Pre-Cruise in London - Day One
Ship: Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess
Itinerary: 16-Night Transatlantic - Southampton to Fort Lauderdale
Our flight from DFW Airport to London Heathrow was scheduled to depart at 7:20pm, however, there was a delay since the Airbus A380 was late arriving in Dallas. This was our first flight aboard an A380 and we booked our seats in the World Traveler Plus (Premium Economy) cabin on the upper deck.
World Traveler Plus
I found the seats in World Traveler Plus to be a significant upgrade in comfort over the Economy seats, but Rickee said they hurt her back. More lumbar support would have been nice. We both agreed that the moveable headrests were the most comfortable we have seen on any Premium Economy seat. The leg room was great, too.
Each seat is outfitted with a soft and warm blanket as well as a pillow for added comfort. The seat back is equipped with a tiltable touch screen with a nice variety of entertainment choices. The touch screen was not very responsive, however. There are two USB-A ports for charging, the first time we have seen two ports for each seat.
Two USB charging ports at each seat
There is a small expandable net at each seat back, large enough to stuff your Bose Noise Cancelling Headphone case into. If you are able to book a window seat on the upper deck (mine was 63A), you get a massive storage bin along the fuselage. These storage bins are not available on main deck seats.
Storage Bin on A380 Upper Deck
This storage bin was large enough to hold my laptop, Bose headphones, extra blanket, pillows, amenity kits and shoes. In addition, there is about 6” of space between the seat and the fuselage where you can place items. Legroom was very good (I am 6’ 2” tall).
The only real negative of World Traveler Plus is that the seats have a very deep recline, meaning the person in front of you can recline so far that it becomes nearly impossible to get out of your seat should you need to visit the facilities. Therefore, the best seat choice would be at the bulkhead.
Dinner Menu for World Traveler Plus
As for service in World Traveler Plus, the flight attendants were some of the best we have ever experienced. They were friendly, engaging and always available if we needed anything. A pre-flight drink was offered before take-off (orange juice or water). About 45 minutes into the flight, a full drink service was offered with soft drinks, beer, wine and even sparkling wine, all complimentary.
Dinner service began about 2 hours into the flight. I wanted to try both main course choices, so I ordered the Butter Chicken (an Indian dish) and Rickee ordered the Beef Filet (she did not eat dinner). The Butter Chicken was good and even came with a couple pieces of Naan bread, but the beef was the better choice. I only ate about half of each, but both meals were far better than what we had on United Airlines last month in their Premium Economy.
All-in-all, I would much prefer World Traveler Plus on BA over American Airlines’ Premium Economy when flying from DFW to LHR. I am glad we got to experience (finally) the A380. What a shame this aircraft is being phased out of service.
National Express Ticket Booth
We landed at Heathrow at 11am and we were both shocked at how quickly we got through UK Immigration and Customs. For some reason, there was no line! Just lucky I guess. Rather than booking a private car transfer, we decided to use the National Express coach to take us from Heathrow to Victoria Coach Station. The cost for both of us, including 2 extra pieces of luggage, was $57.
Rickee found the National Express ticket booth (outside of baggage claim) where we purchased our ticket for the coach ride.
Locating the correct coach was a bit of a challenge after we walked to the coach boarding area of the airport. However, the coach drivers directed us to the correct coach labeled “London” not “Victoria” as we were expecting. The coach ride took about an hour and once we arrived at Victoria Coach Station, the confusion began.
We had no idea how to find our hotel, even though we knew the hotel was only a few blocks from Victoria Coach Station. Unfortunately, my Google Maps was not working since I could not get my Mint Mobile “Minternational” plan that I purchased to provide any data service. My phone showed 4 full bars of cell service, but no internet service.
Fortunately, there was a small cafe at the corner and one of the employees pointed us in the right direction to the hotel, which was easy to find after that. However, we did have to roll our luggage for about 3 blocks to the Clermont Hotel.
We are both exhausted after a night of travel. Time for a nap, grab something for dinner, then get some real sleep!
