that bassinet life (RTW with our 9 mth old)

[RooFlyer]

Mmmmmmm ... LH First The only way to travel with an infant

 

[diningdecadence]

We stayed at the New Hotel in Athens. Pretty smack bang in the middle of the tourist area.

Had a few service hiccups throughout the stay that were rectified satisfactorily and would recommend if you can get a good rate (i think we ended up paying around E180/night)

great view from the restaurant/bar on the top floor



the room sizes differ for the same category room sold, and we had to push a fair bit to end up with this one for our 2nd & 3rd nights



complimentary breakfast downstairs was of a good quality, although I've never eaten haloumi cheese 'uncooked' - is that a thing?

 

[diningdecadence]

And for those who stumble upon this looking for Athens food recommendations - look no further!

We took an 'unconventional photo tour' with truevoyagers. The owner Pascal was great, and we lucked out as the only ones on the tour. A walk around Athens with polaroid cameras was a nice way to spend a morning, and he later sent recommendations for a meal.

It seems like Mitropoleos Street is a bit of a restaurant zone.

The octopus was delicious - super tender from Athinaikon - Mitropoleos Menu – Αθηναϊκόν | Από το 1932, the ice cream from Le Greche a few blocks down the street, and then I couldn't leave Athens without having galaktoboureko (a semolina custard pastry thing - so good!) further towards Syntagma Square

 

[diningdecadence]

Next we took a Aegean/ Olympic flight over to Santorini for our friend's wedding.

Great couple of days relaxing, and had great weather with only a brief shower or 2. We stayed at Casa Bianca in Imerovigli - not on the cliff/ water views, but these were available a 50m walk from the room if necessary.

One thing to be mindful of - this is a tourist island, and the cruise ships are in and out everyday. Oia in particular was not our cup of tea with so many people (and i thought June was shoulder season).

Generally we did not find eating out value for money, and whilst Murphy's Irish Pub (above a McDonalds!) in Thira was showing the socceroos and wallabies game, 8 euros for a pint stung!

 

[diningdecadence]

the holiday was 'over' for me at this point. We headed off to London where I would spend the week working, whilst the Mrs and junior explored London for the first time.

Took a BA direct flight into London City, booked using AA miles. Was a little disappointing that only J seats were 'available' as on the E90 the seats are all the same regardless!

Scenery out the window was awesome as we passed over Italy, France and Switzerland (sometimes that GPS stalking on the iphone is helpful!)

 

[diningdecadence]

We moved around London hotels ALOT, which to be frank was a PITA.

FIrst up was the Hilton Tower Bridge on points. Whether it was the honors gold or the cot, we got assigned a huge family room which was great. Good location for a couple of days with a couple of tourist attractions within walking distance, as well as my office being closeby Borough Markets.

Received exec lounge access but didn't really utilise except for a quick drink on the first night. Nice view of the Shard but was a tad chilly.



We then moved across to the Hyatt Regency Churchill in Marylebone for 3 nights, also on points but with no status. Another good location, with access to the private park across the road for a DIY picnic lunch from the Selfridges food court, and good food options around the corner (Grazing Goat gastropub for dinner one night, and then boxcar for breakfast one morning)



3rd hotel was a bit of a fail. We moved again to the Hilton Kensington on Holland Park Avenue. Had some difficulties with the room and fitting a crib along with some pretty horrible service from some of the staff. Duty manager kindly upgraded us to a suite (albeit same size bedroom) so spent our final 2 nights here.

Again a good location - walking distance to the huge Westfield @ White City one direction, and then Holland Park high st and parks, and Notting Hill in the other direction. Again good meals in pubs, and some relaxing time soaking up the rays in the park.

Just realised I've said each hotel was a good location! I guess with London being so large, and with so many attractions as a tourist (particularly a first timer like my wife), everywhere has something to offer.

 

[diningdecadence]

Here are some random shots of our week around town.

Crazy to see so many expensive cars just parked on the roadside


nice stroll through St James's Park



Was a busy day out - big Brexit protest march, past Big Ben/ Parliament which unfortunately for the wife are under repair/ construction



and then through Trafalgar Square where there were end of Eid celebrations with a concert and food stalls

 

[ejd711]

Thanks for the post! Not even pregnant yet but was planning a J One World award at 6-9 months if everything went well. You've just made me wonder whether I'm aiming to low...

 

[Denali]

And the kid's area, with a crib in the back left corner. He had a solid sleep for a couple of hours whilst mum napped on the chairs to the right and I wandered around trying to soak it all in.

View attachment 132202

Anyone else first think they were floating inflatable nappies as light fittings?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Nice report!

The shuffle from the Polaris Longe to the UA club at ORD is a pain! The service is great in the Polaris club (I needed some things urgently ironed), but maybe not worth the trip if the Polaris lounge is about to close (limited food and bar options) and you have to trek back to the club.

Re transfers at FRA (for anyone with upcoming LH flights)... you’ll always be transferred by car from the FCT. For the FCL in Terminal B you’ll get a car if LH group, and your plane is not departing from the B terminal. I quite like the B lounge in the afternoons, sometimes it’s only one passenger in there.

 

[diningdecadence]

Mmmmmmm ... LH First The only way to travel with an infant

certainly no complaints! the FA's even did about a 20 minute stint with him which was fantastic

Thanks for the post! Not even pregnant yet but was planning a J One World award at 6-9 months if everything went well. You've just made me wonder whether I'm aiming to low...

we were away for almost 6 weeks in the end - once you get the routine down it felt pretty natural so I'd highly recommend!

Anyone else first think they were floating inflatable nappies as light fittings?

haha reminded me more of the big light in the Air Canada lounge at LHR

Nice report!

The shuffle from the Polaris Longe to the UA club at ORD is a pain! The service is great in the Polaris club (I needed some things urgently ironed), but maybe not worth the trip if the Polaris lounge is about to close (limited food and bar options) and you have to trek back to the club.

Re transfers at FRA (for anyone with upcoming LH flights)... you’ll always be transferred by car from the FCT. For the FCL in Terminal B you’ll get a car if LH group, and your plane is not departing from the B terminal. I quite like the B lounge in the afternoons, sometimes it’s only one passenger in there.

Thanks - i'm pretty sure you helped with tips in the LM thread.

Agree with your comments on Polaris - but i'd still go if i could get 30 mins in there - enough time for a drink, some food and drinks, and then a quick sit by the windows.

Had read a bit about the lounges. If i'm travelling solo next time i might do a bit of a lounge crawl but with the 3 of us it was easiest to just get settled in 1 spot. We were there from about 2pm-7pm and the FCT was definitely busier than that!

 

[diningdecadence]

Alright, keeping this show on the road. The journey home was a points players ultimate puzzle. We had SQ J confirmed out of CDG, with multiple waitlists for F out of the other Euro cities. Ultimately we decided we didn't want to schlep over to Paris and so also confirmed J out of LHR.

Then, about 36 hours out we got confirmed on the late night Suites departure out of LHR. This was 48k KF miles + a decent chunk of $ each to 'upgrade' but with no further trips on the horizon before junior turned 2 we didn't hesitate to lock it in.

A fixed GBP33 fare from the Hilton got us there with plenty of time to spare. As mentioned on an SQ thread the bassinet seats had been assigned to others prior to check in, so we had to hope that they could ask them to move.

Couple of minor tips for leaving LHR. If you're claiming a tax refund and it fits in your carry on - there's another queue through customs where the line was much shorter (>1 hour outside, about 15 minutes inside)

and also - you can ask at check in for a buggy ride between terminals (was surprised I had to proactively ask for it, and in the end we were late 10 mins and missed it anyway!)

 

[diningdecadence]

Lounge itself is decent without being outstanding. Food is excellent and the shower pressure good so can't complain too much i guess.

Does feel a bit cramped with the 2 nighttime departures and late boarding they do, but would probably rate it higher than the United Global First lounge (my top 2 *A in LHR)

 

[diningdecadence]

It had been about 2 years since we were last in Suites together - funnily enough coming home from our honeymoon - how things change!



Flight was classified as 'supper' in the menu but we got a full service, excluding the satay starter, but stopped before dessert as we were both exhausted and full. Do enjoy the combined dining that you can do in Suites.



That's perhaps my only gripe about a couple of these flights - I much prefer a day flight to enjoy all there is on offer, particularly when travelling on points in First. I'll come back to that point in a couple more posts!

 

[diningdecadence]

Think I posted these on the SQ thread but here's the bassinet.



And then here's how we all spent most of the flight




We didn't question whether the bassinet could be re-made once the seat was in bed mode, but given the layout of the combined suite we figured he was fine in between us. I find SQ particularly quick on the turbulence/ seatbelt button so it was much easier for us to have him laying in between us rather than having to pick him up for 10 minutes at random points throughout the flight.

13 hour flight time from London to Singapore is just about perfect in my mind (when travelling in J or F). A solid meal, a movie or 2, and a solid sleep to arrive feeling well rested and ready to crack on with the holiday

 

[RooFlyer]

All very well, but having to keep the young 'un traveling in the style he/she is now accustomed to, at least until they turn 18-ish, might benefit a bit of a burden

 

[diningdecadence]

We stopped over in Singapore for a few days whilst I again went to work and Leslie got to relax/ explore.

I get up to Singapore a few times a year and am always looking for somewhere new to try out however was too slow in confirming a stay at the 4 Seasons, so we actually landed without a hotel lined up.

Gave the AMEX concierge a call and got an agent who was actually super helpful! Shangri-La (the one near orchard) was offering a 3rd night free, and although only a basic tower room was available (and at a not so cheap rate of ~$500/night) he managed to get them to upgrade across to the Valley Wing. Chose the Shangri-La as we'd stayed there in Easter this year, again at the Valley Wing.



Valley Wing hasn't had a reno yet (Tower Wing was recently completed), but with the FHR offer we got free breakfast and USD$100 to spend on site, as well as the all day happy hour in the lobby bar so figured it probably wasn't as extravagant as the headline rate showed.

The pool is super kid friendly (and popular) and for a space restrained city like Singapore the rooms (and grounds) feel spacious

 

[diningdecadence]

Final night in Singapore we moved to the Crowne Plaza at Changi as our flight departed at 7am the next morning, and no way were we paying another $500 to stay at the Shangri-La!

If I'm travelling solo I'll usually just stay in the transit hotel past security but we decided to give the CP a go as a first, and weren't disappointed at all. Apparently received a room in the new wing - either way it was clean and quiet (didn't hear a plane the whole time- which i'm sure may be a disappointment for those true avgeeks)

Had dinner in the food court in the basement of T3 where there was a huge variety of choice, as well as some dessert treats (a profiterole shop, and a separate cheese tart shop) and we left fully satisfied! There's also one of those Chinese jerky stores up on the departures level - highly recommend trying some out next time you're in Singapore

 

[LadyC]

Suites are great with a wee one (except for the infant ticket cost). MasterC could sleep next to me which was great as he was much more settled. Moving to 3 suite award redemptions is expensive, especially under the new pricing. Sadly we have had to move ourselves back to the J cabin

 

[diningdecadence]

Not alot to say about the final flight - both myself and the wife were looking forward to getting home and sleeping in our own bed by this point. In total we'd been gone 40 nights, and stayed in 17 different locations.

This was our luggage (after we'd already sent a suitcase home from USA)



As usual The Private Room was quiet (we were the only ones in the dining section) and made sure to have a decent breakfast given the lame continental breakfast offered onboard.





Flight itself was so so. I actually had a bit of an argument with the male FA who insisted on putting the window shades down (there was 1 other guy in the cabin who had misconnected from China), and then was a bit snarky when I asked for the lunch meal service to commence, so that kind've ruined the rest of the flight. To be fair I was probably a little tense from the holiday coming to an end as well but it was just so unlike the service I've received on SQ generally.