LIVE Norwaylady escape the winter on Equinox B2B 23.03-11.04.24

[Arzeena]

Looking forward to your wonderful review!

Your home looks very cute. Have a wonderful wonderful cruise. Thanks for taking us along.

[Ciaranaman]

So jealous!  We got dumped on with snow yesterday/overnight.  I'm done with winter!  And we are also at the tail-end of major renos.  Keeping my fingers crossed that all the itty-bitty things left are done by the time we leave for our cruise in May.   Enjoy all the sun and heat in your near future!  Really looking forward to hearing about your adventures on and off board 🏖️ 🛳️😊

[wrk2cruise]

10 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

It’s a SK/UA routing round trip. 

It was around 1200$ for both of us in economy on short haul and premium economy on long haul flights. (Crossing the Atlantic) 

 

What currency is that flight.  If it's USD what a deal.  I'm doing RT east coast to LHR in June in PE on AA and it's way more than double that!   I've not seen regular economy to Europe for that price.

[Travelexpert35]

Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures. Always love reading your reviews. Enjoy the cruises!!!

[Norwaylady]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

What currency is that flight.  If it's USD what a deal.  I'm doing RT east coast to LHR in June in PE on AA and it's way more than double that!   I've not seen regular economy to Europe for that price.

I got a steel of a deal! 
it’s in USD🤗

 

it was crazy cheap compared to SAS, Lufthansa etc when I booked flights. 

So I booked it asap and accepted the transfer in EWR😅

[Norwaylady]

Premium plus United Long haul is the the similar thing as SAS Plus long haul flights/intercontinental we usually fly. 

The cabin is small and private. A big difference from SAS is a private lavatory for premium plus cabin. That’s really good! 

SQ, LH, LX etc don’t offer this. 

We are seated on 21AB, window+isle. 

 

We pushed 10.minutes before departure time 12.00. 

 

Back to our transatlantic flight service! 

 

Yes, off to a great start😂😂😂

The IFE system back in economy didn’t cooperate and after 3 rounds of reboot it still didn’t want to show the safety video. 

We had everything functional in Premium plus. 

So they needed to do a old fashioned safety demonstration😅🙃🤭 

Not all the crew was excited about this😝🤭 something tells me this is not something they do to often😅 

 

We left out on the runway 12.10. 

 

Straight after take off, it was as time for the inflight service to start. 

We received some almonds but no beverage. 

After 15.minutes it was dinner/lunch time. 

No menus or other information before serving started. 

 

Today’s options for main course was the offering of chicken or vegetarian pasta. 

We opted for one of each. 

 

 

Starter was Caesar salad and dessert was  cacao truffle. Bread and dressing on the table. 

Both mains tasted good and were served on real plates. Salad was fresh and crispy. 

Drinks were not served on our side before after the entire line of seats were delivered food. On the other side, it was coordinating service food+drinks. 

White wine was a Spanish 🇪🇸 and red wine was a Chile 🇨🇱 

Lots of options of non-alcoholic beverages. Juice, soda, water etc. 

 

After dinner when they collected the meal trays, they topped up beverages. 

 

This flight offers WiFi for a fee and a free option for messages via WhatsApp, iMessage or messenger. 

You can’t send pictures. But texting works well. 

Decent option for keeping family and friends updated if needed🤓 

 

Halfway through the flight they walked snacks. Chocolate, chips and nuts. 

New round of beverages and constantly picking up garbage. 

 

Around 1h 15.minutes before landing at EWR it was the second serving of meal. 

Choice of vegetable risotto or wellington burger. Side salad and drinks. 

Food tasted okay. The burger wellington was better than the risotto. It had the texture of rice porridge🤭 maybe not my cup of tea🫠

 

 

Crew has worked all the way crossing the pond. No downtime for them. So all in all a good product of United Premium Plus. 

The seat is wider then economy and more recline. Really something we like on long haul if possible. 

We have tested several airlines in economy plus/premium plus segments on long haul and this is definitely not a bad pick. 

The crew is not “warmly” in hospitality as SQ or QA. They are in a special league of how to feel welcomed. 

It’s better than our experience in Polaris from Honolulu to Chicago. But it’s the attention to detail and the feeling of being welcome that lacks a bit. 

Just an observation and nothing wrong in the hard wares of this flight. 

 

 

 

IFE system has decent amount of movies and series to watch. The screen is big and clear. All approved for longer flights. 

 

We are flying same cabin back to Europe, so we will see how a night flight works out in Premium Plus. 

[Stem to Stern]

Welcome to the USA!

Have a wonderful vacation!

Thank you for taking us with you!

[rzyjzq]

Following along and looking forward to the rest of your trip.

 

Susan

[Jim_Iain]

Jarle & Alexandra

 

Really looking forward to your Live post.   I need a good morning read to kill time before our next cruise.

 

Safe flights and look forward to your next chapter.

 

Jim

[Norwaylady]

We arrived at 16.00 local time N.Y. 

It was only 5 persons in front of us in immigration!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

We used the new app MPC for customs 🛃 

Worked well and they just opened our passport to have a look in immigration and we walked on in 1-2-3. 

So this is really something that probably will improve the speed thru immigration for some people😇 

 

Our bags arrived on the belt when we walked down to the luggage area. 

We picked them up and walked them to domestic transfer. 

Then it was out to TSA and security check again…. It’s the 3 time today🤪🤪🤪

OSL before our flight -LHR for transfer and then in EWR for our domestic flight…. 

Yes 🙌🏻 

 

After security check we have some hours to kill before we continue onward to FLL. 

So it’s time to visit United Lounge in terminal C, the one in 70-gates area. 

 

It’s huge, lots of seats and food options! 

Great 😊 

 

We are starting to feel the time difference😂🫡🇺🇸

I had 2 hours of sleep 💤 before our departure from home. So it really starting to kick in🫠 I was ready for a nap on the plane from LHR, but I just couldn’t get into sleeping mode🥱 

Oh, well…. Might set my alarm ⏰ on the phone, just in case we go to sleep now 😴

So we don’t loose our flight ✈️😅

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, Norwaylady said:

Straight after take off, it was as time for the inflight service to start. 

We received some almonds but no beverage. 

Not for me, I don’t like nuts.

I'm looking forward to another of your excellent reports.

Edited March 21 by upwarduk

[theopup]

Have a wonderful cruise Jarle & Alexandra

[Lastdance]

How nice to be on your way again, leaving the white stuff behind and taking another journey to a far away land for the sunshine and warmer temps.  I hope you have another lovely trip, along with sharing your travel with the rest of us. Make those memories!

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[DaKahuna]

Alexandra  So glad to be following along on another of your and MrNorwaylady's adventures.  It helps with the wait we have to endure until May and our next Celebrity adventure.  

 

Did I understand correctly that you were flying in United's Premium Economy and were given access to the Polaris Lounge?  We're traveling to Japan in Premium Economy and would love to be able to use the Polaris lounge on our flight. 

 

I wish the two of you another wonderful cruise and will be following along closely.  You are visiting a couple of our favorite Caribbean destinations - St. Kitts and Barbados being at the top of that list. 

 

[wrk2cruise]

Probably their Gold status got them lounge access.  I don't think any US airline gives lounge access for PE.

[ecslady]

So glad you arrived in the US safely.. Looking forward to following you along once more. Have a great cruise!

[Norwaylady]

Final stretch before going to bed! 

 

Boarding started around 20.00. 

Flight is completely fully booked. Lots of big carry-on luggage🫠🫣 

Flight is operating on a B757-200. 

We are seated on 8AB, it’s in United Economy Plus. 

Lots of legroom, nothing more to say about that😂🙌🏻

Departure time 20.29.

 

What now?🫣(I just want to go to bed😂)

Captain announced that the aircraft had 3 notifications for technical support incoming and that they needed to be solved… 

2/3 was a quick fix. 

But we had to expect a 15.min delay out of EWR… 

20.50 and we can finally close the door and technical issues solved…. (We thought)

 

4- Strike, you’re out!

The aircraft got grounded🫣🤪🫡🫠 at 21.20

Nr 1 for airlines! 

Safety, safety, safety and then passenger service. 

 

Definitely not what we hoped and wished for😔

The door lock function was not working properly. We sat just by the door and I heard asap that this sound and failure on the door is not a good thing…. 

I was hoping for the best, but you know the answer…. It needs a bigger service😩🥺☹️

 

So now we are de boarding the aircraft and waiting for what will happen…

The captain and flight deck was hoping for a new aircraft as soon as possible. 

Fingers crossed for that! 

[wrk2cruise]

If you happen to get stuck there tonight the Marriott at the airport is pretty nice, but hopefully you get on your way soon.

[hcat]

Sorry for the delay but  soon you will be on your way to a hopefully great cruise!  Hope all goes well!

Edited March 22 by hcat

[Reel Love]

Ugh....sorry to hear that you have to deplane.  Here's hoping for a quick resolution and that you are on your way again soon!

Looking forward to another great review!  Have a fabulous B2B  🙂  (by the way, love the socks in your earlier post about saving water 🍾🍾😂)

[mahdnc]

14 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

Final stretch before going to bed! 

 

Boarding started around 20.00. 

Flight is completely fully booked. Lots of big carry-on luggage🫠🫣 

Flight is operating on a B757-200. 

We are seated on 8AB, it’s in United Economy Plus. 

Lots of legroom, nothing more to say about that😂🙌🏻

Departure time 20.29.

 

What now?🫣(I just want to go to bed😂)

Captain announced that the aircraft had 3 notifications for technical support incoming and that they needed to be solved… 

2/3 was a quick fix. 

But we had to expect a 15.min delay out of EWR… 

20.50 and we can finally close the door and technical issues solved…. (We thought)

 

4- Strike, you’re out!

The aircraft got grounded🫣🤪🫡🫠 at 21.20

Nr 1 for airlines! 

Safety, safety, safety and then passenger service. 

 

Definitely not what we hoped and wished for😔

The door lock function was not working properly. We sat just by the door and I heard asap that this sound and failure on the door is not a good thing…. 

I was hoping for the best, but you know the answer…. It needs a bigger service😩🥺☹️

 

So now we are de boarding the aircraft and waiting for what will happen…

The captain and flight deck was hoping for a new aircraft as soon as possible. 

Fingers crossed for that! 

 

[mahdnc]

Norwaylady, I hope this gets sorted out for you soon.  A good example on why you should arrive at least a day before your cruise (or two days in your case).

Edited March 22 by mahdnc

[CTSandy]

So happy to see a live report by NorwayLady!  I did the same b2b on Equinox last year early in March - enjoyed most of the ports.  Hope you will be boarding your flight soon - have a wonderful cruise!

[mahdnc]

24 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

 

So now we are de boarding the aircraft and waiting for what will happen…

The captain and flight deck was hoping for a new aircraft as soon as possible. 

Fingers crossed for that! 

 

From your Cruise Critic ground support team.  This is what we see: