I recently returned from a two-week trip to Italy and Boston for not one but TWO weddings. I absolutely love weddings and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to leave my little island bubble and enjoy Europe and the US for a short while. Since people always ask me if it’s difficult to travel living in Curacao, I figured I’d share just how easy it is to get to Europe via KLM.

For this trip, my husband and I flew on KLM’s Airbus A330-300 World Business Class product from Curacao to Amsterdam, and then from Amsterdam to Bologna. Sometimes the transatlantic route is flown on a Boeing 777-200ER instead, but the Business Class products are similar with the exception of a slight seating differences. It’s important to note that this route still utilizes the older Business Class product so there’s no sliding doors and window seats do not have direct aisle access. That said, is it still a nice luxurious product worth paying for? Keep reading to find out!

Route (CUR-AMS)

As of now, KLM operates one daily non-stop flight from Curacao to Amsterdam. This flight typically departs in the afternoon, around 5 PM, and arrives into Amsterdam in the morning around 9 AM. This is great for getting connecting flights in Amsterdam to the rest of Europe, like we did to Bologna.

If you’re looking to fly direct to Amsterdam on a budget, you’d have TUI and Corendon as options, however they don’t have business class. I’m all about elevated experiences though, so KLM is always going to be my pick when flying to/from Europe from Curacao.

Transferring at AMS Schiphol

We had around 2.5 hours connection time in Amsterdam before we had to board our next flight to Bologna. Navigating the AMS airport is pretty easy with clear signage indicating where to go. When transferring from a non-Schengen country to a Schengen country, as we were, you need to go through security and customs. It took around 45 minutes total to get from our previous gate to our next gate to Bologna. The KLM app gives details directions to get to your next gate and advises whether your connection time is adequate. Pretty handy!

Lounge Access at CUR Hato Airport

I had previously written about my experience at the VIP Lounge at the Curacao Airport in my post about flying in business class with American Airlines. There is only one lounge at the Curacao Airport, and the VIP Lounge is a solid choice for some quiet relaxation and quick bites before a flight.

I used my Priority Pass membership to access the lounge prior to my KLM flight as it was faster and there was a long line, but business class passengers on my same flight may have been able to get complimentary access. I say maybe because the lounge is always changing their partnerships with the airlines (I used to get in with an American Airlines business ticket, but they’re no longer partners). Your mileage may vary, but if you don’t have a lounge membership like Priority Pass, you can always opt to pay the $55 fee for entry.

During my most recent visit to the lounge, I noticed that they increased the amount of staff tending to the food offerings. In fact, since my last visit they expanded the amount of hot food being offered to include items like veggie lasagna, pumpkin soup, stewed chicken, rice, and an array of cakes and cookies. The staff was quick to clean up any unattended plates and replace food that was running low. Overall, I was pretty impressed with this visit.

Lounge Access at AMS Schiphol Airport

I know this blog post is about my flight to Amsterdam from Curacao instead of vice versa, but I have to mention that the KLM Crown Lounge 52 at Schiphol Airport is great and worth heading to the airport early for. Plenty of seating, great hot food options, and seeing the wall of Delft miniature houses is a lovely way to spend time before a flight back to Curacao.

KLM’s A330-300

I wish I caught the tail number of this plane so I could tell you how old it is, but the Airbus A330-300 is a beautiful bird with around 292 seats. There are 30 business class seats, 40 premium economy seats, and 222 standard economy seats. Since this is a larger plane, there are two aisles with business class being in a 2x2x2 configuration.

I mentioned previously that KLM occasionally utilizes a Boeing 777-200 ER on this route with the business class product being pretty similar. One of the main differences is that there are a few additional business class seats tucked into a mini-cabin between premium economy and business class. My husband and I sat in those seats last year and loved how private they felt. The Boeing seats also storage under the TV screen, but I think the screens were smaller. The footwells in the A330 felt slightly smaller than the Boeing.

KLM is rolling out a new business class product to compete with other carriers to include sliding doors, direct aisle access, massaging seats, updated entertainment systems and more. No word yet on when the Curacao/Amsterdam route will be updated though!

Boarding

Boarding was a simple affair with business class passengers able to board first. Since there are so few gates at our small airport, it takes just a few minutes to head to the gate from the VIP lounge. Upon boarding our plane, we were greeted by a lovely flight attendant who directed us to the aisle we were seated in. For a larger plane, boarding was completed quickly and we departed early on our 9-hour flight.

Seats

My husband and I sat in seats 4A and 4B on the left side of the plane. The two seats behind us were curtained off as a relief area for the crew. With only 30 business class seats total in the cabin, the area felt relatively spacious despite the seats being on the older side.

To be honest, the seats are nothing special. The entertainment screen is an older touchscreen that can’t be moved or tilted with an old school wired controller above the arm rest. There’s a metal separator between seats that provides very little privacy. If you’re sitting in a window seat you’ll need to climb over your neighbor to reach the aisle. The seats do lie completely flat, which is the biggest perk on these long flights, but there’s nothing fancy like a massager. I found the seat to be narrow with my elbow constantly bumping the headphone adapter that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Have I mentioned I’m excited for KLM’s new business class product to make its way to the island? In all seriousness, while it’s nice to have a lie flat seat on a 9-hour flight, for me KLM’s strengths lie in their service and food. Keep reading to see what I mean.

Dinner Service

As soon as we sat down in our seats, we were greeted by our cabin attendant who offered us glasses of champagne. She also handed us our menus and wine lists and gave us time to look over them before deciding what we wanted for dinner. Shortly after take off, we were handed hot towels, had our drinks refreshed, and munched on warm nuts.

Okay hear me out – I know airline food has a bad reputation, but KLM’s “Tasting of Delicacies” is a banger. In the two times I’ve taken this flight, their offering has been Indonesian-inspired though I know the tastings can change depending on the region. This meal consisted of beef rendang (10/10 so good), ayam pendang, vegetables in coconut milk, nasi kuding, and jasmine rice. I also had a pumpkin soup starter with warm bread which was excellent. All of the meals are served in cute blue delft bowls. KLM used to have salt and pepper shakers in the form of red plastic clogs, but recently changed to a paper mini-envelope with salt and pepper packets.

Dessert was a choice between petit fours and a cheese plate. My husband and I shared the petit fours which were just okay. The evening meal service concluded with a choice of white, milk, or dark chocolate in the shape of iconic Dutch buildings. We could also order any of the cold food items at any time if we were still hungry – which we weren’t. That dinner was so flavorful and filling!

Breakfast Service

Because this route is almost 9 hours, passengers get dinner and breakfast. For breakfast, we were offered the choice of custard pancakes, omelette, or yogurt with granola. By default the meals also came with fresh fruit and a plate of prosciutto with cream cheese. My husband and I both went for the custard pancakes since we loved them on our last flight and they did not disappoint. They were hot, not too sweet, and oh so creamy.

KLM Meal Service Thoughts

All in all, a very solid meal service on KLM with the flight attendants frequently walking through to see if anyone needs anything. I did find it odd that they’re still serving meals from the old school trolleys instead of preparing the meals in the galley and walking them to passengers, but maybe KLM hasn’t adapted to the times yet. Either way, it didn’t impact the service we received.

Amenity Kit

The last time we flew this route in business class, KLM had a partnership with luxury cosmetics brand Rituals with the cutest blue and white knitted pouches containing high quality skincare items made specifically for the airline.

On this flight, the amenity kit was furnished by Envisions and Marie Stella Maris using recycled materials. I’m all for sustainable amenity kits, but this one was not my favorite. I wasn’t a fan of the color combination and it felt pretty meh overall. I hope they revamp this design in the future as I saw a lot of people leaving their amenity kits behind when we got off the plane.

Bathroom

I wish I could say this flight had one of those spacious bathrooms with a shower a la Emirates A380 for first class passengers, but our plane had a standard sized bathroom. Though, I will say it’s a nice touch to have a pop of color from the fake tulip by the mirror and wallpaper of the Delft Blue houses on the wall. The bathroom amenities were also Marie Stella Maris which smelled divine.

In-Flight Entertainment

Call me crazy, but I’m literally one of those people who watches the flight map the entire time, unironically. I typically put on my headphones and listen to water droplets on my meditation app (flight anxiety, if you know, you know) and stare at the little plane moving for hours. That said, I did flip through the catalog and saw an up to date selection of movies that were released in theaters recently. Being an overnight flight, most people were sleeping anyway.

When you’re in lie flat position, you have to use the wired remote because the screen is fixed into the seat in front of you and doesn’t move. The remote is a little wonky to use, and mine wouldn’t turn off its screen so it was lit up the entire flight.

Again, it’s an old product, so I wouldn’t expect much in the way of in-flight entertainment but it worked and served its purpose.

Iconic KLM Delft Blue Houses

It’s not a KLM business class flight without being offered a Delft Blue miniature house filled with Bols gin. These houses are all numbered, and there’s an app for logging which ones you’ve collected in addition to learning the history of the building you’ve collected. It’s become a tradition at KLM to offer these to business class passengers, and I look forward to it every time. I’m still waiting to collect #85, the Penha building in Curacao!

Overall Service

The service from the flight attendants was the highlight of this flight. They were always checking on us, making sure we got refills and snacks if needed. Even the purser came to us and greeted us by name and struck a conversation about living in Curacao and the weddings we were to attend. It felt personal and warm, which is more than I can say for other business class flights I’ve been on.

Final Thoughts

I know KLM isn’t the epitome of luxury when it comes to European carriers’ business class products, but it’s a very solid option for a non-stop flight from Curacao to Amsterdam. The food is always tasty, the service is warm, and yes the seats are old but you can still get a good night’s sleep over the Atlantic.

I love that KLM’s loyalty program, Flying Blue, regularly runs points promotions on certain routes in addition to Chase offering transfer bonuses occasionally. Those two promos combined can make obtaining a business class ticket on KLM more accessible compared to other carriers.

I can’t wait for KLM to eventually send their updated plane to Curacao so passengers can have an elevated business class experience. I will certainly be flying KLM’s business class the next time I need to get to Europe easily.