Roll Call Celebrity Summit 27 May

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

for me too, all ships have something majestic- especially the big ones. All around big ocean liners facinated me ever since. On board the Millenium Class- Ships you really can imagine how the feeling and souroundings were in the days of the great Ocean Liners. An Understated Noblesse! Aviation is interessting also- but I usual don´t like those long distance flights.

You are right with the Sauerkraut- in fact I don´t like it brrrrrrr.! LOL! But Bratwurst- do die for!

Have a good day- I fly in exact two weeks! :D :)

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Mike,

 

Just 12 more days until we fly, we are spending one night in Seattle on the way over to break the journey. We still haven't decided what to pack and have been watching the weather to see how cold it is there at the moment, its been very wet there the last few days so I hope it improves before we get there. Usually when we cruise its to warm places like the Mediterranean or Carribean so it will be quite different this time having to pack warm clothes.

 

Cheers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

:D ha so you fly two day before I fly- for me it is in exact two weeks from now. Same problem here for me- I am also not quite sure what to pack- warm things for sure, but not to warm. Same with the shoes- most of my shoes have thin leader soles and are not really for wet and cold weather, so I take a pair of my rainy- season shoes as I call them, I don´t wear them often though. I am also used to the warmer weather as in med and carib.

I am not into shoping shoping shoping though- so if there are not so many possibilys there it will be okay for me.

The Summit is on her way to Alaska now. I hope they take good care of her until we are there and enter her.... LOL!

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Mike,

 

We aren't really into shopping either, there are so many things to see and do in Alaska and we can do shopping anywhere. The only place we do lots of shopping in Asia where the prices are so cheap. I'm only taking three pairs of shoes so hopefully that will be enough unless they get well and truly sodden. I must remember to pack the binoculars too especially for Hubbard Glacier.

 

Not sure about swimwear, do you know if the pool is heated? If its not I will not be swimming as I hate cold water ;-)

 

Cheers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

as for a shoe- fan like me, I take 3 pairs of dress shoes, Sandals and one pair of Sneaker- Like shoes with me. LOL. Good idea with the binoculars, must take mine with me as well.

I put swimwear also on my list, cause I like the Hot Tubs and the Pool. The are heated, I hate cold water as well!

I am more for the relax thing- I don´t look for every possible sightseeing or every point of interesst. I don´t like it when every minute of the day is planed.

I ger more and more exicted, the closer I get to the day of my flight to Anchorage.

Good day and greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Guten Tag Michael,

 

Thats about the full extent of my German I'm afraid ;-) Well yet another day closer to the cruise and still a lot to get organised at this end but thankfully its almost the weekend here. I didn't think about the hot tubs or the Thallasotherapy pool so I guess I will definitely take my swimwear just in case. Ithink the thallasotherapy pool is covered so that should not be too cold?

 

Which airlines are you using to fly to Anchorage, I imagine KLM/NorthWest? We are flying a combination of Qantas, NorthWest and Alaskan Airlines although I have read there is a possibility that employees at Alaskan Airlines may go on strike so I hope that does not disrupt our travels.

 

Still counting down the days,

 

David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Guten Tag David und Dougal,

 

what a nice surprise to read german words. I guess english is much easier to learn then german.

The other Pool ( indoor) is enclosed, it is a great place to relax and no children are aloud there. So its very calm. I love it to read there, lay there, watching the ocean....!

I have stupid fligh arangements as all was last minute. My previous travel plans were canceld from NCL. So my Travelagency ofered me this Alsaka cruise. I fly with KLM from Stuttgart to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Mineapolis from there to Anchroage. :eek: :mad:

But the thinking of the time on board Summit makes all worth it...!

Each day we get closer- still no documents here. hm . Next week I am sure of.

Greetings and good day,

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Mike,

 

We received all our cruise documents electronically via email just a couple of days after we booked, the only things we received physically were the pre-printed baggage tags for us to put on our luggage prior to embarkation.

 

In Australia very few people learn German unfortunately. I guess it is because we live so far from Europe and if people do learn a European language it is usually French. Most schools also offer Japanese and/or Indonesian but we don't tend to pick up foreign languages at school until we are about 13 or 14 unlike Europe where you seem to learn foreign languages at an early age. I think in some respects we are a bit lazy here and expect that everyone else should speak English.

 

Hope you are not working too hard ;-) Do you work weekends too?

 

Cheers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

right now I have my break. So I eat, drink my tea, surf the net...! Not to hard tough lol. It is alsmost the same here in germany, if they learn a language it is english- but you are right, most of the people speak english if they speak a foreign language.The chatting about our cruise is such a good exercise for me to get back in touch with the language. My BF is half american though I can practise too, but we speak german always. Hehe.

We work 6 days a week, every second week I have to work on sunday as well- one sunday my brother ,one sunday me. Our employes work 5 days a week. When I work sundays I take the monday off!

This weekend our shops are closed until Thuseday, cause of two chatolic days.

It´s is great this " post cruising Joy" counting days- you are closer since you fly two days before I start over.

I really look foreward to see both in person- as I am curious....:)

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Michael,

 

Its just an ordinary weekend here so no extra days off. I'm always envious of how many holidays you get in Germany, we do not get as many in Australia. I guess we have an advantage as we have seen your photo so we can recognise you on board. We don't have any photos on the internet unfortunately so you will have to wait until the cruise to see us .. LOL

 

Do you have any excursions planned in Seward? We arrive in Seward at 11am by train but I'm not sure when we can board the ship. If we have to wait we will probably just have a walk around the town and then explore the ship for the rest of the day. We may even try out the gym as we will spend the rest of the week eating no doubt .... I'm really looking forward to the Normandie restaurant ... we both love our food ;-)

 

Cheeers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi Dave and Dougal,

 

exactly thats the problem here in germany, to many days off- ( payed) to many holydays ( also payed) thats one of the reasons why we have real troubles with our economy here. It´s the worst economy level since the end of world war 2 - and it´s homemade.

I have no excursion planed in Seward as I have the transportation via Celebrity booked, they take us from the Anchorage Hilton and bring us directly to the ship. So I guess I will not see much of Seward- I will walk around in Anchorage a little before.

The first day on board is always so exciting. I read that the boat drill is the next day at 10 am...... don´t know if its true. But it sounds good so we have no hurry at the first day.

As I said I can´t wait to see you both, its always nice to imagine one, then to see one real. So it does not matter that you have no pics, you know my face now, so we will not miss us.

I am always looking at the cam from the bow of the Summit, it is close to midnight there and the sun is still shining- fascinating! Two more weeks....!

Mabe we can manage to have dinner in Normandie- Restaurant together one time- just if you not prefer to be private.

Greetings and have a nice weekend

Mike

[Germancruiser]

Oh how stupid of me, seems the cam has frozen though- thats why the suns still shines. LOL! greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Lol, I didn't think the sun should be setting so late. According to the internet the sun will set at 2305 the night we leave Seward so there will be plenty of daylight. Its 1930 here at the moment and it has already been dark for a couple of hours.

 

We are planning to eat in the Normandie on the second night but we have not got a confirmed reservation yet but you are welcome to join us if you like. Do you take wine with you on Celebrity or purchase it on board? I know they charge corkage but at least if you take your own you know there will be a wine you like. We tend to drink more white wine than red wine but I have read that in the Normandie there is an option where they match different wines to various courses, have you tried this?

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

just after midnight and I am already in my office in the bakery. Thanks so much for your offering to let me join your Normandie Dinner. We will check this when we are on board. If it´s fully booked mabe we can go another evening.

I don´t like wine, beer, so I never tried to bring my own wine. I am happy with table water or a coke diet. I always brake the line, when ordering just water or diet coke to an exelent dinner. They have corospondending wines for each course yes- at least suggestions from the wine waiter. ( They wanna called sommelier, but I call them wine stewart or weiter- LOL.)

Did you see the latest cam pics from the Summit on her way to Alaska- hm weather looks not very warm though-- I don´t care- but now I am sure what to pack.LOL.

When I got it right for your its already satureday morning, here its midnight, on board summit its early afternoon, friday.

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Michael,

 

It is 11am here and we have just got back from gym .... trying to be good before we join the cruise. Its a beautiful day here, I hope the weather in Alaska improves before we get there as it seems to have been raining a lot recently.

 

We don't drink a great deal (of alcohol) but we do enjoy a glass of wine sometimes when we go out for dinner. Usually I just drink mineral water like yourself and I'm not a big coffee drinker either (although Dougal loves coffee and is looking forward to trying cova cafe). From what I can tell, I don't think our cruise will be a full ship so it should not be a problem getting reservations at Normandie but we can fix that up when we get on board.

 

Hope you have a good weekend.

 

Cheers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

you seem to be 8 hours ahead of me. 4 am here. Still working, but enough time to check internet from time to time. LOL.

Sounds good to me, a not so packed ship. I am a passionate Tea- drinker- very unusual for germany, they are coffee addicted. LOL.

I try to loose some pounds here, too, cause I will enjoy the food. I don´t count calories when I am on board a ship. Only think I do is almost never useing the elevator and walking around a lot. Exept the time I am in the Casion LOL.

Are you both nonsmokers?? As I said I smoke, but not that heavy.

It´s getting warmer each day here.

Have a great weekend.

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Mike,

 

It is unusual to find a tea drinking German ;-) . We always think of continental Europeans as drinking a lot of coffee not tea.

 

 

We are both non-smokers but smoking does not bother us overly, the only time I don't like it when others smoke is at dinner while I am eating but I think the dinning areas on the Summit are smoke-free. Otherwise smoking does not bother me.

 

Here the weather is getting cooler as we approach winter. It never gets very cold here, we never get snow and frost is rare so I guess we are lucky but it still gets a little cool. We usually try to make a trip to Europe each year during your summer so we can escape our winter for a couple of weeks but this year I don't expect the weather will be any warmer in Alaska than it is here ...... we certainly will not be sunbathing LOL.

 

Cheers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

I don´t like to smoke while dinner too, I don´t even smoke in my appartment, just on the veranda. I hate smoke filled rooms. Thats not problem then.

Tea gets more and more popular here in germany, but mostly the drin ktheir coffee. Half milk half coffee is okay or Late Machiatto, but many many germans drink their coffee black. uaaaaaaah. brrrrrrrrr. LOL..

Looks like a nice long weekend her, at least the weather look like that. We have a grill party tonight (not a big fuss- just 6 of us- the two of us included.

Ah I guess we need blanket to lay up on deck lol.

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

A "grill party"? .... that the same thing as a barbeque?

 

Enjoy your long weekend.

 

David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Yes I guess it is almost the same. We have among others the famous "Bratwurst" and enough bread of course. LOL.

BF made all invitations, I don´t like a big " fuss" weekends. LOL.

Greetings and have also a great weekend!

( 10 days.... and counting....)

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Mike,

 

I hope you enjoyed your grill party. Just 9 days now we take off so its not very long at all. We are sorting through our clothes today working out what to take but living in Australia we do not have too much cold weather clthing so I hope its not too cold.

 

We have also been looking at our excursion options. we are still a little cautious about the ships excursions as we hate to be herded like cattle. I think in Skagway we may just hire a car ourselves and do a day trip to the Yukon and Emerald Lake although I would like to do one scenic flight somewhere.

 

Hope your weekend is going well.

 

Cheers, David & Dougal

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

thanks the grill party was great with lots of food- we had Bratwurst also- of course. LOL. Our friends left at midnight, which was very human of them. LOL.

 

I also sort out what to take with me the next days- I even have choosen the books I want to read- I love to sit there and read, watch the ocean.

 

I have to buy some warm clothes before I leave- the warm clothing I have are also very limited, as we had very mild winters. The Bow of the Summit was very crowded while cruising Hubbard Glacier and they whore warm clothing as fare as I could see.

I need some light clothing as well- as I go to Chicago afterwards, where it can be really warm.

 

7 days for your, 9 day for me, it´s just around the corner now , have to get my present for the CC- Party- but I know what to buy now.

 

I have booked just 3 short shore excursions- as you I hate it to go where I am told to go, to watch what I am asked to watch..... I am not sure what I will do in Skagway after the tour- I wait until I am there. I have a Tour in Juneau, Skaway and Ketchikan. All of them lasts just 2 or 3 hours.

 

Í am realy curious to meet you both in person. Have a great day!

Michael

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Michael,

 

Only 7 days to go and starting to get excited but so many things to do before we fly out. I still have not got the presents for the CC party and don't really have any ideas. We will probably end up buying something at the airport on the way out ... hehe.

 

The Celebrity transfer from Anchorage to Seward is also by train and it is meant to be a wonderful trip .... if you look on the Alaskan Railroad site they tell you more about it.

 

We too are curious to meet you in person. Its always fun to meet people from different countries and cultures and we generally find that we get on with most the people we meet in our travels ... of course there are the occasional exceptions but we are both pretty easy going.

 

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend.

 

D & D

[Germancruiser]

Hi David and Dougal,

 

yeah I get excited also the closer the day of my departure comes. Now I am waiting for my docs. Still not here, but I supose this week. I will buy my present the next few days. I hope I get what´s going through my mind. You will find something nice too. I am sure of.

Thanks for your answer about the Rail of bus to Seward. I hope I fell not asleep on way to Seward, I don´t know why I always fell asleep when in a couch or a train- even when I am sitting in the backseat of a car. Only in airplanes it is hard for me to sleep.

The train to Seward sounds really great.

As I am easy going also I guess we really can have fun. As you said its so interesting to meet people all around the globe- you are the first people I meet from Australia. Thats the other side of the globe though.

Counting days!

Greetings

Mike

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Michael,

 

It sounds like you are the same as Dougal as he falls asleep easily on trains etc. I find it difficult on planes etc but if I'm on particularly long flights (like the flight to London from here which is 22 hours) I sometimes take sleeping tablets which I find helps. This time our longest flight is 9.5 hours from Sydney to Honolulu so we won't need the tablets.

 

Dougal has come up with a couple of good ideas for presents which we can buy at the airport so I can stop worrying about that anymore. I started packing over the weekend, usually we travel light but because of the weather in Alaska we will have a lot of luggage this trip.

 

Its funny to think we will be the first Australians you have met (although I'm originally from New Zealand), we get a lot of Germans visiting here and I have met many Germans in my travels. We hear lots of stories of English and German tourists battling over deck chairs etc but have never experienced anything like that myself and all the German folk I have met have been friendly.

 

Cheers, D & D