Glensea

This is my first trip report after having read and enjoyed other reports for several years. I’ll probably provide more detail about this trip than some wish -- but no one has to read any or all of this. This report will come in four parts: this Introduction, Outbound, Greece, and Going Home. I have drafted each of the sections as the trip progressed and, after editing each part, will post them on successive days. There will be no pictures; there will be a link to the Nafplio hotels.

Context: For about a dozen years, my partner and I have done an annual September/October 10-14 day vacation in Greece, a country I first visited in 1970 on a college study program and have returned to 20+ times. We use award tickets in business class, buy an upgradable coach ticket for business class, or as a last resort once bought a Z fare ticket for business class when the first two options can’t happen. We have seen the major parts of Greece and now spend our time in Napflio, about 90 miles SW of Athens on the Bay of Argos. Phil’s retired but I’m not, so for me this really is vacation = relaxation.

Ticketing: We are Star Alliance flyers. I did the legwork on tickets; for this trip it took 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon in mid-February to define our individual schedules and then to snag award tickets for late September. Phil was using miles in his United Airlines’ Mileage Plus plan, while I was using miles in my Air Canada Aeroplan account transferred from my AmEx Membership Rewards and Marriott Rewards accounts. [I’ve flown AC only once, but have found its Aeroplan a good place to park points/miles transferred from other programs to use in the Star Alliance.]

Obviously, our drawing from different award programs made it a bit trickier to get tickets on the same flights. Using the award flight search function in each awards program, I started with a September 26 departure and an October 11 return date and assumed UA TATL. I was ready to depart several days later [earlier on the outbound was not possible due to previous commitments each of us had] and return within a few days of October 11. Amazingly, my on-line checking of both UA and AC award plans showed availability for the desired dates for going and returning on the same flights – but only in coach or first on saver awards; business class was unavailable. This was an easy predicament to resolve: First Class it would be on UA 902 IAD-MUC and UA 903 MUC-IAD.

We were willing to settle for coach seats on the MUC-ATH-MUC segments but found business class available when I called UA MP for Phil and then AC AP for me to make the reservations: LH 3388 MUC-ATH and LH 3393 ATH-MUC. I reserved Phil’s ticket [135K MP miles] before reserving mine [120K AP miles]. There was a 25-minute wait to speak to a reservationist for MP, but no wait for AP on the same Saturday afternoon.

When I tried to reserve my ticket via AC’s Aeroplan, there was a problem not with availability but with my miles not yet being in the account. Four years ago I was allowed to place the reservation on hold pending the points transfer, but not this time. With ease, I transferred 100K points = 100K miles from AmEx MR in a phone call; they went immediately. A call to Marriott Rewards elicited the promise only to transfer 60K points = 20K miles within 2 weeks, though the agent told me it’s usually done within 4 days and that there was no way to expedite the transfer. So I checked my Aeroplan account several times daily till I saw the deed done 2 days later. I then immediately called Aeroplan to make the reservation and was able to get the desired flights, once again without being placed on hold before speaking to an agent.

Glensea

September 26: Any day is a great day to leave for Greece. The taxi called at 2:15 PM for 2:30 PM was right on time, and we were at IAD 20 minutes later. IAD can be a mess during any of its busy periods, but we managed to get checked in at the First Class counter without delay, pass TSA stuff via the new facilities opened earlier this year without much of a delay in the premium line, and then proceed to United’s First Class Lounge.

The first-class check-in line was policed but we weren’t asked to show proof that we qualified to use it: We just told the UA staffer that we were international first class passengers. The check-in agent was subtly friendly and very efficient; she was able to get the Lufthansa connecting flight boarding passes by using a manual bypass process which she said sometimes worked, but she couldn’t change our seating assignments for that connecting flight – window seats in different rows. She was very deliberate in making sure that we knew the location of the IFL [by C-7] and its proximity to our departure gate [C-4]. Granted, the IFL at IAD is nowhere as good as LH’s First Class stuff in Germany, but it’s far better than the usually crowded UA RCC at any time.

The two IFL receptionists were fine in welcoming us in, asking if we wanted wifi cards, and telling us that our international flight boarding would be announced in the lounge. There were hot and cold food offerings and self-serve wine/champagne/beer stuff as well as a decent selection of soft drinks. Since we usually don’t drink hard liquor, I don’t know if the was a process for ordering from a non-visible bar. I used the free tmobile wifi which was not too hard to access, even for someone as non-tech as me. Boarding was called about 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

UA 902: 777, old configuration, flight full in all classes. Departure from the gate was within several minutes of the scheduled time; arrival in Munich was 20 minutes early. F Load: 11/12 plus 1 cockpit crew rest seat. Seats 2E, 2F.

We proceeded to the assigned gate when the flight in the IFL as announced as boarding. The C-4 gate area was really crowded and the line for first/business/status passengers was pressed on all sides by coach passengers to the point of jostling till the rope barriers began.

FAs/Service: Each of us was greeted by name [and often by name throughout the flight] as soon as we arrived at our adjoining middle-section seats with offers to hang up coats and to bring water, champagne, or oj. I was asked if I had any questions on seat operation. The purser took meal orders by status prior to leaving the gate and asked if we wanted to be awakened an hour before landing for breakfast. Throughout the flight the FAs were attentive and pro-active, with a good sense of humor in dealing all things and interacting with us. This was a really good crew.

Food: Although we enjoy really fine food, we are not high maintenance in the area and, based on our college/early career experiences, we pleased just to have edible food. Here’s the menu for this flight:
Appetizers Crispy jumbo lump crab cake, braised endive, goat cheese, and tomato confit, and lemon caper vinaigrette
Soup Curry tomato lentil soup
Salad Fresh seasonal greens with plum tomatoes, cucumbers, and seasoned croutons served with a choice of dressings: creamy garlic or balsamic vinaigreete
Mains [a] herb marinated salmon with Yukon gold mashed potatoes with truffle oil and carrot-green bean sauté, [b] wild mushroom lasagna with toasted pine nuts and arugula pesto, [c] grilled filet mignon with green pepper sauce, oven roasted fingerling potatoes, with sautéed summer squash medley, [d] sate spiced chicken, jasmine rich with chives and herbed asparagus, carrot sauté.
Dessert [a] Edy’s grand ice cream with choice of toppings: hot fudge, caramel, and whipped cream, [b] cheese selection served with red grapes and crackers: Maple Blue, La Cabrie, San Joaquin Gold
Breakfast [a] chive scrambled eggs with turkey sausage and breakfast potatoes, [b] fresh seasonal fruit plate with muesli.

Phil ordered the crab cake appetizer and the salmon entrée and reported both as very good. The salmon was moist, not dry; it was not warm: It was hot. I ordered the salad with balsamic vinagrette dressing but was served one with the creamy garlic dressing – not a problem since either dressing would have been fine with me. The beef was perfect: served medium rare and hot, not just warm. Vegetables were hot and al dente. Neither of us ordered dessert. The wine was fine: Simi Savingnon Blanc 2008 Sonoma. Phil’s the expert and I just order mostly by color, preferring white to red. Neither of us wanted breakfast since we’d have a meal on the connecting flight; the FAs asked several times in the course of the last hour if we had changed our minds or wanted just a bit of something. Requests for coffee and tea were promptly honored, along with quick refills. Throughout the flight water glasses were refilled w/o request as needed.

Seat: I found the old-style seat very comfortable. Each of us was able to sleep without a problem; the various reclining positions worked for us.

Other: The cabin temperature was fine – a little too cool for me, which is better than a little too warm; I wore a light sweater the whole flight. The blanket was good and the two pillows were soft. Deplaning was by two doors [first and business class cabin areas], which meant that first class didn’t have to wait, or should not have had to wait: the passenger in 1J blocked the aisle for 5 minutes after deplaning began because he just wasn’t ready and didn’t think the rest of us in that aisle should leave before him. During the evening meal service, there was a bit of moderate turbulence which required the FAs to be seated for about 20 minutes after the entrees had been delivered. The cockpit crew didn’t use the seat-belt sign in light turbulence but it was on for the first 25 minutes after takeoff and the final 20 minutes.

Munich Transfer to LH 3388: This was a hike, even with moving sidewalks at least 12 minutes to get to passport control, and then another 10 minutes to arrive at the security checkpoint which had assigned lines for business and first class . And it was like a labyrinth getting from the arrival gate to the departure gate. We had to go through passport control to enter the EU and then another security check which was fairly efficient: 10 minute wait.
We stopped at the Lufthansa business lounge and tried to get our seat assignments changed. The agent was very friendly and tried to be helpful but there were no adjoining seats available. She did move me to my preferred “any aisle seat” position. The business class lounge was fairly full but we were able to find seats at a table; it was really quiet despite the number of people present. And beer was available with breakfast! After about 20 minutes in the lounge, we proceeded to the gate for an 8:25 AM boarding which didn’t happen till 8:35 for the 8:55 flight.

Lufthansa 3388 [Sept 27]: A-321 with coach and “European business” configuration: coach pitch,, middle seat blocked, business class food and other service. C Load: 18/20. Original seats: 2A, 4A. Actual seats: 1D, 4A.

Though boarding started late with the only “announcement” being the GA’s hand motion to start, we departed the gate on time; the FAs really “marched” the crowd to their seats on this mostly full flight. The purser was excellent: She addressed me by name each time and knew that I’d transferred from UA first class TATL to this connecting flight: she asked me how it was and said I could expect the same level of service from her. Once airborne, she and another FA did a quick beverage run with a cart in the aisle and then proceeded to serve the meal from a cart: Choice of eggs or crepe with breakfast meats, fruit, rolls, and a sweet pastry. The eggs were excellent as were the other items on my tray. Arrival was about 5 minutes early.

Luggage delivery started about 15 minutes after arrival; “priority tagged” bags were the first ones on the belt. There was light turbulence for parts of the flight but the seatbelt signed stayed off from 10 minutes after takeoff till 15 minutes before landing.

Athens Airport: We like the Athens Airport though not many seem to observe the “no smoking” signs for most areas. It is in no way as convenient to downtown Athens as the old airport was but in every other way is better in our experience. We used the green lane for customs and went to claim a rental car.

Hertz/ATH is a hit or miss proposition: Sometimes everything is in order and staff seem to care about serving, while at other times staff is indifferent and/or can’t find our reservation despite being shown a printed confirmation. Sometimes the car reserved/offered is fine, but at other times we have to reject it once we’ve found some deficiency [i.e, a very dented door won’t close completely or a/c doesn’t work on the same car for a previous trip of ours] and dicker over what else is available. Our record is rejecting two cars before being offered one in the class reserved, and we are not very hard to please. This time it was a “hit” in every respect and we quickly proceeded to the Hertz lot, a short walk away. Inspection of the car [Seat Leon with 40K kms on it but in great shape – looked and smelled new inside] led us to report one existing dent and two long scratches on a door. Duly noted, we left for the 90-mile drive to Nafplio.

Glensea

Napflio: About 2 hours after leaving ATH and using 4-lane roads for most of the way [two-lane for the last 12 miles], we arrived in Nafplio. The highway system continues to improve and this time we noticed a new rest stop with gas and food available just had opened. Also, this time all of the toll plazas were operating, whereas in the past one or two were totally deserted and the lanes open w/o charge.

Arriving in Napflio, we headed to our preferred hotel, the Ippoliti -- http://www.ippoliti.gr/indexh_e.htm -- which opened about 6 years ago. Before that, we stayed at its less-starred sister property, the Nafsimedon -- http://www.nafsimedon.gr/english/ind...tion=page&id=1 -- which is less expensive [about 109 Euros/night/double at last report] but several blocks further from the harbor. The former mansion was renovated and the hotel opened in 2004; we started coming to this hotel the next year. Normal rates for the Ippoliti for a superior room are 180 Euros/night/double, but stays longer than 4 or 5 nights are discounted to 140 Euros/night/double.

Everything about the Ippoliti suits us: location, comfort, breakfast, staff. We’ve gone there often enough that we no longer are required to give a credit card guarantee. It’s possible to request a reservation on-line, but that function was broken this year. When I called, the person answering had little English skills [Email broken, please fax], so I faxed a request and gave a return fax number. Unfortunately, my office fax jammed that weekend and produced only the last line of the fax, the hotel’s name, so I called on Sunday and reached Dimetra, whose English is great; she also has a great memory about previous guests: 13 nights, no problem, and in one of our usual rooms. This time the room was a two-story with couch, desk, wc, tv, and fireplace on main floor, and bed in a spacious are plus a large flat-screen tv in the upper loft.

A password is needed to use the hotel’s free wifi and, once activated, it works just fine to connect to the internet. I could receive emails but could not send them using MS Outlook; this was fixed by going to my server’s own site to do email. Phil was able to use MS Outlook on his laptop to send and receive.

We tend to be creatures of habit for most of our activities. We will try a new restaurant or two on each visit, but we have found that the Noufara on Syntagma Square really has as good of food as any place and there’s always something to watch, especially the kids playing there in the evening. The beef entrees here are a pretty uniform 13.40 Euros; the chicken ones were 10.70. There’s also a selection of pasta, pizza, and Greek specialties. And we know the staff by name, and it knows us: Two greeted us the first night by saying that they missed us last year. Three years ago a new restaurant opened about a block from square [Kiros for the outside section, Kapos for the inside] and it has a really good though smaller menu than Noufara – offering things not available at Noufara. Another restaurant a block off the square which we have used on previous trips was closed whole the whole building was being renovated for use as a boutique hotel.

But it’s not all about dinner: There’s the afternoon at the Napoli di Romania cafe, which faces the harbor and has the best views [our opinion]. The seating area has large square umbrellas shading the whole area and there’s usually a nice breeze. We claim a table there in early afternoon and spend the time reading, playing backgammon, or talking over wine or soda; it has a menu for pizza and several other refreshments. The cafe is crowded on Saturdays and very crowded on Sundays so getting a good seat usually takes moving up several times or showing up by mid-morning.

Nafplio is located close enough to drive to Epidauros [30 minutes or so] or Mycenae [15 minutes], which we do annually to check on the progress of the various on-going excavations. A drive around the Bay of Argos through Milos and Kiverna gives lovely overviews of the whole area. There are lots of local crafts shops [glass, textiles, clothing] in Nafplio. The local “market” at the park on Saturday is worth a visit: meat, produce, handcrafts, etc. with lots of local color.

Back to Athens: Since our return flight to MUC would leave at 6:45 AM on October 11, we spent the previous night at the ATH Sofitel for about 170 Euros/night reserved, prepaid, unchangeable, nonrefundable at least 15 days in advance. It’s a great location – just walk across several lanes of traffic to enter the airport terminal – especially when having an early flight departure. The bar and the food are fine, though IMO somewhat overpriced. Returning a rental car to Hertz is very easy, and we did that when we arrived at the Sofitel. We were upgraded to a deluxe room based – I was told – on our history of staying at this particular property though I don’t belong to Sofitel’s loyalty program. The rooms are fine and the sound—proofing is excellent. Check-in and check-out were efficient – minor wait for the first and none for the other.

Glensea

October 11: We were up at 4:30 AM and at 5:32 AM checked in LH’s business /*Gold counters; two were staffed and we waited a minute while the persons in front of us finished. It was an efficient enough process though the agent was carrying on conversations on two different phones and didn’t interact with us. Though we checked in together, we did not get adjoining seats; when I noticed this on the way to security and checked at the gate, nothing adjoining was available. We didn’t go to the LH lounge since it’s a distance from the departure gate; instead we proceeded through security to the gate where we had 15 minutes before boarding the first of several buses to our remote gate without any priority boarding for the first bus.

Lufthansa 3393: A-321 with coach and European business class seating. Seats: 2A, 6D. Business 22/24 full, and coach 98% full. FAs were very welcoming and helped to expedite the boarding process, especially for the final busload of last-minute passengers. Doors were closed on time for the scheduled departure of 6:45 AM, but that slipped to 7:09 AM due to ATC issues. Breakfast options were spinach frittata or French toast. The frittata was good but not great – rather than – and warm rather than hot. Other items on the tray were cold-cuts, cheese, yogurt with some fruit, butter [for the bread distributed with the meal]. Drinks were refilled throughout the flight by proactive FAs. The landing was 8 minutes late from scheduled time. And we were told that we needed to show our passports on deplaning, where 5 police awaited us.

Munich transfer: Our United flight departure gate was not yet displayed on the monitors; we stopped at a LH Senator Lounge, where the attendant told us that it would be easier if we went upstairs and through passport control to get that done, and then go to the Senator Lounge by H-24, to wait till it was time to go the departure gate. We were greeted by the lounge guard/receptionist and pointed to the left for Senator – right for Business Lounge. He scanned our boarding passes and offered no other information, nor did we seek any. I wanted a shower and got one without delay off of the Business Lounge. A lounge attendant noticed that my light jacket had fallen off the back of my chair [while I was typing this trip report section] and offered to hang it up for me. There was no free wifi but there were several computers available for free use. The lounge became over-crowded to the point that new arrivals had to stand for lack of seats.

About an hour before the scheduled departure, we headed to the gate. Though there was a priority line for the premium classes, it was barely moving because there may or may not have been two staff there; one was and then would wander off to do something in an abandonment of her post. The remaining staff person was in no hurry to finish the task, so the coach folks’ line was moving so fast that some premium folks went there. We stayed put and made it to her, with her accent so pronounced it was difficult to understand her. She asked the TSA questions in such a way that it was rhetorical: only a fool would have said NO.

UA 903: 777, old configuration, Seats 2E, 2F: 11/12 seats with one for crew rest. Scheduled departure at 11:40 AM, actually left the gate at 11:44 AM with an announced ATC delay of 22 minutes prior to take-off.

FAs/Service: These FAs were ready for us and eager; as soon as we got to our seats, the usual offers were made about hanging up jackets and preference of beverage. And they were that way throughout the flight. They sprang to service as soon as possible after takeoff, when drink and meal orders were taken. Here’s the menu:

Appetizers: Smoked halibut, Mediterranean quiche, red and yellow bell pepper sauce

Soup: Creamy corn soup

Salad: Fresh seasonal greens with cherry tomatoes, julienne carrots, radishes and croutons served with a choice of Classic Caeser or Roasted Red Wine Vinaigrette dressing

Mains: [a] Grilled filet mignon with Bordelaise mushroom sauce, roasted potato wedges and asparagus, carrot and red pepper julianne. [b] Roasted chicken with sweet chili sauce, mixed pepper risotto and green beans with sun-blushed tomatoes. [c] Beachwood wrapped grilled salmon with tomato and olive concasse, roasted potato slices and root vegetables. [d] Gemelli pasta with mild sun-dried tomato sauce, roasted eggplant and zucchini.

Dessert: [a] ice cream with choice of toppings: hot fudge, caramel, and whipped cream, [b] cheese selection served with red grapes and crackers: Bavarian bleu, red cheddar, Strolch pepper

Lunch: [a] Chilled deli plate with Grueyere cheese, smoked salmon, honey ham, salami, asparagus and egg wedge. [b] Tandoori prawns with balsamic rice and an apple curry sauce

Food: I chose the salad with vinaigrette dressing and the filet. Both were excellent. Phil chose same salad and the chicken and had the same experience: great food.

Other: The cabin was incredibly hot when we entered but the FAs already were asking for the temperature to be ‘normal” and it was within 2 minutes. As on the outbound flight, I wore a light sweater the whole time and was comfortable. The passenger in 1A refused to close the two window shades at his seat, resulting in outside light which affected viewing at some individual monitors. The seatbelt sign was used only once or twice during the flight outside of take-off and landing needs.
IAD Customs/Baggage Claim

First and those in the business mini-cabin were let off first, through door two. That’s nice other than this just let us get to the mobile lounge first and wait for the others. It also gave us a chance to talk to the female co-pilot, who said she flew the middle-third of the trip – three pilots onboard. When we asked her about the UA-CO merger, she said it makes a lot of sense due to complimentary route systems and hopes that labor contract issues can be resolved amicably. She also said that her upward mobility will increase in about a year when some pilots reach the new mandatory 65 y/o retirement age.

This was our first time processing through IAD’s new international arrivals renovated space, and it’s very nice. The passport part had a 2-minute wait for us but that have been that only three international flights were present then. The expanded baggage area is almost ready to open. Par for the course, the UA 903 luggage posted to Carousel 4 actually was delivered to Carousel 3; passengers figured that out 15 minutes before it was verbally announced. Luggage with priority tags seems to be delivered first: at least ours were! With a 5-minute wait to hand over our customs form, we were in the no-line taxi rank and home 20 minutes later.