brosnan6

Trip Overview

After a break from major traveling for a while, my family finally decided to take a vacation this winter. Our trip will span 16 days and 3 countries – Greece, Italy, and Turkey -- during what promises to be “interesting” weather in each of the locales. I know that it isn’t peak time to visit any of these countries, but winter is the only time that works for the whole family due to my sister’s school schedule. We’re all properly equipped with jackets and umbrellas so we hope to make the most of our time in each city/country

I’ll be posting additions to this trip report periodically as I have time to write and depending on internet availability. Please let me know if you want to know more information about anything in particular that I may have not elaborated on and I’ll be glad to provide.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

brosnan6

12/15/09 NW232 SEA-AMS Airbus A330-300, BusinessElite Cabin seat 5G
Departure time 1245

We arrived at SEA approximately two hours before departure to face chaos at the Delta check-in counter. The lines were moving sluggish at best, including the First/Medallion line. There were only two reps working the First/Medallion lines and for whatever reason they periodically called over people from the “special services” line. After waiting about 10 minutes for the two people in front of our group to clear, we finally made it to the front. The rep was friendly and efficient and checked our bags through to ATH (AMS is only a 2hr layover – more to come on that). Just as in FYI, we had two Medallions in our group – me as a Platinum and my dad as a Gold. For those of you wondering, yes, I miss no opportunity to point out to my dad that I trump his status at half his age

Like the Delta counter, clearing security was equally slow, even with use of the Elite line. The elite line at SEA, like many other airports, merges with the regular line. Even though your elite status will take you to the front of the line, you’re still liable to be stuck behind the families with children, Ma and Pa Kettle who fly once a year, etc. After making our way through security we made our way over to the S terminal to relax in the SkyClub (aka the old NW WorldClub) before departure. The club was conveniently located at gate S8 and our flight was from gate S9.

There was nothing too special about this club, albeit being rather busy as there appeared to be several international flights leaving within an hour of each other (I know I saw NRT listed as a few minutes before us). Bar was full-service and the usual snack mixes were available along with Nutella and Biscoffs. I think the type of bars (self vs. full-service) vary from location to location as the SC in DTW was self-service, but SFO and SEA were full-service.

On a side-note, I think the DL/NW integration hasn’t full come to fruition in the SCs because the liquor selection was vastly different in SFO on a recent trip (which I believe used to be a CRC) and in SEA/DTW (which were both WCs). I think that the old CRC liquor selection was MUCH better than the WC one, possibly perhaps due to the fact that many WCs were self-service (generous pours for oneself) and CRCs were full-service (staff can control pours/costs on better quality liquor). Anyways, that’s all for that tangent – it’s a topic more relevant in the DL forum

Boarding was announced on-time at 1150 and we boarded shortly thereafter. Once at our seats we were offered the choice of OJ or Sparkling Wine. Waiting at the seats were pillows and some very thick blankets (duvets?). Coats were also hung for those who had them and menus (see below) were distributed. After the usual pre-flight procedures we pushed back from the gate and were in the air shortly thereafter without any ATC delays

After a bit of turbulence, beverage service was started. The selection appeared to be the same as any DL flight. I ordered the Pomegranate cocktail which was delivered to me after some confusion of the location/availability of the mix. I think the FA had the proportions a little off because it tasted quite sour, at least compared to the one I had on my flight from DTW a couple days ago. Also something I noticed which came up throughout the flight is that for whatever reason, my FA didn’t use ice in her drinks. She definitely had an ice bucket on her cart so I wonder if she just kept forgetting. Neither the Pom cocktail, nor my Coke or waters throughout the flight came with ice.

Meal service was started shortly after the beverage service. Hot towels were brought around and our trays were prepped with tablecloths and silverware. Following is the menu:
My take on lunch
The tomato Florentine soup was quite delicious. I’m not normally a fan of tomato products (ketchup on French fries being the notable exception along with salsa with chips) so I think it’s pretty significant that I liked the soup. The texture was somewhat creamy but not overly so like a bisque. There were chopped pieces of spinach and onion scattered throughout. The two shrimp were plump and moist and I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh taste. The rosa sauce was had a creamy texture with a hint of dill but tasted quite mild and didn’t overpower the shrimp. I’m not a fan of avocado but the chunks that the shrimp rested on appeared to be fresh. The salad was also a well-made dish. There were two long strips of romaine on a bed of red and yellow tomatoes with bleu cheese crumbles, topped off with additional bleu cheese dressing on top (was added by the FA to your liking).

I chose the salmon for the main. I was initially weary of the choice as I’ve struck out a few times with fish on AF flights, but at the same time I wasn’t feeling like any of the other choices. And the fact that the salmon was the Michelle Bernstein dish sounded like it could be good. Man oh man am I glad I chose it – it was one of the best airplane meals I’ve had in a LONG time. The salmon fillet was huge, probably close to 6-7 ounces. I’m not sure what creamed bonaito purée was but it looked like mashed potatoes and tasted like something along those lines. The salmon was well-cooked and not dry. It was breaded and topped with crispy sliced garlic cloves (quite potent actually). But overall I think it was the sauce that made the difference. It was on the richer side of sauces (tasted like a butter base) and had a citrus-garlic taste. It was served in a cup on the side so one could add to his/her liking. I didn’t need to open the salt/pepper shakers at all. The dish was also presented nicely and on stylish tableware. I suppose that’s the BusinessElite stuff that DL has been hyping up on their website.

Dessert was served shortly after and I chose the ice-cream sundae. Sauce choices were chocolate or strawberry, along with whipped cream and nuts. I personally would have preferred the addition of caramel as well. At first the ice cream seemed to be hard as a rock but it was only the outermost layer. The inside had “normal ice cream consistency” and the outside became normal in a few minutes. Fudge sauce was thick and tasty and whipped cream didn’t taste like it came from a bottle.

I sat back for a movie after the meal service was cleaned up and took a nap for a few hours as well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the angled lie-flat bed. I definitely would have been sliding down the seat had the footrest not be present. Nonetheless, I can’t complain about the comfort of the seat cushion and the blanket/pillow because I slept fine. As far as IFE goes, there was a selection of about 25 different movies, including many recent hits such as The Hangover, Funny People, Ironman, etc. I saw Funny People and was pretty disappointed – I thought it would be a lot funnier than it actually was. I’d previously seen The Hangover but was itching to see it again. The personal AVOD screens were touchscreen and were pretty accurate with finger touches.

One of the FAs made rounds periodically throughout the night replacing waters and offering items from a snack basket for those who were awake. I had a really tasty dark chocolate covered graham cracker and a chewy oatmeal cookie

Breakfast was served about 100 minutes before arrival in AMS. I chose the omelet and it was pretty much exactly as the description sounded. Nothing special to write about – there was a chunk of grilled tomato, a hash brown patty, and a mushroom and cheese omelet. It was served with a choice of breakfast bread – muesli, bagel, or croissant.


Here was my biggest beef with this flight, and it was a fairly decent pain the @$$ for me: The power outlets at the seats were located in an extremely inconvenient location. They were at the foot of the middle console between the seats, meaning that you would have to get down on your hands and knees and fumble around in the dark to find the right angle to plug your cable in. And furthermore, with this being airplane power, the stability of the connection was extremely flaky and constantly kept dying (requiring an unplug/replug). This of course is accompanied by straightening out the seat, taking seat belt/blanket off, getting on the ground, etc. Major pain in the butt after doing it once or twice. I gave up after the second time and decided to just drain my battery instead of dealing with this. This is the one thing I have to give AF props on as their power outlets on the Airbus (I think A330 as well) are located on the seat at waist level by the AVOD remote.


We descended on-time into AMS and arrived at our gate. After disembarking, we headed over to the transfer desk to confirm our gate and time for the AMS-ATH segment. The line to clear customs into the EU was annoyingly slow, even with the presence of a First/Business/Elite lane. After going through the usual security rigmarole we wandered around the dury-free for a few minutes. We initially had thought we had about 2 hours between flights and that we would be able to check out the Crown Lounge, but we were only left with a few minutes by the time it took to get through security and wandered duty-free. We just headed to the gate and ended up sitting there for a good half hour before boarding was called – even though all signage marked it as supposed to begin at 0835. It was at least 0910 until the gates were opened (was supposed to be a 0925 departure).
12/16/09 KL2575 AMS-ATH, Europe Select Cabin seat 4F
Departure time 0925

After using the priority lane to board we settled into our Europe Select seats. To call this an upgrade from Y would be a joke. The seats are still 3 across on each side of the aisle and the legroom had maybe an inch or two than most other coach seats. There were 4 rows meaning 24 potential seats. However the cabin had 6-7 people max, including the 4 of us and we had plenty of time to wander around. As mentioned on the DL board, the flight attendants were doting and constantly came around to see if we needed anything.

We were offered sweet or savory as a breakfast option. I chose sweet, which was a waffle with fruit compote, served with sides of cheese, some sort of fruit plate, and a choice of breakfast breads. The food was “meh” at best. The waffle was soggy but still quite tasty. I forgot to grab the card that named the cheeses but neither of the cheeses were very good either. The redeeming factor of this meal was the warm French bread and the couple of Nutellas I had pocketed from the SC in SEA . One thing I did notice that even though the silverware was plastic, it was of a very high quality. The handles of all the utensils were round and had a solid plastic barrel, rendering them somewhat unbreakable by normal use. For those wondering, the “savory” option appeared to be scrambled eggs and baked beans. Drinks were served in real glasses and were constantly refreshed throughout the flight

We touched down into ATH about 20 minutes behind schedule and promptly taxied to the disembarkation area. It seemed like all flights were remote embark/disembark with shuttles to the main terminal. I figured that with only a handful of us in Europe Select we would be on the same shuttle as the rest of Y, but apparently not. Ground crew held back all the passengers behind me since I was the last seat in ES. Yup, we had an entire shuttle bus for 7 people even though it probably had the capacity for 40 more. I’ve never had this happen before at other airports, even when the flights had larger Business Class cabins – we’ve always shared with coach passengers.

My bag was the first one to come out but the rest of the family’s were five minutes behind me, even though all were tagged as priority. To get to our hotel we had the option of taking a cab (~40 Euros) or taking the subway/Metro train at 20 Euros (6 Euro/pp or 2 person pack for 10 Euro). Since we were all awake/active and the weather was decent, we decided to take the train and walk to our hotel from the station (about 15 minutes walk). Man did we regret choosing this option…the streets and sidewalks were extremely narrow and those bags end up seeming a lot heavier after dragging them up and down sidewalks and streets for a while. Eventually we made it to the hotel and checked in.

Turnus127

Nice beginning. I'm looking forward to the rest of this TR. ^

Did you by chance have a glass of the Scharffenberger, or have you had it before? It's the only sparkling offer on my next trip TATL in C. I've been spoiled by BA's selection. Just wonder what you think.

brosnan6

Thanks.

I did not have a chance to try it out, nor have I tried it before. I'll try to remember for the return and will post if I try it.

brosnan6

Hotel
Since this is Flyertalk (emphasis on the FLY), I’ll keep this part brief, especially since we’re dealing with a non-chain hotel.

The hotel we chose was the Airotel Stratos Vassilikos. The lobby staff was extremely friendly and welcoming, and they all spoke fluent English. The hotel was located in a pretty decent area, about 2 blocks from the American embassy (as well as many others). The rooms were definitely on the larger side as far as European hotels were concerned. We had two rooms booked and they were assigned next to each other. The elevators were extremely small – you’d be lucky to fit 3 people in each one, and they had folding doors as opposed to sliding (first time I’ve ever seen that in an elevator).

The rooms had standard amenities but the power outlets were recessed deep into the wall and my adapter wouldn’t fit. Minor inconvenience until we were able to get a loaner one from the front desk. My dad had no problems since his adapter was smaller and fit in the recessed outlet, and his laptop charger only had 2 plugs as opposed to the 3 on mine.

The breakfast was your typical bountiful European spread with fresh breads, cheeses, meats, fruits, pastries, and juices (champagne included as well). Scrambled eggs were on the buffet, but a placard at the table indicated that other methods of preparation (omelet, poached, etc), as well as cooked meats, stuffed crepes, and potatoes were available to order at no charge. It appeared that breakfast was included in all room rates as we didn’t see anybody settle a bill while we were there. I was quite surprised at the quality and quantity of this spread, especially considering it was included in the room rate and the cost-cutting mantra that many hotels are embracing of late.

I’m going to speed through the rest of this section so please let me know if you want me to elaborate. We signed up for a half-day group tour of the major attractions in Athens (Acropolis, Pantheon, etc), and supplemented that with walking/taking the subway to various other stops. We went out to Piraeus one of the days, which is where cruise ships dock and there are a variety of little shops and markets in which to wander. We made the obligatory American tourist pit stop at McDonalds – they’ve got some good stuff on the value menu (1 Euro/item) here (very tasty cappuccinos for being mass-made). It was interesting to see that the entire daytime crowd in the large restaurant (around 2pm) was elderly gentlemen sitting around and chatting in groups while drinking their espressos. We were easily the youngest people in that restaurant. We stopped at a bakery in Piraeus on the way back to the train station and picked up an assortment of Greek sweets. I was in heaven – if I lived here I would probably be 50lbs heavier and have diabetes! I didn’t know what any of the desserts were and just pointed at the display cases. Everything was delicious, especially the different takes on Baklava, such as tart-shaped with dark chocolate in the middle and drizzled with honey. We also stopped at the major squares, such as Syntagma and Monastiraki and wandered the shops, markets, and restaurants. Monastiraki has a great flea market where vendors sell leather goods, jewelry, and for whatever reason – a lot of shoes.

I’m writing this the morning of our AZ flight to FCO so this pretty much sums up our Greece trip. Overall I was very impressed with the country and the people, and the food was as delicious as I was expecting it to be. We didn’t encounter any hostility or problems, even when we were the stereotypical clueless American tourists. The subway system is extremely efficient – and affordable at 3 Euro for a 24hr unlimited pass – and I’d recommend that over renting a car any day (unless you have a need to go to the outskirts where train coverage is spotty). Please let me know if you have any questions about my trip so far

On a side note, I hope that AZ will bend the rules on Skyteam Elite Plus lounge access to allow me to bring in the family (3 + me) instead of just 1 guest. If not, I think I'll let my parents fend for themselves outside

brosnan6

12/19/09- ATH Airport

Little did we know how interesting this morning would turn out to be...
We arrived at the airport and breezed through check-in using the priority lane. After getting our boarding passes and entering the passenger only area (not secure though – only needed to show BP to enter) we first headed to the AZ lounge to scope out breakfast/snack options. This turned out to be quite a hike as the lounge was at the very end of the terminal. I didn’t have my DL Plat card for access but the agent accepted my dad’s Gold card for entry, which technically shouldn’t have worked since DL GM is only Skyteam Elite and not Elite Plus. I think she was new/confused because she didn’t even mention the fact that there were four of us as opposed to the allowed two.
Food options were scarce: an assortment of cookies and prepacked mini-turkey sandwiches in the fridge. There was an automated espresso machine and the usual variety of beverages, including self-serve beer/wine/liquor. We only stuck around for about 15 minutes since there wasn’t much else to do in there with no TV or internet. The shops outside looked much more interesting.

12/19/09 AZ717 ATH-FCO, Airbus A322 Main Cabin
The boarding area was pure chaos considering there were 2 other flights at the same time at adjacent gates, but with a waiting area about half the size of a normal area for just one flight. And there was nowhere else to wait since the security check was right there and going out would have meant waiting 15+ minutes to get screened again. The AZ ground staff clearly seemed to not have their sh!t together at all. The boarding process was excruciatingly slow with the agents reviewing each passenger’s data as their boarding passes were collected. We finally made it onboard after about 30 minutes.

To put it simply, this plane was a piece of sh!t. It was ancient, the seats were ratty and showed their age, and the tray tables kept falling down. The crew was polite but in a condescending kind of way and the 2hr flight went by without any problems. There was a standard beverage service.

After arrival at FCO was where things got interesting. Our flight was entirely full, but only 6 passengers had FCO as their final destination. All of us kept waiting and waiting at the baggage claim for our bags, but nothing showed up even after an hour or so. We finally all went over to the AZ office to open up lost bag claims. The ground crew theorized that with the majority of the passengers (and bags) being transfer passengers (and transfer bags), all the bags were sent to the transfer area at once and would eventually make their way over to the baggage claim.

They ended up being somewhat correct as most of our bags made it out with the bags from another flight shortly thereafter. However one was still missing. After waiting around another 20 minutes, we decided to call it a day and let AZ get their house in order. By this point the baggage services line was 30-40 people long.

Up till now I had heard nothing but terrible things about AZ and this trip pretty much verified everything I had heard about their incompetent gate staff, unfriendly in-flight staff, and useless baggage services staff. I can only hope that the rest of our bags make it to IST on our next (and thankfully last) segment with them in a week. I can safely say that I will try my very best to never fly this airline again.

We headed to the train station and hopped on a regional service train to Ostensia station where our hotel’s shuttle was going to pick us up.

Hotel – Four Points Sheraton Roma West
We weren’t expecting much from this hotel since it was a Four Points and it was in a fairly rural location. The reason we stayed here was because we got a killer rate – 75 Euros/room/night with breakfast included, and a shuttle to take us to downtown.

Man, were our expectations blown away. At least for most people I know in the US, a Four Points Sheraton means some sort of suburban, fairly run-down hotel that is affiliated with SPG. This hotel appeared brand new (or recently remodeled) with modern furnishings, plenty of amenities, and some of the friendliest staff I’d ever encountered. Our check-in process was long and drawn-out, but only because we made it so by asking tons and tons of questions and engaging in plenty of dialogue with the staff. They even volunteered to make a copy of our AZ baggage claim receipt and check on the status 2-3 times a day for updates.

Both of our rooms were upgraded to junior suites on the first floor and from the next couple of days, it appeared that we were the only people staying on the entire first floor. The suites were well appointed with modern furnishings and all the usual amenities. Even though the staff called the rooms junior suites, they most definitely were regular suites, albeit not the size of an American suite in terms of square footage. There were 2 completely separate rooms with a door in between them. The living room for my room had 4 individual armchairs and my parents’ room had 2- 2 person sofas. Internet access was not included and was able to be purchased from a 3rd party source (Swissotel) for the very steep price of 22 Euros/day. There was an “economy” option available for 17 Euros/day but the data transfer was limited to only 500mb. We opted to purchase access on our last night and also ended up being able to use it at our next hotel in Florence for several hours since that hotel (more to eventually follow below) also used the same provider.

The breakfast was again a full European spread, but custom order dishes such as omelets and crepes came at a surcharge of 5 Euro/person/day. We didn’t feel the need to purchase it any of the days as the buffet spread was more than enough. The first morning there were only a couple other tourist families dining with us, but it appeared that a large Taiwanese tour group checked in for the 2nd day and it was a total zoo that morning.

There was an incident with that group at the buffet on the 2nd day as well – several of the group’s members took it upon themselves to replenish their personal beverage supplies using the limited resources from the buffet. They took entire 1L bottles of water back to their tables and filled up their personal thermoses, leaving no water to drink for the rest of the buffet patrons. When the water bottles were finished, they congregated around the automatic espresso machine, clicking the button for hot water to fill up their thermoses, one coffee cup at a time. Luckily there happened to be another hotel guest not affiliated with their group that happened to speak their language (Taiwanese?) and he rightfully scolded several of their members who were abusing the buffet, much to the happiness of the hotel staff and other guests who could not speak the group’s language.

Overall we were very satisfied with this hotel. It was a great value when you consider the shuttle into downtown and the awesome breakfast. For those not able to work around the hotel’s shuttle schedule, the public bus (1 Euro) departed from the EUR Fermi subway station and stopped directly in front of the hotel.

We caught the hotel shuttle into downtown after checking out and made our way to the Roma Termini station (main railway station in downtown) to catch the national train to Florence. The train ride was pretty smooth and pretty much exactly what we were expecting. After arriving in Florence, we grabbed a taxi to the Starhotel Tuscany.

Hotel – Starhotel Tuscany
We arrived at this hotel with high expectations after reading all the rave reviews on the various travel websites. I have no qualms in saying that my expectations were completely exceeded at this hotel. The hotel was brand new and had a very modern and elegant design theme. The front desk staff spoke perfect English and was extremely helpful at answering our numerous questions. I felt like I was in a very trendy and modern hotel, pretty much like a W but without the arrogance. The rooms were tastefully decorated with brand new furnishings. The bathrooms had heated towel racks and what seemed like heated tile floors. All the bath amenities were top-notch and I noticed that the bath furnishings (faucets, showerhead, etc) all appeared to be designer brands (forgetting the brands at the moment). I noticed that the minibar held items from non-traditional minibar brands, such as Roberto Cavalli Vodka

The breakfast was a bit of a letdown when compared to the previous two hotels. The cheese, meat, and fresh fruit selections were sparse and once exhausted on the buffet, were not refilled unless specifically asked for.

This hotel also had a free shuttle that dropped you off at the Santa Maria Novella train station, right at the start of the main downtown area where tourist attractions such as the Uffizi and the Duomo are located along with all the international designer shops (LV, Gucci, Hermes, etc). Also FYI, the SMN train station is the main station where the EuroStar and TrenItalia trains arrive/depart. In case you missed or couldn’t work around the shuttle timings, there was also a public bus (I want to say it was #22, but I’m not positive) that stopped right outside the hotel and took you directly into downtown for 1 Euro/person and the tickets could be purchased from the front desk.


Additionally, there was a huge grocery store located directly next to the hotel where one could stock up cheaply on bottled water and snacks.

After a few nights in Florence, we headed off to the train station to catch a 2hr train to Venice for a couple of nights.