Please join us - Spain to the New World on a new ship - LIVE from Oceania Riviera

[kazu]

Safe trip

Hope you enjoy Oceania

 

Lyn

 

 

thanks Lyn,

 

I am sure we will enjoy it.

 

Arrived in Munich & waiting in the First Class Lounge for our last flight. It is a go I have been told.

 

I must say that if anyone can pull it off, First Class is a nice way to fly.

 

 

No way could we afford this - it was a reward ticket on points ;)

 

But it sure helps with the waits between flights.

 

Kind of gets you in the mood for O too! and yes, the roses and rose petals you see are real.

 

 

Dinner on board was actually very good but we were so full from appetizers that we really didn't need a main course.

 

a little food porn:

 

our amuse bouche

 

 

and yes, Beluga caviar:

 

 

and a few appetizers.

 

Arriving in Munich, we were greeted by Lufthansa staff who directed us to the priority security line. I went "oops, I haven't transferred the toiletries from our kit we were given to a plastic bag". Security officer just smiled and said "no worries, we know what First Class passengers get". No need to transfer those little things at all.

 

After we got through security, another Lufthansa agent was there to direct us to the First Class Lounge and as we checked in, we did passport control right there while our Lufthansa person checked on our flights. It looks like we are a go. A 5 hour wait but I knew that upfront. There aren't that many flights to Bilbao

[fairbourne]

Morning Kazu - welcome to our side of the pond and glad you made it in such style! Only way to fly! :D. And with miles flights, even better! I often wonder who actually pays real money these days for first class!

 

Looking forward to your adventures - we did this crossing two years ago. Riviera is such a beautiful ship and with lots of sea days it will really give you a chance to sample everything! :D

 

Have a wonderful cruise and hope you continue on safely and timely to Spain.

[kazu]

Morning Kazu - welcome to our side of the pond and glad you made it in such style! Only way to fly! :D. And with miles flights, even better! I often wonder who actually pays real money these days for first class!

 

 

 

Looking forward to your adventures - we did this crossing two years ago. Riviera is such a beautiful ship and with lots of sea days it will really give you a chance to sample everything! :D

 

 

 

Have a wonderful cruise and hope you continue on safely and timely to Spain.

 

 

thank you for the welcome :)

 

I'm sure some people pay to fly First Class but there were not many on this flight. There are only 8 seats in First Class and only 4 were taken. I think we had 4 flight attendants taking care of us.

 

Just like a cruise, we had the head one welcome us on board and come to bid us adieu & check on our service before we got off and thank us for flying.

 

Since there were only 4 of us, they made up the beds in the other seats so that we could lay down whenever it suited us. Very nice :) I just wish we could have slept longer. The joys of transatlantic travel.

Edited November 10, 2015 by kazu

[smoothsailors]

SO glad you're on your way...and that you got to go in style after all the aggravation...you deserve a fabulous trip!!!

[kazu]

SO glad you're on your way...and that you got to go in style after all the aggravation...you deserve a fabulous trip!!!

 

 

thank you!

 

Lufthansa sure knows how to do a first class lounge. There is an a la carte buffet PLUS a menu if you want to order.

 

Air Canada - You could take a lesson or two for your Maple Leaf Lounges - LOL.

 

We are both feeling the jet lag so I think we will have a bite. After all it is nearly noon here and that will help us get into sync with the time.

 

A bit more food porn from the Munich Lufthansa First Class Lounge:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

there is everything here from salmon, duck, veal, Osso Busco (sp?), fruits, etc.

 

or you can order from the menu and it will be cooked to order!

Edited November 10, 2015 by kazu

[Cruzin Terri]

Thanks for the report and photos. Glad you made it across the pond safely. The hardest part is over. Now it's time to have fun.

Enjoy!

Terri

[phabric]

Enjoyed your review so far and looking for more.

[1of4]

Oh my...oh my! What a way to travel! Hope Air Canada rethink Rouge!!!!

[ger_77]

So THAT's how the other half lives! Seriously Jacqui, I'm so glad you finally got going - hopefully all the stress and tension will be in the past and you and Jose will have nothing but wonderful experiences ahead.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Gerry

[LHT28]

You might find Oceania a let down after LH :D

 

Even if AC had half of those offerings it would be great ;)

[Mura]

We were in business class on a Lufthansa flight a few years ago and were very impressed with the food. It was better than the meals we'd had on business in Air France a few months earlier.

 

The best first class lounge we've ever been in (not that we've been in many!) was the Emirates lounge at JFK. An incredible buffet ...

 

Mura

[buggins0402]

Glad to hear that your flights got off the ground and you are on your way to Spain. Looking forward to your reports from the north.

[sppunk]

It's kinda too bad you didn't transit through Frankfurt and get to experience the dedicated Lufthansa First Class terminal. You're transfered from the plane directly via Mercedes or Porsche and checked in before you arrive at the terminal that is only for first class pax. It's ... incredible.

 

Only done that once (on points), doubt we can again. Lufthansa does it right - when not striking. ;)

[Vict0riann]

Great food porn, Jacqui. You know what pleases the masses left behind..:D

[RJB]

You might find Oceania a let down after LH :D

 

Even if AC had half of those offerings it would be great ;)

BA ( First Class) and Virgin Atlantic are just about the same. A nice way to go if you can. :):)

[cle1]

Looking VERY forward to your Oceania postings, as with HAL's many cut backs and larger ships, we have been told Oceania is much like, but better than what HAL used to be. Carol :)

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Jacqui,

 

Looking forward to your Oceania Live From. Glad LH was a go for you. Back in our working days we flew LH Business class often across the pond and it was a real treat. I imagine First is outstanding.

 

Barbara

[LHT28]

BA ( First Class) and Virgin Atlantic are just about the same. A nice way to go if you can. :):)

I can only dream of going 1st class ;)

 

 

we have done 1st class on KLM a few yrs ago & it was nothing like those photos :D

[ski ww]

Glad to see that your flight went with out a problem after all. If you have to fly I guess first class is the way to go. I see Georgina & Gerry are on this cruise tell them we said hello. Looking forward to reading all about it.

Allan & Marlane

[kazu]

To quote a friend of mine......"The Eagle has landed" YAY - we are in Bilbao :)

 

Dam (a HAL expression) I forgot to pack soap. We are in Spain and that bar of soap is so pequinita (very small) that you could barely use it for your face let alone for a shower. Poor DH. He can use my bath gel ;)

 

The first class lounge in Munich was very, very nice. Food cooked to order if you wanted but we couldn't take them up on that one - we just weren't up for it yet. Service was impeccable and there was nothing they couldn't do for us.

 

You only get the limo in Frankfurt IF you have to be shuttled. It's the same in Munich, but we connected to a gate and frankly that is just fine by me.

 

We were anxiously waiting for our luggage (it was priority right?) and the sign was wrong for the baggage - LOL. We had to go through security to have our luggage xrayed before we could exit for Bilbao.

 

Now, if we could get the temp in the room below 24.5 life would be very, very good. At least we have windows that open and I think that is safe as we are on the 9th floor ;)

 

doing a tired, happy dance and off to explore Bilbao tomorrow.

 

We are doing well staying up until 10:00 p.m. to synchronize ourselves (if we make it) and sipping a Grey Goose (thanks duty free) and tonic to relax.

[ronrick1943]

What a great report so far, really can't wait till you get on the ship. We've done LH First a few times, really nice way to go. Enjoy your trip!

Rick

[Scrapnana]

So glad you made it safely. Hopefully, that first class treatment helped to make up for some of the stress in the last couple of days.

[kazu]

LOL to Lyn for saying O might be a let down after LH. I highly doubt it. Cruising is far more civilized than flying.

 

But for flying, I just have to tell you all. I had planned on sleeping on the plane but the scenery was just so wonderful I couldn't. I had put my Ipad on shutdown and not airport mode so I didn't dare open it to snap.

 

We crossed over France - north and over the Pyreneese Mountains (sp?). Incredible scenery. Somehow I got the window seat instead of DH and I am so glad I did. I couldn't help but think of our white mountain dog that we lost a few years ago as this is where he came from. The mountains were covered in snow at the top and green at the bottom. Just incredible scenery. ( and I couldn't help but think about Marley - our Bernese mountain dog puppy aka puppy pony who loves climbing mountains of snow.)

 

If you ever do fly into Bilbao, do take a look out the window. It is absolutely incredible and gorgeous. Green, green, green. Bilbao gets a lot of rain and it is really green and it looks like we are in for good weather too. The rain will come on Friday when we fly to Madrid.

[smoothsailors]

YAY...you're there! Now we're really interested in your comments while onboard because, unlike C2C, we don't expect O to be ANYTHING like the HAL of yore as they're such different takes on cruising. While the "old" HAL was wonderful is was always a formal, very traditional cruise experience with fixed seatings. Oceania (we think, as we're newbies) is reported to be a much more relaxed, less structured ambience...so we'll following all your posts!!!

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

[Paulchili]

Kazu,

All's well that ends well - glad you made it safely (and in style) to Bilbao.

Kudos on landing those very elusive LH F awards. :)

Looking forward to following your cruise.

TIA