The check in desk hadn't opened when we arrived but by the time we had walked the length of the concourse it had and we were the first to check in at the business class desk. Managed to swap our DXB-MCT leg from 7A/B to 6J/K.
Wandered through a very empty security section in T2 into a shopping area which is currently having lots of refurb work carried out and made it quite messy. Went to the Escape lounge which was better than Bham but not really much to write home about and waited with a couple of drinks and snacks until boarding time. The new EK lounge was opening in 2 days time which we were sad to miss. We were delayed by an hour so worried a little about our connection to Muscat, Oman. When the gate open sign came up, we went to that area and could not believe the size of the queue to get into the 'holding pen'. In the holding pen, we just found a seat until boarding was announced. Business was called and of course a lot of other people stood up too. We walked through and Mark got split up from me and held up by about 3 people in front trying to board with economy passes who were swiftly sent back.
Had seats 1AB which were nice as no one reclines into you, especially on the 777-300 as they are wide seats but the pitch is abysmal. Henriot champagne offered pre-take off to a nearly full cabin. Drinks and canapes offered after take off and our main course order taken. Service was normal professional Emirates service followed by a dessert trolley. I then fell asleep for a couple of hours so didn't see much of the rest of the service offered. The ICE entertainment worked really well and doesn't seem to have the breakdowns that VS has.
Typically on arrival at Dubai, we were bussed to the terminal but, giving their ground staff credit, there were people waiting for the bus and announcing as we walked through that the Muscat flight was at gate XX which would take about 5 minutes to get to if you walk fast. We boarded the MCT leg about 20 minutes before take off on an Airbus 332. Row 6 is brilliant as it is immediately behind 1st class and a galley/toilets behind. A tiny select cabin all on its own. The remainder of Business are rows 7-11 in a slightly larger cabin in front of economy. The seats on the airbus were narrower but had a bigger recline. We were only in the air for 50 minutes but still had the pre-flight champagne and an omelette (with another glass of champagne [:D]), all this at 8.30am!!
We had booked this trip through Emirates Tours and were greeted with a name plate on arrival and shown into a lounge to wait. Our passports were stamped and returned to us with the relevant visa and a man took us to the baggage collection area. Unfortunately our luggage wasn't there so we had to make a report and try and find the EK staff to notify them. They weren't available due to the recent arrival of the EK flight (they close the office for some reason when any EK flights arrive/depart). The man called the Chedi chauffeur who came immediately to collect us for a 30 minute ride to the hotel.
Unfortunately, our luggage wouldn't be arriving until the next day when the EK flight was due but we were advised we could spend US$60 pp to purchase new clothes. In 51 degree C heat, we then had to shop for essentials to tide us through the day/evening/breakfast.
PS. It did arrive the next day thankfully and wasn't lost, just delayed.
