Partial Shipment

The election form looks to differentiate a "candidate" election from a "family" election.

Assuming I have the family allotment of 5000kg, is this where I could slip up shipment vs cash?

We opted for the same split, but we were told that we can change our minds when the movers come to perform their estimate. Our philosophy is to bring a few pieces of furniture that add a familiar look and feel for the kids, a few bits that we'd have to replace anyway, but otherwise, we plan to make a fresh start.

Moving to Rakah will be downsizing for us, so there's a lot to offload.

I don't know if it is dependent on when you were hired or on which payroll you are on (I am on Global Payroll), or maybe the policy is not being enforced, but the New Shipping Policy Advice that I was given in August (not sure of the exact date it was actually released) says:
"A cash in lieu payment option cannot be combined with a - for example, you cannot request cash in lieu for your E Box allowance and also request an actual shipment. You must select cash in lieu for BOTH air and surface shipments, or select an actual air and surface shipment.

Certainly, you can decide to go for CIL for yourself and E Box + Surface Shipping for family, or vice versa

ToesInTheSand,
A couple of thoughts, probably worth what they cost

A would recommend that you bring the dolls she really cares about in your personal luggage. Chances are 99% if you put them in your shipped goods, they would make it in, so it kinda depends on how important the 1 % is. You could always bring the most beloved dolls in luggage and the less beloved in shipped freight.

My own daughter was an American Girl Doll fanatic when we came (10 years old). Three years later, she could not care less about such "little girl toys". So there's that too.

Wutz

One thing to remember is that you'll be flown here business class, so you get a pretty generous baggage allowance.

I would recommend using dish barrel boxes (rather than suitcases) as at least some of your luggage pieces. We brought several DB boxes and managed to fit tons of stuff in there. The boxes might offer a good place to put your daughter's loot.

Himni

Based on recent experience with Emirates, your fear is well justified, but your experience could be completely different. We were initially told over the phone that the extra inches wouldn't be a problem and that I shouldn't expect to pay ovees.

Arriving at the airport in a convoy of 3 large, black SUVs, the skycap (or whatever they're called now) managed to fit everything into two flatbed trollies: one for bags and the other for the 7 DB boxes. The outsourced agent at the check in desk took litte notice of it, but his Emirates supervisor took one look at the DBs and instructed him to attack them with a tape measure.

To make a long story short, we managed to negotiate a reduction in the oversized fees from 7 boxes down to 3, but it could have been avoided altogether.

If you're going to use DBs, I suggest you take a few minutes to cut them down to spec. There are numerous howto videos on YouTube if you run into trouble.