Winter❄️ (or not?) Travel in 2 Continents - Trip Planning
Experiencing a Christmas market at Amsterdam for the first time!
A unique journey with the missus across 2 continents!
Winter❄️ (or not?) Travel in 2 Continents - Trip Planning
Intercontinental Amstel Amsterdam - 1 King Premium River View
FRA-CDG-AUH Etihad First Class
Our nightmare at CDG Airport - A Cautionary Tale
Andaz Capital Gate Abu Dhabi - Capitol Suite
Abu Dhabi highlights
AUH-KUL Etihad Business Class
KUL-SIN Singapore Airlines Regional Business Class
Despite our travels occurring in winter (on both continents), the atmosphere somehow didn't quite match the season, prompting the title of this trip planning post.
Additionally, the latter part of the trip blurred into a “memorable” haze due to my illness, adding an unexpected twist to the experience! 😆 Read on then!
Winter❄️ (or not?) Travel in 2 Continents - Route Map - what a convoluted route!
Flights
Winter❄️ (or not?) Travel in 2 Continents - Summary of Flights
Securing Business award flights to Amsterdam during the Christmas festive season, proved to be quite the challenge. After weighing options between Economy and Business Class revenue flights, I found the price for Saudia Business Class from Singapore to Frankfurt (via Male), to be reasonable. Also, I had the opportunity to experience two distinct Business Class offerings on different aircraft types: the B787-9 and A320, providing a unique comparison. Truly a case of killing two birds with one stone!
Besides, I was sparing a thought for the missus! Painful but happy at heart 🤣
From Frankfurt, we took a short Economy Class flight on Lufthansa to Amsterdam, which was not much to write about (other than the crowd as per most Intra-European flights). I insert a blog post from Live And Let’s Fly, in which Matthew did a comprehensive review on it (on the same aircraft type).
The journey back to Singapore was a bit more intricate, but it was necessary to fully appreciate the highlight of this trip (ok I may be exaggerating a bit 😶). It began with a short flight back to Frankfurt for an overnight stay, and to show the missus around. This flight was in Austrian Economy Class, however I was fully occupied by my sickness at this point, and therefore I did not take many pictures.
The primary factor (and basis) influencing our choice of destinations was the discovery of a rare First Class award flight with Etihad on Aeroplan! Surprisingly, there were seats available for two during that timeframe. Although the Etihad Residences on the A380 were still unavailable, I decided that the B777 version was still good enough for us.
Additionally, this decision provided an opportunity to review 2 airlines once more, and 3 different products (Etihad B777 First Class, Etihad B787-10 Business Class, Singapore Airlines B737-800 Regional Business Class). Furthermore, a points sale for Aeroplan emerged, all 3 elements signalling a quick-fire award booking.
Unfortunately, the journey from this point onward (including the KUL-SIN segment) became somewhat hazy for me. However, I did succeed in capturing more photos of the AUH-KUL segment, on Etihad Business Class, however my experience was greatly marred by my illness 😢. Hope to go on this flight again in the near future to properly review this product!
For the KUL-SIN leg, I will be incorporating pictures of the hard product from other blogs, alongside my personal reflections on this service (in summary: there's ample room for improvement!).
Hotels
Winter❄️ (or not?) Travel in 2 Continents - Summary of Hotels
Kimpton De Witt turned out to be one of the more memorable stays (in more ways than one 🤣), conveniently situated near Amsterdam train station. It featured a truly unique room type as well!
The expense was somewhat balanced out by a USD150 credit, a complimentary room upgrade, and breakfast included.
Set within a historic building, the Intercontinental Amstel Amsterdam hotel exuded beauty and charm, and it captured our hearts! While the exquisite decor and delectable cuisine promised a delightful stay, various factors unfortunately thwarted the experience. Additionally, this marked the beginning of my sickness, which dampened the spirits (well at least mine 😝)
After a few nights at Amsterdam, we then ventured to Den Haag to see the famous Girl with A Pearl Painting at the Mauritshuis Museum. To my surprise, I discovered that hotels in this area were considerably more affordable than those in Amsterdam. Our stay at the Hilton The Hague was excellent, and was conveniently located within tram stops of the main attractions we intended to visit. A nice stay!
After being impressed during my initial stay, I chose to “conveniently” bring the missus to Frankfurt and stay at a hotel in which I was familiar with. This time, we got a room upgrade to the Junior Suite (thanks to my newly minted Hilton Diamond status), which proved to be even more impressive than my first experience, boasting stunning city views of Frankfurt City Centre! Stay tuned for more pictures of the Junior Suite 😉
As mentioned in my earlier post, I did bring the missus back to Andaz Abu Dhabi, during our 1 day layover in Abu Dhabi. Although our stay had the potential to be exceptional (we did not expect to be upgraded to the Capitol Suite!), I was unable to fully enjoy it, which remains one of my regrets from this trip 😕😕.
Once again, this stay was booked through Hotelux, which, under the Hyatt Prive rate, included a USD50 credit, a complimentary room upgrade, and breakfast. This brought the room rate down to approximately 250 SGD per night.
Lounges
Winter❄️ (or not?) Travel in 2 Continents - Summary of Loungs
There were various lounges that we got to visit during our trip, in which most of them didn't leave a lasting impression 😶
I was pretty disappointed that we did not get to use Saudia’s flagship Business Class Lounge here, as it was still under construction and wouldn't open until a few months later. Fortunately, there was an alternative lounge, the Hayyak Lounge, that we could access by presenting our Business Class tickets, Priority Pass holders were also accepted!
Sadly, this was just a lounge that was not very memorable, and we just used it to get through the night. Not much pictures also due to the overcrowdedness.
Once again, not many pictures available of the Aspire Lounge Amsterdam Airport because of my illness, but Priority Pass Schengen Business lounges in European airports are typically not very exciting. For more comprehensive reviews, check out the following blogs:
During the return journey on our Aeroplan award flight, we had the chance to visit two lounges thanks to our partner flights with Lufthansa and Etihad - the Lufthansa Senator Lounge at FRA and the Extime Lounge at CDG. Let’s say that we would have hoped that Etihad’s First Class Lounge was still open at CDG 😆
I've been to the Etihad Business Lounge before, so this visit was more of a guided tour for my wife. Oh, how I wished we could have experienced the First Class Lounge! Nonetheless, the Business Lounge still provided us with a great experience.
Won’t be reviewing this again since I visited it a few months ago.
Unfortunately, I couldn't take any decent pictures due to two reasons: Firstly, I was at the peak of my sickness, and secondly, the lounge was too crowded to capture any shots. In summary, it wasn't a pleasant experience. 😶😶
Travel Insurance
I continued to use my annual Travel Insurance Prestige Plan from Singlife for S$309.
Transportation
Deciding on the best transportation method in Europe required a considerable amount of research. Detailed discussions on this topic will be featured in the highlight posts of each city!
In Abu Dhabi, I used Careem to transport us to Andaz Abu Dhabi. Apart from that, we participated in a half-day tour arranged through Etihad Tours, eliminating the need for additional transportation. You can find further details in the dedicated blog post!
Miscallaneous
In terms of cellular coverage, I continued to use Airalo, which I found it very convenient to use during my overseas trip, and very affordable. I took a 1GB local data plan with 7 days validity, which cost only US$5, and was more than enough for me. The only negative is that SMS is not covered, but it does the job for me.
If you are interested in trying it out, sign up using my referral code G1063 to get USD 3 off your first purchase.
I used Klook to book my visit to Louvre Abu Dhabi beforehand, and used Shopback to get 5% cashback from my purchase. Use my referral code 94FOGP to earn $5 cashback upon accumulation of $10 of confirmed cashback or have $300 of fully paid PayLater orders within 180 days.
Conclusion
A rare agreement with the missus to go on this epic winter journey spanning two continents! Despite my illness affecting half of the trip, we still managed to have a wonderful time and explored many museums along the way. Stay tuned for more updates!
