Khepre

Greetings to all. I will also be on the post-TL Constellation, traveling stag :-)

Looking forward to meeting you all... both new friends and those with whom I've traveled before.

Chris

Hi everyone,

Have booked the Celebrity Infinity trip from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego (through the Panama Canal).

Looking to pre-meet others who will be on the trip.

Say hello!

Chris

Hi everyone,

Posting error... thought I was still on the G&L Roll Calls forum page...

I have re-posted this thread there, where it belongs.

Sorry for the mistake.

Chris

Hi everyone,

Have booked the Celebrity Infinity trip from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego (through the Panama Canal).

Looking to pre-meet others who will be on the trip.

Say hello!

Chris

Hi everyone! Just wanted to say thanks for a truly great cruise experience!

My first transatlantic was an unforgettable trip. This was largely due to the extraordinary people I met through traveling with the Pied Piper group on the X Infinity...but also because of all the non-Pipers met as well.

Miss you all already. Let's do it again real soon!

Best wishes from mundania,

Chris

Thanks to everyone for the excursions recommendations. Unfortunately, due to crappy internet connections, I missed the online deadline for booking anything. Will endure the queue onboard and try to join the Oviedo/San Julian option and the Lisbon city tour. La Rochelle and Vigo sound great for exploring (Peter, want to hear more about the shopping pilgrimage...!)

Bags are finally out for last minute packing tomorrow :-)

See you all soon!

Chris

Hi everyone!

13 days... Can't wait! Weather here in the desert has begun to change already from summer to winter. Temperature recently dropped dramatically and we've been engulfed in sandstorms several times during the last week (see pic). Will be so happy to hit the open sea!

Am finally back to regular internet access and want to begin thinking about the shore excursions. I've not booked anything yet. On my two previous Caribbean cruises I found the organized excursions from X to be a bit onerous... a lot of waiting around for other people. I spent some time today surfing this forum and the general roll call forum for ideas... but there is a lot of conflicting recommendations.

I am half inclined to not get off the boat...the shore days are so early in the trip (i.e., pre-relaxed state) that at the moment the whole idea seems exhausting. So, seasoned cruisers, any suggestions to sway me to get off the boat? Can anyone tell me which of the four ports are close enough to the towns for just walking around if desired?

Cannot wait to meet you all! Am still wishing away time...

Best,

Chris

Hi everyone,

Judith, thanks for the advice! Was able to do the online check-in yesterday and got the printable luggage tags. It so great to be able to get help from others in this forum!

Clock is ticking now... do not usually wish Time would be more fleeting... but find myself doing so everyday now!

See you all soon,

Chris

Well Ladies and Gentleman...one month today and were so looking forward to this...can anyone give me any idea what kind of clothes we will need for the first few days out of lisbon....will it be warm enough to be outside?....just curious cause ill be bringing everything anyway...lol...Judith...look forward to cocktails at the Peir hotel or the Hay Penny Peir on the night of the 23rd and we will meet all the the other ladies ;) the next day.......hope everyone's having as good of weather as we are this week....talk soon ..William of Brunswick. Ps Chris..were you ever able to get a room at the Pier?

Bill (imwmflyme), I gave up on the Pier... no vacancies on the website... called the mother office (suggested by someone here)... no luck. I can stand Peter's "double-wide with polyester sheets" for 1 night. Am currently living in a tent in the desert until 5 days before departing Jordan for the cruise (so even the "double-wide" sounds good!)...limited to periodic, sketchy 3G connection on the iPhone for internet... so just not worth the hassle anymore.

Couple of questions for you veteran cruisers...

1. How important is it to do the online check-in with Celebrity beforehand? I can probably do this in the 5 days back in civilization before I travel... but, does it matter much if I do not?

2. Derek at PP told me that Celebrity only mails luggage tags to USA and Canada. He said that checking in the (epic amount of) luggage I bring directly at the port is an easy process even without the tags. Has anyone done this before?

Sooooo excited! Cannot wait to get out of here and start this adventure. Looking forward as well to the last few days of couture shopping before the the travel begins :p

Best, Chris

Thanks all. Guess I'll have to pack that extra bag afterall... :rolleyes:

Am looking forward to the shopping as a way to anticipate the trip :D

Cooler today here... dropped to 40 degrees ;)

Best, Chris

Thanks guys :)

@Peter, not worth making that big a change... car to Harwich is already paid for...and I get in so late.

@Russ, I've called several times. They say "check the website regularly" as they get cancellations... lol!

Since I get in to Harwich after midnight... I can handle the conditions described by Peter for a few hours.... I will have just left a 2 months in a tent... so has to be a step up :D

Best, Chris

Hi everyone -- Almost 2 months to the day of embarkation!

I'm quite envious of Bill (imwmflyme)... I keep checking The Pier website and it always says no availability for the 23rd! Lucky men. I'm still stuck in the Premier Inn budget motel (what Peter has termed the "double wide")... :-(

Anyway, I had another question for those who've done a TA at this time of year... what are the temperatures usually like on the crossing sea days? Just trying to get a sense of what to pack... The route seems to be far enough south to warrant shorts and T's on deck most of the time?

Any advice welcome.

Thanks,

Chris (who is presently suffering a 48 degrees Celsius day in the Middle East...)

Thanks Peter, Judith, and everyone for all the great information! This is going to be so fantastic!

I do not know how I will get through the next few months waiting... anticipation takes one only so far!

@Peter -- sorry no dishdash -- can't abide the things, really. Beyond fetishism... there is just no way to make them truly fashionable... :o

vis-a-vis wardrobe, though, will do my best not to disappoint...

Not being Elite... I'd love a PP "bridge" tour! and the theatre tour would be cool too.

Later,

Chris

Hi everyone,

As this is my first PP trip (invoice arrived and authorized payment)... I have no idea how the first day works....

Does PP organize a Sailaway meeting place on board? Will we receive info in advance about where to meet?

Thanks,

Chris

@Peter... well, the "double wide" budget motel will still be a step up from the tent in the desert that I will have just left to take this trip... :-)

@Russ... thanks for the dinner offer for the 23rd in Harwich. Unfortunately, I will not even arrive in Harwich from Heathrow until around midnight or so. At which point, I will have traveled for about 22 awake hours... so am planning to just crash. (@Peter, so the "double wide" will be tolerable...). Might walk around Harwich a bit the next morning before making my way to the pier... maybe can meet those of you at the Pier for coffee before going to the ship?

Chris

@Peter,

Ramadan... well, it is what it is... let me just say that am very much looking forward to the start of Eid al Fitr on 8 or 9 August :-)

@Peter

I will be going directly from Heathrow by car service to Harwich late evening on the 23rd. Rooms seem scarce already for that night, but I found some budget hotel/motel chain that had a vacancy. Will go directly from there to the port on the 24th.

@everyone

Haven't had a moment to think about the port days. Generally hate the ship-arranged excursions... so will be looking for more interesting day trip activities of the historically-oriented type. Would love suggestions.

Best,

Chris

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to meeting all you too!

:cool:

Chris

Hi everyone,

I would like to ask some more advice from those of you with more cruising experience on Celebrity. This is about the beverage packages.

I do not drink a lot of alcohol generally, so planned to just get the Premium non-alcohol package and then pay per drink for any alcohol I might want.... However, I can't find any information about the prices per drink at the bars/restaurants on the X ships. The various packages talk about "up to $8" or "up to $12" per drink and incremental discounts on wine by the bottle. By my calculation, the "Classic" package would thus cover approximately +/- 5 $8 drinks per day... which is way more than I ever consume...

But, not knowing the per purchase prices, I cannot determine whether or not I will spend more with this option than if I get the package...

Can anyone advise on this?

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Peter, Judith, and everyone --

Thanks, Peter, for the information about Pied Piper's groups. I contacted them and during the course of the last couple of days was able to cancel my Celebrity direct booking and re-book the same stateroom with PP. Derek at PP also gave me a better rate than I had gotten from X directly!

It was a little more complicated than expected because I had already paid Celebrity in full -- which prevents transferring the existing booking. Had to cancel the trip and now wait for X to credit my visa... but, all-in-all, was a smooth process.

I will thus be a PP group member now! Much obliged for the advice!

Best,

Chris

Chris

 

Google Pied Piper, you will see all the rules and Regs there. Basically, you cannot tag onto Pied Piper Events if you did not book through them, this is dictated by the Cruise Line itself. However, if you contact Pied Piper, Celebrity may allow you to assign your booking to them as they are a Travel Agent, Pied Piper will guide you on the process of doing this. I did this once, when I had booked with Royal Caribbean before PP announced that my sailing was one of their cruises and I was allowed to assign the booking. Pied Piper does give its guests a substantial discount on the cruise lines posted price, you may not be able to obtain this as part of your assigned booking. If Celebrity does allow this, and your booking is assigned to Pied Piper, you will be allowed to participate in their private events.

 

In any event, there is a gathering of the Clans or Diwan at the Martini Bar at 7pm every night, so even if you do not manage to transfer your booking, you will still have a social time. Be sure to book late sitting dinner so as be able to do this

 

The advantages of PP as against going solo are:

 

1) On this trip we will have aPied Piper Host, who will be Bruce so I believe

2) Seating at a Pied Piper table in the dining room, so no awkward forced converstaions with folks who do not share your values

3) A couple of private cocktail parties

4) Some times they orgnanize Pied Piper shore excursions

 

Using this board, try to reach out to your fellow travellers now, before we sail, then you will have a group of not such total strangers to inter act with.Go back over the past postings and you will see that there are quite a few single folks traveling with us. Remember there will also be more folks who have not posted on this board, the T/A's tend to be very well patronized with "Family" so I doubt that you will be lonesome

 

 

Give my regards to Amman, which I remember with some fondness from the Early 1980s, including many happy Thursday lunches at Al Bustan restaurant. I wonder if it is still there ?

 

Peter

Hi Peter, thanks so much for the detailed reply. I think I will contact Pied Piper and see about the possibilities...

I especially like the possibility of getting a PP dining table. On both of my previous Celebrity cruises my sister, her husband, and I have had to change the pre-assigned table after the first night due to a variety of compatibility issues. The first one was easy because we'd made some FOD friends already at the CC sail away and when they heard they asked us to join their table -- which was much, much more fun!

I will also try to reach out here as you have suggested -- although I tend to lurk in these sort of forums :-)

As for Al-Bustan... it is still here. They still make, IMHO, the best mutabbal and shanklish to be found in Amman! I look forward to your stories of Amman in the 80s and your reasons for being here; I only came to work in Jordan for the first time in 2001, when it was a much different place than when you knew it.

Much obliged,

Chris

Hi everyone,

I have booked the Infinity TA for 24 Oct directly through Celebrity... not through Pied Piper. Am traveling solo and do not think that I know anyone else on this cruise (am also new to CC so do not know if I "know" anyone here either :)).

Am quite a cruising newbie...Have only been on 2 previous cruises, both with Celebrity (5 day and 7 day in the Caribbean)... so not sure what to really expect for a 14 day TA... But, am really looking forward to so much down-time! But, am also a social creature and am hoping to make some good friends on board to share the experience.

Can one participate/"tag along" in any PP events if not booked through them?

All the best,

Chris