This report covers the following sectors, airlines and lounges

MALAYSIA: MEL TO KUL
KUL: Plaza Premium Lounge
MALAYSIA: KUL TO FCO
ALITALIA: FCO TO NAP
ALITALIA: NAP TO FCO
EASYJET: FCO TO NCE
FCO: Fretta Allata Lounge
AIR FRANCE: NCE TO CDG
AIR FRANCE: CDG TO FCO
MALAYSIA: FCO TO KUL
MAYALSIA: KUL TO MEL

AND will also cover various mishaps and incidents (flight delays, stuck on tarmac for 2 hours, small hotel reviews, small city stories)



Background

While I do travel quite a bit for work, this was my first leisure trip in 5 years. My father passed away 5 years ago and it has been a long overdue trip to see my family in Italy, some of whom I had never met before. As I was travelling with a friend of mine's daughter, there was no chance i could fly Business for any of the sectors, so had to suck it up in Y for the entire 9 flights. I would have paid for business for at least the MEL to FCO sectors, but couldn't and wouldn't leave my friend alone in Y as it was her first trip away also.

Flying from Australia to anywhere is painful enough, however i was really excited to see my family and also do some sightseeing all within a brief 13 days and hoped I would manage and not get too tired after all the flights.
My other half stayed behind in Oz, so for the first time in many years this was my first leisure trip alone without him.

As Alitalia no longer fly to Australia and I am a member of their program, my only option was to fly codeshare with Malaysia for the longer legs, and then Alitalia or other partners within Europe.

Considering it is peak time to travel from Oz to Europe, I got a terrific price and only wish I travelled Business the whole time for a fraction more.

Would I survive missing him? Would my ankles and legs survive the flights? Would I become addicted to airport shopping? Would I survive being in Y for so long?



Malaysia: Mel to Kul
Depart: 3pm
Actual: 3pm
Flight Time: 8 hours 10 mins

Thanks to a muck up in our booking at check in (for some reason they weren't linked) I asked if the exit row was available (which it was) and was not charged an extra fee for it.
Upon weighing my hand luggage was told it had to be 5 kg or less. As mine weighed 9 kgs (ipad alone weighs 1 kg) I had to reduce and put more stuff in my checked in bag. I am sure the cosmetics and toiletries I had in hand baggage weighed the extra 4 kilos alone.

The lines to leave the country in Melbourne are ridiculous...do they think we have nothing better to do with our time? Why have 2 desks open and 300 people waiting to depart? Almost an hour later, I was browsing duty free (or do I say buying!), with a quick chance to also grab a coffee and something to eat and it was boarding time. (After buying 10 magazines for absolutely no reason as I had heaps of reading material on the iPad)

First impression of stepping onto Malaysia's 777 was that it was dated and in major need of an overhaul. Our exit row seats were fairly standard, however the seat width for Economy is quite generous as opposed to other carriers (34in).
Seat configs are 2, 5, 2 and I would hate to be stuck in the middle of the 5 (spoke too soon...ended up there in the 2nd flight and just torture!)

The seats are all different colours. Some pink, purple, blue etc....who on earth chose that colour scheme and the ugliness that is the FA's uniforms in beyond me. Colour blind? Bad fashion sense? They looked like really bad curtains my Nanna used to have in the 70's.

Water or juice was offered prior to take off which is a nice gesture and the take off was smooth with no dramas. Could barely understand the pilot speaking through the crackle, but figured there were no major problems

Malaysia's IFE is probably the worst I have seen. Screen was blurry at the best of times and the selection was very small for English movies/shows. IFE comes out of from the bottom when sitting in exit rows which I found annoying and could barely move. Used my carry on case to prob my legs out which made it a little more comfortable.

First meal was served about an hour after leaving Melbourne. Choice of chicken or lamb and I chose the lamb. It was basically a lamb casserole with beans, potatoes and rice. Stale bread roll, pasta salad, fruit salad, water and choice of drinks (I don't drink alcohol while flying).
The lamb however was edible and quite tasty so I was happy enough.

The flight went fairly quickly after watching a couple of movies and the inflight service. The FA's weren't all that cheerful, but they were pleasant enough and kept busy the entire flight.

I regretted selecting the exit row for the amount of people waiting in line to use the toilets and stood there having a good gawk at us (Seriously....I think this is the rudest thing to stand and just stare at people that have the exit row!) That and the fact that we had a window with the safety door, and families kept bringing their children to peer out the window. I wanted to open that exit door on occasions just to get rid of them.

2nd meal was a chicken sausage roll which is close to one of the worst things I have ever eaten. Picture a chicko roll, mixed together with a bad kebab and that doesn't even come close to how bad this thing was.

We arrived into KUL right on time with 2 and 1/2 hours to wait in transit.

KUL is a fantastic airport, extremely clean and well posted signs everywhere. I could have spent my entire shopping budget in this airport alone...but alas I did the sensible thing and went straight to the Plaza Premium Lounge.

The lounge was on the 2nd level, close to the Emirates Lounge (which looked fantastic). The ladies at reception were very friendly and spoke excellent English. The lounge was fairly full when I arrived, but food and drinks kept being topped up (decent selection of hot and cold foods inc fresh fruit), Coffee machine, alcohol, ice creams etc.
4 computers, area to read and relax, smoking lounge and massage room (1 hour wait for massage, so booked in straight away) The massage went for 20mins and was neck and shoulders only, but well worth the wait and an excellent service from this very clean and quiet lounge.
Some pics of the lounge below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11/5943654926/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/

Had a chance to check emails, make a phone call home (they charged about $1 for the call home) and have a decent coffee and some fruit.

I also walked down to the gate area to see if I could get different seats for the next sector, however this next flight was totally full and no changes could be made. (I even asked about paying for Business, but nothing available).

Made our way to the gate right on boarding time, thanks to the flight board in the lounge and was feeling quite relaxed about taking the next sector, though it was expected to be 12 hours and I had no idea where we were sitting (and only praying I didn't end up in the row of 5)

And guess what? I ended up in the row of 5, right smack in the middle...seated next to a lady who wanted to show me photos of her daughter's wedding and grabbed my arm continuously as she was scared of flying....

More to come...

Malaysia Airlines
KUL to FCO
Depart: 11:45pm
Actual: 11:50pm
Flight Time: 12 hours 10 mins
Actual: 11 Hours

Security is scary at KUL. Getting past the gate seems like going into some kind of hidden fortress, however scary they may seem, they were friendly and did their jobs well.

So after my relaxing massage, I actually wasn't dreading the next 12 hours in whY as much as I thought I would be.....until I ended up smack bang in the middle of the row of 5.

Why do airlines do this to people? Was I being punished for giving out dirty looks while sitting in the exit row? Was my husband sending me negative energy about him not coming along? Whatever the reason, I sort of stumbled into the seat and started to get organised for the next 12 hours (Eye mask, noise cancelling headphones, sleeping pill!)

Had a lovely lady next to me, but as i had already been up and travelling for 18 hours, she was in a chatty mood and wanted to talk about her daughter's wedding (the year prior) and carries around with her photos of the wedding in her hand bag. 1 hour later, I was photo'd out, and was pleased to hear that flight time had been reduced to 11 hours! Yippee!

The plane was a similar 777 with the same ugly looking seats and ugly uniforms, but the FA's seemed more happy on this flight (perhaps the thought of sleeping PAX makes them happy?)

Choice of Fish or Chicken was available and I chose the Chicken Curry. HUGE mistake....do not choose Chicken curry unless dining in a place you love and trust. It looked disgusting and I refused to eat it, instead opting for the stale bread roll, stale carrot cake, and some nut mix.
Lady next to me had the Fish which she claimed was delicious. Not sure what she classes as good food, but the fish didn't look too happy either.

After washing down my pill with Pepsi (no coke on malaysia flights) I was fast asleep and managed about 5 hours without waking which is some sort of record in Y.

Watched another movie (slowly running out of English options) and soon enough it was the Breakfast service with 2 hours before arrival to Rome.

Breakfast was omelette, sausage, tomato, bread roll, juice and all quite tasty. No tea and coffee served as an announcement made as they wouldnt be serving it due to turbulence (perhaps they were on a different flight...I certainly didn't feel any turbulence)

By this stage I had not used any of the toilets on the plane, just wasn't game enough after seeing one with an "out of order" sign stuck to the door.

Touch down into Rome was again smooth and we were indeed an hour ahead of schedule which was fantastic.

Rome airport was very quiet and nothing opened when we arrived. Got through customs and had our bags all within 25 mins and was in the car to the hotel about 1/2 hour after arriving. This would be the only time that I liked Rome airport due to long delays and long lines during other legs of the trip.

Customs at Rome clearly don't care who they are letting into the country. No questions, no forms...just a quick stamp and no look at you.

Was looking forward to my first trip to Rome and the drive from the airport to the hotel (Boscolo Exedra) took less than 1/2 hour. Only had 2 days in Rome and wanted to see as much as possible.

Then why didn't anyone tell me it was to be a public holiday on Day 2 and that everything was closed!?

More to come..

Rome was fantastic, however the heat was stifling and to go from freezing cold weather in Melbourne to the dead heat of Rome was a shock to the system. I made sure in advance I booked a hotel that had a pool (Rome only has 30 hotels with pools so it was a task to find a decent hotel with a hotel)

Booked the 5 star Boscolo Exedra which i really enjoyed. Had a fantastic balcony view over the Piazza and the room size was very large for Rome standards.

Spent the first day after the long flights cramming as much in as possible: Vatican City, Colosseo, Trevi Fountain and a couple of nice meals.

Used cabs everywhere as too tired to walk and got used to the craziness that was the Rome drivers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11/5943660228/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jinxy11...n/photostream/

The 2nd day was a public holiday in Rome, so there went any chance of shopping up a storm! Ended up on a Hop on/Hop off bus and spent the night at the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

It was an early start for our next flight from Rome to Naples (en route to Sorrento) and had already checked in online with Alitalia and found the bag drop area quickly and easily. They werent fussed over the hand luggage weight and I just made it in at 22.6 kgs for the suitcase! (I hadn't brought much at this stage!)

ALITALIA
FCO TO NAP
Depart 9:45am
Actual 10:55am
Flight Time: 25mins

Italians like to form lines and be ready even when the boarding sign hasn't gone up yet. Found it quite amusing as they are the same here in Australia also (don't want to be late or miss out!)

It was my first time on Alitalia Metal for many years and I was pleasantly surprised with the seat size and the cleanliness of the plane. The flight was near full and I chose the window and my friend had the aisle which meant we would probably get someone in the middle of us (which we did)

The safety video went for about 15 mins spoken in english and italian, and after the first 2 mins I blocked out, as it went on and on and on and on..

The colour scheme was very nuetral....green and white and the FA's in black suits which looked quite good. They were all friendly and eager to get everyone seated.

For whatever reason an announcement went out that we were 12th in line to taxi to the runway and we had to sit and wait for the congestion to pass. The guy next to me told me to be patient as this is "Alitalia" and happens all the time and that the Alitalia ground crew are never in a hurry to do anything (this was true, as I could see the baggage handlers very casually putting one suitcase at a time onto the ramp) He gave me great insight into the problems that airline has had since the government stepped in, and that the workers are the slackest in the industry.

1 Hour Later, the flight departed, and no sooner had we evened out but the descent into Naples started. One of the quickest flights I had been on, and would have been even better if not for the delay on the tarmac.
We werent served anything on board which was fine due to the duration.

Naples airport one can only call a dive. Dirty, dimly lit...I made sure I kept a close eye on all my belongings and had to wait 1/2 hour for our luggage to appear.

All in all a 25min flight took us around 5 hours to get there and get out. Should have taken the train in hindsight!

Found our driver and began the 1 hour drive to Sorrento on the Bay of Naples to visit family for one night. Sorrento is heaven on earth, and I only wish i had more time to spend at this beautiful place.

Reserved NAP to FCO
Alitalia Lounge

Reserved FCO to NCE

Reserved NCE to CDG

Reserved CDG to FCO

Reserved FCO to KUL

Reserved KUL to MEL

Sorry to hear your pains with Malaysian Airlines. Out of curiosity, why did you choose Malaysian Airlines vs. other member airlines?

Hi Totmode

Alitalia rarely release specials and it was an Alitalia flight I paid for, and codeshare with Malaysia.
Next time I would rather it was Air France or KLM

I like the report so far. Keep them coming!

I like your writing style! Looking forward to the next report.

Thanks

Adam




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My Trip Reports:
Luton-Berlin with EasyJet. Beer, Berghain and Techno music