Emirates First Class - Sydney to Auckland return on the A380
Jan 30, 2012, 5:39 am
#46
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Jan 30, 2012, 8:56 pm
#47
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Sailing an ex-Americas Cup Yacht
I had a rather lazy morning and got up late, missing breakfast. I had booked the sailing trip for 2pm that day so wandered down to Viaduct Harbour to get something to eat. I headed to a pub that was located directly opposite the Sail NZ booth. I’d booked this experience a few weeks before, here: http://www.explorenz.co.nz/SailNZ/Sa...xperience.html
I saw down and ordered something which I always enjoy in New Zealand (and Australia), a Monteith’s Cider and chose a BBQ chicken pizza to go with it as I was pretty hungry, having skipped breakfast.
Mmm – cider and pizza
At about 1.45pm I went over to the Sail NZ desk and waited to head out. The weather was starting to look a bit dodgy at this point. We all lined up made our way down the ramp towards the boat. We were going to be sailing the NZL 68 which was used as a training boat for Team New Zealand during the 2007 campaign. She weighs around 24 tonnes, with 20 of that in the keel.
We were instructed to place all of our bags into lockers and then rain jackets and life jackets were handed out. It wasn’t actually raining at this point, so I declined the rain jacket, something that I would regret later!
The crew then gave a safety briefing and then we made our way onto the boat. There were quite a few of us, maybe 20 or so, so finding a space on the boat to sit was quite difficult.
Ready to go
We headed out of the harbour, using the engine of course, and the crew explained a little about the boat. They then explained the procedure for ‘grinding’. A rather provocative term, however, it was the term used to raise and adjust the sails.
There were two groups, front and back, and people were encouraged to step up to the grinders. Although all of the principles are the same as my friend’s yacht (somewhat smaller at 23 ft.) the sheer scale of this boat meant that the forces involved were huge. Therefore, normal winches couldn’t be used. The winches on this boat were huge and were driven by grinders which were handles protruding from the deck and were operated by two people at a time.
It started to chuck it down with rain at this point and I was getting soaked, as well as my camera. One of the crew went and fetched some spare jackets from down people which were very welcome.
As soon as everyone was ready, the crew shouted “grind!” and the grinders started to raise the huge main sail, shortly followed by the headsail, and then we were off!
Grind!
Up she goes
At full height
We headed almost straight into the wind, in the close hauled position and were soon zipping along at a very decent 10 knots. My friend’s boat would be lucky to manage about 5, in strong winds. We had quite a bit of heel on and one of the kids got a bit scared about the boat capsizing (not possible).
The experience of going so fast, just under sail power was exhilarating!
The crew initially took charge of the wheel but then offered it to some of the passengers on-board, to have a go. I took my turn and found it pretty easy to control, although lots of little adjustments were required all the time to keep the boat going in the right direction.
It seemed like we weren’t the only ones out on the harbour on this wet Wednesday afternoon. I noticed a familiar boat, an 18ft skiff which normally race around Sydney Harbour. Not sure why they were in town, but it was nice to see them anyway.
Quite a heel on!
Impressive 9.3 knots, we actually maxed out at around 10.5
A visitor from Sydney
I managed to capture a video as we made our way up the harbour:
Video – Close hauled in Auckland Harbour After thirty minutes or so it was time to turn around. The crew explained the procedure and there was some more grinding involved. This time I took one of the handles to have a go myself. As we made the turn, I found that it was actually pretty hard work, even with multiple people working at the same time.
We turned onto a beam reach and made our way back down the harbour, towards the city. The rain passed and surprisingly, the sun came out. This was very welcome. Heading back was a much calmer experience, as the beam reach generally means that the boat stays mostly flat, although it is actually one of the fastest sail positions.
Heading back to the city
Heading back to the city
Some of the winches and ropes at the front of the boat
And here’s a video:
Video – Reaching back towards the city We didn’t head straight back, as we still had some time left so instead, we made our way towards and under the harbour bridge. Although not as impressive as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it was still fun to sail underneath it, especially as the clearance was a little tight, with the huge mast on this boat. It actually got a bit rough again as we turned and headed back to the city, which was fun for ‘sailors’ but perhaps not so for the other passengers on board.
Hitting some waves!
As we got close to the harbour entrance it was time to put the sails down, which meant more grinding, but in reverse. Due to the size of the boat, two crew actually had to climb up the mast and the end of the boom to ensure that the main sail came down correctly. I made a comment that this part of the sailing experience was always the most annoying, and the crew agreed!
The sun was well and truly out as we cruised back into Viaduct Harbour and moored up. We all disembarked, collected our stuff, said some goodbyes and then headed off.
On the end of the boom
Moored up, sun out
Verdict
I had a really great time. The experience cost $160 NZD (£84/$124 AUD/$132 USD) but it was worth it. We only had two hours overall, from getting on the boat to disembarking but that was more than enough to get a feel of the boat and enjoy the actual sailing. As someone that sails, being able to go so fast so effortlessly just under sail power was a huge thrill.
I know that there are similar experiences available in Sydney, and I might give them a try.
Jan 30, 2012, 9:17 pm
#48
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The new batches of photos are outstanding. I love those photos taken on the boat. Are these photos taken with your new 70-200 mm Nikon zoom? If yes, i will definitely look for one for myself.
Jan 30, 2012, 10:20 pm
#50
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Thanks! I should ask Emirates for some renumeration 
Thanks UA_Flyer. No, I didn't dare take it onto the boat as it's worth more than my camera and my normal 18-200mm combined. The only photo taken with that lens in the report so far is the one of Andy Murray on page 3. There are some more to come though.
Cheers vecta! Well, unless work decide to send me somewhere exotic (unlikely) the next trip will be a return to the UK, around the end of May time. I'm planning on mixing things up a bit and flying with Finnair, whilst doing some codeshares on CX, QF and BA. Nothing is booked yet, so we'll have to see how it all works out.
Cheers vecta! Well, unless work decide to send me somewhere exotic (unlikely) the next trip will be a return to the UK, around the end of May time. I'm planning on mixing things up a bit and flying with Finnair, whilst doing some codeshares on CX, QF and BA. Nothing is booked yet, so we'll have to see how it all works out.
Jan 31, 2012, 10:59 pm
#52
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After the sailing, I started to wander back to the hotel. On the way I passed the Sky Tower again and was able to see a group of people participating in the ‘Sky Walk’, something that I had been contemplating doing.
Sky Walkers – Crazy people!
The evening was spent in my hotel room, with room service to boot. The food was actually pretty good. Some people suggest that one should always get out and about in the evenings, if you are on your own, but I disagree. I really don’t want to sit in a pub/bar by myself if I can at all avoid it. I’d rather relax in my room, watching my iPad and if I want a drink, I can order one.
The next day was the first day where I’d not really formally planned anything out. I had decided the night before that I wanted to visit the Sky Tower and the Maritime Museum. I got up at about 9am and went down for breakfast at the hotel. The selection was pretty good, although I just opted for the continental version.
After breakfast I made my way to the Sky Tower, which was just up the road. The weather wasn’t that great, so it was a good idea that I’d planned to do some indoor activities for the whole day.
Looking up at the Sky Tower
The Sky Tower wasn’t too busy as it was only around 10am at this point. I made my way down the escalator to the ticket desk (through the gift shop of course) and purchased my ticket for the viewing platforms. There are two tickets, one for the lower platform and the other for the smaller but higher platform. The difference is $3 and I found a voucher in the back of one of the tourist guides that gave me access to the top deck as part of the cheapest ticket, saving $3. More info on the various viewing platforms here.
I entered the lift and I was soon on my way up to the first observation level. The interesting thing about the lift is that quite a lot of it is glass, including the sides and the floor! It was a little bit unnerving, but cool at the same time. Some of the people in the lift didn’t like it though and pressed themselves against the wall to get as far away from the floor as possible.
Taking the lift up to the first observation deck
The lift ride was short and I was soon at the first observation level. The views were pretty good, even on this rather grey day. There are floor to ceiling windows all the way around and in some places, glass panels in the floor too, so watch out!
I wandered around and took a few photos. It took a little bit of courage to step on the glass floor panels, I must admit. Logically, it makes no sense of course, but it looks like you are stepping into a hole. There was even a sign that said that the glass was actually stronger than the concrete floor.
A view towards Viaduct Harbour
Lots of yachts!
Looking down at the Crowne Plaza
Standing on the glass floor
Whilst walking around the observation deck, periodically there would be a flash of something falling down to the ground below. This was of course people doing the ‘Sky Jump’. This is described as a cable controlled base jump and although it looks pretty fast the actual descent is controlled so the fall is much slower than it would normally be. Still, I’m sure it’d be pretty scary and exhilarating. The funny thing is that, as part of the drop, the willing participants would be held at the level of the observation deck, before being unceremoniously dropped to the bottom, much to their surprise!
More info on the Sky Jump here.
A young Sky Jumper
Taken just as he was released!
I made my way up to the top deck, which was higher up and a bit smaller. I didn’t really see the appeal, as the view was pretty much the same of course. After that, I headed down and joined the small queue for the lift before heading out (back through the gift shop) and then down to the Maritime Musueum.
The National Maritime Museum is located near to Prince’s Wharf and Viaduct Harbour and comprises of several large exhibition halls as well as floating exhibits at the wharf adjacent to the museum itself.
The museum has an interesting pricing structure. Those living in Auckland do not have to pay an entrance fee whilst those from outside Auckland have to pay a nominal $17 fee which includes entrance to all of the exhibits.
The museum starts with an introduction to New Zealand, it’s formation and foundation and a brief history of it’s coastline. Moving into the main hall are various examples of early vessels, including Maori designs.
An early sailing vessel
Modern sail set up
The cockpit
Whilst this was all very interesting (and I mean that), I was more intrigued by the special exhibition at the end of the museum, a tribute to Sir Peter Blake and New Zealand’s Americas Cup history. This exhibition details much of Sir Peter’s life and charts the history on the Americas Cup, with particular focus on New Zealand’s entries. In the main hall is a winning yacht, Black Magic, which is actually quite similar to the boat that I sailed on the previous day.
The exhibition was truly fascinating, detailing all aspects of boat design, how sails work and then more detail of the history of the cup, including all of the controversy. There were also videos at various points including one that showed some footage of how bad it can get when things go wrong out at sea.
I was also able to head outside at this point. There were a few exhibits, but by far the largest was a dis-used steam crane that was in use right up to the start of the 1980’s. As I boarded I made my way to the front and was dive bombed by a sea gull who was clearly upset about me stomping all over his turf! Although he didn’t hit me, I decided to retreat to the cabin below for the sake of peace relations. It was quite eerie being in such a dark place, alone, with lots of machinery all around and the constant slight rocking of the boat.
Team New Zealand’s 1995 winning boat, Black Magic
The cockpit of Black Magic
On the sea crane
I must have spent at least a good 2 hours at the museum and really enjoyed it, so much more than the Sky Tower.
After the museum I decided to take a wander around the harbour, working my way right down to the end of Viaduct Harbour and over the footbridge. There was a ridiculously huge yacht moored up, ‘Ocean Victory’ which is apparently ranked at 91 on the list of the top 100 super yachts in the world in 2011. Crazy!
Looking back at the city, from Viaduct Harbour
Ocean Victory, the 91st largest super yacht in the world
As I was heading back towards the city I noticed that the Sail NZ boats were starting to make their way in after their afternoon sail, so I was able to get a few shots. The weather was much better than yesterday, so the passengers didn’t look nearly as soaked as I ended up being.
Dropping the sails
Heading in to Viaduct Harbour
As I walked back, I went past Prince’s Wharf again and took a quick look at Euro. It wasn’t very busy, so I decided that I was going to eat there that night. I wasn’t appropriately dressed, in shorts and wearing hiking boats, so I decided to head back to the hotel to change first. As I did, I noticed that one of the Silver Seas cruise ships was in town.
Silver Seas ship at Prince’s Wharf
Feb 2, 2012, 2:30 am
#53
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Dinner at Euro
Euro
After a quick shower and a change into some more appropriate clothes I made my way back down to Prince’s Wharf and went into Euro. It wasn’t too busy (although it was early, around 6.30pm) and the sun was starting to come out.
I was greeted at the door and offered a few tables to choose from. I decided to go with one just inside the restaurant, with a view towards the Maritime Museum.
My place setting
My waiter Ben, approached and offered water and then went through the specials for me. He asked if I was interested in pairing wines with the food, to which I said that I was. He was very attentive, and easily struck the balance between showing an interest but not being pushy at all. I asked for a few minutes to make up my mind, and whilst doing so ordered a glass of Mumm Rose Champagne to kick things off. Shortly after my water arrived, with it’s own ice bucket and then the Rose was delivered. I savoured the Champagne, as it felt pretty special to be here and I felt like I was really being looked after.
Mumm Rose Champagne and water
I’d browsed the menu briefly a couple of days ago, so I knew the kind of price range for each course and I knew that this meal would be a bit indulgent, but why not?
Ben came back to see if I’d decided on the food, or if I needed any more help. I opted to have the pasta starter (special) which was described as ‘Rigatoni pasta with a beef ragout, chorizo sausage and asparagus, with a dressing of fresh leaves and shaved parmesan’. He suggested a red wine with the meal and selected a Malborough Pinot Noir I believe (I can’t remember for sure).
For the main I went for ‘John Dory fillets with octopus, fingerling potatoes and a white wine and olive oil dressing’.
I was still enjoying the Champagne and Ben asked if I’d like to wait a few minutes before he put the order in, so that I could finish it off at my own pace. I looked around, and although it wasn’t very busy, the crowd was quite mixed. There were some older Americans who looked like they may have been on a cruise (perhaps on the Silver Seas ship) and a few romantic couples all dressed up. I did feel a bit under-dressed to be honest, but I had every right to be there and the waiter treated me like I was sitting in the nose of a 747 in First Class.
As I finish my Champagne, my water is topped up, the glass removed and the Pinot Noir arrives, shortly followed by the pasta starter. It all seemed timed to perfection.
Rigatoni pasta starter
Pinot Noir and water
The pasta was absolutely divine. I don’t think that I’ve ever had a nicer pasta dish. It seemed so light somehow and all of the flavours came together in the mouth so effortlessly. It was truly fantastic and I’d order it again in a heartbeat.
After noticing that I’d finished (I really took my time, to savour the dish) Ben asked if I would like my main dish straight away, or after a few minutes. I decided to take a little rest as I wanted to make sure that I didn’t start feeling full before the main had even arrived. He bought over the wine menu and invited me to select a white wine for the main dish, and made some recommendations. In the end, I chose a Viognier which he said was an excellent choice. I thought so too!
My wine arrived, my water glass was topped up and then the fish arrived. It was well presented again, as expected, and everything looked well balanced on the plate. The fillets were very tender, without being soggy and with the skin left on, they were full of flavour. I don’t think that I’ve had octopus before, but it was actually quite nice and blended in well with the fish and the potatoes. It was of course, delicious again.
John Dory fillets
Viognier
The wine went very well with the fish, although I did take my time to finish it, as I was starting to feel a little drunk at this point.
Ben came back to take away my empty plate and offer dessert. I would have loved to, as well as have a glass of dessert wine, but alas, I was too full, so I declined, maybe next time. I asked for the bill which was promptly delivered.
In total, the meal cost $120 NZD ($93 AUD/ £63 / $100 US) which I thought was pretty good. I’d had a large glass of Champagne to start, mineral water, a starter plus wine and a main plus wine. I was very pleased with the service so I rounded it up to $150 and handed Ben the bill back, thanking him on the way out.
Verdict
This was a fantastic meal, with fantastic service. I really couldn’t fault it all and I’m desperate to go back. I thought that the food was extremely well presented and the flavours were very carefully chosen so that they blended together well. The wine list was extensive, with a great selection of local and world wines. I also felt that given the standard, it was good value.
It’s on my list next time I’m in Auckland!
You can find out more about Euro here.
Feb 2, 2012, 4:56 am
#54
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Fantastic report.
It really reminds me of my days of a decade ago when I'd go to Auckland for work a couple of times a year and put in a day or two extra to explore.
That maritime museum is indeed a fascinating place.
It really reminds me of my days of a decade ago when I'd go to Auckland for work a couple of times a year and put in a day or two extra to explore.
That maritime museum is indeed a fascinating place.
Feb 2, 2012, 5:12 am
#55
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A Tour to the West Coast
For my last full day in Auckland I decided to book a day tour. I really don’t like these big coach tours where they take you around to lots of touristy places that you’d probably avoid anyway. Many of the tours included a visit to the ‘Maori Cultural Centre’ and included a ‘dance’, which really didn’t interest me.
Luckily, the hotel had a leaflet for a company called Beach and Bush, a slightly dodgy name perhaps! This company appealed as they offered a ‘Coast and Rainforest Walk’ tour which was done in small groups, rather than a coach load of people.
The pick-up for the tour was quite late in the morning, at 9.45am, so I had plenty of time for breakfast at the hotel.
On time the driver and tour guide arrived in a mini-bus. He was very friendly. There was already a group of three on-board, and we had to go and pick up some more before heading off to our first stop at a visitor centre. During the journey there, the guide gave us some information about what we’d be doing on the tour and told a few anecdotes and stories. Strangely, the Australian couple behind me reacted very badly to one of the stories. It was about a film company who decided to work in New Zealand as opposed to Australia due to various stereotypes about the Australian work ethic. The couple behind me were up in arms. They were “sick of hearing all of this crap from Kiwis” on the tours that they had been on and wanted to “get out and walk back to Auckland”. I turned around and told them that they didn’t know the half of it, “try living as a ‘pom’ in Sydney!”. That seemed to shut them up, briefly, although they kept grumbling the entire day, although I was determined not to let them spoil the tour for everyone else. Most people can take a bit of banter about their home country, but no, not these two. I got the impression that they hadn’t travelled outside Australia much before.
At the visitor centre we stopped for about 30 minutes or so and were able to browse the exhibits and take a look at the views towards the city. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t so good, but, it didn’t matter too much as it was nice to be out of the city.
Views towards Auckland
After the visitor centre we got back in the bus and headed to Karekare (pronounced kirrie kirrie) which is near several black sand beaches along the west coast. We parked up and then took a short 15 minutes or so walk to the beach itself.
The place seemed like a desolate wasteland, it was very eerie but intriguing at the same time. I really think that the dark, grey weather really added to the atmosphere. This was a far cry from the white sandy beaches that can be found along the west coast of Australia, but still beautiful, in a different way.
On the track towards the beach
Black sand wasteland
Tracks in the sand
Island reflection
Heading back
I really enjoyed the hour or so that we had on the beach, as it was unlike anything that I had seen before. Our guide showed us something else that makes this beach unique, the black sand is actually iron based, so it’s magnetic! Very weird.
Here’s a video of the beach:
Video – The beach at Karekare We made our way back towards the mini-bus, taking a slight detour down a path, through some trees and then out into an area with a beautiful waterfall.
Then it was back to the bus and up the coast a short way to Piha, which is a rather popular destination for tourists and locals alike, quite different from Karekare. We parked up on the cliff top to take a few photos before heading to North Piha for lunch.
Hidden waterfall
Piha
The beach at North Piha
Lunch was provided, and wasn’t too bad, although I had to pick the salad out of my roll as I’m very fussy
.After lunch we back tracked slightly and ended up on the cliff top between both Karekare and Piha. Here we took a short walk out to the cliff edge and were afforded stunning views of both beaches.
The Australian’s were still moaning. This time they were complaining about the lack of walking on this tour. I think they’d assumed that it was going to be a full day’s hike across mountainous terrain or something, which was clearly not going to be the case. I thought that us English were bad at moaning!
A view towards Piha
A view towards Piha
Looking back at Karekare
After this we took a short drive to the rainforest part of the tour, strangely driving through a golf course to get there.
We took around an hour and a half to take the circular track through the lush, dense rainforest, with the guide giving us some insights into the wildlife and plants that we were finding. This seemed to satisfy the Australians, as we were actually doing some walking now (even though we’d been doing it all day).
I found the rainforest very interesting indeed. It was so full of life and we were lucky to see various birds along the way as well as hear them overhead and we walked through.
The tour ended at this point, and the guide drove us back to Auckland and dropped each of us off at our various hotels.
Walking through the rainforest
Verdict
I really enjoyed the tour and it was nice to get out of the city and see some of the local landscape. I’d visited New Zealand several years prior but had only visited the South Island on that trip. In my opinion, the North Island doesn’t seem to have as much to offer in terms of different landscapes and natural habitats. If I return to the North Island, I think I’d like to make a visit to Rotorua to see some of the volcanic activity that the North Island is famous for as the west coast alone couldn’t justify a repeat visit.
The tour itself was well thought out, although perhaps the guide was a little over zealous with the commentary, as it did seem a bit relentless, although he did tell us that he was a part time actor, so he did like the sound of his own voice!
Feb 2, 2012, 5:26 am
#56
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In the evening I went down to the hotel restaurant for my last evening meal in Auckland. The meal was surprisingly good. I normally try to avoid hotel restaurants but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t up to Euro standard, but it was a very good effort, although it was pricey, making Euro look even better value.
Aria restaurant at the Crowne Plaza
The limo company had phoned the hotel the previous day to arrange my pick up time, and we agreed on 3pm, for a 6.40pm flight. Check out was at 11, so that meant I had several hours to consume before heading to the airport.
I started the morning with breakfast in the restaurant, before packing everything up and heading down to reception to check out. The check out staff were very friendly again and offered to store my bag for me, which I accepted.
I had around $50 left of notes so, not knowing when I’d be back in New Zealand, I decided to head to the casino in the Sky Tower complex for a bit of a flutter. I am far from an expert when it comes to gambling and haven’t played any kind of card game in a casino for four or five years. With that in mind, I made my way to one of the roulette tables. The minimum bet was $5, but that was for a single number, so if you wanted to bet on even odds such as ‘odd/even’ or ‘red/black’ you had to stump up $10. I put a few chips down and managed to win about $20 in the first round which gave me a bit of false encouragement. Shortly after all of my chips were gone, so I left the gambling to a rather rich/foolish bunch of people that seemed to be filling the tables with chips.
I needed to get something for lunch so went downstairs to ‘Rebo’ a café style restaurant which is part of the casino complex. The restaurant was pretty busy but the service was quick. I ordered a burger which came out promptly and was pretty good too. It seemed reasonable value as well, and I was in and out in about 45 minutes, so I made my way back to the hotel as I still had a couple of hours to kill.
I spent the remaining time using the free Wi-Fi in the lobby to browse Flyertalk and check Facebook etc. At 3pm a very well dressed chap poked his head around the corner and asked if I was waiting for a car to the airport (he used my name, so it was clear that he was here for me). I collected my bag from the concierge and then headed out the car, saying goodbye to the Crown Plaza along the way.
Verdict on the Crowne Plaza
The Crowne Plaza is a centrally located, comfortable, mid-market hotel that caters well to both business and leisure travellers alike. The standard rooms are large, and modestly decorated in a contemporary style. The on-site restaurant has a good standard of food and service and overall the staff that I encountered along the way were genuinely friendly and welcoming. On top of all of that, the room rate was pretty good too! I’d definitely consider staying there again if I found myself back in Auckland.
Verdict on Auckland
I was really pleased that I made the effort to come back to Auckland, to see it properly. I found the city to be very welcoming and friendly although it would be difficult to describe it as ‘pretty’. The concrete architecture very much reminded me of some industrial towns in the UK. In fact, on the tour I learned that many of the trees were actually bought over by the settlers from the UK, which is why the park areas of the city looked so familiar to me.
I liked the harbour area a lot, it seemed to have lots to offer, with all of the new restaurants, and especially Euro! The Maritime Museum was excellent, a real must-do. The Sky Tower was ok, nothing special. As you can probably tell, I very enjoyed the sailing too.
Overall, it was a pleasant trip, although there wasn’t too much in Auckland that would mean that I’d want to rush back immediately.
Feb 11, 2012, 1:54 am
#58
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Auckland to Sydney on Emirates in First Class
The ride to the airport took around 30 minutes. The car was an older style Ford again, but it was comfortable and there were nice touches like bottled water and today’s newspaper in the back.
Arriving at the airport, I made my way to check in, which was to the left of where the driver had dropped me off. Emirates almost seem to have their own area, taking up what seemed like 15 or so desks with a mixture of First, Business and Economy.
Check in desks
I made my way to the First Class desk where there was one person in front of my who was being dealt with. This didn’t take long and shortly I was at the desk. The agent was fine, not particularly friendly. She didn’t really ask if I knew where the lounge was and she talked about going over to a ‘pre-clearance’ desk which I didn’t really understand at the time.
Anyway, I made my way over to the described desk and realised that it was actually an immigration desk. My exit form was checked over, along with my passport. A ‘pre-cleared’ sticker was added to my boarding pass and I then made my way towards the security area. There was a sign for those that had been pre-cleared. I joined the queue and I’m not sure if it was actually any quicker than the other normal queue. All of the desks were busy, but an agent came along and waived me through, taking my form in the process. I often worry about this, because I don’t know if end up in the immigration system as having left the country or not. A friend of mine has been tripped up by this before.
There was a small queue for security, including a couple who were really taking their time to get their stuff sorted out. There were a few people behind this person, including me. Just as I was about the suggest to the people directly in front of me that they should skip past the slow person, a lady with a baby walked up and past all of us! The cheeky cow! She was through so quickly that no-one had a chance the say anything.
After the usual duty free maze, I followed the signs to the Emirates lounge, which was up an escalator.
Entrance to the Auckland Emirates Lounge
I handed over my boarding pass and was welcomed into the lounge. It was about 4pm at this point. The lounge itself had only opened earlier last year (2011) and seemed very new indeed. I suspect that it is bigger than the Sydney lounge, and it arranged in a way that allows for several smaller seating areas, as well as a larger area towards the windows. Unfortunately, these windows lead out to the departure hall, rather than the apron.
The view from the lounge
I chose a seat near the windows and then went exploring. There was a main dining area which contained the bar, as well as a secondary bar nearer the entrance to the lounge.
The secondary bar
Nice Champagne
Seating area near the entrance to the lounge
Main seating area
Main seating area
Dining area
Food options
Food options
The food options were of course extensive, as expected. There was a good selection of hot and cold foods. I decided to have a chocolate mousse and a glass of VC.
The lounge started to fill up and there was a very noisy Australian man who looked a little bit like George Bush talking to some other people about cricket. There was also a guy that I thought that I recognised as an English actor, but I couldn’t be 100% sure.
A word about the lounge staff, they were very friendly, perhaps more so than those in the Sydney lounge. The lady who collected my empty Champagne glass offered to fetch me another one, which was very nice of her.
Mousse and Champagne
An actor?
The lounge was really getting busy at this point which is surely due to the fact that there are actually three flights that leave Auckland for Australia. These go to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
At 17.30 I decided to leave the lounge to have a wander around and take a look at the Duty Free shop as this tends to be cheaper than in Sydney. I decided to get a bottle of Dom Perignon 2002 to take back with me, to be saved for a special occasion.
Verdict on the Emirates Lounge
The new lounge in Auckland is large, open and very well presented. The staff are extremely friendly. The food is excellent and plentiful and there is a very good drinks selection. The lounge is a very pleasant place to spend a couple of hours prior to your flight.
Feb 11, 2012, 4:04 pm
#60
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: US
Programs: AA, DL, LH
Posts: 54
Quick question... On the syd-akl leg, in the literature rack by the headphones, there appeared to be a cloth bag. I assume it was provided by EK- what did it contain? Slippers?
It's the little things that delight me
Cheers
It's the little things that delight me
Cheers