Brillance of the Seas Transatlantic - November 7

[Andros]

Is November here yet? Five months to go! I better plan another cruise between now and then.

 

LOL! Must be nice! You don't have to rub it in, you know:p !!! See Ya Later

[rienreiter]

I'm just thinking what I'm going to do between now and November. Five months sure seems like a long time from now.

[Andros]

I hope you know I was just giving you a hard time! If I could take a cruise between now and then, I definately would!!!;)

[rienreiter]

Oh, I definitely know that you were just giving me a hard time. Raining a lot here in south Florida but we need the rain. Already having the first named tropical storm of the season. Sure hope that we do not have a repeat of last year's hurricanse season.

 

Regards, Juan

[Andros]

LOL! I too hope you guys don't get hit all year long with storms. We had some telling us last year that they had to pack in the dark do to power outages. We too need some rain. We got a little last night, but need more. It has been hot here, in the 90's. I have been watering my plants outside daily, because we have had no real rain to speak of. Talk to you later, Tony

[russg140]

Here in upstate NY we have had more than our fair share of rain! 2 bug "zappers" in full force with non-stop bzzzzz'ing. But enough about weather....

 

The New York Times did a piece on local dining in Nice on June 4th (see www.nyt.com and look up the dining section). Really some great local places for authentic Provencal cuisine. We are total foodies, and these places look terrific (and a decent value).

 

Did everyone get the C&A coupon? If not, let me know. I called my TA and asked for the $200 credit. It looks like the trip is nearly sold out.

 

Are you guys on late seating or early? We are late at a table for 8. That's always one of the "thrills" - walking up to the table for the first time. Could be great or (cue the music for Darth Vader) could be a nightmare! LOL.

 

4 months, 29 days....

[leoandhugh]

tony you may have already gathered from my correspondence with you on the other thread that leo and I are family members from way way back; we have more than 50 years together - just another case which shows that it can be done if you work at it. this will be cruise no 37 for us and at this stage of our lives, we are just grateful that we can still do it - cruise, that is! leo is an amputee having lost his right leg over 12 years ago,but with a scooter and a wheelchair, he can keep up with most. no late night parties in the disco however although last year on a TA on golden princess there was a large family group that met at FODgatherings and made the disco frequently

hugh

[rienreiter]

Hey Russ: When did you get the C&A coupons? I haven't received anything since beginning of the year. That's a nice chunk of credit.

 

Leo and Hugh: Welcome and congrats on your years together.

 

Looks like slowly but surely we are starting to come out of the woodwork for this TA cruise.

 

Regards, Juan

[rienreiter]

Russ: I forgot to state that I also am on the late seating. I can't imagine eating at 6:00 PM or so.

 

Tony: Any tips that you can share with us on how to cut costs? I was reading all of the posts and am glad to see that you were able to economize so much last year. I do all of my own travel planning but I can always learn some new tips. Thanks!

 

Juan

[Andros]

Russ, Good to hear from you. We have late seating as well. We asked for a smaller table, so lord only knows what we will get. You are exactly right with your comment about the Darth Vader music:eek: . You just never know:rolleyes: !

Hugh, I told my partner that you guys just might be family and glad you confirmed my thinking on this. It will be a pleasure to meet you guys! I'm sure you have a lot of great stories and hope you share. I really enjoy listening to people of your age( no bad intentions) with all of your wisdom:cool: !

Juan, I agree with you on early seating. We always like late, as it gives you time to get ready and relax a little after a day in port. The only real tip I can give anyone is to research extensively to find the best deals. As Russ said, this cruise is just about sold out. I can tell this , because the price started to drop. Then all of a sudden it jumped right back up to the original price. Last year there were about 1900 passengers and we got an awesome deal at $1210 for all 3 of us. Guess you can't win them all!

 

I too am glad that things are starting to heat up on our roll call threads. Just adds to the excitement and anticipation. We look forward to meeting all of you in November;) ! Tony

[rienreiter]

Hi Guys!

 

Haven't seen a posting from zurichguy (Brian?) lately. I wonder if he is still on our cruise.

 

I asked for a large table. So far, I have not encountered any problem people at any table that I have been seated. On my last TA, one of the guys that was posting here was so concerned about ending up at a table where others would be talking about their grandchildren or bowel movements that he asked who wanted to be seated together and they linked the reservation numbers together so that they were all seated together.

 

Tony: I also am doing a lot of research. Keep in mind that I will be travelling solo so that greatly increases my cruise cost. One way TA airfare, the lowest that I have found so far is about $500. I have found hotels for about $125 to $150. I have heard many great comments about the Axel, the gay hotel in the Eixample area. Will definitely have everything down pat within one month before departure. And to think that we are still almost 5 months away is totally killing me.

 

Regards, Juan

[Andros]

I know what you mean about traveling alone. You basically have to pay double for everything. The fact that there was 3 of us last year helped a great deal. Splitting everything 3 ways made that trip very affordable for all of us. We asked our friend in Va. to go again this year, but he said he didn't want to. Oh well, it will be kind of nice just Gregg and I for a change. I actually found flights from JFK to Barcelona for about 250-400 pp on Nov. 3(although sometimes sold out). Arrive BCN about 12-1 p.m. That was on Kayak.com. Found some similar flights on other searches. I will be researching again in about 2 months, before we make our plans in stone. I'll let you know what I find.

 

As far as Zurich, I think he is a very busy person. It sometimes takes him a week or so to post. No biggie, but the last I knew, he and his partner were looking forward to this cruise(his partner has never been out of the U.S.). So, hopefully he will come around and talk to us more.

 

As far as tablemates, we have mostly had good ones. My first cruise our tablemates only came to formal night( they were late and then left early). Last year on BOS there was a couple that just abandoned one of our TM because they didn't want to sit by an old man that was a single cruiser! How rude!!! Our friend Dallas actually scooted over and sat with him and Gregg, I and our TM from Amsterdam all talked with him and made him feel not so bad. It's a shame that this couple from NY thought they were to good to be bothered with him:mad: !

 

Well, enough of my whinning! Talk later, Tony

[russg140]

The RCCL system sent me to the following link (secure.royalcaribbean.com/cas/savingscertificates). You can also have your TA call 866-562-7625. You have to be a C&A member - which I'm sure you all are.

 

Tablemates - spoken no more reverently of than - alternative dining and tipping! :rolleyes: We have only had respectful and gracious dining companions - EVER! Some may have horror stories, but when 2 grown/adult men arrive at a table most (not all) people understand. Those that don't are shunned by the rest. I think most cruise afficionados understand they are going to me a broad and diverse slice of humanity and are open. We had a 70+ year old couple at our table and, at one point, the wife looked over at us and said, "It's nobody's business who you love but your own!" Later found out her first bf was african american - IN TEXAS!!!! Loved her!

 

I hope we all get the chance to meet, but - no offense please - I hope we're NOT all seated at the same table. That would not reflect well on RCCL and - hey - let's spread the wealth!

 

Counting the days, I remain....

[rienreiter]

Hey Guys:

 

Tony: I think I'm beginning to understand how you were able to keep your expenses to a minimum. 1) You split everything 3 ways (I think I'll do the same with me, me, and me), and 2) I see that you are pricing flights from JFK. Is it still that much economical for you guys even after adding the TN-JFK flight? I look for flights departing from MIA (Miami) and one that doesn't have more than 1 stop. As of today, I have only found flights between $400 and $600. All of them on 1800flyeurope.com or europebyair.com and much cheaper than what's coming up on kayak.com. I won't be booking anything until 1 to 2 months out. I think that right now it is still too far away to look up and find good prices. By the way, those tablemates that you mentioned on last year's BOTS cruise do indeed sound to be very rude people. I've been lucky to never have encountered rude tablemates.

 

Russ: I'm going to look at that RCI website for the coupons. I am a Platinum C & A member. Hope to find something that I can use to bring down the price of this cruise. Cute story about that lady that you once had for a tablemate. As I told Tony above, I have not encountered tablemates that I did not like or whose company I did not enjoy. I'm sure that we will all meet. However, Tony and I were on this same cruise last year and we never met. I'm hoping that this will not be the case this time.

 

Regards, Juan

[Andros]

Yeah we both got one in our last issue of the magazine. Can't remember, but we booked like 2 weeks before the coupon expired. That 200 credit was nice.

 

As far as tablemates, most everyone we have had have been great! Just a few that I mentioned were the only one's that raised my eyebrows a little. Our tablemate last year from Amsterdam was cool beans. Always had us laughing and talked about anything. I love it when people are just themselves and don't care what others think about their views. We actually went to his hotel after disembarkment and spent the day at the beach, had lunch, and bid him farewell. Our flights didn't leave until late, like 7-8 in the evening!

 

Juan, As far as the flights, yes it is cheaper for us to fly to JFK and then onto Barcelona. Gregg has never been to NY, so we may fly there and stay the night( There is a certain building he want to see) and then catch our flight to Barcelona. I believe the flights I searched only had 1 stop in Madrid!.

If we miss each other again this year, I'm coming to Florida or wherever you are and we are going to throw down:eek: !!! LOL!!!

[leoandhugh]

tony, I have been bouncing back and forth between this GL thread and the other one with all the str8s and as far as family members are concerned I find you and Gregg, Leo and I, Juan, Brian are the only ones on both at present. am I right or did I miss someone? incidentally, the mention of table mates and early vs late sittings reminded me to tell you that Leo and I are on early with a table for 2. we have found on other cruises with Leo using his scooter, if we have any more than 4 at a square table, it means somebody gets squeezed to make room. so rather than fight that battle at every meal, we always get a deuce near the entrance to the dining room so we don't have to fight our way out after dinner when someone's fat ass is blocking the aisle! special needs has already handled that and we even have an assigned table number already. there are times - but not many - when being handicapped has an advantage.

I am having a hard time with the certificates getting credited to our account; ours arrived by email and when I talked to miami, they said those were applicable only if our reservations were made between 6/01 and 6/30 and it says that on them. another I talked to said to make copies, and mail them in and they would take care of it - so I have my fingers crossed.

[rienreiter]

Tony: I will also take a look at flights from JFK to compare. But that will probably mean making a 2nd stop somewhere to change for the flight to Barcelona. I really want to avoid that considering that I will already have to fly to JFK. Last year, I flew British Airways Miami-London-Barcelona for only $450. I'm hoping that I can do the same this year. Just make sure that whatever you do end up choosing you do not fly Iberia, the spanish airline. They are abosolutely the worst airline that I have ever flown and will never recommend it to anyone. Met several people on last year's cruise who flew Iberia and hated it completely, from the service to the crew.

 

Leo: I think that the names that you have mentioned are correct. I think you left out Russ and his partner. However, do not despair. On last year's roll call it was more or less same as here now but there ended up about 30 or 40 of us on board. Most of us (our family) do not post here or may not even be aware of this website. And, I think that the concensus seems to be that all trans-atlantics seem to attract a loyal family following. By the way, great to see that you and Hugh have so many years together. Indeed you are a rare species which is no longer common. Whatever happened to commitment?

 

As far as the savings certificates are concerned, I have submitted mine to my TA. However, the certificate does clearly indicate for bookings made between June 1st and 30th. I made mine at the end of May. Let's see what comes out of it. I will keep you posted.

 

Regards, Juan

[DenvCruiser]

My cruise buddy and I are also on the Brilliance transatlantic cruise, and we can’t wait. We were on the Grand Princess transatlantic cruise this April and like it so much that we signed up for this cruise. We said that we definitely wanted to come back to Barcelona and spend a few days, and back we come.

This will be our first Royal Caribbean cruise. We usually do straight cruises on

Princess, but we couldn't pass up the price for this cruise. We like the flexibility with Princess of dining anytime and with whom you want. Princess also regularly schedules Friends of Dorothy meetings, which we like. We hear that RCI doesn't always schedule these.

We are also trying to talk our buddy from Tucson into joining us. Another buddy, who works for the airlines, may join us if he can get a good last-minute deal.

The four of us are also on the Atlantis Freedom of the Seas cruise next January. Several of us are on the RSVP August 2007 Mediterranean cruise. We like to cruise and cruise often.

________________________

Coral Princess Alaska May 2006

Grand Princess Transatlantic April 2006

RSVP Panama Cruise March 2006

Coral Princess Panama Canal November 2005

Norwegian Dream Repositioning October 2005

Star Princess November 2004

Golden Princess November 2003

[Andros]

Welcome to you and your buddy! Glad to have you with us. We have been chit chatting alot in the last few days and I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone. Hopefully your other friends will be able to go too! We had a great time on Brilliance last year and looking forward to returning to Barcelona. What a great city!

 

Juan, I'll keep that in mind about Iberia, I've never flown with them. I had a pretty good experience on Virgin last year,with the exception of the obnoxious drunk I had to sit next to. Yeah, we flew to London on Virgin for 250.00 last year and then from London to Barcelona on BA for 90.00 each. Doesn't look like it will work out like that this year, will just have to see.

 

Hugh, Even though there is not a lot of people talking on this thread, we saw family everywhere last year. As Juan said, not everyone knows about CC and if they do they don't always correspond(lurkers). No biggie, they are missing out on all the fun we have pre-cruise getting to know each other. Ah, the months are going to fly by now:rolleyes: ! Can't wait!!!

 

Talk to you guys later. I'm going to my sister's house to help with a garage sale for a few days, so I'll catch up when I return! See Ya

[russg140]

Thanks reit for remembering me and my partner (Duncan). I always chuckle at the str8 postings. So much effort is put in to getting together - name tags, door signs, etc, etc. that it seems like it takes the fun out of meeting new people - the reason we like to go on a cruise. I think most of us would agree that we have met great people (gay or not) on a cruise and didn't need an organized FOD party to make that happen.

 

Why can't we all just say that we'll meet at ___ time at ___ before dinner (or after for early seatings) for a meet and greet? Are we so in need of bad canapes :p from the cruiseline to require a FOD meeting? Based on the great conversation we're already having, I think we can pull it off!

 

Otherwise, we end up with flowers on our lapels and a secret handshake...

 

OH NO! If I'm being a wet blanket, just say so! LOL

[rienreiter]

Hi DenvCruiser: Welcome to the group and I hope that your other buddies are able to make it. It truly is a fun cruise. I know I had a blast on last year's cruise and I met a lot of very nice people of which some I still keep in touch with and the one couple who happens to live in my hometown I am still friends with and always talk about cruising together again. Do whatever it takes to convince your buddies to join us. Twist their arms if you have to. It doesn't take much to convince me to go on a cruise. Have never been on Atlantis or RSVP so you'll have to tell me all about it.

 

Tony: You're right. The chit chatting on this board sure does add to the excitement and anticipation while waiting for the departure date to arrive. And I don't think that we will miss each other this time. Now that I have seen your picture online, I'll spot you somewhere for sure.

 

Russ: I think that your idea of setting up a time for us to meet is great. We did this on my last TA and it was great meeting the majority of the family (or all of us that use Cruise Critic). I had already thought of it myself. If everyone agrees, we can set up the time as the departure date gets closer. Of the few FOD meetings that I have attended, I have not been to one where they serve canapes or offer drinks such as champagne. From what I recall reading on these boards, it seems like Princess occasionally offers drinks or champagne.

[Andros]

LOL! Juan, I thought the same thing. Between my avatar and all the pics of my ugly mug on my homepage, if someone doesn't recognize me it's because they don't want to! No big deal, not everyone has to like everyone they meet.

Russ, the meeting sounds good. We had a meeting at sail away last year with some of our CC friends from the regular thread. Was fun since our M & M wasn't until our first full sea day! See you guys on Saturday evening sometime!

[rienreiter]

Thought I would pass along this information to Tony as well as everyone else here who may benefit from this.

 

While reading a travel article in USAToday (they always have a ton of interesting and useful travel information online), I came across an article that talked about a website that looks for the very cheapest airfares that sometimes do not come up on the most commonly known sites. One of them is travelcheapabroad.com. I found a one-way flight from Miami to Barcelona (via Paris) for $303 for November. Of all of the sites that I have tried, this one had the lowest price that I have found.

 

Just wanted to share this information with all of you.:)

[leoandhugh]

juan what's with the vanishing avatar for you here and some of the others on the str8 thread? FYI - I picked up on another thread that for those of you who have not yet made barcelona hotel reservations that they are becoming scarce and pricey. seems there is a boat show there from 06nov to16nov which they expect will draw about 150,000 out of towners. leo and I don't have that problem since we will be coming through from istanbul on BOS!

[rienreiter]

Hi leoandhugh:

 

I do not have a 100% sure answer for you. However, I have noticed that I do see my avatar if I go into Cruise Critic to view the boards but have not logged in. If I log in as soon as I go into the boards but before I actually start reading the threads, I do not see the avatars. I also do not see people's signatures. I do not know if this is just me or if the same happens to everyone else. Why don't you try doing this and let me know? Now I am curious.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the Barcelona convention. Better be making reservations now.

 

Regards, Juan