FlyerTalk Forums - Mileage run for EK Gold

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This trip was a good way for me to do a mileage run for EK Gold whilst using EK's excellent F offer of 2 nights at "The Atlantis "

I did AKL-MRU in Y and then switched to MRU-AKL in F with a stop over in DXB to use our 2 nights at Atlantis.

I flew EK407 to DXB which was 90% full in Y but the service was excellent.

The AKL-MRU leg in Y was real exhausting and proved to be quite an ordeal (been awhile for me to do long haul in Y) so I dont have any pics in this part except for the one below in AKL:

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DXB STP

During the 1 day stop over in DXB we managed to have a tour of the Jumeriah Mosque and Deira City Centre before heading back to the Airport Millennium Hotel.

The Jumeriah Mosque is the only Mosque which allows non-Muslims to enter. The tour is an hour seminar on Islam, Muslim people and their beliefs. It was very educational and provides some key insights into the Arab culture and life style whilst dispelling the usual stereotypes people have of Islam in general.

I recommend doing this for anyone who has those nagging questions you wouldn't ask anyone for fear of offending them. The guide is a very good public speaker and kept everyone interested for the entire duration.

He returned to Dubai after 9/11 to try and bring about a better understanding of Islam so was open to all questions and encouraged them. This led to some real pointed ones being asked which were answered very well .

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Mauritius - MRU :-:

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A water-garden feature as you exit the passport control area and enter the Duty Free section in MRU.

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Arriving into MRU we were faced with a huge delay ... It took us nearly 2 hours to get out of the airport .

There are only 8 immigration desks and all of them are painfully slow .... even the lines for Mauritian citizens moved slowly and they had to fill an additional health form in addition to the Arrival cards.

From what i read online - airlines give pax the arrival card on the flight , this must have changed now - as EK didnt do this and once we de-planed the immi guys were handing it out when we approached the area before counters and were lining up.

So an entire plane of people were filling the forms at the same time and then lining up ... To save some time,my wife stood in line while I filled in the cards.

Once we were out we hopped into a pre-arranged taxi and went for a tour of the Island and managed to fit both the North and South parts of the island in our tour which was great !

We went to:

> Pamplemousse Gardens

The Famous Giant Water Lilies

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Saw this monument that reminded me of Star Gate's DHD ( Dial Home Device)

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> Chamarel

7 coloured earth created by volcanic rocks that cooled at different temperatures, the "earths" form beautiful patterns of color in the exposed hillsides

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> Black River Gorges National Park

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> Port Louis
> Moi Choisy beach and caught a nice festival there ( international fete )

The weather turned a little sour as the day passed , but we loved it as it was too hot for us and the scattered showers/impending rain brought a cooler temperature !

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On the way back to airport our driver invited us for dinner at his house too ...real nice guy and the same goes for all Mauritian people we met ... real friendly in a good way.

Mauritius is a beautiful place, but except for their white beaches I feel NZ is much more greener :p

MRU Airport

There is a separate entrance for Premium pax.

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The airport is not big so it was quite packed when we were there. Emirates has it's own check-in counters with Separate ones for F & J ... you can see these, if you look to the right of the picture below.

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Once inside there is again a separate check-in for Premium pax but this is only for Air Mauritius ...

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Immigration in MRU is right next to Check in as you see below and the "Fast- Track" lane for F & J pax is the line for Air Crew .

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Once you go through Passport Control , it's off to the lounge and as I whipped out my camera, the security staff cautioned me not to click any pictures .... but I did anyway ;)

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Lounge entry was through a door on the left and there are 2 lounges :- one only by invitation and the other was the shared lounge for airlines ...

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Beautiful smiling faces welcomed us in true Mauritian spirit :)

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The lounge was spread over the ground and first floor ... Being the only shared lounge it was quite full ...

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MRU - DXB EK702

The F load was 5 out of 12 so quite a light load and J was only 30 % full.

There was no priority line for boarding and EK didnt make any announcements to help us poor premium pax ... So there was a big line of J & Y pax in front of the boarding gate .... I saw the other 3 F pax not knowing whether to queue up with the Y pax or wait ....

I hate waiting , so forged ahead with my wife in tow and just walked right up and presented our Boarding passes to the ground staff , much to the bewilderment of the surrounding Y pax and the 3 F pax who once we got through immediately followed suit :D

As soon as we met by the cabin crew on the plane they immediately greeted us by name and escorted us to our seats and this was the start to an excellent attentive service throughout the whole flight.

Arabic coffee with dates ...

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My head set was broken

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but was quickly replaced with a new one & an apology by the crew

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Breakfast:

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Arrival into EK's new T3 was awesome. I like the new Terminal , it's very spacious ... And as I also like walking .... didnt mind the trek hehe

Chauffeur drive to the Atlantis was long as it was quite far but was nice ride and driving up to Atlantis was really something when the huge resort comes into view as you get closer to it.

A few pictures from The Atlantis :-

The Entrance Door

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The Throne

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The Aquarium

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The Lost Chambers

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A local Emirati with his hawk in the Atlantis Lobby

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One of the many beautiful Roof Frescos

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EK's new T3

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After 3 glorious nights at the resort... My trip back to AKL started with a smooth check-in at the new T3 and then twas off to the T3 F lounge

EK T3 VIP Section:

This section has it's own separate entrance within the F lounge area and we had to be escorted there by the F lounge reception desk as It has it's own lift and reception desk as well.

It is connected by a door to the main F lounge but opens only from the inside and is roped off on the main lounge side. The inner part is the only quiet part of the entire F lounge

The doors to this part can be closed so it would be quieter as opposed to the main F lounge which I found to be a real disappointment ... it was like being in a road side cafe with all the noise and hustle & bustle happening.

Enjoy :)

PICS:

VIP SECTION:

Roped off Entrance door:

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Corridor to Exterior part:

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Exterior part:

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Interior part:

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F LOUNGE AREA:

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EK418 DXB-BKK-SYD-AKL

DXB-BKK

Very light load again on this flight just 6 pax in total to BKK and then just 4 to AKL (another couple with us)

All the Cabin crew were really great on all 3 the legs ... Greetings at the door , pre-departure drinks all were timely and they indulged us with multiple offerings and just the right amount of engaging small talk.

Frankly I was expecting at least one of the 3 crews to be less than spectacular but boy was i proven wrong ! Well done EK :-: ^

Onto DXB - BKK flight:

We got the little basket that EK gives on it's F suites planes .. looks like they are doing it on non-suites planes now

Pre-Departure Drinks

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Post Departure Drinks and the basket

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A hot meal was served on the first leg DXB-BKK

2A Pan Fried Lobster Cakes

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2B Honey Roasted Duck Breast

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To finish ... Dessert & freshly brewed Espresso

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BKK Lounge

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BKK-SYD

Aero bridge .. We took the first left ;)

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This was the longest leg being 8.5 hours so was happy to be warmly welcomed by the crew and the captain as well who acknowledged our continued journey from DXB and through to AKL.

Had an interesting conversation with 2 FAs and the purser about their experience with the delays and riots in BKK.

My jacket was hung and crew commenced the Welcome drinks.

There was a Full Dinner Service on this leg which made me very happy :D

Canapes

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Appetisers

We couldnt decide which one to have so they insisted we try all 3 :D

Iranian Caviar

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Smoked Prawns

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Roast beef

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MAINS:

2A - Steamed Red Snapper

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2B - Slow Braised Veal Roast

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Was too full after the huge meal so no dessert this time but did need an Earl Grey to finish with another glass of Dom of course ;)

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SYD - AKL

The last leg of our journey was from SYD to AKL. It was a short flight of just 2.5 hours and was excellent as well with real good service but didnt click many pictures on this leg.

Arabic Coffee & dates again ... YUM

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Spotted the SQ A380 in SYD

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A cloudy day in AKL

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Saw this new Welcome Display when de-planing in AKL before going down to Passport Control

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Last but not least ... The Complimentary goodies from our travels : :D :cool:

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A big smile always helps when one wants these souvenirs ;) :D

The Cream coloured Menu is from the F lounge and the remaining menus were from the flights.
The dark brown all leather are the F kits and the mixed brown are J kits ... I asked if we could have a J set each but they couldn't fit a spare ladies kit so gave us 2 J men kits :)

Amenity Kit Contents

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After all the travelling and new experiences we had , I was a bit sad to get off the plane and get back to reality but oh well it's not too long till my next trip so looking forward to that :D

This was my first TR so hope you enjoyed reading it and please do leave your feedback !

Cheers ^