Virgin 1st class recent offerings

[142094]

I'm travelling 1st between Euston and Glasgow (13.30 dep). It is advertised as light bites cold until Preston and light bites enhanced hot after Preston. Has anyone been on recently or got an idea on what will be served food-wise? If it is terrible I'll just have to stock up on the free booze.

 

[All Line Rover]

The menu's have completed changed today. It is now the Spring/Summer rotations. I have no idea what is being offered, but hopefully the sandwiches will have less "unusual" fillings this time round. :roll:

Light Bites Enhanced is just a warmed up panini, or something similar. Edible, but nothing special. Virgin won't leave you starving though, unlike East Coast.

 

[142094]

Ah well, I'll report back tomorrow to see what new stuff they are giving out.

 

[calc7]

And they certainly won't leave you sober (should that be your desire!)

 

[142094]

And they certainly won't leave you sober (should that be your desire!)

Depends on what kind of beverages they have (and how many they give me/how many I can take!).

 

[telstarbox]

Last time I did Virgin FC, the bloke opposite got three glasses of wine in 2 hours (MAN-EUS). For info the lager is Cusquena.

 

[142094]

Last time I did Virgin FC, the bloke opposite got three glasses of wine in 2 hours (MAN-EUS). For info the lager is Cusquena.

Is there a bitter (beer) option, instead of lager?

 

[calc7]

Is there a bitter (beer) option, instead of lager?

Yes, yesterday they were serving some ale in a brown bottle.

I have never been denied a wine and spirit chaser at each trolley pass. The staff are more than happy to top up (refill ) on request, too.

 

[Howardh]

Last time I did Virgin FC, the bloke opposite got three glasses of wine in 2 hours (MAN-EUS). For info the lager is Cusquena.

And bloody good lager it is too. I usually go for the wine, but the steward recommended it (must have got a percentage ) and I'm glad he did!

 

[Jeremy B]

And they certainly won't leave you sober (should that be your desire!)

Given your apparent constant obsession for mentioning how much alcohol you can get from VWC in comparison with EC I sometimes wonder what sort of superior service you are promoting here. There is a downside to excessive alcohol consumption as Mrs B & myself have had the misfortune to discover over the years of travel.

 

[RAPC]

No booze on the 14:30 Euston to Lancaster today and only one tea / coffee service too. Late switch of train though, so I think it was a bit manic for the staff to be fair.

Even had a bonus stop at Watford Jct due to someone helping someone on the train and getting stuck when they closed the doors. Luckily for him, the train manager took pity and arranged a stop at Watford. Don't think he fancied Warrington BQ, especially as he was parked in the short stay car park at Euston.

 

[calc7]

Given your apparent constant obsession for mentioning how much alcohol you can get from VWC in comparison with EC I sometimes wonder what sort of superior service you are promoting here. There is a downside to excessive alcohol consumption as Mrs B & myself have had the misfortune to discover over the years of travel.

I like getting what I perceive to be value for money out of my ticket. The difference between EC and VT is that the latter gives its First Class customers this option whereas the former has been ruined from the GNER days by bean counters. Food and drink provisions are a convenient way of monitoring this.

 

[Ascot]

It's nice to have the option on VT to say "yes I'd like another/no thank you but I'll have a water to go". You get the odd one who tries to drink their own body weight in booze since it's free but very rarely.


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[AlterEgo]

I've never heard of a problem caused by sale of alcohol on board. Most trouble of this nature stems from people out boozing before they get on the train - they're already totally wasted and a danger to themselves and others.

 

[WCMLaddict]

I must say I also have never seen anybody in first class getting drunk on the alcohol given on board of the train.
I only once saw a guy crossing the line a bit but he boarded Euston - Liverpool train equiped with a John Smith multipack.

 

[CosherB]

There is a downside to excessive alcohol consumption as Mrs B & myself have had the misfortune to discover over the years of travel.

I presume you are referring to rowdyism? That's not primarily caused by having a few scoops, it's caused by being a rowdy person who can't act responsibly who has had too much to drink.

I guarantee that if you were sharing space in a Virgin train with me, and I topped up from the trolly at every opportunity, the only way you would be aware of it would be by counting the empties on the table.

If you are a civilised person, you remain one after a drink or two.

If you are a complete ar5e, you might be a worse one after drink or two.

It's not the drink - it's the person.

 

[dave87016]

I was fortunate enough to be in Coach G in first class on a Preston - Glasgow pendo and the lady chef with her white jacket served the breakfast and as she had a sausage, tomato and bacon left on the metal try after serving them she offered it to me I gladly accepted them and certainly left me full!

 

[Captain Chaos]

I presume you are referring to rowdyism? That's not primarily caused by having a few scoops, it's caused by being a rowdy person who can't act responsibly who has had too much to drink.

I guarantee that if you were sharing space in a Virgin train with me, and I topped up from the trolly at every opportunity, the only way you would be aware of it would be by counting the empties on the table.

If you are a civilised person, you remain one after a drink or two.

If you are a complete ar5e, you might be a worse one after drink or two.

It's not the drink - it's the person.

I think that was what Jeremy was also trying to say.

And for once I am in complete agreement with you.

 

[All Line Rover]

Although I have never seen any drunk people in First Class (I'm talking about weekdays, when alcohol is included for free - I've seen numerous drunk "upgraders" at weekends :roll, I personally object to alcohol being included in the complimentary offering. As the alcohol is obviously included in the ticket price, those who don't drink it are forced to subsidise other people's alcohol. This especially applies to 16-18 year olds, who can't have any alcohol even if they wanted it, but still have to pay "adult" fares!

Unlike food, which everybody needs, not everyone chooses to drink alcohol. Virgin and other TOC's should have a nominal sum for alcohol in First Class - charging a price at which they break-even. That way, people who don't drink alcohol aren't paying for it, and those who do want alcohol can have as much as they want at cheap prices!

 

[lemonic]

Although I have never seen any drunk people in First Class (I'm talking about weekdays, when alcohol is included for free - I've seen numerous drunk "upgraders" at weekends :roll, I personally object to alcohol being included in the complimentary offering. As the alcohol is obviously included in the ticket price, those who don't drink it are forced to subsidise other people's alcohol. This especially applies to 16-18 year olds, who can't have any alcohol even if they wanted it, but still have to pay "adult" fares!

Unlike food, which everybody needs, not everyone chooses to drink alcohol. Virgin and other TOC's should have a nominal sum for alcohol in First Class - charging a price at which they break-even. That way, people who don't drink alcohol aren't paying for it, and those who do want alcohol can have as much as they want at cheap prices!

When you are 18 you may change your opinion on that!

 

[bnm]

This especially applies to 16-18 year olds, who can't have any alcohol even if they wanted it, but still have to pay "adult" fares!

Can't you not have a beer, wine or cider with your 'meal' on a train if you are travelling with an adult?

 

[Bungle73]

Although I have never seen any drunk people in First Class (I'm talking about weekdays, when alcohol is included for free - I've seen numerous drunk "upgraders" at weekends :roll, I personally object to alcohol being included in the complimentary offering. As the alcohol is obviously included in the ticket price, those who don't drink it are forced to subsidise other people's alcohol. This especially applies to 16-18 year olds, who can't have any alcohol even if they wanted it, but still have to pay "adult" fares!

Unlike food, which everybody needs, not everyone chooses to drink alcohol. Virgin and other TOC's should have a nominal sum for alcohol in First Class - charging a price at which they break-even. That way, people who don't drink alcohol aren't paying for it, and those who do want alcohol can have as much as they want at cheap prices!

I disagree (and that's not just because I enjoy supping free glasses of wine when I use EC ). You could argue that you're "subsidising" anything you don't consume that is complimentary.

 

[Ascot]

Although I have never seen any drunk people in First Class (I'm talking about weekdays, when alcohol is included for free - I've seen numerous drunk "upgraders" at weekends :roll, I personally object to alcohol being included in the complimentary offering. As the alcohol is obviously included in the ticket price, those who don't drink it are forced to subsidise other people's alcohol. This especially applies to 16-18 year olds, who can't have any alcohol even if they wanted it, but still have to pay "adult" fares!

Unlike food, which everybody needs, not everyone chooses to drink alcohol. Virgin and other TOC's should have a nominal sum for alcohol in First Class - charging a price at which they break-even. That way, people who don't drink alcohol aren't paying for it, and those who do want alcohol can have as much as they want at cheap prices!

I doubt people that can afford an open return regularly care about subsidising a £2 multi-pack can for someone. Cheap APEX travellers might get a false sense of entitlement though.

 

[All Line Rover]

Can't you not have a beer, wine or cider with your 'meal' on a train if you are travelling with an adult?

Indeed you can, but I doubt that many 16-18 year olds go travelling with their parents!

(Except some of us - occasionally. Even though I'm not 16-18 anyway. )
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I disagree (and that's not just because I enjoy supping free glasses of wine when I use EC ). You could argue that you're "subsidising" anything you don't consume that is complimentary.

That is true, but I get the impression that the majority of people consume the food, but only some people consume the alcohol - which, let's be honest, costs more than the food!

Of course, it the statistics indicate to these TOC's that having complimentary alcohol raises their revenue and overall profits, then I have absolutely no issue with it. It's just that I don't believe it does when all these cheap First Advance travellers want 5 glasses of wine on a £20 ticket covering hundreds of miles.

 

[142094]

BLT sandwiches or salmon salad. Hot lite bites were either lamb stew or asparagus risotto. The beer was Pedigree, was hoping for something different as it's the same on EC.

 

[All Line Rover]

BLT sandwiches or salmon salad. Hot lite bites were either lamb stew or asparagus risotto. The beer was Pedigree, was hoping for something different as it's the same on EC.

Doesn't sound bad. Much more "normal" for once!

 

[142094]

Portion of the lamb stew was quite small - had to fill up on crisps, cake and beer.

 

[DelayRepay]

Unlike food, which everybody needs, not everyone chooses to drink alcohol.

The same could be said for complementary newspapers and wi-fi. Do you think a small charge should be made for those items too.

 

[AlterEgo]

BLT sandwiches or salmon salad. Hot lite bites were either lamb stew or asparagus risotto. The beer was Pedigree, was hoping for something different as it's the same on EC.

Just out of interest, were you travelling today?

 

[142094]

Just out of interest, were you travelling today?

Was on the 13.30 from Euston to Glasgow, came down to London on the 07.55 and ended the day on 21.00 off Edinburgh.