was no way we could afford to pay for PE. This was true as we were on 'L' tickets
My next assignment was to beat Suzanneme to SEQ1 as she was on the same flight with her family (see TR already dutifully posted
).When I went to do OLCI, I decided to do the Miss's first as they were in econ.
Their seats had been changed to the last row in econ
. No other seats were showing available . PANIC!!! All thoughts of getting SEQ1 & beating Suzanneme went out of my head as I tried various connotations to move them forward. No joy whatsoever. Bum. That meant we had to get to LGW early to try to move them forward as there was no way I was going to wait for them to get off the plane, caring thoughtful parent that I am.
So we left with plenty of time to spare the next morning. 'Love-him-as-I-do-but....' & I had had such fun keeping the secret of the CH from the Miss's that we had secret smiles on our faces as we went to check in area.
As we all rounded the corner, the whole area was heaving with pax. You couldn't see any floor space!!What the heck was going on? A nice VS staff member approached us to say that ESTA had gone down & that all pax were having to be re-checked in manually at check in/bag drop.
She asked what flight we were on & I told her, & she said we could check in & pointed us to the check in area immediateley in front of us which was UC/PE.
Some pax were being held in a holding area to clear the earlier flights before the later flights could check in. As there were such problems, the Miss's thought nothing of us checking in at UC. As there were 2 small groups in front of us, it gave them a few moments to think. A look came over their faces & they both turned to us at the same time & said in indignant voices whilst simultaniously spitting venom 'are you going PE then?' 'No', we truthfully answered
At check in, a very nice young lady took our paperwork & I asked her if it would be possible to check the girls in with us, although they were on a different booking ref. She said, of course, so the girls still had no idea.
As the area was so busy & rather noisy, the Miss's couldn't clearly hear what was being said. I asked the check in agent if it would be possible to move the girls forward as I'd had 29A & B reserved since making the booking 8 months previously only to find at OLCI they'd been moved to the very back of the plane. She was so kind & said they could have 26A & B if we'd like? If we'd like, if we'd like??? Yes,
yes, 
yes, 
Whilst she did the paperwork, I admired a ring she was wearing & we had a nice chat about where she'd bought it etc. (relevant to later in the TR
).She put fast track stickers on all the boarding passes , I thanked her 2 or 3 times & off we trotted to fast track. Fast track? snail track
! I have never waited so long even in the usual queue. Must have been 20 minutes before we got to the disrobing saga.Phew, thru that, strolled to the escalators & said that I was starving so I'd made an executve decision that we'd have something to eat first & then shop. We headed for the corridor to the CH & The eldest said 'the CH is this way (she used to work at LGW). I said 'I know, let's go in there'. The Miss's turned to each other with looks of total disbelief. they said we can't go in, I said, Oh yes we can cos 'love-him-as-I do-but...'& I are meeting a freind in there (Sunsational). They hung behind a bit, unsure that they'd be allowed in.
A lovely lady greeted us & welcomed us & the penny dropped
Their faces were a picture. we 'admitted' we were flying UC BUT ONLY so that they could enjoy the CH
they we absolutely delighted & forgave us instantly
Neither of them had been in a Virgin CH for several years.
They were sooo excited, we so enjoyed their excitement. It made us happy & they were like 2 kids in a candy store.
We went straight over to book complimentary treatments & all of us were able to book
The CH was very busy for the first 40 minutes or so but then emptied out a bit as a couple of flights were called. However, we didn't have any trouble finding a table, dumping our bags to choose what we'd have to eat & drink.
After a good breakfast with very good service
we found a relaxing quieter area & ordered drinks etc. I was so happy to watch them go off for their treatments, one of them had their boots cleaned (we're going to Florida, why have you got walking boots on child??? 
)I started going up to strangers & asking them if they were Sunsational. Each looked at me pityingly & said no. Eventually Sunsational heard me asking some stranger if she was Sunsational & came over & introduced herself. Thank goodness for that, I would have looked a complete ejit if I hadn't found her! We spent a while chatting, although Sunsational didn't get to meet the Miss's as they'd gone to do a spot of retail therapy
It was a pleasure to meet you Sunsational & great to chat Thoroughly relaxed & shopped out, they wandered about, nosing around & we all had more drinks
Both Miss's went over to chat to the treatment staff who were free & were happy to chat, & even gave them a free sample each
, they were chuffed as they like Cowshed products. Our flight was called, we finished another round of drinks, said cheerio to all the delightful staff, helped ourselves to a chocolate on the way out & tottered off to the gate.
At the gate, we gave the girls a hug each, left them in the queue & went straight to boarding, noting that there was 26A & B ready for the Miss's.
After settling in, I went to the bubble to look for the delightful & showing no sign of nerves, Suzanneme & her family. I found them easily & we spent a few minutes chatting whilst the remaining pax were boarding. I left her, promising (threatening) to return & looked for the Miss's in 26A & B as I got to the bottom of the stairs, only to find the seats full but not with them & all the pax having boarded
Don't tell me they'd ended up at the back of the aircraft with yet another seat change!!
I went thru the few rows of econ, then thru PE to return to UC to let 'love-him-as-I-do-but...' know that the girls weren't where they should be, when I heard them calling out 'mum' mum' MUM!!' I wheeled round to find them sitting in 81D & E!!
How'd they get there?
They were enjoying a pre-flight glass of sparking wine & looking for all the world as though this was what they did on a regular basis. They both said to me 'did you do this? Did you arrange this when we checked in?' Now, it seemed a shame to burst their bubble 
so I said 'oh, you never know when you can be upgarded Was it because it was a full flight? Was it because I'd expressed disappointment at them being at the rear of the plane, even though seats aren't guaranteed & the lovely lady did move them to 26A & B? Was it because I'd admired the check in agent's ring & we'd had a lovely chat? Was it because we were travelling UC? Who knows? I will never know, but am truly delighted, thrilled & over the moon that they did get upgraded because it meant the sun shone out of my......eyes
for a loooong time It turned out that as they'd gone to get the final 'beep' before boarding, they'd been separated, Miss Behavin's had 'booped' & she was told there'd been a seat change & she was now in 81E. The staff didn't say that she had been upgraded & so she thought she was at the back of the plane & had a face as long as a pole, until Miss Understandin' came bounding up to her saying they'd been upgraded because the staff member had told her this when hers had 'booped' & she was told she was in 81d in PE.
I finally took my seat & had a glass of bubbles & a quick chat to the CCM who gave it to me. Take off came & went, seat belt sign went off, I went to find Suzanneme who had white knuckles gripping her seat, I jest, she was sooo brave. No-one would have known that she was a nervous flyer.
I returned to my seat, promising to interupt their flight a while later
I was in 8A & 'love-him-as-I-do-but...' was in 9A. His IFE didn't work & so the CCM offered him a change of seat (the only free seat) or a DVD player which he opted for.
After the meal had been served,which was very good, but I can't remember what we had
more drinks consumed & I'd watched a film, I went to chat to the UC crew who were absolutley delightful The FSM was very visable throughout the flight & I asked her if my nervous friend could come & say hi to 'love-him-as-i-do-but...'. She said she knew all about Suzanneme & of course she could come to UC. I went to find her & dragged her out of her seat by the hand to prove that the plane wouldn't fall out of th sky if she did more than pop to the toilet
We stopped to chat to the Miss's in PE on the way & they had a little chat. The UC crew said a welcoming hello & I took her to meet 'love-him-as-i-do-but...' & then Suzanneme sat in my seat. A CCM came along to ask if Suzanneme would like a drink. Now I'm very pleased to report at this point that Suzanneme is truly a real member of V-Flyer because as quick as a flash she said 'I'll have a G&T please
nervous flyer? nervous flyer? my foot We chatted for about 10 minutes or so & then the seatbelt sign came on so Suzanneme had to return to her seat in the bubble, along with her G&T - that's my girl
The rest of the flight passed uneventfully except for the gobby family in 6A & B & 7A& B who shouted at each other continually.
Afternoon tean was served & it was good but the sarnis were a tad dry. Scone was yum
I managed a drink because the bottle was open & it seemed a shame not to imbibe
I popped up to see Suzannme with the Miss's a while before landing & reminded her to leg it to immigration.
We came straight in for a smooth landing & hooked staright up to a docking staion.
Immigration took no more than 20 minutes & we said our goodbyes to the lovely Suzanneme & family & wished them a very happy holiday. We could see our cases going round as we waited at immigration & were seen by a very pleasant chappie. We got a trolley, collected the cases off the belt, put one back because it wasn't ours
picked up the right one & as we got on the train, I 'phoned the Embassy Suites for the courtesy driver to meet us. From landing to arriving in the hotel was an hour - brilliant Time for a drink during happy hour (free ).Was it worth saving all our miles for this trip? Absolutely, from start to finsh, it was all wonderful. To have the bonus of meeting Sunsational
& Suzanneme was brilly willy.Now we are back the wedding looms in August
R-P
