Our Crazy Rich Experience On Singapore Airlines Suites

Singapore Airlines Suites

This past weekend, my wife and I finally had the chance to see the movie Crazy Rich Asians.

It was the first time in years since we had seen a movie in the theaters. This is due to a combination of our frugality and having a young baby who needs our love and attention 24/7. Now that the baby is almost 6 months old, we feel comfortable leaving her with our parents for a couple hours so that we can go on date nights.

The movie is really good, highly entertaining, and incredibly popular. It has been the top movie in US theaters for the past three weeks!

One particular part of the movie brought back some very fond memories. The scene in which the main characters Nick Young and Rachel Chu fly to Singapore reminded me of when my wife and I flew first class to Asia.

It wasn’t just any first class.

We flew Singapore Airlines Suites Class, widely regarded as one of the top three first class products in the world.

The Experience

Let me provide a bit of background.

Back in October 2016, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

For a long time, even before our wedding, I had been planning something very special for the occasion. I wanted to take my wife on a luxurious trip to Japan and Thailand with fancy first class flights and 5-star hotels.

One of the first class flights that I had been eyeing was the 11 hour flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo on Singapore Airlines Suites. I mean, who wouldn’t want to enjoy their first year anniversary in a suite with a private double bed in the sky? I knew that it would be an amazing experience, so I booked it.

Because I’m a travel hacker extraordinaire who is nowhere near crazy rich, I used points and miles to book the flight. I’ll explain how I did it in a future post.

For now, let’s talk about the Singapore Airlines Suites experience!

Pre Boarding

We arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (or LAX for short) early so that we can check in and enjoy the first class lounge.

While we were standing in the check-in line designated for “First Class”, an officer approached us and in an incredulous tone, he politely asked “May I help you?” 

To his defense, our appearance looked far from first class. We were both wearing what we would usually wear to the airport: comfortable clothes that may or may not have appeared somewhat raggedy. I guess one of the drawbacks of practicing “stealth wealth” is that people don’t take you as seriously. It also doesn’t help that both of us look like we are 20 years old and too young to afford first class. 😀

Anyways, I promptly showed him our flight reservation through my phone and after issuing a sincere apology, he escorted us to the counter. The ticketing agent at the counter was nice and friendly. She issued our tickets and checked our luggage.

We were then personally escorted through security, bypassing the horrendous TSA lines at LAX.

Ah, the perks of first class!

The Lounge

After getting through security, we went straight to the Star Alliance first class lounge

The lounge had your typical offerings: tables with white table cloth, a fully stocked all-inclusive bar, and a friendly wait staff who gave us the “first class menu”.

The food was okay. We had spaghetti and a bowl of ramen. Unfortunately, there weren’t many vegan options on the menu.

We were the only passengers sitting in the first class lounge and it felt kind of lonely. So we went to the nearby business class lounge where it was a more happening place.

While the food was just meh, you can’t go wrong with the drinks. Especially if it’s unlimited champagne, wine, and beer. Yeah… you can say I took advantage of the full bar!

The funny thing is that we drank so much we almost missed our flight.

It’s not like we were completely trashed. We were just having so much fun that we lost track of time. You know how that goes.

Fortunately, the agents at the first and business class lounges typically make announcements on the PA system when your flight is about to board. “Paging Dr. McFrugal, your flight is about to depart and your suite is waiting for you…”

Okay, they didn’t really announce that. But you get the idea :).

Boarding

After gathering ourselves, we left the lounge and moseyed on over to the gate.

Instead of lining up in a queue like the passengers flying in economy class, we went directly to the front where we were escorted to a separate entrance for premium (first and business) class passengers only. I guess they didn’t want us interacting with the commoners. What a snobby privilege!

As soon as we boarded the plane, the head flight attendant greeted us and showed us to our private suite.

Then another flight attendant approached us and said “Dr. McFrugal, would you like a glass of champagne? Dom Perignon or Krug?”

You know you have #FirstWorldProblems when your only problem is choosing between Dom Perignon and Krug. I chose Krug while my wife had a glass of the Dom. The champagne was accompanied by warm nuts.

The Service

A few minutes later, a different flight attendant came up to us and said in a soft Singaporean accent: “Dr. McFrugal, would you like a warm towel?” 

I responded with a friendly “yes” as I took the warm towel that was offered and placed it on my face. Ahhh… so relaxing!

I kid you not, all of this happened way before they even started boarding economy class.

Singapore Airlines has always been known for their exceptional service and their excellent “soft product”, but the level of service that they provided was above and beyond my expectations. They really go out of their way to make you feel like crazy rich royalty.

Every single flight attendant who served us knew exactly who we were. With a pleasant smile, they always addressed us as “Dr. [my real name]” and “Mrs. [my wife’s real name]”. It was as if they had studied the passenger list ahead of time to make the service that much more personal. It was a really nice touch!

The Seat

There are a total of 12 suites located in the front of the Singapore Air A380 aircraft. Each of the suites has their own private enclosure.

We sat in 3C and 3D. The middle seats are perfect for couples because they can be converted to two side-by-side double beds! 😉

As we sat down, the drinks continued to flow. They offered more and more champagne. Eventually, we somehow finished an entire bottle of Krug AND Dom Perignon!

The seats themselves were somewhat firm, but overall comfortable. They were so spacious that you can really stretch out your legs!

The Amenities

A first class amenity kit was waiting for us at our seat. It was a Salvatore Ferragamo bag that contained Ferragamo designer toiletries such as lotion, cologne, lip balm, and moisturizing cream.

They also provided these fancy Bose noise cancellation headphones.

While we were able to keep the amenity kit, unfortunately we could not take the headphones home. Darn!

In addition, we were given a night-time kit of Givenchy pajamas, eye shades, warm socks, and slippers.

Fancy!

The Food

Some time after takeoff, the attendants brought out the white table cloth and we were served an elegant dinner.

Because we are vegan, dinner was simple and not super exciting. But it was delicious nevertheless!

For starters, we had a dinner roll with a vegan buttery spread and a salad of mixed greens.

As you can see, I had even more alcohol. I gladly sampled the white wine and the red wine too.

Our entree was a dish that consisted of roasted cauliflower, a ball of quinoa, and roasted zucchini.

I know, I know. It sounds too healthy to be tasty. But trust me, it was delicious.

Besides the alcohol, we ate really healthy. In general, we avoid unhealthy foods even while on vacation. Most of our meals were whole food plant based foods!

Because our flight was eleven hours, we were served two full meals.

Toward the end of the flight we had a fruit platter as a starter and a pasta dish with zucchini as shown below. It was pretty good too.

The Bathroom

After the first meal, it was time to get ready for bed.

So naturally, I went to the bathroom to change into the Givenchy pajamas that were given to us.

But first, let me take a #selfie!

Let me tell you, the bathrooms are huuuuge. They are not your typical airplane lavatory where if you bend over slightly your butt cheek grazes the wall. Nope. You can have a party in the bathroom.

They are also immaculately clean too. After each use, a flight attendant goes to clean and tidy up the bathroom. It’s amazing!

The bathrooms were also equipped with extra toiletries including single-use toothbrushes, combs, razors, lotions, mouthwashes, and more. Just in case someone forgot something.

The Pajamas

Okay, I’ll admit it. I took a few glorious minutes to admire myself in the large mirror of the bathroom. Who wouldn’t?

My wife was probably wondering what I was doing in there…

After thoroughly exploring the bathroom and the various amenities, I changed into the pajamas.

The pajamas wer just alright. First of all, the zipper was slightly uncomfortable. Second, the sleeves and the pant legs were on the short side. And I’m not even a super tall dude! (In case you were wondering, I’m a basketball 5’11” which really means I’m closer to 5’8″.)

The Bed

While I was changing into my pajamas, my wife changed into hers in another bathroom.

By the time we returned to our suite, our seats were converted to a spacious double bed! Yes, the service is that good.

The suites are ultra private, especially if you close the sliding door and put up the window shade.

In case you were wondering, however, you are officially not allowed to do the hanky panky inside the suites. That said, I’m sure some people have gotten away with stuff.

Anyways, we were so full from dinner, we decided to watch a movie together to wind down for bed.

It would have been really cool if there was a big screen in the middle. Instead, we just two small individual screens. We tried to time it so that our movies played at the exact same time, but it was hard!

Happy Ending

The flight was so smooth that at times I forgot I was in an airplane.

Because of the alcohol and the sheer excitement of flying first class, I found it difficult to fall asleep. Eventually, we were both able to sleep.

A few hours later, the lights came back on and we were an hour away from our destination, Tokyo.

We changed out of our pajamas as the lovely flight attendants converted our double bed back into our original seats. Our second meal was served and we enjoyed a few more drinks. Then we prepared for landing.

The landing was smooth and shortly afterward the plane arrived at the gate. Before disembarking the plane, the flight attendants wished us all a safe and happy trip. The lead attendant thanked us for flying with them with a friendly smile.

We were the first to leave the airplane as our adventures in Japan awaited us.

Not only was it the perfect start to a memorable anniversary trip, it was a crazy rich experience we will never forget!

 

Featured image credit: Joe Armao via www.traveller.com.au