Just got back from the Maldives again.....heaven will try to get round to r/r/c
Just got back from the Maldives again.....heaven will try to get round to r/r/c
Member since:21.07.2005
Reviews:210
Members who trust:70
When it came to booking our honeymoon we had many choices to make one of them included travelling on a reliable airline to help get the honeymoon off to a good start as being cramped and having a horrible flight is not what I would call a good start. As we had decided to book with Tradewinds a well known tour operator rather than package it ourself we had two airlines to choose from that would get us to our final destination, Qatar Airways or Emirates.
At first we opted for the cheaper flights which were with Qatar but as with most things cheaper doesn't always mean the best and after losing a day of our honeymoon due to a schedule change we decided to switch to Emirates who were a little bit more relible when it came to keeping to their flying schedules.
*~*Before we Travelled*~*
As this was for our honeymoon, I had wanted to make sure that we got the best seats and that I had a little suprise for my husband. As we were travelling on a Boeing 777-300 series on all flights I knew that the seat configuration would be 3-4-3 and that at the rear of the aircraft where the tail narrows there would be 4 rows of 2 seats along either side of the aircraft and this was where I was determined to get booked. I phoned up Emirates and asked them to prebook our seats as we were not able to do this on the website, they were quick and efficient in providing us with the seats we wanted and securing our booking to them. I also pre-booked a bottle of champagne to present to my husband as a suprise which was £14 and enough for a glass each and I was sure this would get us off to a good start. I paid for the champagne over the phone with my debit card and a few days later the receipt was received in the post and I was advised to present this when
I was on board the aircraft.
As with all flights with Emirates and as is common practice with most airlines now we were required to provide advance passenger information, this saves time at check-in if you do it on the Emirates website which is how I did it by clicking in to manage my booking and clicking on the advance passenger information. We were required to provide a mobile contact number, email address, passport numbers, country of birth, passport expiry date, gender and date of birth.
As of the 1st June 2008 all scheduled airlines were switched to issue E tickets which mean the old fashioned paper tickets are now a thing of the past and we simply had an A4 sheet of paper each that contained our flight details and the airlines booking reference and we were ready to go.
*~*Check-In*~*
When we arrived at Manchester Airport the check-in desks had just opened, despite us crossing our fingers for the past month the business class had been full for a few days so there was no chance of getting a free upgrade, but I was happy that we had the two seats pre-booked as at least we would be sat on our own. As usual the check-in staff seemed at their most happiest...........not and the passenger service agent robotically checked us in for the flight all the way through to Male. A remark had been entered into the booking to state we were on our honeymoon but nothing from the passenger service agent was mentioned no congratulations or friendly chatter at all, he never even made eye contact with us when asking us the security questions. We were handed our boarding cards and advised that the gate would be announced shortly and we said our goodbyes to the parents before we headed through to security to enjoy our lounge that we had pre-booked.
*~*Boarding*~*
As we arrived at the gate there were complimentary newspapers and magazines available for passengers so I helped myself to a copy of "Instyle" Magazine and waited for boarding to commence. Once the flight was ready for boarding, elderly and disabled passengers were boarded first, next were the business class passengers and families with young children, then they boarded by seat numbers. I have to say when it came to boarding our flights Manchester was the smoothest and most organised and ensured that only passengers in the rows that had been called to board would actually be allowed through. In Dubai it was ridiculous after business class and families had boarded you were called by zones but literally everyone decided to head for the gate and walk through, there was no organisation and that meant for us at the back of the plane that should had boarded first had a really long wait through the plane whilst other passengers stored their overhead baggage and got comfortable.
When we finally got to our seats we settled in and watched the ground staff prepare the plane via the onboard cameras which were great for watching the take off on our 10.6" seat back screens.
The staff on board were friendly and helpful, once we were all boarded we were offered a hot towel to refresh, a set of headphones and a menu for the meals we would be having on board. On our seats was a camel coloured Emirates blanket which was nice and static and gave me plenty of shocks during the flights and a small pillow to rest my head on.
*~*Inflight*~*
The seats on the flight were wider than other seats I have travelled on at 17" and the seat pitch was a generous 34", even though I am only 5ft 3" there was plenty of room and my partner who is 5ft 11" stated how he was comfortable as there was plenty of leg room for him, my only disappointment was that there were no footrests and for me that caused a few problems when reclined in my seat as I could not touch the floor and kept sliding off the seat and had to resolve this by using my handbag as a footrest.
system on board the Emirates flights is amazing, it is called "Ice" I = Information, C = Communication and E = Entertainment. The system offers over 600 channels of entertainment along with an array of games which include an onboard quiz where you can play against other passengers on the plane. You can continue to watch the onboard cameras as you fly over certain destinations and you can also view the route map on the information section. The entertainment system is one of the better ones I have used as it allows you to pause, rewind, fast forward any music you are listening to or any show or movie you are watching if you need to go to the toilet or there is some food being served. Before you fly you can also visit the Emirates website and view what movies will be onboard for your flight.I made my way through National Treasure II, Fool's Gold, PS I love you, College Road Trip and 27 Dresses.
You will find in your headphones that there are a set of 3 stickers for you to put on the top of your seat, one is to wake you up if food is being served, another is to wake you up for duty free and another is to not disturb if you are sleeping. I thought these were a great idea as it ensures that you get the type of service you want on board.
The staff on board the flights spoke many different languages and these were announced before take off.
During the flight we had settled down to watch a movie and a member of the cabin crew came to our seat and asked my name and as I turned around there was a cake in a box for us with "Happy Honeymoon" on and 2 glasses of champagne, this has been arranged by my colleagues at work with our Emirates Rep and was a real suprise! The cabin crew took a picture of my husband and I and put it in a special Emirates cardboard frame which I thought was a lovely idea and really got us in the holiday mood. There were several other couples on the flight celebrating their honeymoon and they did not want the fizz so we ended up having theirs too which was very nice!
The food onboard the flight was amazing and my husband agreed.
From Manchester to Dubai:
Tuna Nicoise Salad & Seasonal Salad served with dressing
Choice of Chicken Medallion served with onion sauce, carrots, broccoli and potato noodles.
Or
Lamb Punjabi Tender pieces of Lamb cooked in a rich spicy sauce accompanied with saffronbasmati rice, green bean and tomato ragout.
For dessert we had the most delicious pudding ever a vanilla and toffee cream with cheese and biscuits to follow.
Yum, the food was very filling and extremely tasty.
For breakfast on the Dubai to Male flight:
We had orange juice, fresh seasonal fruit, a croissant and muffin.
Tempered Tapioca with plain poories and a mix pepper masala.
The food on all sectors was nice and all meals served were halal. We were given the option of which meal we wanted and even though we were at the back of the aircraft they never ran out of either option.
*~*Overall Opinion*~*
I cannot fault the service that we received from Emirates on all 4 sectors of our flights. The staff were friendly and attentive and went out of their way to offer you fantastic service.
There were slight delays when we were due to depart from Dubai but other than that everything ran smoothly and the aircraft were modern and well equipped. On the last aircraft we flew home to Manchester on we had one of the most up to date aircraft with the ambient lighting and in the roof were what looked like stars. Although we flew through a thunder storm from Male to Dubai the flight staff helped frightened passengers by reassuring them.
Emirates are definately one of the better airlines that I have flown with and would not hesitate in travelling with them again, they are one of the leading airlines out there and a lot of the scheduled airlines need to catch up to the high level of service that they offer.
.....and a Five Star review to go with it! I'm no expert on airlines, or even reviews of them, but this tells me more than I'd ever have thought of asking about the subject so an easy E from me! Richard. xxx p.s. Congratulations on your nuptuals!
arnoldhenryrufus 06.08.2008 02:40
Congratulations on your wedding, sounds like your honeymoon got off to a good start - lyn x
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Advantages: Not having to fly from London Airports, nice food, entertainment choices Disadvantages: Aircraft getting a bit old, longer journey times, shopping temptation in Dubai
pinseyt 23.04.2004 (23.04.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Emirates Airlines - UAE
Advantages: Award winning Airline of 2001, efficient service, excellent in-flight entertainment with live on-board cameras showing front views, comfortable flight, plenty of Emirates stop-over offers Disadvantages: none really…hope it expands its fleet faster and adds the US sector sooner!
Connoisseur_Haggler 18.01.2002 (25.01.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Emirates Airlines - UAE
Advantages: Not having to fly from London Airports, nice food, entertainment choices Disadvantages: Aircraft getting a bit old, longer journey times, shopping temptation in Dubai
pinseyt 23.04.2004 (23.04.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Emirates Airlines - UAE
Aug 5th, 2008
exceptional by (22%):
very helpful by (78%):
