Miami/FL - Transatlantic NCL - Feb 2025 - Chapter 02

Chapter 02

After many hours in the SEN Lounge, boarding for LX1025 finally began at 6:00 PM at Gate A25. It was clear from the start that this flight would be completely full—Business Class was fully booked, and Economy didn’t look any better.

Since I had already eaten enough in the lounge, I only had water during the flight. Despite the full load, the service was excellent. The bread basket came around multiple times, and drinks were refilled twice automatically. Of course, I couldn’t skip the classic Swiss chocolate. 🍫

We landed ahead of schedule at 7:30 PM in Zurich. Since my luggage was only checked through to ZRH, I had to wait at the baggage carousel for about 10 minutes. Luckily, my suitcase was the second one out, so by 7:45 PM, I was already at the hotel shuttle stand, waiting for my transfer to the Hilton Airport Hotel.

The shuttle runs every 20 minutes, on the hour, at -1° Celsius (not ideal, but manageable). The transfer costs 5 CHF each way, payable either directly to the driver or digitally via QR code at the bus stop or schedule display. A very efficient system!

About 10 minutes later, I arrived at the hotel. Unfortunately, the executive lounge closed at 8:00 PM, so I was given two vouchers for the hotel bar instead.

I received a complimentary upgrade to an Executive Room with a Queen Bed—a King Room wasn’t available at the time of booking. The room itself was okay but nothing special. My welcome gift included a standard card (without a personal note) and two bottles of water—acceptable, but not impressive.

Since I had to book this room last-minute earlier in the day, I used 40,000 Hilton Honors points for the stay. Let’s see if I can somehow get those points refunded. 😊

At the hotel bar, I exchanged my two vouchers for two Cokes and then went straight to my room. Despite spending most of the day just sitting in the lounge, I was still exhausted and looking forward to a comfortable bed.

Good news — my tooth held up well, and I had no pain throughout the journey. Fingers crossed 🤞 that it stays that way for the long-haul flight.

Fun Fact: My Original Flight Was Delayed! Ironically, LX064 from ZRH to MIA had a 90-minute delay today. Maybe I could have made it after all.

Now, I’ll be flying LX064 on HB-JNB, which is one year newer than HB-JNA and has only eight years of service. 😊

To be continued…

Written on February 5th, 2025 by Thorsten Scherf travel miami ncl