This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Checked in on-line as soon as OLCI opened but still only managed to bag SEQ 8,9,10,11 and 12, there are too many people that are lightning fast off the mark
. We got to MAN at about 11:20am and we found that they were still checking in PAX for VS75 as there was a delay on that flight so we wandered up to the UC check in lane and waited behind two other families as the line for the bag drop was enormous. Our turn came around after a couple of minutes and apart from a short wait whilst the lady at the check in desk had a battle with the ticket printing machine which decided to jam up on her we were through to security pretty swiftly. Turning left we entered what was probably the least busy security zone I have ever been through, only a hand full of people in front of us and again we were through, scanned and ready to wander through duty free on our way to the Escape Lounge.The lounge was pretty quiet too and we were sent into the left hand side and found a group of 5 seats and got settled in. The kids grabbed a few sandwiches and nachos and were very well behaved. Our boarding time was 12:45 so about 12:40 we made our way to gate 206 and gave the buggy to the lady at the desk to be placed in the hold. We could have taken it on board with us as we have on a few other occasions but we had a lot of hand luggage this time and didn't want to be lugging a buggy down the ramp whilst trying to get our 2 1/2 year old motivated. We settled into our seats (6K thru 10K) and were swiftly offered a pre-departure drink. I opted for the champagne, the kids all had orange juice and my good lady wife had a diet coke. Each of the CC came and introduced themselves to us as did the FSM. We were asked if we needed anything and asked if they needed to show us how anything operates etc even though they knew us as frequent flyers with them.
This is the first time we have flown where our little one has needed her own seat and luckily for us the CC and FSM all made a great fuss of her, telling her a couple of quick stories and listening to her singing before takeoff. We were taxied back and took off exactly on time. During takeoff our little one decided it would be fun to get out of her seatbelt as she wanted to look through the window (she gets the nosey streak from her mother I'm sure
). This prompted a swift dive from me to get her back in situ as I had easier access being the seat infront of her. She settled back in just as the aircraft powered up and she went back to giving us all a concert.Only drawback we found was that both our little girls and my wife's IFE was not working, the CC tried a reset and then the FSM came over and did another reset for us and offered either a portable DVD or the opportunity for them to move a couple seats back. We chose the portable DVD as the other seats were too close to the bar and loo. Another round (or two) of drinks followed including the usual offer of crisps / olives (with a great chilli kick) so a couple of JD and cokes were in order.
Lunch was served and the kids got an egg salad starter followed by pizza and potato wedges. They have changed the menu by removing the guinea fowl as they said they had too much negative feedback. The new choice is now a breast of chicken which has a herb pesto crust on the top, it was served with new potatoes and was very nice indeed. My wife chose the beetroot linguini and she managed to polish off the lot which is good as she normally doesn't like the UC menu very much.
Lunch was washed down with a couple of glasses of red and I then chose the bread & butter pudding and my wife chose the lemon tiramisu which was more like a lemon meringue but she managed to polish it off all the same.
I had a small battle with the little one as she was fighting sleeping but my will was stronger and she managed to get a good few hours of sleep therefore we got a good few hours of peace
. Whilst she slept I settled in to watch Paul on the IFE and my wife read a book on her kindle, the other two kids each had a good sleep too so all in all a very pleasant middle part of the flight.All through the flight the CC and FSM were very attentive and the offers of refreshed drinks, ice cream were gratefully accepted. Afternoon tea was served with about 1 1/2 hours to go and there was a choice of scone or cherry cake. It had to be the scone, it's just a given.
We managed to make up an entire hour so we landed in MCO well ahead of schedule but still managed to get a gate to park at. An announcement came over the IFE that the Gatwick flight was literally 10 mins behind us so if we all got our things together quickly we would beat the 400 of them to customs. I thanked the CC and FSM as we departed the plane and they all paid compliments to our children and said they were some of the best behaved they have had recently which had me really proud of them. Just as we were getting off the plane the heavens opened and a severe storm set in. We made it through customs in a matter of minutes but then that lovely hour we had gained was lost when the ramps were closed due to lightning so we all had to stay in the baggage claim hall for an hour until everything opened again. One thing that made me laugh was the guy in the baggage hall that said with a great big beaming smile "Welcome to SUNNY Florida!".
Apart from the delay in the baggage hall the whole day was a great experience and it's a great way to start off the holiday.
Now it's 3 1/2 weeks of fun in the sun (and storms) and then it's the trip back home.
Have a lovely trip and hope to read your return TR in just over 3 weeks time. 
