KLM Business Class

To Bali on KLM Business Class

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Our Bali vacation was a result of our Europe Vacation Package in December last year.  As we were given a complimentary ticket to Bali via KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to be used by March latest, this resulted in our trip today.

At Singapore Changi International Airport KLM counter, we were told that we needed to do the check-in ourselves at the nearby self service kiosks.

Self service check-in at Singapore Changi Airport

We noticed that quite a number of passengers had trouble with the self service check-in and worst of all, there were no staff around to assist. 

Fortunately for us, we managed to clear the check-in for our group of four with no major hiccups. The only setback was that one person in our group was seated away from the others.

Approaching the staff at the KLM counter where we had to check-in our luggage to change our seats so that we could be together, we were told to check with the staff at the boarding gate.

When we were at the boarding area, we once again approached the KLM airlines staff and waited for them to make the necessary changes.  To our surprise and delight, our group of four were all upgraded to the KLM Business Class.

WOW!  That made our day!  :D

KLM Business Class section

Enjoying the unexpected upgrade

Nice and spacious

Nice little amenity bag for every business class passenger

The journey was smooth on the whole and we enjoyed the time in our business class seats though we had problems locating the point for attaching the earpiece.

Our menu:-

The Menu

A napkin was placed on the table before the appetiser and dessert were served on a tray with warm bread rolls.  Later, the main course was served.  We enjoyed our meal and if we had known that we were going to be upgraded, we would not have eaten anything before boarding the flight.

As for the meal, here is the appetiser and dessert served together...

Spicy Smoked Lamb and Chocolate Mocha Cake

Main course:-

Roasted Garoupa Fillet

The food somehow tasted better here in the business class section.  :P

Roasted Chicken Forestiere

Towards the end of the journey, the flight stewardess came around with a tray of porcelain Dutch souvenir and we could select the design we liked.

Dutch souvenir given to all KLM Business Class passengers

Overall, though it was a short journey from Singapore to Bali, we enjoyed the sleeper seat with the 150 degree incline at the KLM Business Class.  It was definitely a great start to our Bali vacation.



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Bali Vacation Day 1 16 Mar – 18 Mar 2011

This Bali vacation would not have materialized if we were not given complimentary flight tickets when we booked our Europe vacation package.  Our plan was to utilize our tickets during the Chinese New Year period.  However, the airline was fully booked and we had to find alternative dates.  With the validity expiring end March, we thus decided on these dates, though we would have preferred to go on a longer trip.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Our flight to Bali was on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight 0836. Leaving Singapore Changi International Airport at 1730 hrs.  Our group of four was at the airport at 1530 hrs.  Approaching the KLM counter in Terminal 1, we were directed to the self check-in kiosks located nearby.

There were four self check-in machines though only 3 could check in KLM flights.  We had to queue for almost fifteen minutes before our turn as everyone seemed to be having problems with the machine and there was nobody around to provide any assistance.  People were getting frustrated and tempers were starting to boil.  However, we were fortunate as we did not face any problems when we checked in our family of four except for the fact that one of our seats were totally separated from the rest of the group and though we indicated the change of seats, the boarding passes were printed with the original seats. 

We then had to approach the KLM counter to check in our luggage and there we asked to change our seats but they said that the seat we originally chose was already taken up and there were no seats nearby.  She asked us to check again at the boarding gate.

With some time to spare, we cleared customs and went to Delifrance for a bite.  We were at the boarding gate by 1700 hrs and upon requesting to be seated together, we were all upgraded to KLM business class.  WOW!  What a pleasant surprise!  It was as if we had hit the jackpot.

KLM Business Class flight amenity

Our flight left at 1740 hrs, ten minutes later than scheduled.  The journey was smooth on the whole and we had a great meal.

We touched down at  Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport at 2020 hrs and by the time we disembarked, went through immigration, collected our luggage and  cleared customs, it was already 2100 hrs.

Holiday Travel Tips:-

If you require a visa to enter Bali, you may purchase your visa on arrival at the respective counters for USD25.  The queue to clear immigration for those with visa on arrival is so much shorter, and thus faster, than those who do not require visas from what we experienced, arriving on a flight from Singapore Changi International Airport.

Following the directional signs, we made our way to the Taxi Service counter and booked a taxi to our Bali accommodation for our two nights stay at The Rani Hotel and Spa in Tuban, South Kuta.

Ngurah Rai International Airport Taxi Service Counter

The Rani Hotel and Spa

Jalan Kartika Plaza

Kuta

Bali 80361

Indonesia

Tuban

www.theranihotel.com

Email: therani@dps.centrin.net.id

Tel: (62-361)752 732

Fax: (62-361)752 212

A mere ten minutes journey and we arrived at The Rani Hotel and Spa.  We also negotiated with our taxi driver to bring us around for the next day and a half.

Holiday Travel Tips:-

Collect the various Bali information brochures at the Ngurah Rai International Airport so that you have an idea of where you would like to visit as well as the prices of the various tours or car charters.

Brochures easily available at Ngurah Rai International Airport

Holiday Travel Tips:-

If you have a group of between two to seven persons, it would be advisable to charter a car and personalize your very own tour itinerary to explore this fully magical island.  English speaking drivers are easily available and the main advantages are that you will be able to stop anytime and anywhere along the way as well as spend as much or as little time as you wish at any particular area.  You do not have to keep to the fixed timings and itineraries, as you would need to if you were to book the specific tours directly with the tour agencies.  Moreover you might find this a more economical way to travel, the bigger the size of your group.

We managed to negotiate with our driver for the following rates:-

9 hours sightseeing at Rp400,000 (USD43.95)

6 hours sightseeing at Rp300,000 (USD32.93)

It has been a wonderfully lucky day for us on the first day of our Bali free and easy vacation and we were looking forward to soaking in the various Bali attractions and culture in the next two days.

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