Please be gentle on me folks… I thought it was high time that I gave a little back to the Flyertalk community and decided I would post my very first trip report for my 4 night visit to New York which some of you lovely folk helped me to plan. It was back in December 2013 so hope this is not too late to post!
Long story short, following an 18 month illness and the tragic loss of my youngest daughter aged 11, we were faced with our first Xmas without her. So with a 2 for 1 and a fair few Avios in the bank, I decided to take myself and elder daughter (then 15) to New York for a few days before Xmas, retuning overnight on Xmas eve, so we could avoid the inevitable ‘hollow’ Xmas morning we would have had if we'd been at home.
With the forum’s help, I decided on the baby bus out of LCY on the way out (as I was fascinated with the opportunity)… and First Class return so we could experience our first F and also the CCR in JFK.
The return was originally booked on a 777 due to lack of availability, but when the 747 became available shortly after booking, I decided to change so I could experience my first (and potentially only) FIRST in the nose of the great plane!
I really wanted to keep the trip a surprise, but my daughter hates surprises so I eventually told her about 2 weeks before departure, and it was good to know she was excited about the opportunity and we started to plan the things we’d like to do.
I was especially thrilled to find that my trip which cost around £1,000 in taxes plus 120,000 avios and a 2 4 1 voucher, was tracking at almost £18,000 on a flexible ticket so pretty good use of my Avios and voucher in my book!
I consulted with a good friend who knows NY well, and decided to stay at The James Hotel in Soho as I like the look of the sleek modern interior and the fact it was in the centre of some fun shopping and great places to eat, a bit like London’s Covent Garden, but with good connections to the rest of Manhattan. (Other considerations included The Mondrian.)
The day of departure arrived, and my lovely husband drove Miss CF and I to LCY where we were dropped at the door by car (we live in West London).
We checked our bags and headed straight for the gate. I had no idea what to expect, having only ever been in the Galleries Biz Lounges (LHR and GTW). So I was very pleasantly surprised at the array of food, lovely yoghurts, smoothies, cookies and pastries on offer, plus of course, champagne!
The gate area was small, quite busy on arrival but nice chairs to sit in and we could see our plane parked up on the tarmac out of the window.
We tucked into the delicious offerings and I decided it would be rude not to join the other travellers who had started on the champagne!
My daughter went back to the duty free area to spend some holiday money burning a hole in her pocket but returned in time for boarding.
The biggest thrill was seeing MissCF’s face on getting on the plane as she was expecting a similar layout to the planes we take to Spain! She had no idea what we were embarking on and it was a real treat to see the surprise and realization that we were in for a something different and clearly a bit special!
On boarding we enjoyed more Champagne prior to a smooth take off, and having spent some time fiddling about with our seats and the switches etc, it wasn’t long before we arrived at Shannon. We quickly disembarked, went through customs and before we knew it were soon on our way. Once in the air again, the full service started.
I think it was especially lovely that it was just before Xmas and everyone on board was in a great mood. We chatted to the other passengers, including a lovely couple who were on a truly surprise trip (for the GF/Wife) .. her partner had told her that they were going on a trip to the East End to take the cable car across the river over the O2, but instead, she found herself on this amazing flight to New York!! (Well done to him for packing her bags! She was clearly a cool girl as she wasnt the least bit bothered whether he'd got everything she needed!) Anyhow, they were a very happy and chatty and excited couple who were enjoying every moment of the service and special experience - and a LOT of champagne.
The crew were absolutely phenomenal. Such amazing diligence and were just totally focused on making our journey as special as possible. Friendly, chatty but very dedicated to the task.
The food service started and my daughter wasn’t keen on the canapés, but loved the Sushi, so two further plates of Sushi were promptly found and delivered to our seats in Row 6.
We enjoyed the IFE in the form of the pre-loaded ipads, and having had a few glasses of fizz, nice wine and maybe even something else after lunch (me – not my daughter) we both put out seats into lie flat mode and had a very long snooze!
After waking from our nap, we enjoyed a delicious cream tea, and prepared to land in New York. As we had already cleared customs, our only focus was on finding our bags (which was a bit of a bun fight as they had been delivered to a office/cupboard on the lower ground floor rather than being off loaded on to a belt – I think was due to some building work or something). But before long we were reunited with our bags and then went to find a cab to take us to the hotel.
I did say a special good bye to the lovely crew who had made our journey completely unforgettable in the nicest possible way, although this doesn’t surprise me as the CC for the Baby Bus are frequently applauded in this forum.
The cab journey was pretty easy, and we found ourselves arriving at The James within about 45 minutes of leaving JFK.
(Arriving in New York to follow)