Bali - CX F & SQ Suites
Oct 24, 2013, 7:34 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: PBI
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 425
Bali - CX F & SQ Suites
Having read through dozens of trip reports over the past couple years since I discovered FlyerTalk, I felt that it was time that I add to the community and share a special trip that my wife and took a couple weeks ago.
Background: We got married last year in the Florida Keys and jetsetted off to the Maldives on BA F for our first taste of luxury together, I tried to capture photos with the intention of doing a TR then, but let's face it, I spent too much time enjoying international F for the first time and didn't take enough pics to warrant a proper report. It was a long journey from SEA-ORD-LHR-AUH-MLE-AUH,DXB-LHR-ATL-SEA on BA F and EY J but well worth it. We stayed at the lovely Jumeirah Vittaveli and it was just perfect for a honeymoon, I don't think I have ever been more relaxed in my life. We toyed with the idea of Bali for our honeymoon, but my mom had stories of monkeys everywhere and well to be honest, my wife doesn't like monkeys...so it was a no go. I told her that everywhere I read, I never heard anyone mention monkeys coming into your rooms etc but it didn't matter. Nonetheless, my choice was the Maldives anyhow but the prices were steep as you all know! After I got a screaming deal on a resort that wasn't even open yet, we nailed it down and it was decided. While on our honeymoon, we dreamed of new destinations we wanted to discover and MrsSFore said she'd be okay with trying Bali. At the time, I don't think she fully understood the "FlyerTalk Effect". Within a few weeks of being home, I had us booked to Bali the following October!
Our final routing is as follows:
AS F SEA-SFO
CX F SFO-HKG
CX J HKG-DPS
SQ J DPS-SIN
SQ R SIN-LAX
AS C LAX-SEA
The largest hiccup of our entire journey was the APEC conference happening in Bali while we were going to be there. About 6 weeks before we were due to depart, I happened to logon to CX MMB and see that our flight from HKG-DPS had been changed from 10:40 AM to 01:45
I was really excited to venture into HKG for the night and get a nights rest in a real bed and wake up rested for our final leg to Bali, this didn't happen. Instead, this turned into one long journey without stops.
I'm just going to skip the US domestic parts of this report mainly because I didn't see the need to take pics while sitting in a crummy AS 737-400
Alaska Air (AS)308 - Seattle to San Francisco
Departs 6:15 AM
Arrives 8:20 AM
MrsSFore was non too pleased to be woken up in the wee hours of the morning, but sometimes you have to taken the flights that the award gods give you..
We arrived at SFO and made our transfer to the Intl Terminal and saw we had about two hours to kill before the ticket counters opened and we could get out CX tickets (the ticket counters along with the CX lounge open 4 hrs prior to departure). So we hung around the ticketing area and had a small snack and my wife wrote a couple emails to family. At about 9:45 AM, the ticket counter opened up and we received our BP's and lounge invitations (we were given J lounge access but had to issues getting into the Wing F section once in HKG)
CX F/J Lounge:
Wonton Soup:
Dan Dan Noodles:
Our chariot:
Cathay Pacific (CX)879 - San Francisco to Hong Kong
Departs 1:40 PM
Arrives 7:00 PM
1 A/K
Last year for our honeymoon we were supposed to fly CX F to AUH and then hop on EY J to MLE, but we lost an F segment to HKG from YVR when they downgraded their F capacity there, I said no since we would only have on CX F segment on and F award, hence BA F. So needless to say I was pretty excited when I turned left into the amazing nose of this great plane.
Background: We got married last year in the Florida Keys and jetsetted off to the Maldives on BA F for our first taste of luxury together, I tried to capture photos with the intention of doing a TR then, but let's face it, I spent too much time enjoying international F for the first time and didn't take enough pics to warrant a proper report. It was a long journey from SEA-ORD-LHR-AUH-MLE-AUH,DXB-LHR-ATL-SEA on BA F and EY J but well worth it. We stayed at the lovely Jumeirah Vittaveli and it was just perfect for a honeymoon, I don't think I have ever been more relaxed in my life. We toyed with the idea of Bali for our honeymoon, but my mom had stories of monkeys everywhere and well to be honest, my wife doesn't like monkeys...so it was a no go. I told her that everywhere I read, I never heard anyone mention monkeys coming into your rooms etc but it didn't matter. Nonetheless, my choice was the Maldives anyhow but the prices were steep as you all know! After I got a screaming deal on a resort that wasn't even open yet, we nailed it down and it was decided. While on our honeymoon, we dreamed of new destinations we wanted to discover and MrsSFore said she'd be okay with trying Bali. At the time, I don't think she fully understood the "FlyerTalk Effect". Within a few weeks of being home, I had us booked to Bali the following October!
Our final routing is as follows:
AS F SEA-SFO
CX F SFO-HKG
CX J HKG-DPS
SQ J DPS-SIN
SQ R SIN-LAX
AS C LAX-SEA
The largest hiccup of our entire journey was the APEC conference happening in Bali while we were going to be there. About 6 weeks before we were due to depart, I happened to logon to CX MMB and see that our flight from HKG-DPS had been changed from 10:40 AM to 01:45
I was really excited to venture into HKG for the night and get a nights rest in a real bed and wake up rested for our final leg to Bali, this didn't happen. Instead, this turned into one long journey without stops.I'm just going to skip the US domestic parts of this report mainly because I didn't see the need to take pics while sitting in a crummy AS 737-400
Alaska Air (AS)308 - Seattle to San Francisco
Departs 6:15 AM
Arrives 8:20 AM
MrsSFore was non too pleased to be woken up in the wee hours of the morning, but sometimes you have to taken the flights that the award gods give you..
We arrived at SFO and made our transfer to the Intl Terminal and saw we had about two hours to kill before the ticket counters opened and we could get out CX tickets (the ticket counters along with the CX lounge open 4 hrs prior to departure). So we hung around the ticketing area and had a small snack and my wife wrote a couple emails to family. At about 9:45 AM, the ticket counter opened up and we received our BP's and lounge invitations (we were given J lounge access but had to issues getting into the Wing F section once in HKG)
CX F/J Lounge:
Wonton Soup:
Dan Dan Noodles:
Our chariot:
Cathay Pacific (CX)879 - San Francisco to Hong Kong
Departs 1:40 PM
Arrives 7:00 PM
1 A/K
Last year for our honeymoon we were supposed to fly CX F to AUH and then hop on EY J to MLE, but we lost an F segment to HKG from YVR when they downgraded their F capacity there, I said no since we would only have on CX F segment on and F award, hence BA F. So needless to say I was pretty excited when I turned left into the amazing nose of this great plane.
Oct 24, 2013, 8:11 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: PBI
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 425
Bali - CX F & SQ Suites
Capacity was 9/9 on our flight, but there was only one other passenger on board when we boarded who was immediately in his PJ's and chatting away on his phone during the whole boarding process.
We were greeted warmly and received our PJ's and Krug along with our menus.
Being seated in row 1 on the 747 gives you such a special perspective IMO, really glad I was able to secure these seats.
It wasn't long before we were asked for our orders and my wife decided to join me for lunch. First off, caviar (with non-Balik Salmon)
My wife and I then enjoyed an amazing 8 hr sleep, albeit warm since we changed into our PJ's. I loved the lavatory on the 747, first time i've been in one with a window. After we awoke, we decided to eat some more! I had the pepper beef and my wife opted for a fruit salad.
Upon an early arrival, we ventured for our first time through HKG which we both loved, on our way to the Wing for a shower and change of clothes in their cabanas. I loved CX F and i'll give a more in depth comparison at the end of this report. Surprisingly enough though, my wife like the decor and style of BA F more, she's a sucker for the fancy window shades I guess!
We were greeted warmly and received our PJ's and Krug along with our menus.
Being seated in row 1 on the 747 gives you such a special perspective IMO, really glad I was able to secure these seats.
It wasn't long before we were asked for our orders and my wife decided to join me for lunch. First off, caviar (with non-Balik Salmon)
My wife and I then enjoyed an amazing 8 hr sleep, albeit warm since we changed into our PJ's. I loved the lavatory on the 747, first time i've been in one with a window. After we awoke, we decided to eat some more! I had the pepper beef and my wife opted for a fruit salad.
Upon an early arrival, we ventured for our first time through HKG which we both loved, on our way to the Wing for a shower and change of clothes in their cabanas. I loved CX F and i'll give a more in depth comparison at the end of this report. Surprisingly enough though, my wife like the decor and style of BA F more, she's a sucker for the fancy window shades I guess!
Oct 25, 2013, 2:40 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: PBI
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 425
Oct 25, 2013, 4:26 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: PBI
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 425
This trip took place this Oct, but it seems that CX only is giving out the PYE PJ's on their newly refreshed F product on the 77W. Kind of off topic, but I did read while on our trip in an asian travel magazine that CX is planning a new F for around 2018.
Oct 25, 2013, 5:10 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: PBI
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 425
Having never been in HKG, both my wife and I were very impressed with the airport, it was hard for MrsSFore to skip out on all of the fine shopping one can do there, but we have plans on passing though next March. As I mentioned earlier in the report, we were forced to stay in the airport as opposed to venturing into the city for the night due to the APEC conference in Bali which forced the closure of the airport during the afternoon for security reasons. It took me a while, but I happened to look at my ticket for our HKG-DPS segment and I noticed we didn't have the normal 01:20 departure time, it was now 20:45. Huh? So that makes it 2 changes and now we were scheduled to arrive around 3 in the morning. I started to get a little agitated because the hotel we were staying at, The Chedi Club in Ubud was supposed to pick us up at the airport around 6:00 am, not 3:00 AM. Good thing someone was checking emails there, because I was fortunate enough to get through to someone and they assured us we will be picked up at our new arrival time, phew!
So after traveling as long as we had been, it was time to shower and change our clothes and get ready to the final leg of our journey to Bali. We headed to the Wing F lounge and quickly asked for a cabana, which we were promptly shown to.
The cabanas are great! plenty of room for 2 people to change, shower and relax in complete privacy. The decor throughout the Wing is very black, I did forget to take pictures of the main areas, but there are plenty in other TR's. The lounge wasn't too busy and I'll try and explore more of it on future trips including the restaurant, The Haven.
Cathay Pacific (CX)2785 - Hong Kong to Denpasar Bali
Departs 1:20 AM Sched
Arrives 6:00 AM
Actual: 9:45PM-3:15 AM
Boarding was quick and smooth and I am not sure, but it seemed like we were on one of the refreshed regional 773. Since the flight had changed times again, there were no menus handed out, but were given a choice of 3 entrees, and I went with beef rendang which was actually quite good. In J class, most of the plane was occupied by American's which surprised me to say the least and it was a very pleasant flight into DPS.
Immigration was a breeze and there was a driver waiting for us upon arrival through customs. At this time, VIP on arrival was not being allowed due to the APEC conference and DPS using their brand new intl terminal. It took about 90 min to drive north to Ubud and we were disappointed to not be able to see anything since it was dark, but knew it would be beautiful to wake up to. We arrived at the Chedi Club at about 5:00 AM and went to bed for a couple hours, the sun was just coming up.
The Chedi Club at Tanah Gajah
We were blown away by this resort. As a club hotel, every villa or suite has a personal butler who does pretty much everything for you. When we wanted to iron our clothes, there was no iron in the room. Kadeck, our butler collected our clothes and in an hour or two, they were done! Also included was laundry service, free cocktail hour, afternoon tea, complimentary mini bar and a guided rice patty tour. I definitely felt there was very good value here. We booked a pool villa as MrsSFore loves the privacy it affords.
We booked our accommodations with DavidO and were extremely pleased with our villa, #9. I was the only one that jutted out into the rice patty and was directly across from the restaurant. The farmers had just harvested the rice before our arrival, so nothing was lush and green, but it was nonetheless beautiful.
Looking at our villa from the restaurant
The grounds:
Main pool:
The food:
We sampled their BBQ night with suckling pig as well as their crispy duck night. The food throughout our stay was incredible!
Next up, seeing the sights of Bali!
So after traveling as long as we had been, it was time to shower and change our clothes and get ready to the final leg of our journey to Bali. We headed to the Wing F lounge and quickly asked for a cabana, which we were promptly shown to.
The cabanas are great! plenty of room for 2 people to change, shower and relax in complete privacy. The decor throughout the Wing is very black, I did forget to take pictures of the main areas, but there are plenty in other TR's. The lounge wasn't too busy and I'll try and explore more of it on future trips including the restaurant, The Haven.
Cathay Pacific (CX)2785 - Hong Kong to Denpasar Bali
Departs 1:20 AM Sched
Arrives 6:00 AM
Actual: 9:45PM-3:15 AM
Boarding was quick and smooth and I am not sure, but it seemed like we were on one of the refreshed regional 773. Since the flight had changed times again, there were no menus handed out, but were given a choice of 3 entrees, and I went with beef rendang which was actually quite good. In J class, most of the plane was occupied by American's which surprised me to say the least and it was a very pleasant flight into DPS.
Immigration was a breeze and there was a driver waiting for us upon arrival through customs. At this time, VIP on arrival was not being allowed due to the APEC conference and DPS using their brand new intl terminal. It took about 90 min to drive north to Ubud and we were disappointed to not be able to see anything since it was dark, but knew it would be beautiful to wake up to. We arrived at the Chedi Club at about 5:00 AM and went to bed for a couple hours, the sun was just coming up.
The Chedi Club at Tanah Gajah
We were blown away by this resort. As a club hotel, every villa or suite has a personal butler who does pretty much everything for you. When we wanted to iron our clothes, there was no iron in the room. Kadeck, our butler collected our clothes and in an hour or two, they were done! Also included was laundry service, free cocktail hour, afternoon tea, complimentary mini bar and a guided rice patty tour. I definitely felt there was very good value here. We booked a pool villa as MrsSFore loves the privacy it affords.
We booked our accommodations with DavidO and were extremely pleased with our villa, #9. I was the only one that jutted out into the rice patty and was directly across from the restaurant. The farmers had just harvested the rice before our arrival, so nothing was lush and green, but it was nonetheless beautiful.
Looking at our villa from the restaurant
The grounds:
Main pool:
The food:
We sampled their BBQ night with suckling pig as well as their crispy duck night. The food throughout our stay was incredible!
Next up, seeing the sights of Bali!
Oct 25, 2013, 5:14 pm
#14
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Tokyo, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Dublin
Programs: CX DM
Posts: 880
Oct 25, 2013, 7:02 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 35
I thought the PJs were supposed to switch from Shanghai Tang to PYE?
Thanks for the pics!
edit: nm the trip is from last year!
Thanks for the pics!
edit: nm the trip is from last year!
