This is the continued report on our Emirates First Class journey home from our Honeymoon. This piece will focus on some of the unusual and great pieces of the Emirates experience. It really is an experience in and of itself. With no further ado, what else did I get myself into on this flight?

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

Heading to the bar in the middle of the flight, because why not

After take-off we hung out in our seats for a while. Elli already started working on some Thank you cards, while I indulged in a movie.

After a couple of hours, we decided it was time to check out the bar in the back of the plane. You will have to walk through the business class cabin and at the end of the upper deck is a bar set up with some snacks and you guessed it: Drinks.

When we told the flight attendant we were going there, she insisted on escorting us. Little did we know, she brought the First Class Champagne and glassware with her. Again these are little details that made the experience even more special. They also have an instant camera to take some pictures for you and put it in a small booklet for you.

We stayed there for a little bit to chat with some other passengers and the flight attendants working the bar, before heading back to our seats.

Mid-flight nap and food

At that point I was hungry again. I ordered the Caviar as an appetizer. I wasn’t even sure if I would like it or not, but when in Emirates First Class, you better order it. It was actually super delicious. Before the Caviar was served, I was given an Mediterranean amuse-bouche.

After the caviar, I also ordered the steak. while maybe not Steakhouse quality, it was tender and delicious. The picture quality doesn’t do it justice, but the cabin lights were turned off.

Shortly after, I decided it was time to take a nap. I moved over to my bed that was waiting for me. 5 hours later I woke up and felt like I slept like a baby. Not surprisingly, all that food and Champagne had taken a toll on me.

Taking a shower at 38,000 feet is weird, but awesome

As we had about 2 ½ hours left in the flight, it was time to really wake up. I asked if I could take my shower now. Since there were only a handful of passengers they told me they would come get me as soon as it was ready. Emirates has two large bathrooms, each equipped with a shower in the front of the cabin. The ridiculous thing is that they have two “shower attendants” on the flight. These two attendants are responsible only for the bathrooms. They get the showers ready and, in general, keep the bathroom in impeccable shape. As an example there is a towel pyramid with real towels. As soon as someone leaves the bathroom they swoop in to put it back together like no one has ever been there.

Another crazy feature: The floors are heated and are big enough for me to lay down my 6’3” frame with plenty of room to spare.

When using the shower, you have 5 minutes of hot water available to you. You are able to start and stop the water whenever you need. I found the time was plenty  and turned the water off when soaping myself up. It was truly a surreal feeling showering while hearing a slight humming from the jet engines and knowing you are about 38,000 feet above ground.

I changed back into my regular clothes and ordered another snack before we had to bid farewell to the crew. At the end, the 14 hours flew by and I was almost sad that this mile-high luxury had to end.

How did I book these flights?

I booked these flights with Japan Airlines. Japan Airlines has a distance based award chart. Based on our routing they required 100,000 miles per person + about $80 in taxes. To get Japan Airlines miles we transferred SPG (now Marriott) points. With SPG you also received a bonus for every 20,000 points transferred you would get an extra 5,000 Japan Airline miles.

You actually have to call in to book these awards and to find award availability. We booked these flights about 10 months before our trip, as soon as I saw availability and was able to get the required miles to Japan Airlines.

Pro Tip: If you are looking for Emirates availability, Qantas is the best site to use to view actual availability.

Cash Cost of flights:

At the time of booking, Emirates would have otherwise charged us $14,000 for two tickets.

How did I accrue the miles?

Elli mostly accrued these points through work travel and some generous points promotions where she would often get double the points. We had also some points from opening the SPG credit cards and some travel from myself. At the time, SPG allowed you to combine points within a household, which is a useful tool to get to awards quicker.

Summary:

This has been by far the most fun and spectacular flight I have ever been on. From the food (caviar, foie gras and filet mignon), champagne (Dom Perignon) and overall comfort this was an experience we will cherish forever. It was even better since only 5 seats were occupied. Also having a bar on-board to hang out at for a bit and socialize just now. However, for me, the shower takes the cake and it was so great to get off a 14 hour flight and actually feel refreshed – that is something that is hard to acheive. We for sure hope to get the chance to fly them again in the future.

Anyone else ever experienced Emirates First Class or has it on their bucket list?