Episode 770 – Round-the-World Ticket Flight #1: Vancouver to Auckland

We headed to Vancouver International Airport this afternoon (Monday), full of excited anticipation for the beginning of this winter and spring’s multi-country adventure. Our amazing neighbour (and, coincidentally, landlord) drove us to International Departures.

It will be our first time flying with many of the Star Alliance affiliate airlines booked on our RTW itinerary, and we’re looking forward to comparing their business class offerings.

But first, time in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Signature Suite lounge, blissfully uncrowded. There was a wide selection of self-serve wines and domestic and imported beers, a bartender making cocktails to order, a café area with a selection of teas and coffees, a salad bar, international snacks like samosas and Jamaican patties, made-to-order udon noodles, and lots of lovely sweet treats.

We’d had lunch at home, and would get dinner on the plane, so Ted simply opted for cookies and cappuccino, while I had an Aperol spritz. This trip isn’t a cruise with beverage package, so most of my wine consumption will be on travel days when it is included in our fare.

The business-class seat configuration on Air New Zealand’s Boeimg 777-300er planes has come in for all kinds of criticism because of the way the pods face the aisles, making them less “private”, but for someone like me who is happy to interact with other enthusiastic travellers, they’re absolutely fine – and when converted into beds (with a mattress!!), as they were later in the flight, they’re heaven.

A friendly Brit from Ottawa offered to take a photo of the beginning of our journey .

The business class amenities kit included a toothbrush, toothpaste, hand lotion, scented balm, and a pen encased in a wooden shaft. No eye/sleep mask, but the funkiest socks we’ve been given on any airline – and they’re real socks, not just “tubes”.

We were greeted with a choice of orange juice, sparkling water, or champagne, while pre-dinner drink orders and dinner orders were taken. The crew, in addition to having fabulous Maori-pattern uniforms, had wonderful warm smiles as they welcomed us with “Kia Ora!”

Ted and I both ordered the signature cocktail.

Unfortunately, despite good quality gin and lush blackberry, black current, and boysenberry, the resulting cocktail tasted a bit like cough syrup. I wouldn’t order it again.

There was blini and caviar as our amuse bouche.

Ted’s appetizer was the soup and his main the beef, both of which he pronounced delicious, while I chose the smoked trout appetizer and salmon main, also yummy. We both opted for warm perfectly chewy pretzel buns with our appetizers.

The presentation of the main courses really was much prettier than the angle of the photos suggests.

I couldn’t resist the combination of dark chocolate and cheesecake ice creams with my after dinner coffee. Ted chose the fruit mousse.

Then it was time to have the crew convert our seats into beds, and settle in for a few hours of sleep. Unlike other business class pods we’ve experienced, on this plane the seats do not recline, but instead they fold down to create a seamless flat bed. Over that surface a roughly 5cm/2in thick mattress – with its own fitted sheet – is laid. Two pillows and a warm quilted blanket are provided, all of which encouraged a decent 6-1/2 hours of sleep. I had worn thin leggings under my pants to use as pyjamas so that when we arrived in Auckland I wouldn’t look as if I’d slept in my clothes. I would do that again; it was much more comfortable.

I curled up quite comfortably, but could also have slept flat. Unfortunately, Ted (who is a stomach sleeper) didn’t really sleep, since the beds were not long enough for his 183cm/6ft frame.

There isn’t really a chandelier in the business class bathroom, but there is a PICTURE of one! Air New Zealand has a sense of humour (also demonstrated in their very entertaining safety video).

The other bathroom featured 2 windows: one real, and one, well…

As soon as the crew noticed that I was up and brushing my teeth, they re-set my seat and brought me a cup of really excellent coffee – probably the best I’ve had so far on a flight. Instead of drip pots, the coffee is made in oversized French presses (and that applies, like the free wifi, in every cabin class).

There were lots of breakfast choices, but having had a big dinner all I really wanted was something light. We both chose the orange juice; I just had cranberry toast and fresh fruit, but Ted opted for the stuffed pretzel bun (which looked yummy).

Despite lovely weather on the ground, the last couple of hours in the air were back to being intermittently turbulent, and I was really glad to hear the Captain’s announcement that we were landing. Ted said it had been turbulent all night, but I slept through that.

We were scheduled to arrive in Auckland at 05:30, having forewarned our hotel that we weren’t actually arriving “late” on Tuesday January 6th, but rather very early on Wednesday the 7th. For us, January 6th just disappeared. We’re instantly a day older, but probably none wiser. Our flight, despite being bumpy, actually arriving before 05:00. By the time we’d collected our baggage, gone through customs/immigration, and declared and verified our 5 month supply of prescriptions (anything over 3 months must be declared), we were still in an Uber by that original 05:30 arrival time.

The photos from which we booked our studio at the Quest on Beaumont, with an Expedia rating of 9.2/10 looked like this:

Our actual room looked almost exactly as advertised.

Because we’re only here for 4 days, we opted for a compact (read “less expensive”) room, but it still has a kitchenette, and a washer/dryer so that we can leave without packing used laundry. That’s a feature I actively sought out for this trip. Bizarrely, given those included amenities, our booking indicated that Quest charges for wifi: $10NZD per 24 hours. As Ted commented, “who does that anymore?” It turns out, no one. Wifi was complimentary and lightning fast: 600+ mbps down and 290+ mbps up.

The kitchen and bathroom were well set up for a short stay. We won’t be doing much real cooking, but it’s nice to be able to prepare our own breakfasts, lunches, and late-night snacks.