Virgin Atlantic Y & J- LHR-MIA-LHR, Miami, Orlando & 2015 Chevy Tahoe
Jul 22, 2015, 4:41 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
Virgin Atlantic Y & J- LHR-MIA-LHR, Miami, Orlando & 2015 Chevy Tahoe
*Disclaimer: All perspectives and viewpoints in this trip report unless stated otherwise are from the eyes of a 16/17 year old and my observations on the world. Please enjoy responsibly.*
My other trip reports can be seen here:
1) http://http://www.flyertalk.com/foru...y-ba-a380.html
2) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-amritsar.html
Hi Ladies & Gents, thank you for taking the time to join me for Phase 1 of my 2015 Summer Vacation.
Planning:
Our vacation choice this year was very limited for 2015 as Louislitt Sr. had to go and visit a client in N.Y.C for most of July and had to be around the East Coast incase the proverbial s*hit hit the fan. Our options were limited but it was decided that we would go out as a family but rather than spend a large chunk of time in NY, to instead go down to Orlando. The timing for this decision was great as Virgin were having a reward sale where you could get from LHR-MIA-LHR for 25,000 return in Economy (plus taxes). Having checked the reward availability twice a week for two months my persistence paid off and reward seats for Upper Class opened up for the return leg. After a quick 90 minute call to Virgin’s flying club department and surrendering 100,000 more air miles we were booked and ready to go.
To get from Miami to Orlando, is a simple 4hr drive up various interstates and could in theory get us home for 4hrs 22 minutes. But whether this would actually work was to be seen...
The overview of what you can expect:
1) The day before the trip
2) LHR-MIA Upper Deck Y
3) MIA Airport- Alamo Rental- The drive to Orlando
4) The Chevy Tahoe 2015 Edition
5) Kennedy Space Centre
6) Universal Studios VIP Tour
7) Florida Boat Tour
8) Shopping in Orlando
9) The Journey back to MIA
10) Virgin Lounge at MIA & Amex Centurion Lounge
11) Virgin Upper Class (J) Lower Deck
The day before the trip:
The day before our departure I turned 17. Exciting stuff... except for the fact that two other members of my close family have birthdays that are on the exact same day. One turned 40 and the other turned 21 and being the youngest I was sent to the back of the queue and was forcibly made to travel 200 miles to go to their birthday parties rather than be present for my own
They all live in the Midlands, which in essence meant hurtling up the M40 from our home in London and visiting one on the Saturday, spending the night on my grandparents sofa and then going to the next birthday party on the Sunday.
Our trip took place in the 2016 XC90, which will be the feature point of my next trip report to Geneva in August.
YAY
NOO
[/url]
Hurtling back home:
[/url]
We eventually pulled up in London 30 hours after leaving at 17:00 on the Sunday, in time to cut my birthday cake with my own family, finish packing and complete online check-in.
The day of the trip:
We left home at 09:30 for the 15 minute drive to London Heathrow Terminal 3.
See you in two weeks XC90:
We arrived at T3 right on schedule at 09:45 and unloaded all the bags from the car.
Upon squeezing through a tight side door, we ended up at a very full check-in hall. Because of my gold card we were meant to use the Upper Class line. However due to the overflow of passengers that were sent to use the empty Upper Class desks, we walked over to the empty Premium Economy desk instead.
It is of importance that you notice how my red suitcase is intact- it will be key information later on:
After check-in and handing Dad’s golf clubs over to oversized luggage, we went up the escalators to security.
We proceeded through the fast-track security area and after having my turban felt up by the kind and overly-polite security chap we were through.
We made a bee-line for the lounge area, which was Lounge F.
Outside the lounge:
We entered the lounge with 1.5 hrs to kill until our gate was revealed at 11:35.
I had come down with a stomach bug that was slowly getting out of my system and for the first time in the last four or five days was actually happy about eating food.
The order menu:
Food offerings:
I grabbed some cold tomato pasta and a Fanta and took a seat in a rather comfortable wooden hammock.
I grabbed a copy of Business Traveller to skim through and after eating the mediocre pasta went for a tour of the lounge.
There was a kid’s area.
The ‘Library’ (with no books):
The Spa.
The lavatories.
After that I grabbed a copy of ‘The Economist’ and went to plane spot from the window.
My little sister sitting in a pod that someone resembles the one that Gru sits in Despicable Me.
With the view and visibility being minimal I headed over to the screen to see if our gates had been announced. It hadn’t but my Mother and Sister decided that they wanted to visit Duty Free.
To surmise I suppose overall that was a pretty good lounge to spend a couple of hours. It had a sleeping area for those connecting passengers and an excellent aray of food.
Next up the flight:
My other trip reports can be seen here:
1) http://http://www.flyertalk.com/foru...y-ba-a380.html
2) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-amritsar.html
Hi Ladies & Gents, thank you for taking the time to join me for Phase 1 of my 2015 Summer Vacation.
Planning:
Our vacation choice this year was very limited for 2015 as Louislitt Sr. had to go and visit a client in N.Y.C for most of July and had to be around the East Coast incase the proverbial s*hit hit the fan. Our options were limited but it was decided that we would go out as a family but rather than spend a large chunk of time in NY, to instead go down to Orlando. The timing for this decision was great as Virgin were having a reward sale where you could get from LHR-MIA-LHR for 25,000 return in Economy (plus taxes). Having checked the reward availability twice a week for two months my persistence paid off and reward seats for Upper Class opened up for the return leg. After a quick 90 minute call to Virgin’s flying club department and surrendering 100,000 more air miles we were booked and ready to go.
To get from Miami to Orlando, is a simple 4hr drive up various interstates and could in theory get us home for 4hrs 22 minutes. But whether this would actually work was to be seen...
The overview of what you can expect:
1) The day before the trip
2) LHR-MIA Upper Deck Y
3) MIA Airport- Alamo Rental- The drive to Orlando
4) The Chevy Tahoe 2015 Edition
5) Kennedy Space Centre
6) Universal Studios VIP Tour
7) Florida Boat Tour
8) Shopping in Orlando
9) The Journey back to MIA
10) Virgin Lounge at MIA & Amex Centurion Lounge
11) Virgin Upper Class (J) Lower Deck
The day before the trip:
The day before our departure I turned 17. Exciting stuff... except for the fact that two other members of my close family have birthdays that are on the exact same day. One turned 40 and the other turned 21 and being the youngest I was sent to the back of the queue and was forcibly made to travel 200 miles to go to their birthday parties rather than be present for my own
They all live in the Midlands, which in essence meant hurtling up the M40 from our home in London and visiting one on the Saturday, spending the night on my grandparents sofa and then going to the next birthday party on the Sunday.
Our trip took place in the 2016 XC90, which will be the feature point of my next trip report to Geneva in August.
YAY
NOO
[/url]Hurtling back home:
[/url]We eventually pulled up in London 30 hours after leaving at 17:00 on the Sunday, in time to cut my birthday cake with my own family, finish packing and complete online check-in.
The day of the trip:
We left home at 09:30 for the 15 minute drive to London Heathrow Terminal 3.
See you in two weeks XC90:
We arrived at T3 right on schedule at 09:45 and unloaded all the bags from the car.
Upon squeezing through a tight side door, we ended up at a very full check-in hall. Because of my gold card we were meant to use the Upper Class line. However due to the overflow of passengers that were sent to use the empty Upper Class desks, we walked over to the empty Premium Economy desk instead.
It is of importance that you notice how my red suitcase is intact- it will be key information later on:
After check-in and handing Dad’s golf clubs over to oversized luggage, we went up the escalators to security.
We proceeded through the fast-track security area and after having my turban felt up by the kind and overly-polite security chap we were through.
We made a bee-line for the lounge area, which was Lounge F.
Outside the lounge:
We entered the lounge with 1.5 hrs to kill until our gate was revealed at 11:35.
I had come down with a stomach bug that was slowly getting out of my system and for the first time in the last four or five days was actually happy about eating food.
The order menu:
Food offerings:
I grabbed some cold tomato pasta and a Fanta and took a seat in a rather comfortable wooden hammock.
I grabbed a copy of Business Traveller to skim through and after eating the mediocre pasta went for a tour of the lounge.
There was a kid’s area.
The ‘Library’ (with no books):
The Spa.
The lavatories.
After that I grabbed a copy of ‘The Economist’ and went to plane spot from the window.
My little sister sitting in a pod that someone resembles the one that Gru sits in Despicable Me.
With the view and visibility being minimal I headed over to the screen to see if our gates had been announced. It hadn’t but my Mother and Sister decided that they wanted to visit Duty Free.
To surmise I suppose overall that was a pretty good lounge to spend a couple of hours. It had a sleeping area for those connecting passengers and an excellent aray of food.
Next up the flight:
Last edited by louislitt; Jul 23, 2015 at 9:58 pm
Jul 23, 2015, 9:26 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
Jul 23, 2015, 6:30 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Programs: Delta Skymiles Gold Card holder, JetBlue Trueblue, HiltonHonors, Hertz #1 Club Gold
Posts: 344
I love the details and photos in your trip report louislitt! I have just subscribed and I am looking forward to hearing more.
I have just subscribed and I am looking forward to hearing more.
Jul 23, 2015, 9:58 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
Virgin Atlantic Economy LHR-MIA Upper Deck
Sch. Departure:12:35
Actual Departure:13:24
Flight time:09:55
Aircraft type: B747-400
Aircraft Reg:G-VROC
Sch Arrival:17:05
Actual Arrival:17:30
Load: 80%- 330 Pax, 15 Cabin Crew, 2 Air Crew
After leaving the lounge I was left to stand around aimlessly and when they returned ten minutes later, the gate had yet to be announced.
The time was 12:07 and I knew that we were heading for a delayed departure.
At 12;13 the gate was announced and we began the 20 minute walk to gate 16, 15 minutes away.
We arrived at the gate shortly before 12:30 and approached a long queue that was spanning past two other gates. As the scheduled departure time of 12:35 passed the fear of a delay quickly became a reality.
VS11 Heading to Boston:
Boarding commenced and we took our seats on the Upper Deck of G-VROC.
Sitting on the Upper Deck was a rather nice touch as it had only 30 economy seats in a 3-3 config and 10 Upper Class seats.
I placed an unconventional gamble by having the four of us placed in two different rows and placing us in a 1-Empty-1 config, with the hope that people would be drawn off from the middle seat. It worked and the four of us had a middle seat free for our two rows.
Anna was the air stewardess serving us on the Upper Deck along with 2 other air stewards.
Taking pictures at awkward angels was the only way I could avoid getting my face in the picture:
Attaching my GoPro to the window:
The whale-jet next door:
We were seated promptly and the safety video was played promptly. We pushed back and headed towards the active which today was Runway 27L.
It's go time:
Our aircraft had just come back from Boston this morning:
Cathay neighbours :
Gloomy weather over Heathrow... a pathetic fallacy maybe?:
The BA area:
Pulling onto 27L:
But not before this pulled past us:
This private Boeing 747-8 owned by the Qatari Government was parked remotely:
Virgin's bay:
I'd rather be on those:
I want this guys car
At 13:24 51 minutes after our scheduled departure time G-VROC( Mustang Sally) sailed out of London Heathrow.
Safety Card:
We climbed to 22,000ft when the drink service commenced.
I chose a plain water to accompany my pretzels.
Hot Towels were distributed:
At this point the menu was also given out:
Shortly after our aircraft sailed over Dublin and meal service commenced. I ordered the vegetarian meal for the family. One of the advantages of having a seat on the Upper Deck is that there when your tray tables are being collected, the rest of the Y passengers on the lower deck are having theirs delivered.
For those of you who have read my past trip reports, you may have noticed how my asian-vegetarian meals out of LHR is always Curry and Rice, which of course was my meal today.
Newly designed trays:
Inflight Duty Free Magazine:
It was okay, but I was left hungry after and as such began digging into my Pret.
*Surprise* you didn't think I would get on a flight without it did you?!
Anyways on the Pret Menu today was a Halloumi and Falafel Wrap and a Cheese and Tomato Croissant.
Anna our stewardess came around with a large bowl of chocolates after lunch:
I began watching the first episode of Season 3 on VERA, Virgin’s on-demand system but the quality in both sound and video was so poor I just gave up and left it.
I decided to grab some shut-eye which occurred for an hour until my father woke me up to ask if I wanted anything from duty-free.
Not being able to go back to sleep left me feeling pretty irked, but I decided to read some of my book.
Eventually at the five hour mark, our stewardess Anna popped by with a 'Fab Ice-Lolly.'
With the Ice-Lolly demolished, I sat back and began playing with VERA.
The obvious thing that was made aware to me from this was the fact that although the 747 had just come back from a re-fit, I wasn’t entirely sure what had been refitted.
The remote control was beyond its life-line, incredibly sticky and the buttons were unclear.
Moreover I also the side-storage bins on the A380 had made their mark so I booked a seat on the Upper Deck to have those again.
Virgin had sadly done a cut and shut job quite literally and removed the bins and replaced it with cheep plywood to keep it closed. Rather disappointing to be honest.
Anyhow I began playing around on my Mac for a while and after dealing with some personal admin stuck my headphones on and watched the clouds go by.
The nice thing about this flight was that although it was a border line ten-hour flight there was no real sleep time and most people had their blinds up for the vast duration of the flight. This was great except for the fact that either ice particles or a large amount of scratches had built up on my window meaning that all my pictures came out blurred.
Eventually exactly 01:45 before landing Anna came around with the ‘Afternoon Tea’ that would be served before landing.
The wrap was a humous and pomegranate wrap served with Tyrells Plane Crisps.
It was a rather strange but very tasty mix and in my opinion better than the actual meal.
To accompany that I had a Ginger Ale.
It was served in this rather fancy Virgin Atlantic Cup which as the picture dictates was designed in Crawley.
I hope they didn't spend that much money on it… it wasn’t that good/important.
After one final trip to the lavatory, I packed up my rucksack and had a quick team meeting with the parents and made sure that they all had their belongings packed before we were had reached 22,000 ft because I was fully aware of how bad immigration at MIA was going to be.
Anna gave us our Samsonite Droid and said it was okay to keep next to our feet for landing… slightly concerning but fine.
So we did just that:
Eventually we approached Miami from the coast and due to a change in wind-direction, our pilot applied flaps to 5 at 14,000ft and began the direct path to Runway 12.
Reversers:
We touched down at 17:30, which was later than our ETA but not as bad as it could have been.
I suppose the Upper Deck on the 747 is a great place to sit for Economy Passengers. The service is quicker and it feels much more private. But you cannot leave the Upper Deck to go to economy downstairs which is important to take into consideration. Also the Upper Deck has no side-bins anymore. This doesn't matter so much as the 747's on the LHR routes are being withdrawn starting April 2016.
Next up is the review of the 2015 Chevy Tahoe. Thanks for reading
Actual Departure:13:24
Flight time:09:55
Aircraft type: B747-400
Aircraft Reg:G-VROC
Sch Arrival:17:05
Actual Arrival:17:30
Load: 80%- 330 Pax, 15 Cabin Crew, 2 Air Crew
After leaving the lounge I was left to stand around aimlessly and when they returned ten minutes later, the gate had yet to be announced.
The time was 12:07 and I knew that we were heading for a delayed departure.
At 12;13 the gate was announced and we began the 20 minute walk to gate 16, 15 minutes away.
We arrived at the gate shortly before 12:30 and approached a long queue that was spanning past two other gates. As the scheduled departure time of 12:35 passed the fear of a delay quickly became a reality.
VS11 Heading to Boston:
Boarding commenced and we took our seats on the Upper Deck of G-VROC.
Sitting on the Upper Deck was a rather nice touch as it had only 30 economy seats in a 3-3 config and 10 Upper Class seats.
I placed an unconventional gamble by having the four of us placed in two different rows and placing us in a 1-Empty-1 config, with the hope that people would be drawn off from the middle seat. It worked and the four of us had a middle seat free for our two rows.
Anna was the air stewardess serving us on the Upper Deck along with 2 other air stewards.
Taking pictures at awkward angels was the only way I could avoid getting my face in the picture:
Attaching my GoPro to the window:
The whale-jet next door:
We were seated promptly and the safety video was played promptly. We pushed back and headed towards the active which today was Runway 27L.
It's go time:
Our aircraft had just come back from Boston this morning:
Cathay neighbours :
Gloomy weather over Heathrow... a pathetic fallacy maybe?:
The BA area:
Pulling onto 27L:
But not before this pulled past us:
This private Boeing 747-8 owned by the Qatari Government was parked remotely:
Virgin's bay:
I'd rather be on those:
I want this guys car
At 13:24 51 minutes after our scheduled departure time G-VROC( Mustang Sally) sailed out of London Heathrow.
Safety Card:
We climbed to 22,000ft when the drink service commenced.
I chose a plain water to accompany my pretzels.
Hot Towels were distributed:
At this point the menu was also given out:
Shortly after our aircraft sailed over Dublin and meal service commenced. I ordered the vegetarian meal for the family. One of the advantages of having a seat on the Upper Deck is that there when your tray tables are being collected, the rest of the Y passengers on the lower deck are having theirs delivered.
For those of you who have read my past trip reports, you may have noticed how my asian-vegetarian meals out of LHR is always Curry and Rice, which of course was my meal today.
Newly designed trays:
Inflight Duty Free Magazine:
It was okay, but I was left hungry after and as such began digging into my Pret.
*Surprise* you didn't think I would get on a flight without it did you?!
Anyways on the Pret Menu today was a Halloumi and Falafel Wrap and a Cheese and Tomato Croissant.
Anna our stewardess came around with a large bowl of chocolates after lunch:
I began watching the first episode of Season 3 on VERA, Virgin’s on-demand system but the quality in both sound and video was so poor I just gave up and left it.
I decided to grab some shut-eye which occurred for an hour until my father woke me up to ask if I wanted anything from duty-free.
Not being able to go back to sleep left me feeling pretty irked, but I decided to read some of my book.
Eventually at the five hour mark, our stewardess Anna popped by with a 'Fab Ice-Lolly.'
With the Ice-Lolly demolished, I sat back and began playing with VERA.
The obvious thing that was made aware to me from this was the fact that although the 747 had just come back from a re-fit, I wasn’t entirely sure what had been refitted.
The remote control was beyond its life-line, incredibly sticky and the buttons were unclear.
Moreover I also the side-storage bins on the A380 had made their mark so I booked a seat on the Upper Deck to have those again.
Virgin had sadly done a cut and shut job quite literally and removed the bins and replaced it with cheep plywood to keep it closed. Rather disappointing to be honest.
Anyhow I began playing around on my Mac for a while and after dealing with some personal admin stuck my headphones on and watched the clouds go by.
The nice thing about this flight was that although it was a border line ten-hour flight there was no real sleep time and most people had their blinds up for the vast duration of the flight. This was great except for the fact that either ice particles or a large amount of scratches had built up on my window meaning that all my pictures came out blurred.
Eventually exactly 01:45 before landing Anna came around with the ‘Afternoon Tea’ that would be served before landing.
The wrap was a humous and pomegranate wrap served with Tyrells Plane Crisps.
It was a rather strange but very tasty mix and in my opinion better than the actual meal.
To accompany that I had a Ginger Ale.
It was served in this rather fancy Virgin Atlantic Cup which as the picture dictates was designed in Crawley.
I hope they didn't spend that much money on it… it wasn’t that good/important.
After one final trip to the lavatory, I packed up my rucksack and had a quick team meeting with the parents and made sure that they all had their belongings packed before we were had reached 22,000 ft because I was fully aware of how bad immigration at MIA was going to be.
Anna gave us our Samsonite Droid and said it was okay to keep next to our feet for landing… slightly concerning but fine.
So we did just that:
Eventually we approached Miami from the coast and due to a change in wind-direction, our pilot applied flaps to 5 at 14,000ft and began the direct path to Runway 12.
Reversers:
We touched down at 17:30, which was later than our ETA but not as bad as it could have been.
I suppose the Upper Deck on the 747 is a great place to sit for Economy Passengers. The service is quicker and it feels much more private. But you cannot leave the Upper Deck to go to economy downstairs which is important to take into consideration. Also the Upper Deck has no side-bins anymore. This doesn't matter so much as the 747's on the LHR routes are being withdrawn starting April 2016.
Next up is the review of the 2015 Chevy Tahoe. Thanks for reading
Jul 24, 2015, 7:27 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Australia
Programs: QF LTS, Marriott LTP, ALL GOLD
Posts: 2,440
[B]Sch.
I suppose the Upper Deck on the 747 is a great place to sit for Economy Passengers. The service is quicker and it feels much more private. But you cannot leave the Upper Deck to go to economy downstairs which is important to take into consideration. Also the Upper Deck has no side-bins anymore. This doesn't matter so much as the 747's on the LHR routes are being withdrawn starting April 2016.
Next up is the review of the 2015 Chevy Tahoe. Thanks for reading
I suppose the Upper Deck on the 747 is a great place to sit for Economy Passengers. The service is quicker and it feels much more private. But you cannot leave the Upper Deck to go to economy downstairs which is important to take into consideration. Also the Upper Deck has no side-bins anymore. This doesn't matter so much as the 747's on the LHR routes are being withdrawn starting April 2016.
Next up is the review of the 2015 Chevy Tahoe. Thanks for reading
Nice report thus far! Keep up the good work.
Just a few things - the LHR 747's start leaving in September this year and will actually be all gone by April 2016.
The LGW 747's still have the side bin stowages... I believe the LHR ones didn't have it as that are used to have the upper class seats installed.
As for going downstairs to economy you can do this if you ask - you just cant go downstairs and sit at the bar
Jul 24, 2015, 8:06 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Washington, D.C.
Programs: AA Platinum, DL Silver, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 174
Great report so far! I've gotta ask, what is that app you used to see all the different planes and their history? It almost just looks like Apple Maps but I feel like that can't be right!
Looking forward to the rest of the report.^
Looking forward to the rest of the report.^
Jul 24, 2015, 7:48 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
Jul 24, 2015, 8:02 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
I really appreciate your kind words and the fact that you have subscribed. It means a lot. Hope you enjoy the rest. Any questions or thoughts you have please do let me know Kind Regards LL
Jul 24, 2015, 8:05 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
Hope you enjoy the rest.
Kind Regards LL
Jul 26, 2015, 7:16 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: London
Programs: Amex Centurion, B.A. Silver, Virgin Atlantic Gold, C.X. Diamond
Posts: 205
MIA Airport- Alamo Rent a Car- The Drive to Orlando
After landing, having watched Miami Airport’s tv show and hearing from online forums, I knew immigration and car rental collection was going to be hell.
I made sure, as previously mentioned, that everybody had all their stuff ready and after we pulled up at the gate we were off touching down into Miami Airport for the first time.
Waiting to deplane:
Right before we left the Chief Purser made the announcement that our baggage would be on Carousel 5.
HSBC have replaced Accenture in MIA:
We marched up esclators and walked for about 10-15 minutes weaving in and out of passengers and tourists walking and slow paces.
We eventually arrived at the immigration hall which was packed full of people. Strangely the line for American and Canadian citizens was longer than the actual line for International Citizens.
It got a bit confusing here as there was a sign for Visitors but also a sign for ESTA holders that went two different ways. I went towards ESTA, hoping that I was heading to the right line. Quite thankfully the line was short and we were out in about 40 minutes and on our way to baggage reclaim.
We arrived to an incredibly busy baggage counter and my sister and I went off to grab the luggage whilst the parents went to grab the trolleys.
I got my suitcase and it was pretty heavily marked but there was no visible damage ( not that I had time to look!) The trolleys at MIA are $5 which is unrefundable, which when you need 5 begins to get ridiculous. We went through customs and out took the lift to get to the MIA mover.
As I got into the lift after about 1hr-20 minutes after landing, I realised there was a tear on the side of my suitcase. I thought it was pretty replaceable and after telling my tired and slightly irked father that there was a tear was told it was easily replaceable. (It was not but more on that later).
After walking another 10 minutes we arrived at the MIA mover. We climbed onboard and arrived 4 minutes later.
We rented our car from Alamo (mistake- more on that in the next statement) after we left it too late to use our Avios points to book via Avis, which is our standard car rental company.
We arrived to a short-line and after a 10 minute wait we took the lift down to the Avios/National level and after giving our rental agreement to the gents waiting we were told that there was another 15 minute wait for a Tahoe, the car we booked.
After standing in 35 degree heat, 15 minutes later a 2015 model Tahoe arrived.
Dad put the luggage in and I got connected to Bluetooth and programmed the address.
Our route to our home is displayed below and our ETA was 23:07, which was shaved down to 22:44.
We pulled out of the lot and after a smooth ride down the Florida Turnpike at 80mph sailed into Orlando.
The sun sets as we pull out of Miami:
It in typical Florida style it began to rain:
Nearly home:
About 10 minutes out, I ordered Dominos Pizza to collect.
We grabbed the Pizza and with this detour arrived home for 23:10.
You've done well Tahoe:
__________________________________________________ __________
The following morning I unpacked my suitcase and looked further at the damage. I tweeted Virign that evening as I waited at Alamo and they told me to go back to the baggage desk. I of course didn’t have that time and they politely told me to p*iss off and go and claim from my insurance.
Anyhow I went looking for the model of my suitcase and after calling my Uncle back home, who has experienced many a busted suitcase, I opened the inner-lining and the f***ers had snapped through the metal bars 
And thus began the long-winded American Express insurance claim which has already left me losing out of 4hrs (and counting) of my time.
I will inform you of the results as I get them.
Next up: Chevrolet Tahoe 2015 review
I made sure, as previously mentioned, that everybody had all their stuff ready and after we pulled up at the gate we were off touching down into Miami Airport for the first time.
Waiting to deplane:
Right before we left the Chief Purser made the announcement that our baggage would be on Carousel 5.
HSBC have replaced Accenture in MIA:
We marched up esclators and walked for about 10-15 minutes weaving in and out of passengers and tourists walking and slow paces.
We eventually arrived at the immigration hall which was packed full of people. Strangely the line for American and Canadian citizens was longer than the actual line for International Citizens.
It got a bit confusing here as there was a sign for Visitors but also a sign for ESTA holders that went two different ways. I went towards ESTA, hoping that I was heading to the right line. Quite thankfully the line was short and we were out in about 40 minutes and on our way to baggage reclaim.
We arrived to an incredibly busy baggage counter and my sister and I went off to grab the luggage whilst the parents went to grab the trolleys.
I got my suitcase and it was pretty heavily marked but there was no visible damage ( not that I had time to look!) The trolleys at MIA are $5 which is unrefundable, which when you need 5 begins to get ridiculous. We went through customs and out took the lift to get to the MIA mover.
As I got into the lift after about 1hr-20 minutes after landing, I realised there was a tear on the side of my suitcase. I thought it was pretty replaceable and after telling my tired and slightly irked father that there was a tear was told it was easily replaceable. (It was not but more on that later).
After walking another 10 minutes we arrived at the MIA mover. We climbed onboard and arrived 4 minutes later.
We rented our car from Alamo (mistake- more on that in the next statement) after we left it too late to use our Avios points to book via Avis, which is our standard car rental company.
We arrived to a short-line and after a 10 minute wait we took the lift down to the Avios/National level and after giving our rental agreement to the gents waiting we were told that there was another 15 minute wait for a Tahoe, the car we booked.
After standing in 35 degree heat, 15 minutes later a 2015 model Tahoe arrived.
Dad put the luggage in and I got connected to Bluetooth and programmed the address.
Our route to our home is displayed below and our ETA was 23:07, which was shaved down to 22:44.
We pulled out of the lot and after a smooth ride down the Florida Turnpike at 80mph sailed into Orlando.
The sun sets as we pull out of Miami:
It in typical Florida style it began to rain:
Nearly home:
About 10 minutes out, I ordered Dominos Pizza to collect.
We grabbed the Pizza and with this detour arrived home for 23:10.
You've done well Tahoe:
__________________________________________________ __________
The following morning I unpacked my suitcase and looked further at the damage. I tweeted Virign that evening as I waited at Alamo and they told me to go back to the baggage desk. I of course didn’t have that time and they politely told me to p*iss off and go and claim from my insurance.
Anyhow I went looking for the model of my suitcase and after calling my Uncle back home, who has experienced many a busted suitcase, I opened the inner-lining and the f***ers had snapped through the metal bars
And thus began the long-winded American Express insurance claim which has already left me losing out of 4hrs (and counting) of my time.
I will inform you of the results as I get them.
Next up: Chevrolet Tahoe 2015 review
Last edited by louislitt; Jul 27, 2015 at 7:46 am