In the last part of our Honeymoon journey, I will be taking you along for our ride home in Emirates blinged out First class. The trip took us from Cape Town through Dubai and on to New York. When we planned this trip, we knew we had something to look forward to, even though our Honeymoon was coming to an end. And boy, Emirates did not disappoint.
This is part of a broader trip report and you can find the other installments below:
- Chicago to Paris onward to Johannesburg, South Africa in Air France Business Class.
- South African Airways on inner country flights.
- 4 days on safari in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve
- A review of the Westin in Cape Town
- Exploring Cape Town
- Emirates First class from Cape Town to Dubai and onward to New York – Part One
- Emirates First Class Fun – Part Two
Our journey started in Cape Town and our flight was being operated by an aircraft without a first class cabin. So we had to “slum it” in Business for the first leg. I will be focused on the Dubai lounge and flight experience. We utilized the overnight flight to Dubai to get as much sleep as possible and I hardly remember that flight. A few glasses of champagne in the lounge on the ground certainly helped.
Dubai’s airport is massive and has multiple levels of lounges
We had a 7 hour layover in Dubai and split it up into three pieces. Arrival breakfast and shower. A trip to the Burj Kahlifa in town. First class lounge before boarding our flight.
Emirates operates in Terminal 3 in Dubai and is the main occupant in that Terminal. On the main level you will have all gates, retail shops and restaurants. One level up is the First Class Lounge and another level up is the Business Class lounge. You read that right the lounges span the whole terminal. The first class lounge is massive and never felt crowded while we were there. To walk from one end to the other it would certainly take you at least 5 minutes. They have many different areas that you can relax in – Cigar Lounge, bar areas, sleeping pods.
What I found most incredible is whenever we sat somewhere a waiter approached us within seconds to ask if we needed anything. Talk about service and feeling like royalty.
On arrival, we headed to the restaurant section to have a sit-down breakfast. As you can see by the picture below it was as good as any restaurant. They were of course happy to cook your eggs or omelet to order, as well as many other dishes or you could access the buffet.
The Burj Kahlifa is just another tall building
After our side trip to the Burj Kahlifa, we returned to the lounge with about two hours to kill before our flight. The Burj overall I must say was disappointing. While you had a great overview of Dubai from the viewing platform, everything else around it was just a giant mall. Without having spent any time in Dubai I am not sure if I need to return based on the limited view of the city. Once back in the lounge: More food and champagne please. The champagne served in the lounge was Veuve. Like totally slumming it!
I also took advantage of the shower rooms that are available. Depending on how busy the lounge is you might have to make an appointment. I was able to use the shower right away and the shower rooms have all amenities you would expect, from slippers, soft towels and toiletries as needed. It felt good to refresh for the 14 hour journey we were about to embark on.
Boarding directly through the lounge
When it was time for us to board you would assume you have to head to the main level to get on board. Not with Emirates! You board directly through the lounge, as they scan your boarding pass and then escort you to an elevator that drops you right at the jet bridge. Since the A380 is a double decker and massive plane, there are two jet bridges. The top level one for First and Business class passengers and the lower level one is for Economy.
Once on board we were escorted left to our seats and got an introduction from the cabin crew to our seats and today’s service. They also offered some pre-departure beverages. We both chose a glass of champagne. Within minutes they also distributed the amenity bag. And I say bag, because it literally was a bag with things: Pajamas, Slippers, a writing kit and a full amenity kit.
Before the doors were even closed, I changed into the pajamas, because why not? So if you are wondering, the outfit I’m wearing in the pictures from the plane are in those PJs. I must say they were very comfortable and I still wear them at home. According to Emirates they are moisturizing, so that your skin doesn’t dry out in the sky.
Getting comfortable in my seat and exploring all the functionality
The first thing you notice when sitting down is that you have space for days. I really had to lean forward to reach the snack basket. Since clearly that should be the first thing I do and hadn’t eaten in like 40min.
Then it was time to further explore the seat and all the buttons. Another incredible thing is your own little minibar that comes up mechanically on the side of your seat. The TV screen is also massive and the in-flight entertainment system had plenty of new movies on display. We also played around with the doors and dividers. Most of the time we just kept looking at each other and shaking our heads. This was unreal.
Once boarding was complete, only 5 of 14 seats in First Class were taken. We took advantage of this later when the flight attendants were more than happy to make us the bed in a different seat. You read that correctly. I had both a bed already made at all times and also my regular seat for lounging…
So much more to cover…
Yes, this was already the best flying experience ever, but there was so much more. This report got a lot lengthier then I expected so I will split it into two and talk more about this flight on the next and final installment. Get ready to hear about the on-board bar and taking a shower at 38,000 feet above ground.
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