DaveNCL

Introduction and General Waffle
This will be my first TR and hopefully not the last, I’ve spent the last year or so reading other peoples so I thought I would do my own to add to the forum. I had hoped to complete a TR for my Seattle trip over new year, courtesy of BAs 2 for £2014 business class offer but this didn’t materialise. At this stage I’m not sure how it will turn out, how often I will update, if people will bother to read it or even if it will be finished! Any comments, suggestions or recommendations as we go forward would be appreciated. The idea at this stage is to run a semi-live TR, so that it can become interactive as I will be travelling by myself and writing will help fill in time during early mornings with a coffee or late at night whilst nursing a beer or two.

The idea for the trip came around 9 months ago and was somewhat fine tuned on an all inclusive holiday last June in Mexico. I’ve been intrigued by Asia and after doing 4 trips to North and Central America last year for both work and pleasure I decided 2015 would be the year to head East. The idea and excitement for Japan came from one of SFO777’s TR's on Japan and the Cherry Blossom season. What better than a big city with an event other than just the normal attractions to concentrate on.

A quick run down of the trip will be Newcastle to Amsterdam (1 night), Amsterdam to Tokyo (4 nights), Kyoto (1 night), and a last night in Narita so I don't have far to go for a 1030 return flight home.

For 11 hours in the air and being 6’3” I wasn’t interested in Economy, that left Premium Economy / Business on BA or Business on KLM. After looking at several options KLM World Business Class came out around the same price (£1800) as BA World Traveller Plus (NCL-LHR-NRT) when booked over 2 PNR’s (NCL-AMS / AMS-NRT). The price for a complete trip on KLM was around £2800 so the risk associated with 2 PNR’s was a no brainer due to the cost. Fingers crossed I don’t become a cropper, if so this part maybe edited quickly! To reduce the risk of 2 PNR’s I decided to fly to Amsterdam the night before and use a free night stay I had with Hotels.com.

I was excited to try KLM’s New World Business Class, which I have seen mixed reviews for. As a regular traveller with KLM and Flying Blue Gold I was happy with this option and it would be my first time with KLM long haul. I had flown BA WTP in October to IAD and liked the refurbished product. This was actually the first time I had slept for 7 hours coming home, partly due to the 20c day temperatures and walking around Arlington, Jefferson Memorial and Georgetown. However the price for WBC on KLM made the choice easy.

I’ve used the Japan forum on FT, where I managed to gain valuable information, guidebooks and the internet to gather my itinerary together. Due to a busy time at work and business trip last week to Lisbon it is not totally set at the minute. I’m hoping to use some of the 11 hours in the air to firm this up and work out what I want to do when I arrive in a jet lagged haze on Friday morning. When I travel back from America I’ve always felt sorry for US travellers arriving in London on the back of either no or lack of sleep and needing to be functional in a new environment when ideally you want to cherish every site, sound and moment of a new place. Going West generally is better deal for myself when wanting to arrive be on the front foot. So now it is my turn to experience the other way. No doubt a business class seat will help but I’m still nervous for the first few hours and feeling tired in a new environment. Coffee, exercise and writing this TR will hopefully help me deal with jet lag.

This report will be a mixture of text (hopefully of some use and sense) and photos taken with an iPhone 6 and Sony RX-100 which I used during my Seattle trip and gives great photos for an very amateur photographer. I'm not one for happily taking photos of things at the inconvenience of others so the iPhone will be useful when I'm brave enough to be obviously taking a photo of plane seats, food or other small things which will hopefully tell the story of my trip.

Route NCL-AMS
Flight Number 0964
Departure 1725 (Actual 1740)
Arrival 1955 (Actual )
Seat 12A (Economy exit seat)
Aircraft 737



After working away from home on Monday and Tuesday I needed to catch up with office work from home on Wednesday along with a few calls. This would work well for a sharp finish and leaving for the airport. I’m generally an early riser however I seemed to develop a cold overnight, not an ideal start to the day. Turning the computer on around 0630 to catch up before colleagues and customers arrive into the office, I managed to be on top of things by around 1130. This allowed me to turn my attention to packing, drinking a Lemsip (blackcurrant if you are wondering) and day dreaming of a nearly 2 weeks off. As it transpires my trip coincided with Easter when I return so for 6 days holiday entitlement it nets nearly 2 weeks off, not a bad deal. I travel a fair amount on business so packing was relatively easy, certainly easier than a late arrival home one night and early departure the next which I often seem to find myself doing. Finishing laundry at 2300 and hoping its dried by 0500 to pack has its turn offs and I'm sure it can't make me popular with neighbours when the spin is doing its thing. Main question was whether to do one bag travel with my Rimowa Cabin or add a second bag for laptop, camera and reading material. The case would of fitted everything in but I didn’t want to keep going into my case so decided to add my Herschel backpack as a ride along. Generally I travel HBO with one bag but the extra space of my backpack made things easier. I love both Rimowa's that I own but the lack of outside pockets does make things difficult at times for easy access during security and boarding. Anyway style outweighs substance most of the time!

I have booked an exit row seat as I didn't want the severe come down from business, which I thought it might play in my favour if space is limited and I planned to make sure to be at the gate a little earlier than normal. NCL staff don’t appear to favour priority boarding for KLM.

I left home around 1430 as I decided to take the Newcastle Metro system to the airport as parking was on the expensive side for this trip, that and work weren't paying which surprisingly makes a difference! Arriving at NCL around 1520 I had plenty of time, this was probably the earliest I have been for a flight for some time. For instance on 0555 KLM flight I generally aim to arrive by 0500. However being unsure of the Metro times and duration I give myself enough time to sit back and relax.

Having check in online and security being next to empty I was airside within no time. I went through fast track just to avoid what looked to be a school trip. Again this makes a change from competing with charter flights on early morning visits.

The airport is half closed airside at the minute due to ongoing renovation so I headed straight for the lounge, not that there is much to entertain you when fully open. Sitting there with another Lemsip (brought my own, not on offer in the Aspire Lounge) followed by a beer I embarked on writing the Intro to this report and for the first time the trip and excitement started to sink in.

Lets start this report


Predictably no priority boarding was announced, so I was a good job left the lounge a little early to be one of the first on board as it was a full flight. KLM switch between the 737s and ?E190? However they are generally full especially on the early / late flights. I'm always surprised when BA withdraw their early morning and post 2100 flights as this reduces the connecting options through LHR.

I was seated in 12A with extra legroom due to the emergency exit, KLM have recently retrofitted their 737-700 to cram even more seats in and reducing the exit rows to what I assume is the bare legal requirement. The configuration is now similar to Jet2 where 14A has no seat in front. That seat is another favourite on the annual business trip to Faro.

12A - Extra legroom


Departure was delayed due to what was announced by the Captain as a new slot system at AMS which was 'severely reducing landing slots'. This meant we were 'not allowed to be airborne before 1750' but due to the quick flying time they expected to arrive on time.

Time for a wing photo, nice day for flying


In the end we took off around 1747, this Captain obviously had dinner plans, and landed at 1941 finally leaving the aircraft at 1957 after the normal long taxi and no one to connect the air bridge.

What seems to be a common Dutch trait of getting out of seats removing bags from the lockers before the plane has even stopped never mind seat belt sign turned off was in full force. Thankfully people disembarked through rows as opposed to people not allowing other out which is another mild annoyance.

Amsterdam City Centre - Crowne Plaza
Ironically this will be my first time on Dutch soil. I connect through AMS for nearly all my business flights however I've never set foot outside the airport. With my train ticket bought is was on the 2014 train to Amsterdam Central and in my hotel by 2040 after a slight detour. In other words I got lost which I’m sure is a common ‘excuse’ in Amsterdam but it was the case this time.

2 Central Stations, 2 different countries


I booked the Crowne Plaza hotel due to it being close to the station, as mentioned earlier this was with Hotel.com Welcome Rewards as a free night. A nice hotel in the centre, clean and modern. I was impressed on arrival as with my IHG rewards number I was given complementary wifi access, free bar drink, late check out until 2pm and several discounts for bar and restaurant redemptions. This is often hit or miss when redeeming free nights but on this occasion all the normal benefits were given.

Once into the room, unpacked a little and turned to air con to arctic as it was a little warm. Then headed to the bar to complete and upload the first part of my report. Surprising for some reason I feel nervous creating the thread but hopefully at least one person will find it useful.

Crowne Plaza Room


Thats it for today, not too long in the bar and then a good nights sleep before a planned early wake up to help with sleep on the flight. Gym, breakfast, walk around Amsterdam for a little sightseeing, Anne Frank Museum and then on the train back to Schiphol.

Meal, drinks and TR writing

farbster

Nice start! Looking forward to reading more.

stevie

Very good so far, looking forward to seeing Japan through your photo's.

Cool name too you have

Osmo

This just looks wrong. I mean, yes in an emergency evac, please try not to hit your knees and trip over the seats in the emergency exit row because everyone behind you might die.

I loved Japan so looking forward to the rest of your trip report!

Cohall

I'm headed to Tokyo for the first time in September. Looking forward to your report!

lawyeraaron

Im sure you aren't the first person to "get lost" in Amsterdam.

DaveNCL

Amsterdam and the Anne Frank House



As seems to be common lately I woke naturally at 0500 (0400 GMT) and decided that there was little point lying in bed trying to get more sleep. Hopefully it would bode well for sleeping on the flight.

Tech for the trip


After checking the important parts of life, Twitter, Instagram, Flyertalk and email I decided to head to the gym. I had tried my luck at an early check in at the Tokyo Station Hotel via email, however the reply, as I thought said it was not possible. 1500 check in for Japan appears non negotiable from the evidence I've seen. The Mods had also cleared up my mess on a double posting for the TR, not sure how that happened but now we are on one thread. Thanks for the first couple of comments.

Beware of the low ceiling when running!


A quick breakfast and another Lemsip and I was heading towards the Anne Frank Museum hoping to join the queue before it opened at 9am. I joined a good size line where the sign informed me of a waiting time of 45 minutes. I had planned to buy tickets in advance online but I forgot and by the time I came to do it there were none available. I would recommend this for anyone planning a visit but online availability does seem limited. My cold had not deteriorated any further overnight, however the cool morning and queuing outside the museum in a light jacket for 1 hour may put pay to that. Time will tell.

School run Amsterdam style




Is this where Lufthansa buy their FCT ducks?


General photos


















Bang on 9am, with the church bell ringing, the line slowly edged forward, taking approximately 35 minute to reach the ticket desk. I had expected it to move a little quicker due to it just opening, but once inside I could see why getting people through quickly was not possible.

Museum queue


I wasn't sure what to expect from the museum, my interest was peaked after my visit to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC last October. That visit was understandably very somber and conducted in almost silence by everyone. This wasn't quite the same atmosphere although it remained quiet and respectful. Perhaps this being a living place of resilient energy, with exhibits displaying the story after the house being presented near the end allowed it to tell the story as it were. A familiarity was present where children had once expressed themselves in different ways and allowed their personality to shine through even under extremely difficult circumstances.

As I walked through the house the tight spaces and steep steps demonstrated why the queue only creeps forward outside. 8 people in total were in hiding in the secret annex. The premises originally belonged to Anne Franks’ Father but he signed his company over due to Nazi restrictions on Jewish ownership. A few office staff working in the building knew of their presence and helped them through their time there by collecting food, amenities and disposing of waste. The workmen in the warehouse were totally unaware of the secret annex and the secrets it held. During daylight and trading hours they had to remain silent and as still as possible to not arouse suspicion. The amount of work and the dedication of people throughout this was evident, still to this day it is unknown who tipped off the Nazis to the hidden annex.

What was most poignant was the Anne Frank died just one month before liberation with her Sister and Mother dying not long before. Her Father survived and returned to Amsterdam in hope that his children and Wife would return.

An excellent guide was given out in the queue which tells the story better than I ever could and can be read at :- Anne Frank Museum Guide

After spending around 1 hour in the museum I bought a postcard and walked back to my hotel to check out and take the train to Schiphol.

Postcard

henrus

Sounds Great

I'm off to Kyoto in a week so looking forward to some good tips

I really hope the Cherry Blossoms will be around in a week maybe you could shed some light

RTW1

www.japan-guide.com has a pretty accurate overview and some "trip" reports.

DaveNCL

Route AMS-NRT
Flight Number KL0861
Departure 1425 (Actual 1434)
Arrival 0925 (Actual 0920)
Seat 1A (World Business Class)
Aircraft 747-400 (Mixed Combi)



Todays Plane


I arrived at AMS around 1150 and was airside within 5 minutes courtesy of an empty fast track queue. Its the first time I've entered AMS from landside and I was impressed with the efficiency. That being said I had already checked in and with no bags to drop, it was as simple as it should of been. So much so that in future I may choose to overnight in Amsterdam when the 0555 flight out of Newcastle isn’t appealing or the connection is too tight.

Generally my route through AMS is arriving at gates D and connection through gates B/C or D (Schengen) and reverse on the return. I was looking forward to walking and investigating the other direction. Low and behold I check my gate and its D43, I can't get away from them. Main problem with this is the lounge is near F gates so a prolonged walk to and from ensues.

I had around 90 minutes in the lounge, just enough time for a spot of lunch, chicken rendang, a couple of drinks and to get started on the next section of my TR. Around 60 minutes before departure I made my way to the gate.



Until construction is complete in AMS, security is still at the gate for non Schengan departures. General boarding had a good sized queue but the priority queue was almost empty and would of been a breeze had it not be for one gent arguing over whether to take his belt off. Once through, I had 5 minutes to make a call and grab IMG codes from Photobucket to allow me to continue with my TR onboard.

Families were called first then Business Class and Skyteam elite card holders. I was 6th onto the plane through 2L behind a family of 4 and one gent who was also in WBC. Case and bag stowed, coat taken and hung by one cabin crew I managed to sort the general clutter at my seat. Pillow and blanket kept for what I hoped was a decent sleep and headphones ditched in favour of my Bose. Viktor and Rolf amenity kits, slippers and a pre boarding drink were distributed promptly.

Seat 1A


Seats 1J/K










My last trip on a 747 was for a business trip in April courtesy of BA to JFK. On that occasion I was 2 rows from the back, firmly in Y thanks to my corporate travel policy and the twin seats offering a smidging of extra legroom. It's was certainly nice to be propelled to the front on this occasion. Anyone familiar with BA 747 will know they are old and worn, especially in Y. The KLM 747 has recently been refurbished so I was looking forward to trying WBC and comparing it to BA Club World.

First impressions of the cabin were good with the crew being very proactive. The seat seemed well padded, wider, with more personal space. This was especially so in 1A where you don’t share the middle table/storage area with another passenger. One issue I noted was the lack to storage for personal items. There is a small pocket on the right of the seat, however this already full of the normal literature and a small slot under the TV. Not a great design as the contents including a menu, duty free brochure, slippers and iPhone all shot out as soon as we accelerated down the runway! I decided to leave my bag and items in the overhead locker to avoid problems before take off. Being in 1A I had no one to step over and the front WBC cabin give restful ambience. The front WBC cabin was full with 15 passengers and I noticed the rest of the plane looked fairly full when disembarking.

I had been fretting over whether to take an upper deck seat but the privacy of 1A and no one to step over got the vote for this night flight. Perhaps when I return I may venture upstairs, as sleep isn't a priority, however at the minute I've got 1A reserved. One thing I did feel was the noticeable lift and drop of the tug on pushback, being at the very front it was a slightly weird sensation.

Take off was just after 1445 after a short taxi. Whilst travelling a lot through Europe I always forget quite how much runway a wide body aircraft needs. We followed at 738 during taxi and that seemed to use half the runway length of us entering near the half way point whilst we continued to the end. I would of thought it would make sense to start at the end and take off early down the runway to give optimal area for deceleration if needed in an emergency or abort. Take off is not quite as elegant or as quiet as the A380, its never going to be due to the age and technology, however you can feel the power once you do eventually lift off the ground. I'm looking forward to trying the 787 in June and comparing the 3 aircraft. Once airborne I received a nice welcome from the Senior Purser which was offered to a few in the cabin.



Service started with dinner orders taken and two rounds of drinks before the starter arrived. I went with the western option however there was a slight mistake with my starter. I had asked for Sushi in place of the quinoa appetiser, this was mistaken as asking for the Japanese menu. What is the airline fascination with quinoa, BA offer it a lot also and today it was in the appetiser and a main option. Once I had clarified and showed the crew member the menu it was resolved, it appeared he didn't realise that the menu offered this as an alternative. The same mistake was also made further back the cabin.

Menu for todays flight












Another round of drinks, I decided to stick to lager and then the main was served followed by the dessert. One great design feature is that the tray table bows upwards in the middle. I used my iPhone to support one side of the tray to stop it moving about and this also give me a place to store it during meals. That's why design and innovation pays big bucks.



During the main course I started to watch The Imitation Game which was easy to follow and not too taxing of a story line. I prefer this on flights due to interruption during dinner service. One negative to the cabin is the poor screen resolution which is odd for a newly refurbished cabin. The screen also doesn't point to the centre of the seat, it's slightly to the right. It didn't affect the film too much however due to the film being shot in a different ratio it left very little screen for the film to be shown on. What should of been a good size screen was reduced to a thin, wide picture. Due to this text at the end of the film was very difficult to read.



Once the film ended it was time to bed down for the night in the hope of getting some sleep. I kept my earphones in to remove the aircraft noise and listen to a podcast. Tonight choice was Bad 4 Business with Jerry Ferrara and guest Dean Delray. From this I learnt that Dean Delray also does a podcast which I subscribed to. I had a couple of these stored up thanks to listening to others over the past week. I use a variety of podcasts whilst driving, travelling or trying to fall asleep which are either comedy or radio based.

One further negative point is that it seems the window seats have a smaller ottoman that the aisle. I could just about get my size 11 feet in when in seat and bed mode. The headrest also doesn't make use of the full seat frame so there is about a 4 inch gap above your head which means you lose your pillow into it. I resolved this by also using my inflatable neck support to bridge the gap.

I lay in my seat for around 2 hours without drifting off to sleep but I wasn't too restless. I did eventually drop off for what I think was approximately 2 hours but is was awoken several times due to a noises cabin, even after the lights were turned off. I think I've heard less noise on a day flight, not conducive to sleep. Of the several complaints there was lots of noise from the galley, opening and closing of doors, a lot of doors! So much so, they may need a little oil in NRT before the return flight. I certainly wouldn't like to of been closer. Several people bringing down cases from over head lockers and then a final complaint which I also had in the lounge but had decided to omit as I thought it made me sound weird. It concerns gents and blowing their nose or more accurately not, and simply sniffing very loudly during the course of their day. Handkerchief sales must be at an all time low on this evidence. In the lounge earlier I had been sitting in a peaceful corner until 4 men came along, sat next to me and proceeded to sniff loudly for the duration. Not just to odd one quietly, it seemed like stuff was being propelled from the tip of their nose to their lungs. I’ve just had a thought as I am writing this, perhaps it's a hint butchecked my armpits and all seems well so it can't be that. Anyway people, handkerchiefs at the ready please, I don’t believe this to be a generational thing as most of these people were older than me.

Around 7am local time and 2 hours before arrival I decided to freshen up and brush my teeth. Shortly after, breakfast was served where I choose the scrambled egg, granola, yoghurt and fruit. I attempted half of the croissant but it was just too much dust for my liking even with a liberal dowsing of jam.



Just before landing the Delft Blue Houses were given out by the Senior Purser.



Starting our decent into NRT the Captain pointed out a great view of Mt. Fuji, unfortunately this was on the right side of the aircraft. Luckily when turning to come into land it switched and the left hand side got the view.





After landing at 0915 a short taxi took us to our gate. WBC passengers were asked to leave first through both 1L and 2L and a walk through immigration and security took all of 5 minutes. I was landslide with my feet on Japanese soil by 0930, very efficient. First impression was the great calm in the terminal, especially just after leaving the plane, very nice after a long overnight flight. Time to let the adventure begin.

Our gate at NRT

DaveNCL

Thanks!

Thanks, very amateur photographer mind you. To be honest until 6 months ago I could never really be bothered with photographs.

No need to worry in 12A

Thanks

Honest 'Guv!
I think full bloom is expected on 2nd April in Kyoto from what I've read so you will be in good time.

mkjr

I must be lucky but I've been able to check in early at the Shangri la in tokyo. In fact, just afternoon and on the same trip, at the marriott in tenoji in Osaka. I'm begging to think this is something my company negotiates as in all cases, even at 8am at the MO in HKG I was checked in right away.

Thanks for the tip about the Anne frankhouse tickets online. Sadly, they are gone for my days in amsterdam in a few weeks. Doh.

tcook052

You'd never know it with the 'rain on the runway' photo and catching Mt. Fuji. Great pictures and very good TR! ^

flyertalker00156

Love flying into Tokyo and seeing Mt Fuji! Great report so far! I hope you enjoyed the Cherry Blossom Season it is my favourite time to visit Japan....

HangukStyle

Thanks for this trip report. I will fly AMS - NRT next month, so this TR helps getting me excited about my upcoming trip.