Jetstar inaugural flight - Singapore to Okinawa

Finally, after booking months ahead, I get to travel to Jetstar's inaugural flight from Singapore to Okinawa. After missing out on the Silkair's inaugural to Hiroshima, I managed to fit the Okinawa trip into my schedule.

Anyway, Jetstar' timing for this outbound flight was perfect. A red eye flight departing Singapore at 0150 for an 0800 arrival into Okinawa. Looking forward to a fun day ahead in Naha.

Jetstar has many self check-in kiosks at Changi airport terminal 1. Even the bag drop is automated now, following terminal 4's adoption of bag drop technology. A point to note, to check-in multiple bags, I need to confirm and receive the baggage tag one by one.

At the gate area, there were some decorations put up, some Jetstar personnel present, mascots for photo taking opportunities and door gifts for every passenger.

The door gifts were quite generous.

Each passenger was handed a Jetstar goodie bag upon clearing security at the gate area.

It contains the Jetstar amenity kit, empty bottles, notepads and a pen. Quite impressive.

The amenity kit contains toothbrush, toothpaste, ear plug, tissue, inflatable pillow and eye mask.

Upon entering the aircraft, a cabin crew hang a chain of fake flower on every passenger. They could have use real flowers though!

Jetstar is a budget carrier, so theoretically no complimentary foods or drinks are provided. However, on this occasion, there are celebrations held at about 6am en-route. A couple renewing marriage vows and a few birthdays, so Jetstar provided every passenger with a muffin and a tiny cup of champagne. 

I actually saved $4 on the muffin haha!

Sitting by the window on the right side gave me great views of the sunrise en-route.

The flight was smooth during cruise, probably at this time of year in Asia. This, coupled with fantastic views, is why I enjoy flying and being in the air. 😃

It allows me to 把烦恼抛到九霄云外！

Upon landing, at the arrival hall, there were staff handing out another bag containing Okinawa tourist map and info. I saw that a podium was set up at the arrival hall for Jetstar personnel to give a speech.

All in all, a good flight on a budget airline. If only all budget airline flights were like this. Haha!

Genting Dream Cruise - Dream Palace review

The Genting Dream cruise ship has been sailing for about a year since it embarked on its maiden voyage. It sails mainly on Asian routes. This November, Genting Dream is embarking on a special one-off voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore where it will home port in Singapore. 

So this is sort of a positioning cruise. There are no stops during the cruise. A 4 day 3 night non-stop cruise to Singapore. The prices are reasonable, with the balcony cabins starting at ~$1000 and dream palace suites starting at about ~$1700 per cabin.

On a whim, I booked the dream palace suite. It comes with a host of complimentary amenities:

After dropping off the luggage at the counters set up in the parking area, dream palace guests were directed to a separate check in area and a lounge.

There is a butler serving some finger foods and coffee/tea.

After that, it was time for immigration formalities and boarding. There is no separate lines for premium guests. The queue don't seem long. As it turns out, this cruise is only about one third filled, making a less crowded cruise vacation.

My first time on Genting Dream !

Initial impressions of a dream palace suite. Gorgeous. A very comfortable queen sized bed, two sets of balcony doors, a sofa bed.

A walk-in wardrobe, two desks for two pax.

A curtain to form a private bedroom if you desire.

The balcony with two wicker chairs and one wicker table.

Genting Club restaurant sit-down dining

There is an appetizer, soup, main course and dessert. The meals are changed daily and there are options as well.

View upon leaving the kai tak harbour

First night dinner at the teppanyaki restaurant

Wonderful and Entertaining chef

There are singers belting out mandarin songs

Free wifi with excellent connectivity throughout the cruise

Private pool area exclusively for dream palace guests. It was mostly empty. There are hot and cold salt tubs, main pool.

Comfortable seating and beds

Hot water tubs at the front of the deck.

All cruise guests are provided with robes. Dream Palace guests have the dream palace logo emblazoned on the front.

Exclusive lift for dream palace guests accessing decks 13 to 18.

Tea breaks are served daily from 3 to 4pm for dream palace guests.

Some ship facts taken from the dream cruise app. The app allows you to find out about the cruise and manage your cruise account.

My two favourite hobbies: flying and cruising ! The open seas gives me a relaxing feeling.

You can also walk up to the captain's deck and observe them at work from behind a panel.

Main pool for all guests. It's not crowded at all.

Second night dinner at the hot pot restaurant with outdoor seating. Plenty of food with expensive drinks.

There is a bar area on deck 19 for dream palace guests to chill out. It was empty when I visited.

Docking at the marina south pier with the distinctive MBS in the background.

In conclusion, if you prefer to avoid the crowds and have the privacy, it is possible to stay within the dream palace decks 13 to 18 throughout the cruise.

At this price, the dream palace suite is excellent !

Getting to Kai Tak cruise pier via local ferry

Up till now there has been limited ways of getting to Kai Tak cruise pier. Passengers usually arrive by taxi or bus. From the airport, taxis are the most convenient but costly. From other parts of Hong Kong, taxis are available too at a cost.

For those on a budget, buses that serve the pier are normal everyday buses without luggage space. So it might be of a hassle if bringing heavy luggage.

As I was doing homework on alternative budget ways of getting to the pier, I chanced upon the ferry service operated by fortune ferry company. They operate daily, hourly local ferry services between North pier to Kwan tung. On weekdays, only two sailings (one morning and one evening) will serve kai tak pier in both directions. On weekends, all sailings will serve kai tak pier in both directions. The timings can be found online.

Fortunately, my cruise departed on a sunday so this option works out for me. I have yet to come across an online review heading to kai tak pier via this way so I wanted to do a review.

First, take the mtr to North pier station. This is especially near if coming from wan chai or causeway bay. It's only a few stops away. Many passengers will alight at this station but I soon realise only few are heading towards the pier.

One thing to note. Hong kong mtr stations, unlike Singapore, are not exactly well equipped with escalators and lifts. There are many steps involved as well.

Exit the station via A1 exit and walk towards the direction of the sea for about 5 minutes. The walk is on a smooth pavement. The pier is fairly small and the ferry service is located at the end of the pier.  Look out for the company name fortune ferry.

Walking inwards you will reach the ticket gate. Tickets can be purchased using the octopus card or by cash $6hkd into the fare gate. No change will be given.

Some nice views of the harbour at the waiting area.

There are sufficient seating at both the landside (before paying) and the 'seaside' (after paying). For my sailing, there are about ~10 passengers.

When the gate is opened, proceed past and walk towards the ferry. It is a double decker ferry with covered outdoor seating and indoor seating. Again plenty of seats. There are toilets and no other amenities. For the short 20 minutes ride, it is alright.

Nice views on the way

Spotted my genting dream cruise ship !

Kai tak pier

That's my ferry. A comfortable, budget 20 minute ride to Kai Tak pier. From the landing point, it is a 10 minute walk to the pier building.

This ferry service is meant for the locals to cross the sea. But it seems the take-up rate is quite low on a sunday. Not sure of the demand on a weekday. Here's to hoping the ferry service continues as it is. A quick, budget, comfortable, local way of getting to kai tak pier.

Fly-cruise Singapore to Hong Kong

I just returned from a fly cruise tour from Singapore to Hong Kong. I flew to Hong Kong on Scoot airlines and boarded the Genting Dream cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore non-stop.

I will detail my thoughts on the cruise in the subsequent posts. Now I want to document some pre-cruise details.

My Scoot flight to Hong Kong was uneventful. Initially, I booked the overnight flight to Hong Kong to save on the one night hotel stay. But alas Scoot cancelled the flight so in the end I had to take another flight one day earlier and stay one night in Hong Kong.

Scoot flies mainly A320s and sometimes the dreamliner to Hong Kong when there is demand. Due to my work schedule and Scoot flight choices, I could only select the A320 flight.

The A320 planes were originally from Tigerair. Since then, they had merged to become Scoot. The exterior was painted in Scoot livery but the tail of the aircraft remain in Tigerair livery for now. The A320 plane feature all economy class seats and has a tight seating arrangement. For a budget airline operating short sectors, this is  acceptable.

After reaching Hong Kong, I took the A11 citybus to reach Causeway Bay. Some things to note:
- the bus operates at 30 minute intervals from the bus terminal adjacent to the airport.
- costs hkd$40 each regardless of distance.
- Can be paid with the octopus card or exact cash.
- There is discount for senior citizens.
- It is a double decker bus with sufficient luggage space.
- The advantage is direct bus to causeway bay. If taking the train, need to change a few times. Also, Hong Kong metro stations do not always come with escalators or lifts, so need to lift heavy luggage on the stairs.
- The bus route information can be found online. In the bus, there is a tv screen displaying each stop in English. For tourists I guess.

I stayed overnight at the mini hotel causebay, an easy 8 minute walk away from the bus stop. The hotel lobby was in the basement and comes with a lift. Guests could enter the hotel with access card through a door on ground level. The room size was very small and bathroom was separated with a transparent window. Bottled water was provided. That's it. A 3-minute walk to the mega shopping mall Times Square. Definitely overpriced.

Alright, in the next post, I shall detail how to get to Kai Tak cruise pier with luggage on public transport. 

Booked: Cathay pacific business class del to pek '18

Due to work commitment, I have to give up my cathay pacific business class sin to bkk as well as emirates economy class bkk to hkg. On hindsight, I should have booked my tickets for 1 week later. Oh well, too late to regret.

I bought the CX ticket for >$500 but I can only seek a refund of >$100. This represents a loss of $400. 

My EK ticket is redeemed and is unfortunately non-refundable. So there goes my points. The taxes I paid are not substantial, so my monetary loss is minimal.

Fortunately, by working these 3 days, I have earned back my losses.

Recently, I chanced upon another cathay pacific business class discounted ticket. It costs >$800 roundtrip from New Delhi, India to Beijing, China via Hong Kong. All 4 segments will be on a330.

This trip will happen in March, hopefully. It will only be a short trip as I have limited vacation time due to work.

After the dishonored Virgin Australia business class tickets, this will be the next business class trip I'm looking forward to in 2018 !

Virgin Australia will not honor the business class mistake fare '17

About a week ago, I posted on how I manage to snag business class mistake fare on Virgin Australia. Sadly, a couple of days ago, I receive a message on my mobile phone and an email saying that they will not honor the business class fare.

Two options are then laid out for me:

1) downgrade to economy class at the same fare. This option may not be worth the $ because a check on the same dates indicates that economy class fares is only slightly more than ~S$1000, as compared to the ~S$1300 that I have paid. 

On another thought, they did not indicate whether the tickets will be full fare or discounted fare. This will affect the number of miles that can be earned. Anyway, I'm not keen with this option.

2) full refund back to my credit card. Yup. I went ahead with this option. Take back my $ and wait out for another mistake fare :) This option requires calling their helpdesk, I believe in Australia or NZ. Surprisingly, they picked up the call within seconds. Not even requiring an automated system. The lady politely assisted to refund my $ within 3-5 business days. So now I'm hoping for my $ to come back to me. Haha!

One thing that I have learnt is that never book any other side trips around the mistake fare. Because we never know whether the airline will honor it.

Booked ! Business Class flights in June 2018 from Auckland to Oakland on Virgin Australia and Delta

Things are winding down for me these few days. I have more time to finalize my long travel trips in the weeks ahead and to look out for other airline promotions.

This morning as I was going through some online travel blogs, I chanced upon great business class fares from Auckland to Oakland. Only ~$1301 NZD.

I quickly jumped on it and booked within a couple of hours. Past experience has taught me that these fares will be gone in a flash. The choice of airlines on this route are either Virgin Australia or Delta, both of which I have never taken in business class. 

Online reviews usually compare more favourably towards Virgin Australia, so I quickly booked the tickets with the long haul route on VA. The american domestic flight is on delta. There is no other alternatives.

I might have booked it a little too fast. After that, whiling reading the online forum, I realize that the same fare can be had for travel to other american cities such as seattle. Would have preferred that though. But never mind. I can't always have my cake and eat it. I'm contented for now.

This flight won't happen soon as I have ticketed it for June 2018, which I know I will be able to make it due to my work schedule.

In the meantime, hopefully, this ticket will be honored till then. And I am able to enjoy the flight ! Fingers crossed ☺