Honeymoon in Asia- CX F + J, JAL F + J, and Lots of Fun Inbetween
Dec 29, 2017, 1:05 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 267
Honeymoon in Asia- CX F + J, JAL F + J, and Lots of Fun Inbetween
Howdy! My wife and I will be taking off tomorrow to Asia for our honeymoon. We loved the Maldives so much last year that we decided to go again, with stops in Hong Kong and Phuket and the Park Hyatt Tokyo along the way.
We originally had CX J on their new A350 booked from SFO to HKG, and onward travel to Bali. Then, the volcano erupted, and we decided we didn't want to deal with that. A quick change using my Alaska MVP Gold status got us going to Bangkok and Ko Samui instead. Then, overwater bungalows opened up at the Conrad Maldives on points, and we couldn't say no to that! My very patient wife was understanding when I switched our JL J flights (angle-flat NRT-SAN) to JL F (NRT-ORD) to further tinker with our honeymoon. I think she'll be happy once the champagne is popped.
So, here's what I'm planning on detailing:
Cathay Pacific F SFO-HKG
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong (Globalist)
Cathay Pacific J HKG-MLE
Somerset Hotel Maldives
Sheraton Maldives (Platinum)
Conrad Maldives (Diamond)
Singapore Airlines Economy
Malaysia Airlines Economy
Westin Siray Bay, Phuket (Platinum)
Bangkok Airways Economy
JAL J SkySuites BKK-NRT
Park Hyatt Tokyo (Globalist)
JAL F NRT-ORD
Flagship Lounge in ORD
AA F ORD-PHX
Hope you enjoy!
We originally had CX J on their new A350 booked from SFO to HKG, and onward travel to Bali. Then, the volcano erupted, and we decided we didn't want to deal with that. A quick change using my Alaska MVP Gold status got us going to Bangkok and Ko Samui instead. Then, overwater bungalows opened up at the Conrad Maldives on points, and we couldn't say no to that! My very patient wife was understanding when I switched our JL J flights (angle-flat NRT-SAN) to JL F (NRT-ORD) to further tinker with our honeymoon. I think she'll be happy once the champagne is popped.
So, here's what I'm planning on detailing:
Cathay Pacific F SFO-HKG
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong (Globalist)
Cathay Pacific J HKG-MLE
Somerset Hotel Maldives
Sheraton Maldives (Platinum)
Conrad Maldives (Diamond)
Singapore Airlines Economy
Malaysia Airlines Economy
Westin Siray Bay, Phuket (Platinum)
Bangkok Airways Economy
JAL J SkySuites BKK-NRT
Park Hyatt Tokyo (Globalist)
JAL F NRT-ORD
Flagship Lounge in ORD
AA F ORD-PHX
Hope you enjoy!
Dec 29, 2017, 1:41 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: New York
Posts: 183
Awesome trip, and congrats. We just recently got back from our honeymoon in Asia, and we're considering doing the Maldives next winter! I think I flew on the same flight from BKK-NRT in J, and it was perfectly fine for the amount of time we were on it. Make sure to mention you are on your honeymoon. We ended up with a huge bag of candy and a toy plane for the future child we apparently will have (according to the flight attendant). Have you made any restaurant reservations in Tokyo? If not you definitely should, ask your hotel concierge to help you. I'm very familiar with the Tokyo food scene if you would like some recommendations. The Sakura lounge in Narita is great, though it does get crowded. Looking forward to your report.
Jan 18, 2018, 6:15 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 267
Day 1: December 30th, 2017
The day was finally here- vacation responders on, and ready to take off to Asia for 18 days of honeymoon fun. First, though, we had to position ourselves from Phoenix to San Francisco, for a 10:40 PM departure on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong.
Since we booked the Cathay flight using AS miles, we could've flown from Phoenix to either Portland or Seattle on Alaska and connected for free to San Francisco. Rather than add more time to an already long travel day, we paid out of pocket using some spare Citi Prestige ThankYou points (before AA was dropped as a 1.6 cpp redemption- miss this!) to get there direct.
After checking in (and not being able to check our bags through on our Cathay flight- annoying), we used the Admiral's Club lounge in Phoenix near A7 to spend some time before our flight. This lounge is small, but great, since it was the first to be renovated in American's lounge redesign.
Soon enough, our American Airlines flight was ready for boarding to SFO, and as a Platinum, we were, of course, not upgraded. But, we did have exit rows to make the flight time pass.
Once we landed at SFO, we had to figure out what to do with our bags. We first walked over to the International terminal, where they actually offer bag storage. However, the cost per bag was something like $30 for the day- insane. A quick google revealed that the California Welcome Center in Pier 38 checked bags for $10 each, so we took the BART into the city, bags and all. The BART is expensive and pretty slow, but with Uber and Lyft surging, it was the best option.
We dropped our bags off and went to find some crab near the pier. Scoma's is our usual favorite, but we wanted something a little quicker, and settled on the very touristy but pretty delicious Boudin Bakery. It also was across the street from our random tourist attraction we wanted to visit, the San Francisco Dungeon. I found a code online for 50% off tickets, and it ended up being an hour of fun entertainment. Definitely more funny than scary. After that, we decided to head back to the airport with our bags and find the Arizona-ASU basketball game, which we found at "Tapas and Taps." Great beer selection, and helped kill the hour or so before Cathay Pacific's check in desks opened, which did so promptly 3 hours before departure.
Given our late departure, the only option post-security for oneworld flyers is the Cathay Pacific lounge, so we headed there after finding the British Airways lounge closed.
It really is pretty slick!
We arrived just before they opened the left side of the lounge to passengers, but the lounge attendant actually let us sit in the closed-off section to avoid some louder families on the other side of the lounge. I loved the design of the chairs for single travelers.
I thought the lounge was beautifully designed- I just wish there was a dedicated first class section!
Around 8 PM, the "real" food starting coming out. Sweet + Sour pork was quite good!
Some of the "old" food.
The famed "Noodle Bar" also opened up right at 8 PM. There were three options on the menu, and I went with the wonton noodles.
Booze selection was quite good for a business class lounge. I had several glasses of the Napa red, as well as some champagne.
Growing a bit bored, we decided to check out the Priority Pass lounge, the Air France-KLM lounge. It was atrociously busy, and while it did have some food options, we quickly de-camped and went back to the Cathay Lounge. Soon enough, it was time for boarding!
The day was finally here- vacation responders on, and ready to take off to Asia for 18 days of honeymoon fun. First, though, we had to position ourselves from Phoenix to San Francisco, for a 10:40 PM departure on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong.
Since we booked the Cathay flight using AS miles, we could've flown from Phoenix to either Portland or Seattle on Alaska and connected for free to San Francisco. Rather than add more time to an already long travel day, we paid out of pocket using some spare Citi Prestige ThankYou points (before AA was dropped as a 1.6 cpp redemption- miss this!) to get there direct.
After checking in (and not being able to check our bags through on our Cathay flight- annoying), we used the Admiral's Club lounge in Phoenix near A7 to spend some time before our flight. This lounge is small, but great, since it was the first to be renovated in American's lounge redesign.
Soon enough, our American Airlines flight was ready for boarding to SFO, and as a Platinum, we were, of course, not upgraded. But, we did have exit rows to make the flight time pass.
Once we landed at SFO, we had to figure out what to do with our bags. We first walked over to the International terminal, where they actually offer bag storage. However, the cost per bag was something like $30 for the day- insane. A quick google revealed that the California Welcome Center in Pier 38 checked bags for $10 each, so we took the BART into the city, bags and all. The BART is expensive and pretty slow, but with Uber and Lyft surging, it was the best option.
We dropped our bags off and went to find some crab near the pier. Scoma's is our usual favorite, but we wanted something a little quicker, and settled on the very touristy but pretty delicious Boudin Bakery. It also was across the street from our random tourist attraction we wanted to visit, the San Francisco Dungeon. I found a code online for 50% off tickets, and it ended up being an hour of fun entertainment. Definitely more funny than scary. After that, we decided to head back to the airport with our bags and find the Arizona-ASU basketball game, which we found at "Tapas and Taps." Great beer selection, and helped kill the hour or so before Cathay Pacific's check in desks opened, which did so promptly 3 hours before departure.
Given our late departure, the only option post-security for oneworld flyers is the Cathay Pacific lounge, so we headed there after finding the British Airways lounge closed.
It really is pretty slick!
We arrived just before they opened the left side of the lounge to passengers, but the lounge attendant actually let us sit in the closed-off section to avoid some louder families on the other side of the lounge. I loved the design of the chairs for single travelers.
I thought the lounge was beautifully designed- I just wish there was a dedicated first class section!
Around 8 PM, the "real" food starting coming out. Sweet + Sour pork was quite good!
Some of the "old" food.
The famed "Noodle Bar" also opened up right at 8 PM. There were three options on the menu, and I went with the wonton noodles.
Booze selection was quite good for a business class lounge. I had several glasses of the Napa red, as well as some champagne.
Growing a bit bored, we decided to check out the Priority Pass lounge, the Air France-KLM lounge. It was atrociously busy, and while it did have some food options, we quickly de-camped and went back to the Cathay Lounge. Soon enough, it was time for boarding!
Jan 21, 2018, 2:02 pm
#8
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Toronto
Programs: SPG Gold, HH Silver
Posts: 855
This is one SLOW trip report. 
It was started nearly two months ago LOL. Keep checking back and nothing....Sounded great though from the initial post! Let's get it moving . I want to read it!
It was started nearly two months ago LOL. Keep checking back and nothing....Sounded great though from the initial post! Let's get it moving . I want to read it!
Jan 22, 2018, 6:18 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 267
Well, I started the post on December 29th, just before I started our trip! Hope to have everything written this week. Thanks for reading!
Jan 26, 2018, 3:01 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Norway/Thailand
Programs: M&M FT, IHG Gold, SPG Gold, Discovery Platinum, Choicehotels Gold, Norwegian reward
Posts: 15
Looking forward to the rest - really!! - As this is in "my" part of the World.
PLEASE post something more...
Many thanks,
A small Friday-sip-cheers,
Bent
PLEASE post something more...
Many thanks,
A small Friday-sip-cheers,
Bent
Last edited by TimeFlyer; Jan 26, 2018 at 3:02 pm Reason: spelling