First time on Emirates with infant JFK - DBX - HYD
 

hello flyers,

I am going to travel by my first EK flight in Economy. I am flying with my lap infant. What should I expect. Remember, I am flying coach class.

1) JFK to DBX via the 9:10 AM flight. What are the meal services offered?

2) I arrive in DBX Early AM, and have the full day there, My connecting flight to HYD is not until 10pm. EK is gracious enought to book me a "DBX stopover" which includes visa on arrival, and hotel voucher for my day in Dubai. Any suggestions on my day in Dubai. I am travelling with my infant son, so nothing too adventerous and tiring. All the same, I don't want to spend the whole day in the Hotel. How expensive are cab rides in DBX? How far are the distances - say Airport to downtown or the souks?

3) DBX to HYD departure 10pm arrival 2am local time.

4) Return Journey DBX -to JFK 8am arrival JFK at 2pm. What are the meal services offered on this flight?


5) How is EK with kids? I don't expect them to take care of my baby except help me stow my luggage or warm the bottled milk. Do they have emergency diapers in case I run out?

6) Also, are they strict in enforicing their baggage allowance of 50lbs per bag.


7) I am a Continental GOLD Elite. Will I get "Elite qualifying miles" in addition to the base miles flying the above iteniary.

Thanks in advance, and looking forward to flying EK.

Hi,

Breakfast / Light Meal / Lunch

Airport is very close to downtown, you can be there in less than 10 minutes. Which hotel have you booked? There are some nice malls which are fun to spend the day in if you like shopping, or you can always relax at the beach which is about 35 minutes away in good traffic.

Cab rides are not too expensive, but not dirt cheap. I would say slightly cheaper than the USA

I am assuming you are asking about meals?

Dinner



Breakfast, Lunch and a light meal.

I have experienced both extremes with EK; some very nice child-friendly FAs but I have also experienced the opposite - rude and uncaring FAs.

They should help you stow luggage and warm milk. I am not sure if they have diapers, but they have great toys and things for kids of all ages.

Yes.

Nope, you only get EQMs when flying on the CO codeshare on the EK LGW-DXB-LGW flights

Cheers

Thanks for the information....

I still don't know which Hotel EK has booked me into. I guess I will have to wait till I check in JFK when I receive my Hotel voucher and visa for UAE.

Marhaba Lounge
 

The Marhaba lounge - there is a food court in there. Is it complimentary food and drinks and or it is like pay for food type food court?

from JFK-DXB, the service is great and they are usually very kids friendly.
Once I flew from JFK-DXB with about 17 infants. Flight attendants were
busy, but I think they took care of things very well. I was impressed.
Dont expect much from DXB-HYD


** Make sure you call EK and confirm your hotel ie. if you have non-smoking
preference etc. EK has their own wing in Airport Millenium hotel
and they give you a free shuttle to/from the airport.

Before you leave from JFK, after you check in, please pick up your
visa and hotel voucher from the Customer service desk at JFK.
you can simply walk through the immigration without stopping
anywhere at DXB. Sometimes lines in DXB are long and after
a long flight you dont want to stop there for one more chore.


As *sadiqhassan* mentioned, cabs are not so bad, but not too cheap
either. If you want, you can rent a car instead for a day. Its not so
expensive. (I generally use Budget, they are economical and okay enough)
Most of the things are close by, ie. the Deira, Souks etc is close by to the
airport. If you havent driven much outside of US, finding local places and
parking etc.. could be a challenge there addresses are not exactly marked
and people get around by landmarks, not street names/numbers.

If you are not going beyond Deira and airport surroundings, you would
pay about 20-30Dhs one way (about $7-8 USD) for the cabs.

Here is a nice map of Dubai: (no scale though)

http://www.arabianview.com/css/Dubai_Internet.pdf

Not completely accurate, but useful enough.

Enjoy Dubai! Food is great, days are hot, shopping is fun and traffic could
be a mess. but its a great place to visit.

I think Marhaba lounge is a paid service. You need to pay to use it.
I've used Skyteam (Crown Club) lounge there, but not the Marhaba.

when flying Y class to/from Dubai you get free access in the Marhaba lounge. You do get free food and drinks IIRC.

Cheers

Good to know :D thanks!

You do not need a visa if you are a US Citizen. Essentially, you are given a visa-on-arrival.

Thats correct. The visa on arrival is just an additional stamp along with your
entry stamp, but for the non-us (and a few other countries with similar status)
citizens, you need a visa. emirates(being the state owned airline) can
issue you a visa at the departure airport. in this case JFK.

I need a visa, and EK informed me to "pickup my visa and hotel voucher" after check-in. Wow, it is really convinent. And the reservation agents in the EK NY City office are the most gracious I have met!

Does my Hotel voucher also come with Meal vouchers for my 1 day stay in DBX. If so, is the meal vouchers good only in the participating Hotel or any of the restaurants in the Airport?

I think the hotel check-in desk will give you those. But since its
the day time, you are better off exploring some good Indian or
Middle-eastern food outside. One of the best place for food in the world.
(They import almost everything, but overall great food)