ROLL CALL - Celebrity Equinox Sailing 10/23/09

[Seadragon555]

Are other family members sailing on the Equinox from 11/23/09 to 11/05/09?? Rich and I (John) are doing the back-to-back sailing of this cruise plus the transatlanic (TA) part. There is a thread for the TA part but couldn't find one for this part of the trip. SO, who all is going? :D

Rich and John

[Seadragon555]

:( I can't believe that Rich and I will be the only ones on this part of the cruise! Where are all the men? Where are all the women? If you are doing the transatlantic part you will have lots of friends....have met several already....but would like to get to know folks on the 10/23/09 through 11/5/09 part before we actually meet in person on the ship.

Hit me up with a response and we can make plans to meet on the ship or in Rome before the ship sails. Thanks!

John

[bdowsett]

Hey guys,

 

My friend Mark and I are going on this cruise as well as a couple (two guys) from Sydney that we met when we sailed from Sydney to Auckland earlier this year. The four of us agreed to meet in Rome for a reunion and then found this cruise. I am really excited to go to Israel and Turkey and Egypt!

Mark and I are from Boston and are former colleagues at a large ad agency that travel really well together. We actually spent two full months down under this past winter!

 

So, you are not the only guys doing this trip! You can add four more to that number!

 

Thirteen months from today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Talk soon

 

Brett

[Seadragon555]

Brett & Mark: It has been a while since I have had a chance to check this posting so apologize for not responding sooner. Rich & I are traveling companions, too, and manage to not kill each other on long trips so something must be going right.

 

Are you doing a pre-cruise stay in Rome? We are staying at the Empire Palace & booked it through Celebrity plus the air to Rome from Des Moines, IA.

 

Hope to get to meet you and your friends once on board!! We are doing the B2B on this cruise ending up in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

John (& Rich)

[bdowsett]

Hello again,

 

We are actually staying in Rome post cruise for a long weekend. We are looking at different hotels now, but have not yet decided on one in particular. What made you choose the Empire Palce over the other ones? Anything in particular?

 

I wish that we were doing the trans-atlantic portion......I think it would be amazing, but unfortunately, I just started a new job and taking two and a half weeks off is a stretch.......I think that one month might push the director right over the edge.....lol.

But, it is what it is......

 

We actually both used frequent flier tickets, so we were very fortunate not to have to pay for the airfare to Rome......

 

I definitely hope to meet you on board.......some other friends from college also just booked the trip as well, so there wil be quite a contingency of us.....should be alot of fun, but I am already dreading my martini bill by the end of the trip.

 

Brett

[Seadragon555]

"We are actually staying in Rome post cruise for a long weekend. We are looking at different hotels now, but have not yet decided on one in particular. What made you choose the Empire Palce over the other ones? Anything in particular?"

 

Brett & Mark: We booked the hotel and flight through Celebrity since we have not been to Italy before...figured they would "know" the places to stay. There were 3 hotels to choose from and we picked the one that we thought would be best for sightseeing. We leave Des Moines on the 20th so will have 2 full days to check things out before boarding the ship on the 23rd.

 

Also, I must apologize for not checking back earlier than this. Rich is retired but I still work as a grant writer for state government...in particular, grants for businesses that have closed or permanently laid-off employees & those grants are to help those employees regain employment. Given the economy for the past several months my job has dramatically increased in workload! I will really need this vacation by the time it gets here (a little over 2 months!! Yea!!!) Of course, being gone for 5 weeks also means doing 5 weeks of work on the first day back....sigh....

 

It sounds like you are very good at advertising since you have convinced more friends to join us! And, yes, the booze bills will be large! LOL The specialty restaurant bills may also be large....

 

We have already booked a tour in Egypt through Celebrity...wanted to make sure we got it locked-in to see the pyramids & the Sphinx. Can't remember the exact name for the tour but it involves a mosque in Cairo, sailing down the Nile while having lunch, and then going to the Pyramids at Giza. Our travel agent sent us a link to a tour company in Europe to possibly book other tours...I will have to post it later as I don't remember it exactly. It doesn't cover all of our stops, though....

 

I was telling Rich my big concern is H1N1 as some ports have denied cruise ships to dock if any passenger/staff has it. Given the time of year that we are sailing I can just see the ship being "quarantined" due to H1N1 and not being able to see any of the countries. You think your martini bill will be big?? Just imagine how much bigger it would be if we can't put into any ports!! (grin)

 

Take care and both of us are looking forward to meeting you and the others!! Should be a gay-old time..... LOL

 

John (& Rich [in absentia])

[Seadragon555]

Here is the link to the excursion company that our travel agent provided...don't know if you are interested or not but thought I would provide it just in case. It is: http://www.ShoreExcursionsGroup.com For Europe it seems pretty limited but, then, it provides things that are not on the excursions provided by Celebrity's ships.

 

BTW, if either of you or your friends joining you on this cruise like to work-out in the gym, I am sure Rich would like to meet...he is Mr. Healthy that works out 3 times per week and on cruises it tends to be more frequent. Just fyi in case anyone is looking for a work-out partner. I am too old, fat, and lazy to do it.

 

John

[daviddfld]

I'm just jumping over to this thread to say hello. I'm amazed that there are not more posters.

 

But I'm sure you will find more on board. See you on 11/05.

[Seadragon555]

Thanks, Larry!! Wish you and David were doing the 2 weeks prior to the TA part of Equniox's sailing to Ft. Lauderdale. Sounds like Brett & Mike have lined up a few others to enjoy the 2 weeks of The Ancient Empires...so should be fun. Just hope they enjoy the company of 2 "mature" men. See you guys on 11/5/09 when we start the next 2 weeks.

 

John (and Rich, if he were here...)

[swiftm001]

Hi Guys: We are the party of 6; we arrived to Rome on day of the cruise and stay three days post cruise, what about arrangement to be at the same dinner table? Probably need to links all the reservation numbers through TA. michael michaelswift@knology.net

[Seadragon555]

Hi Guys: We are the party of 6; we arrived to Rome on day of the cruise and stay three days post cruise, what about arrangement to be at the same dinner table? Probably need to links all the reservation numbers through TA. michael michaelswift@knology.net

 

Michael: Sounds like a potentially good plan. Rich and I are scheduled for the early dining but we can be flexible...so depending on everyone elses schedule we would need to make arrangements with the dining room staff once on board. I know that we had requested a "larger table" so that we would have the opportunity to meet other people...which can have its drawbacks of ending up stuck with people that we don't like or are homophobes. We are staying in Cabin 8295. We are going early to Rome before the cruise as we are doing the B2B cruise going on to Ft. Lauderdale.

Since Rich depends on me to get everything arranged I will give you my email address: Seadragon555@msn.com. If you need more information just contact me and I can inquire with Rich.

Thanks for thinking of this!

John (and the ever "too busy" Rich :cool:)

[swiftm001]

Michael: Sounds like a potentially good plan. Rich and I are scheduled for the early dining but we can be flexible...so depending on everyone elses schedule we would need to make arrangements with the dining room staff once on board. I know that we had requested a "larger table" so that we would have the opportunity to meet other people...which can have its drawbacks of ending up stuck with people that we don't like or are homophobes. We are staying in Cabin 8295. We are going early to Rome before the cruise as we are doing the B2B cruise going on to Ft. Lauderdale.

Since Rich depends on me to get everything arranged I will give you my email address: Seadragon555@msn.com. If you need more information just contact me and I can inquire with Rich.

Thanks for thinking of this!

John (and the ever "too busy" Rich :cool:)

John & Rich: Thank you for your reply; we can links all of us in a large table of 10-12 persons; I need the reservation number instead of cabin number and send it to TA. Please send it to my email for table request. Currently we have table of six, second seating.

Michael

michaelswift@knology.net

[swiftm001]

Hello again,

 

We are actually staying in Rome post cruise for a long weekend. We are looking at different hotels now, but have not yet decided on one in particular. What made you choose the Empire Palce over the other ones? Anything in particular?

 

I wish that we were doing the trans-atlantic portion......I think it would be amazing, but unfortunately, I just started a new job and taking two and a half weeks off is a stretch.......I think that one month might push the director right over the edge.....lol.

But, it is what it is......

 

We actually both used frequent flier tickets, so we were very fortunate not to have to pay for the airfare to Rome......

 

I definitely hope to meet you on board.......some other friends from college also just booked the trip as well, so there wil be quite a contingency of us.....should be alot of fun, but I am already dreading my martini bill by the end of the trip.

 

Brett

Hi Brett: We are on the same cruise; FYI, St Regis has a 20% sales today 9/2/09; you might want to stay the same place with us. Michael

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=71

[Seadragon555]

John & Rich: Thank you for your reply; we can links all of us in a large table of 10-12 persons; I need the reservation number instead of cabin number and send it to TA. Please send it to my email for table request. Currently we have table of six, second seating.

Michael

michaelswift@knology.net

 

:( Michael: When I wrote before that "we" were flexible I had not checked with Rich to see if he would be willing to change to the late seating vs. the early seating. I spoke with him this evening and he prefers to stay with the early seating. Sorry but we won't be able to join you & your friends....maybe we can all get together for dinner at one of the specialty restaurants some evening(s). No doubt we will see you at the bar(s) or even on tours.

I don't know the ages of the you or the people you are traveling with but for Rich and I, being 68 & 62 respectively, bedtime does come earlier for us!! :D

John (and the elusive Rich)

[GeminiGuyIII]

Hey guys! My name is Don, and I am one of the six in Michael's group. My roommate is Richard. I am from Atlanta, and Richard is from Athen, AL. We have known each other for over 30 years and manage to travel together without killing each other. We are both looking forward to the cruise and meeting you guys also. Do any of you in the group play bridge?

[Seadragon555]

Hey guys! My name is Don, and I am one of the six in Michael's group. My roommate is Richard. I am from Atlanta, and Richard is from Athen, AL. We have known each other for over 30 years and manage to travel together without killing each other. We are both looking forward to the cruise and meeting you guys also. Do any of you in the group play bridge?

 

Don: As for myself I do not play bridge; however, in all the time I have known Rich the subject of card games has never come up so I do not know if he plays or not. I will check with him. Looking forward to meeting you and Richard, Michael and Joe, and the rest of your group. Welcome!

John (and the "I am too busy!" Rich)

[Seadragon555]

BTW, it is so exciting that the countdown is approaching to only a month before we leave! For having started planning this 1.5 years ago it is finally getting so close that I feel like I can smell the sea air (which, in land-locked Iowa that is a bit of a stretch...usually one smells farms here).

 

Stay safe, everyone, so that we can all get together on the ship....

 

John & Rich

[jefferyrich]

We just noticed this roll call. My partner and I are booked on this cruise as well. Glad to see a few posts. We are from Chicago (since March). Looking forward to meeting everyone on the boat.

 

Richard and Jeff

[Seadragon555]

We just noticed this roll call. My partner and I are booked on this cruise as well. Glad to see a few posts. We are from Chicago (since March). Looking forward to meeting everyone on the boat.

 

Richard and Jeff

 

:D Welcome Richard & Jeff!! It looks more and more like we will have quite a contingent of folks on this trip...I think it is wonderful! Don't know if you have read all of the threads but it is definitely one way to "meet" the others. Are you doing the 2 weeks out of Rome? Or, by any chance, are you doing a back-to-back cruise going on to Ft. Lauderdale on the TA part the next 2 weeks?

John (and the ever elusive Rich)

[GeminiGuyIII]

We just noticed this roll call. My partner and I are booked on this cruise as well. Glad to see a few posts. We are from Chicago (since March). Looking forward to meeting everyone on the boat.

 

Richard and Jeff

 

Hey Guys,

 

We are a party of six, from Huntsville, AL, Atlanta, GA, and Hawaii, who will be on board. Looking forward to seeing you.

 

Don, Atlanta

Joe & Michael, Richard, Huntsville

Willie & John, Hawaii

[Seadragon555]

Can you believe it is just a little over a week before we all meet??!! I thought it would never get here....but it is now so close one feels like they can smell the salt air...

 

See you all on the ship!!

 

John (and the ever elusive Rich)

[FnotY]

Hello! My partner and I are also on the Equinox for the October 23rd voyage. We would love to meet up with you all!

 

Brian & Will

[shnookybub]

Hey Guys,

 

My partner and I are going to be on this cruise too. I just booked last minute. We will be leaving next week probably to Amsterdam for a day then on to Rome. I work for an airline so we go were the flights look good. Traveling with my parents also.

 

We are planning on the egypt trip also that goes to the Pyramids, Sphinx, and lunch on the nile. Not decided on anything else yet. Would love any suggestions that you have for tours. My parents are in good shape and can keep up with anything.

 

Look forward to meeting you all.

 

Lance and Glenn

[Seadragon555]

Brian & Will and Lance & Glenn: Welcome!! It looks more and more like a nice-sized group is coming together for this cruise. If you haven't read all of the postings on here, Rich and I are doing the back-to-back of this cruise plus the transatlanic part following this one. I think we are all in for some great adventures in exploring these countries...neither of us have been to any of the countries on this segment & both are history-buffs so we will be like kids in a candy store seeing all of the sights.

Are either one of you going on for the TA part to Ft. Lauderdale? Just wondering as there are a number of family members on that segment, too.

John (and the ever elusive Rich)

[FnotY]

Hi Lance, Glenn, John & Rich!

 

Will and I have prebooked a few shore excursions so far:

 

27oct - Ancient Ephesus - KD01

30oct - Glorious Jerusalem - AS17

01nov - Cairo, Pyramids & Tombs - AX11

 

In Athens, there's a metro station at the port in Piraeus, so it's pretty easy to get into the city center and see things... so we're not gonna do an excursion there. Also, when we're in Naples, we plan on making our way to Pompeii ourselves, since it's pretty easy to just take the Circumvesuviana Train. Rhodes old city center is within walking distance from the port, so again, we're probably just gonna do our own thing there.

 

If anybody wants to contact us directly, my e-mail is FNOTY@yahoo.com.

 

We cannot wait!!!!

 

FYI, our cabin has been assigned and we'll be in 1538.

 

Brian