This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
So the preparation for this flight to started a couple of months beforehand when I upgraded us from PE to UC after contacting VH for an upgrade price - got a price I was happy to pay for both legs so I bit the bullet and went for it - given it was also our honeymoon as well! The upgrade was a secret and I managed to keep it as such.....we booked into the Hilton for the night before - I think the hotel is looking a bit dated now and I prefer the Premier Inn at the North terminal - the food is pretty pricey too for what you get but I guess you are captive. They did ask the purpose of our trip and I told them why we were there, and the next thing we know we are being serenaded by half the waiting staff! A nice touch.
Anyway, we decided to have a wander to the south terminal after dinner and came across the VS check in area – OH sees the UC sections…”I’d love to be going through there in the morning”….me thinking “you will be in a few hours!”….
The following morning we headed to check in and the OH makes her way towards PE, I steer towards UC “we are going here”…”don’t be silly” she says, with open jaw….I continue to the counter and dumbfounded, she follows. Result and total shock!
The UC check in process was nothing more than functional, I think the agent was Spanish but spoke good English but didn’t really engage or sparkle, unlike what the other agent on UC seemed to be doing. This didn’t really matter to me as we were only standing there for about a minute before we were on our way to security. No queue in premium security and through in a few minutes, a quick stop for some duty free and we made our way to the CH. In the (very short) meantime, I tried to manage the OH’s expectations on the CH (having had her first LHR CH experience in November) as she knew a CH was awaiting her, she liked the intimacy of the LGW CH and as ever, the staff were spot on and there seemed to be a high ratio of them. Given the flight was to be called at approx. 08:30, we would have just under 2 hours in there.
We made our way to the brasserie for breakfast, she had the full English and I had eggs benedict with additional avocado, some coffees and champagne (it still doesn’t feel wrong knocking back fizz at 06:35 when flying with VS). By the time we had finished the spa was open and we booked treatments (make up for her and a head massage for me – both were great and lovely therapists). In the meantime we moved to more comfortable chairs and were furnished with more coffee and champagne either side of our treatments and also helped ourselves to a couple of magazines. The timings all worked perfectly and just as we finished our 3rd glass, the flight was called – a warm goodbye from the staff as we left the CH – it is much more personal in there than the LHR one.
A 10 or so minute walk to the gate saw us being one of the last to board G-VKSS (Mademoiselle Rouge) – we made our way to 3A and 4A and the OH commented on how “wicked” it was to be in UC for the first time. This was my first time on the A330 and yes, it does feel a bit more cramped than the other UC cabins, mainly because the aisles are narrower. I liked how it feels like a much smaller and private cabin than the A346 but will never get better than the A zone on a 747!!
I digress – we were quickly furnished with more fizz and that was refilled before take-off. 5 glasses before 9am, I thought I had better slow down!! When they say a crew makes or breaks a flight, especially in a premium cabin, they are not wrong and this crew were fantastic. It took a while to work out who the FSM was with the new uniform but when I did know who he was, he was an integral part of the service from the word go. He was in charge of the service for the A side of the cabin and led it perfectly. The service was great throughout, and the crew interacted really well with the passengers in all respects.
Drinks runs were a plenty and we were asked if we wanted to dine together for lunch and afternoon tea, which we did. It’s a little cramped on the table but perfectly do-able. We both liked what we had for lunch, I had the tuna which was fine but a little over cooked for me. The caramel pudding was fab and cheese board was offered and consumed with ease! Afternoon tea was offered about 90 minutes before landing into St Lucia and was really nice – unfortunately it got pretty turbulent while the crew were serving it so there were a few breakages and a spillage over a passenger’s leg, which the crew dealt with by offering her a bottle of champagne. She didn’t mind! The sandwiches were getting a bit hard on the edges – so they really should look into how they could keep them a bit more moist.
In-between lunch and tea I ventured into the IFE for a while but nothing really took my fancy, so we headed to the bar for a while and sat and read some magazines with a drink and had a chat to the crew. I do think that most VS crew enjoy working for the airline and this crew were a credit to them.
A bit on the suite – I agree that it is not as good as the old UC suite and I don’t like the see through panel – it serves no purpose and takes away from the privacy. However, in all other respects it is fine and to me feels a tad more spacious than the A346 suites (in bed mode especially). The bin where the safety cards are kept is pretty useless as it’s too thin to get your hand in – if you wanted to retrieve your iPhone from it you would struggle! The seat, however, was comfy and seemed to recline more than the other suites. Over all, the UCDS is still a decent product, and I think your flight is more made by the crew than whether the seat pocket is a bit thin, or whether you can see the person next to you’ s arm through the divider.
Anyway – we soon commenced our decent into St Lucia so I used the loo at the front and came across the relief pilot changing into his uniform in the galley and having banter with the cabin crew – I quickly joined in the banter and that was well received by the pilot. Seatbelts fastened, we were warned by the captain that the runway was “particularly short” so we would have full reverse thrusters on – and he was right, pretty loud for the duration of the deceleration, leaving the smallest bit of runway left before we exited stage left.
Approx. one hour wait on the tarmac while the St Lucia passengers disembarked and the crew changed over – soon enough we were on our way to Grenada – a short 30 minute flight – followed by a very very hard landing, for which the new FSM commented – “welcome to Grenada, please remain seated why we taxi what is left of the aircraft to the terminal” which was met with plenty of laughter from the remaining passengers.
Overall this was a great flight and the crew were brilliant – the OH loved UC and in the car to the hotel she said it, I knew she would say it at some point, but it came quickly….”I never want to travel any other way now”…what have I done!?!?
10 (11 as it turns out – more on that in the return TR) days in the fantastic Spice Island Beach Resort were awaiting us – it is an amazing island and hotel – just go!
