Review: Emirates First Class San Francisco to Dubai

Follow me on my $100,000 honeymoon, booked entirely using points and miles! Today we’re flying to Dubai on Emirates First Class from San Francisco to Dubai.

Update, October 2026

Emirates still flies the A380 with First Class, shower included, between Dubai and San Francisco, and at least some of those flights now have the refurbished First Class cabin (Roame, updated June 2026). Alaska Mileage Plan is now Atmos Rewards (see the box below), and the award pricing in the booking section is from 2016.

Emirates Airlines’ First Class is one of those so-called “aspirational” flights because it is in many ways over-the-top in terms of offerings. From the mini bars at each seat, the gold trim, and the two shower suites, there’s plenty to find on the Emirates A380 that is hard to find on other commercial airlines.

My flight from San Francisco to Dubai is one of the longer flights Emirates offers, so I got to experience plenty of it. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking as promised in my intro post, but I’ll add a few notes here and there.

How I Booked Emirates First Class Flights

For an itinerary as involved as my honeymoon one, and given that I was now booking two tickets, booking in advance made all the difference. In fact, it made even more of a difference when Alaska Airlines had a no-notice devaluation of their miles for booking Emirates Awards.

I was lucky to use 200,000 Alaska Airlines miles + $82.60 in taxes (total for 2 passengers) for this flight AND the next segment that takes us from Dubai to Paris after 3 nights in Dubai. The fact that Alaska Airlines awards allow a free stopover on one-way award flights is a big benefit. This price was only 10,000 miles per person more than booking just from the US to Dubai, so the extra 7 hour flight from Dubai to Paris was well worth the marginal increase in price.

Sadly, the devaluation means that the same itinerary now costs almost double. This is yet another reminder to use your miles sooner rather than later, because their value will always decrease!

Emirates First Class Boarding and Seat

First note was that they called First and Business to board together, which made for a mad rush given the number of people on the flight. Otherwise, every flight attendant I encountered was great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emirates First Class Amenities

Sophia and I received our pajamas, slippers, and amenity kits, and we were asked if we wanted to shower. We made our appointment then to get our preferred time slot, which is at the end of the flight. It’s rare to get off a 16 hour flight feeling refreshed, and a shower at the end of the flight can do just that. Note there was also a pen and notepad that I did not take a picture of.

 

 

Emirates First Class Food

As is true in most first class cabins, the food options were plentiful. I enjoyed the Arabic Mezze, but I didn’t find any of the food to be particularly tasty. I prefer the food on Etihad much better (note that an Etihad flight review is coming later in this series). Note that I also reviewed an Etihad First Class flight from Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi in the past. Here is all the food I had on the entire flight.

 

 

 

 

 

I was still feeling full later in the flight so I went with just the Arabic Mezze and a plate of fruit before the end of the flight.

 

 

 

 

Emirates First Class Bed

I decided to try to get some sleep after some food and movies. One of the flight attendants transformed my seat into a bed when I asked, and the bed is very comfortable in my opinion. The doors close at the touch of a button for plenty of privacy and I didn’t have any trouble sleeping.

 

I woke up a couple of times but was able to get more than 6 hours of sleep. I noticed that they set up a self-serve are at the front of the cabin with various drinks and snacks. The only negative here was that the ice was melted by the time I saw it and hadn’t been replaced. I’m sure if I made a request for fresh ice it wouldn’t have been a problem.

 

Emirates First Class Shower

After more food and movies, it was finally time for the anticipated Emirates First Class Shower. There are two dedicated shower attendants whose sole task is to service the shower rooms. They came to my seat to let me know the shower was ready, and provided the basic instructions for running the shower. You get 5 minutes of water, which is more than it might sound. You can start and stop the flow of water at the push of a button, and there is an easy-to-read display showing you how much water is left. When you push the button to stop the water, the timer also stops.

 

 

There were also two different lines of bath amenities, one named “Tranquility” and the other “Revitalize.” The usual goodies were also there, like toothbrushes, shaving razors, and the like. You’re allowed to be in the room for 30 minutes. It might not be a bad idea to take your phone or other device in there to keep an eye on the time.

Emirates First Class Summary

This Emirates First Class flight was as good as one could reasonably hope it to be. The food was good but not great, the seat and bed were comfortable, and I got to shower at the end of the long flight that helped me feel refreshed as I get off the plane. It’s a great way to travel long distances, and the shower is more than just a gimmick as it truly makes a difference in how you feel after a long flight. What  a great start to the honeymoon!

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