LGBT Roll-Call Celebrity Constellation TA November 6, 2010 Barcelona to FTL

[MitchOnDeck]

I have searched to see if a roll-call already existed for Friends Of Dorothy on this cruise.

Unless I have missed something, I believe this is the first entry along those lines.

Any other fellow LGBT travelers on this TransAtlantic?

 

Mitch

:)PoohOnDeck:)

[Wim]

Looking foreward to the crossing as the ship be absolutely FABULOUS after her recent makeover..A crossing on Celebrity is always great and know we will have a good group onboard...Bill from San Diego

[Travellers123]

Hi guys,

 

we are on the next Constellation cruise after yours and there appears to be nobdy but us on it at the momnet so I was wondering if you could stay onboard for my cruise too. LOL

 

Sam

[bostom]

Greetings from Boston - Tom and Mike here and on this one, too. Just as an FYI we have been on at least 3 transats with Bill already. He should be the cruise host - a better organizer does not exist. We're meeting friends in Barcelona who leave on RCI the 5th for Galveston.

 

Bill (or anyone else with experience and/or an opinion): early or late? We've always done late but since the drinks are now free from 4 - 6 per Celebrity's loyalty program, we found we had a big, long, slightly addled chunk-o-time to fill every night from 6 until 8:45 on our cruise to Antarctica this winter. Which of course we filled in the Martini Barn with all the other FODs. All of whom, it seems, eat late. Does anyone eat early or is there some gay fatwa against sitting down at six? Are any of Dorothy's friends left in the bar after 8:30?

[Wim]

Hello Tom & Mike,

It will be great to do another crossing with you again...Also joining us will be Robert & John from San Diego (I met them on a crossing on the Summit several years ago) AS most of us do I am doing the late seating...Looking forward to seeing you and have a great summer...Bill

[MitchOnDeck]

Hello guys!! Nice to see to others friends will be on the ship and you know each other already!! I am sure the numbers will grow.

 

While I have not traveled as much as you guys, I have tried both early and late seatings. I find sitting down around 8:30pm for dinner and not getting out until 10:30pm takes it toll on my sleeping patterns but is more customary for Spain unless you count tapas crawls.

 

Eating early, arriving at the table at 6:30pm, allows a few hours of digestion and enjoyment of several evening activities that I had missed before by eating late. If I get hungry late, there is always the evening food on the pool deck. Early seating will have its drawbacks even more on port days but be a pleasure during the final week of the cruise.

 

Most LGBT meet-ups tend to take place around 5:00pm happy hour from my experience and this lends itself great to getting to the dining room at 6:30pm, evening show perhaps at 9:00pm, then lounge activities and game shows, etc;; that usually start around 10:00pm.

 

Eating late means if you want to catch the show, you have to go at 7:00pm and sometimes miss the other activities.

 

Now if you not into being this active outside the cabin, disregard all of this and do what is comfortable. On port days, I will probably have to grab the late seating or the buffet.

 

In any event, if I eat early and you eat late, perhaps we can meet for a drink and then a very late dessert!!

 

Mitch

:)PoohOnDeck:)

[Sweetd]

Hi Everyone,

I will be joining you on this voyage which should be great. I've done several Transatlantic trips & really love them. I'm planning on going to Bilbao (3 nights) & San Sebastian (6 or 7 nights) before coming to Barcelona. Look forward to meeting everyone. I was in Alicante in January on the Crown Princess. It is a lovely port & Guadalest is a super excursion & really the only way to get there since there isn't really any good transportation outside of the ship's excursion.

Regards,

Cory Lynn

[Wim]

Let's all meet at the Mast Bar for a sail away drink as we leave Barcelona...Bill

[reload]

good idea count us in

franz & ian

[MitchOnDeck]

Count me in.

 

Does Celebrity automatically offer an LGBT daily lounge or do we have to arrange it? I know I had to do it for my May TA on the Century and it was well attended initially (upwards of 48) but numbers declined as cruise went on. We started in the Rende-Vous but moved to the Martini 3-4 days in.

 

In any event, I look forward to meeting the entire Cast at the Mast!!

 

:)Mitch (PoohOnDeck):)

[MDDCFlyer]

Finally, some other LGBT people on the cruise!

 

I will be on this one as well. Will be traveling alone as the hubby cannot take so much time off.

 

This will be my first TA, but second time on the Connie, having done the Panama Canal on her last year.

 

I am on the second seating but plan to change to free dining as soon as I'll get on board.

 

Looking forward to meet you all!

[GayCrewmember]

Hello everyone. I work on board the Constellation and look forward to meeting you all. I am hoping to be able to meet you either on the first night or when we host a Friends of Dorothy gathering. If there is a group leader or someone taking a lead on organizing the "family" on board, I would like to offer a tour of some of the behind the scenes of the ship. I look forward to hearing from any of you.

[AMScruiser]

Hi Guys,

 

I literally júst booked this cruise for my friend Rudolf and myself. We managed to secure a favourite aft facing cabin.

 

A special hello to bostom: you might remember us from Antarctica on Infinity last February, although we didn't chat much (that was a very busy FOD cruise...). We are opting for Select Dining this time.

 

GayCrewmember, we are always up for some behind the scenes tours.

 

That's it for now. Hope to see you on board soon.

 

BAS, Amsterdam.

[Wim]

Hello Gay Cruise Member,

Look foreward to meeting you onboard the Cs...Know we will all have a great time on the crossing as we always do on a Celebrity ship...Really looking foreward to seeing all the changes on the makeover of the ship this spring..with your help I'm sure we can plan some good get togethers Have a great summer and see you soon...Bill from San Diego

[MDDCFlyer]

Any of you guys get early to Barcelona? I will get to town on 4th at night.

 

Any one wants to grab a pre-cruise drink on the 5th maybe?

[bostom]

I remember you guys: we look forward to seeing you again. Funny, there were lots of friends on board that Infinity cruise, two of whom - Mike and Lam from London - we expect to see in a few weeks time when they're here in Boston. We stayed on for a few days in Buenos Aires after the cruise which was great too.

 

Good for you to get the stern cabin: we had one last year on a westbound crossing on the Summit, I think, and the huge balcony (especially if you get one of the corner "family verandah" cabins) is great. We had about fifty people out there for a party one night.

 

We arrive a day before we sail and we're staying at the Meridien on the Ramblas. We have friends who'll be in town - they're leaving the next day on an RCCL transat, so we'll see them, too (Bill, you met them a couple of years ago - Jonathan and Randy from Vancouver) so maybe we can all organize something closer to the date.

 

And GayCrewmember - you're very kind to offer. We look forward to meeting you and to anything you can arrange.

 

Sounds like it's shaping up. My experience has been that for everyone who posts here, there are two or three more who don't, but who will be onboard.

We won't be lonely.

 

Tom

[bdpnatl]

Brent and Tony here

 

This is my (Brent) first TA and Tony's second. We are really looking forward to this vacation. The Cruise Critic group is already planning a Sail Away at 6pm at the Sunset Bar, but with over 170 people signed up, it might be pretty crowded. Might just need to meet everyone here in the Mast Bar to be able to get a drink!! We are dining late with another couple from Michigan that we met on our last cruise. On our last cruise, we met up with all the FOD in the Martini Bar for an hour or two prior to dinner. The people seated early came in after they ate and we had select dining but always ate late.

 

We are getting to Barcelona a day before we sail and staying in the Gothic Quarter.

 

See you all onboard

[MitchOnDeck]

Hello guys!!

 

It is my experience that Celebrity is quite gay friendly. Atlantis and RSVP use them for some of their cruises and they appreciate the business.

 

Celebrity does not however list the LGBT get-togethers in their daily program (unless it has changed). Instead, they have a board by the front desk announcing the daily meetings. That is how they usually handle other groups such as Friends of Bill W. I never saw a combined FOD and FOB meeting on a ship but that would be very interesting. I have attended one on land.

 

On my Spring TA aboard the Century, we met at around 5:30pm, first in the Ren-de-vous (we were upwards of 48) and then in the Martini as the group dwindled down which usually happens. This allowed for the early diners to attend which on Celebrity is usually around 6:15-6:30pm. Making the get-togethers after 6pm would only cater to the late diners.

 

I do not believe Celebrity automatically sets up such a meeting. Someone needs to take the initiative and request it. I did that on the Spring TA and I am more than happy to do it again for this group unless someone else has somehow arranged it. Just let me know.

 

Looking forward to meeting you all. It is especially nice to see a crew member willing to communicate in advance and mingle with us. I wish more did. They either are concerned about their position or it is against company policy. Shame.

 

Mitch :)PoohOnDeck:)

 

Brent and Tony here

 

This is my (Brent) first TA and Tony's second. We are really looking forward to this vacation. The Cruise Critic group is already planning a Sail Away at 6pm at the Sunset Bar, but with over 170 people signed up, it might be pretty crowded. Might just need to meet everyone here in the Mast Bar to be able to get a drink!! We are dining late with another couple from Michigan that we met on our last cruise. On our last cruise, we met up with all the FOD in the Martini Bar for an hour or two prior to dinner. The people seated early came in after they ate and we had select dining but always ate late.

 

We are getting to Barcelona a day before we sail and staying in the Gothic Quarter.

 

See you all onboard

[AMScruiser]

In our experience, FOD meetings usually take place later, around 7:30 pm. That way the cocktail hour leads naturally to dinner time for late sitting. And in our previous TA's and cruises, almost all Friends chose late dining anyway. As bdpnatl noted, those few in early sitting can join in after their dinner.

 

Personally we opted for Select Dining on this trip but we always eat late.

 

It is true that Celebrity doesn't print notices in the Celebrity Today any more and that you can ask Guest Relations to put up a sign at the Purser's desk with time (7:30?) and place (Martini Bar?).

 

I hope to hear from you all what you think the best option is.

 

BAS.

[AMScruiser]

On an unrelated topic, does anyone have any suggestions for a place to stay post-cruise in Fort Lauderdale?

 

We are planning to stay just two nights before flying back home. It seems there are tons of gay Bed & Breakfast or resort-like places around. It would good to hear from someone with personal experience as which one to pick.

 

Just two months to go, see you all soon,

Bas and Rudolf.

[GayCrewmember]

Hello guys!

 

Sorry I have not been on in a little bit. A little crazy here on board! First off, I must say this ship is fantastic!!! I love what they have done with this ship after its' "Solsticizing". I actually was part of the new build team for this ship and saw this ship built from keel to paint. So to see its upgrades is nice as well. The variety of new restaurants on board and bar experiences are going to blow you all away!!

 

Reharding FOD meeting times, there is a bulletin board next to guest relations that posts meeting times and places for FOD get togethers. They have been happening around 5:30p.

 

I look forward to meeting all of you. If there is a welcome aboard meeting place and time planned let me know so I can make sure to stop by!

[RMS Olympic]

I was reading this thread although not on the cruise.

I am booked on the eclipse Oct 2011 transatlantic from Southampton to Miami. Based on the Connie's Solsticizing...plan to take her on the fall 2012 crossing.

Question...before My Eclipse crossing...is there a way to touch base with gay crew members without getting them in hot water? If through cruise critic, that would be great....just to get their insights into the ship, the crossing experience and any pertinent info.

Thanks

Tom

[MitchOnDeck]

On an unrelated topic, does anyone have any suggestions for a place to stay post-cruise in Fort Lauderdale?

 

We are planning to stay just two nights before flying back home. It seems there are tons of gay Bed & Breakfast or resort-like places around. It would good to hear from someone with personal experience as which one to pick.

 

Just two months to go, see you all soon,

Bas and Rudolf.

 

 

Hello Bas and Rudolf,

 

This is my neck of the woods as I live in the FTL area. As you say, there are many gay B&B's most notably on the beach.

However this location is not walking distance to Wilton Drive in the heart of gay Wilton Manors.

They all have their pluses and minuses. I would google gay FTL B&B's.

If you have a car, I personally would stay on the beach. This way you get the free parking and Wilton Manors is only a few miles inland.

We can discuss further on the ship or e-mail me at mitchsfl@gmail.com

 

Mitch

:)PoohOnDeck:)

[MitchOnDeck]

Celebrity has confirmed that late dining for the Constellation sailing is now at 9:00pm!!

In addition, I called Celebrity and confirmed what GayCrewmember said that the LGBT gatherings are around 5:30pm. This does not mean we cannot create our own independently.

If late seating is at 9:00pm and early seating is at 6:30pm, we could easily move the LGBT meeting to 8:00pm and everyone would be happy.

I believe the change was done because this cruise is extremely port happy the first week and those eating early may have had difficulty.

 

Mitch

[Wim]

Hello All,

Soon we will all be on the "NEW" Constellation..It sounds just great from the crew member who posted the information..Remember we will meet at the Mast Bar for a Sail-Away drink in Barcelona..I will work on Celebrity to post on their lobby bulletin board the Friends of Dorthy at 8PM in the Martini Bar..Bill from San Diego