Petert102

Judith and Eileen, you naughty Gals, spreading false rumors. Ever since you told me that the Bar at the Pier Hotel in Harwich was THE local "family" watering hole, I immediately cancelled your suicide watch

Chris, hope Ramadan is progressing well and that the folks are not too tetchy, after not eating or drinking during the day

Just got diagnosed with Diabetes this week so have been banned for life from ALL BOOZE permanently, so will now definitely sign up for Judith and Eileen's recommended Premium Water Package. Will just have to pretend that a glass of San Pellegrino is sparkling wine, just like in Riyadh where my poolside glass of Schoss Bosenberg became a virtual glass of champagne !!! Often sipped in the company of the Egyptian Ambassador to Saudi who was called by the large Gay Community " The Queen of de Nile " a play on "Denial" as the poor baby was so closeted

Mega Hugz to all

Peter

@Turtles06:

 

Thanks for the great Antarctica pictures. Beautiful images.

 

@Peter:

 

I didn't think about Gigon on a Sunday. I hope that there is some shopping and that some restaurants will be open for us.

 

I'm hoping that I can find a good French restaurant in La Rochelle for some French wine or champagne!

Look at Trip Advisor for La Rochelle, there are tons of good eateries there. Dont worry about Gijon for shopping on a Sunday, will probably be closed, but restaurant will be open. Think that Vigo will be allot better fpr shopping and they have an El Corte Ingles Dept Store

Peter

Gentoo Penguins, so exotic. We saw Fairy Penguins swimming out of the sea after a fishing trip to Antartica at Philips Island near Melbourne Australia. Maybe you two can work on him to take the same cruise while we are all at the Martini Bar on the Infinity. Knowing that there is shopping is simply HUGE for him. I would really appreciate that. We already have visits to El Corte Ingles scheduled for Vigo for the Spanish "Purificacion Garcia" clothing line and Paris em Lisboa in Lisbon for those luxurious million thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, that they make so well. He is not big on visiting dusty monastaries, shrines stuffed with virgins etc. We shop at ports of call and have a wonderful luncheon in good restaurants accompanied by tons of wine. Sadly our visit to Gijon falls on a Sunday so the shopping will be limited, I guess he will just stay on board the Ship

Mega Hugz

Peter

First ... Glenn: have a fantastic time in Alaska. I see that you've been there before, so you already know how beautiful it is. To this day, one of our favorite trips remains the ten days we spent driving around the Alaskan interior before a one-week Alaska cruise.

 

Second. . . Peter, we are okay with your cancelling the Harwich suicide watch, as we'll be fine with all those rustic folks! :) In fact, tell Paul that in January, we traveled to Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Explorer... and did we see wildlife!!

 

Here are a few photos I took (among the 7,000 or so):

 

 

 

 

 

(from the top: Adélie penguins, humpback whale, leopard seal, chinstrap penguins)

 

(photos by turtles06)

Paul wants to know if, amongst all that nature, there was a Designer Label Outlet Mall, he needs to have one that is nearby at all times, otherwise he will have a total breakdown, as shopping IS very important to him as an addicted shopaholic !!!!! I, on the other hand, would LOVE to do your trip, but he would just not come - just too much nature for him.

He could change is mind if some of the Penguins were sporting designer logos

Peter

Just so you guys know, there is also a Shrine in Harwich, and it's in our hotel. :)

Clearly you Gals are into rustic Folks who inhabit the hinterlands. In the UK you will be able to spot them easily as they all wear TWEED Outfits and have booming loud voices that would put the Infinity's fog horns to shame !!!!! and they all drink copious amounts of Gin. As the french say "Bonne Chase" or good hunting !!!!

Any way, good to know that you Gals will be able to enjoy yourselves in Harwich, as a result of this wonderful news, I have cancelled the suicide watch effective

immediately

Hugz

Peter

I will be staying in London for two nights before transferring to Harwich on 10/24.

 

I used Priceline and got a room at the Best Western, The Cromwell for $105 per night. It claims to be a 4 star hotel but from the reviews and pictures, I think that 3 1/2 is more realistic.

 

The hotel is located on the other side of Hyde Park from where Peter, Paul and Howard will be staying. Doesn't look to be too long a walk to the City of Quebec.

 

In two weeks, I'm headed to Seattle for an Alaskan cruise. Looking forward to that.

 

See you all soon!

 

Glenn

Glenn

IT IS a long walk. The trouble with London, is that the public transport system shuts down obscenely early and cabs require a Mortgage, that is if you can get them to go from A to B late night.

Having said that, you will be happy to hear that there is a Night Bus that goes from Marble Arch to where you stay, so you will be able to join us in the sacred Grotto of the Shrine of Our Lady of Quebec to offer Novenas !!!!!

I am green with envy, I have always wanted to do an Alaska cruise, alas Paul refuses to go as he says he is not genetically programmed for Rustic Vacations, although what is rustic about a cruise Ship is beyond me. He is not impressed with wild life like whales, bears etc, which he thinks should stay in National Geographic Magazine articles

Hugz

Peter

Will you also visit us at the Shrines of Brighton ?

Mega Hugz

Peter

Chris

What are your pre-cruise plans, will you be going directly from the Airport to Harwich or spending a few days in London. Paul, Howard and I ( New York ) plus Tom and Michael ( Rhode Island ) will be in London, at the Marble Arch Thistle Hotel which is located right on top of the City of Quebac, while Judith and Eileen will be in Harwich, ( we will have the poor dears on a suicide watch as it is terminally dull in Harwich ) !!!!! At the end of our voyage, we will be going directly home to New York, I imagine you will be visiting the flesh pots of Fort Lauderdale before flying back to the sands.

Mega Hugz

Peter

Hey Chris: Tom and I welcome you. We, too, are new to Pied Piper. This group seems great. We are so looking forward to this TA!!!!

 

 

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Tom and Michael

Paul, Howard and I have decided that we will be making out UK hotel rwservations at the Thistles in the middle of next month. You did ask us to let you know when we planned to do them. Hopefully we will see you Guys at the Shrine of the City of Quebec, Howard and Paul are looking forward to meeting the cute little Accolytes there in the sacred Grotto

Hugz

Peter

Hi Chris - great that you were able to rebook with PP, *and* get a better price as well. Win-win!

 

The question you have asked about the beverage packages comes up often on the main Celebrity board. Here's a link to the most recent page of the "drink prices" question, which will give you some sense of the prices:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=38906833&highlight=drink+prices#post38906833

 

As Peter says, you can book the beverage packages on board, so you could wait till then to decide.

 

I don't consume that much alcohol; I had the premium non-alcohol pkg on our last TA and really enjoyed having it. I think that for any of the beverage packages, Celebrity makes money on most pax if you just look at things mathematically. However, we found that there is a great intangible value to having a package and not nickel and diming yourself over a bottle of San Pellegrino at each meal or trying a different drink if you didn't like the first one, grabbing a can of soda from a bar before you return to your cabin, not having to sign chits, etc. The beverage package practically turns the cruise into an "all inclusive," which definitely adds to the enjoyment. And on this upcoming TA, particularly with 7 sea days in a row, and 25-hour days..... :)

As ever Judith, great pearls of wisdom, never thought of the convenience factor of being able to have San Pellegrino on demand, think I will purchase the package when I am on board, afterall we will be getting the Celebrity Elite's drink tickets as I am sure that there will be too many Elites onboard to have nightly free drinks, Paul sips like a sparrow so I am sure I will be able to consume many of his tickets, then there will be the Celebrity Elite Parties, not to mention Pied Pipers parties, so will not need to purchase too many alc drinks

Mega Hugz and Happy July 4

Peter

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

Congratulations on joining us at the PP Group.

On the day that you board, before you sail, you can buy the non alcohol drink package, as the prices change regularly, why not wait til you board to look at the drinks prices and decide then. We actually pay as we go and have never had an issue....on the other hand if you are planning to consume gallons then your final bill could become an issue.

Are you planning to stay in London beforehand ? we will be at the Marble Ach Thistle for three nights which is right over the City of Quebec

Hugz

Peter

Hi Chris, welcome aboard! I see that Peter has already given you great advice about Pied Piper and otherwise. If you are so inclined to do so, and are able to transfer your reservation to PP, you will then be able to eat dinner with the PP folks (late seating) and join the various PP social events.

 

In any event, Eileen and I look forward to meeting you on board.

 

Judith

 

PS: Peter: I've been told by Bruce himself that he will be our host for this trip. He did a great job on our last TA. (Need to brush up on truly obscure Broadway musical trivia. :))

Judith Hon !!!

We are all "Family" we were all indoctrinated in Broadway Show Tunes in our Mama's womb !!!

Hugz

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

We have 14 nights, so a "simpatico" dinner table is "ABSOLUTELY" essential. We all look forward to having you join us on this trip.

So glad to hear that Al Bustan is still going strong, yes I concur with your gastronomic opinion. During another life, I usd to be head of Supply Chain Management at Inter Continental Hotels in New York. Visited Amman for about ten days during a systems implementation to review the progress of my staff member, I was there in the middle of winter ( it was freezing ) it was a busy trip, so alas did not see much of the country, but I do remmber a very warm welcome from the local folks and Al Bustan for great lunches.

Spent time also in Saudi. Riyadh and Taif - Bahrain - Emirates, Dubai and Al Ain and best of all Oman in Muscat

If you are unable to join the PP Group. we have found an effective way of avoiding getting stuck in a "difficult" table, s before you sail, to find the Maitre D' discreetly off a $ 20.00 bill and request a table with only "Gentlemen", it has always worked wonders for us. Good Luck

Remember, this week is the July 4 week and most of the country is running at low ebb, so it could take a few days for you to get a reply from Pied Piper to assign your booking to them

Peter

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

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

DOMA IS DEAD - THANK YOU BILL CLINTON FOR NEEDLESS YEARS OF DISCRIMINATION THANKS TO YOUR FOCUS ON MONICA AND YOUR LACK OF MORAL COURAGE AND LEADERSHIP IN YOUR FAILURE TO USE YOUR VETO PEN, TO DO WHAT YOU KNEW IN YOUR HEART WAS RIGHT !!!! - I CAN NOW BEGIN TO BELIEVE IN THE SUPREME COURT AGAIN I can now enjoy our cruise after facing a huge federal tax bill to tax my Health Insurance Benefits that I had under Paul's Healh Insurance Plan, as his legal Spouse !!!

Peter

Some days four months seems like forever! But I don't want to wish the summer away. Nice and warm in RI so we will be enjoying the summer days![ATTACH]276738[/ATTACH]

 

 

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Fire Island is FAABULOUS, the season is getting ramped up. We are now able to spend longer out there, Fridays to Tuesdays...heaven. Baking in New York, but cool out there

Have decided to hold off giving the Thistle Hotel Chain our cash until Mid-August

Mega Hugz

Peter

Welcome! Tom and I are arriving in London on the 20th and are also staying at the Thistle Marble Arch. I am sure we will be saying many Pater Nosters downstairs also! We were thinking of a day trip to Brighton. Is that doable??

Brighton is just 55 minutes away from Victoria Railroad station and the trains leave several times an hour. If you have not booked the MA Thistle yet, why not save some cash and stay at the Brighton Thistle for a couple of nights, we are staying three nights. Brighton is very Gay and awash with Shrines to make offerings to and "Visions" in various states of availability for the night . There are also four buses an hour on National Express from Heathrow, they drop you off just yards from the Brighton Thistle. Suggest you spend the weekend in Brighton before going to London as it is humming with folks from London who have either places there or stay for the weekend.

Hi Everyone:

 

I am happy to see there are several other travelers already booked on the "Pied Piper" repositioning cruise in October. I will be travelling with a friend. This will be my 20th cruise, my second with "Pied Piper." Last year I was on a 15 day Celebrity Cruise to Hawaii with "Pied Piper."

 

We are planning to spend three days in London before boarding the ship in Harwich. The last time I was in London was 1994 on business. I am looking forward to visiting some friends and playing tourist for a couple of days.

 

I look forward to meeting you all onboard.

 

Frank

Welcome Frank + Buddy

It looks like we have a great PP cruise in the making, Paul ( my Husband ), Howard ( Buddy ) and I will also be in London for three days prior to our sailing and staying at the Marble Arch Thistle which is above the City Of Quebec, Pub. This is so convenient for making or nightly offerigs to the Goddess of Booze, AND they also have a Grotto, where wonderous things may be found !!!! We have arranged a bus pick up from there to take us directly to Harwich on the 24th. We actually fly over from JFK on Oct 17 and will be spending three days in Brighton on the South Coast which is very Gay.

Mega Hugz

Peter

Welcome back! Glad you had a good trip. No cheap eats huh?

Just remember all those meals on the ship and the added Pounds !!!! Anyway, you Guys and Gals need to fast in London in preparation for your Pilgrimage at Santiago de Compostela. Remember that Beer does contain ALL the Food Groups at low cost. British food, apart from being very costly, does not rank high on the ratings for Gastronomy....to quote a Staff Member of mine from there "My Mother thought that Corn Starch was an exotic spice !!!"

The poor Brits had their entire summer last weekend...just imagine...three successive sunny days with a temperature of 78F !!!!!! With that being over they have nothing but rain. cold and grey skies to look forward to for the rest of the summer !!!! Poor Things

Hugz to all

Peter

Just got back from England last night.....Good trip, but prepare yourselves for the prices which, with the exception of the Pubs, are breath taking

Peter

On our eastbound TA with PP last spring, PP had no excursions planned in advance that they could give us any info about. (In fact, I don't recall any at all. On board, Bruce may have recommended certain excursions through the ship.) That was our first PP cruise, so I don't know if that was typical or not.

 

I will say, though, that Bruce scored big when our ship was diverted at the last minute from Cobh (Ireland) to La Coruna, Spain. Obviously, no one had anything planned for La Coruna. Fortunately, Bruce was familiar with that port and immediately advised those of us with PP to book a ship's tour to Santiago de Compostela. Many of us did, and we had a fun day together.

 

Do any of you PP veterans have any info on whether we are likely to know about any PP shore excursions in advance?

You may well be right about the lack of excutsions on the T/As, they have tons on the Caribbean Island Hops, I do not recall if they told you before the trip what they were offering, as we seldom do organized excursions, my mind is a blank on this one....Senior Moment

Peter

PIED PIPERS OWN SHORE EXCURSIONS

Remember Guys, before you book yourselves solid with the other main board or the Cruise Lines shore excursions, that PP also organizes their own shore excursions ESPECIALLY tailored for us, if you are interested it may be a good idea to drop Bruce or Derek an e-mail to see what they may be planning

Hugz

Peter

I think I'll take the train from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela. It takes about 1.5 hours. Probably much cheaper, more fun, and more comfortable than the tour bus. Perhaps we can get a group to go. Anyone interested?

Russ

Is that wise ? RENFE the spanish railroad company tells time using a sundial and it is cloudy most of the time in Galicia. I guess you could meet the boat next day in Lisboa. Keeping a timetable for trains is a foreign concept in Spain.

Sadly you Guys do not seem to be up for my on my knees tour of Santiago....

Peter

HARWICH - PIER HOTEL SUICIDE WATCH

You Dear Ladies will not be far from our thoughts while we explore the sacred Grotto at Our Blessed Lady of Flowing Alcohol while in spiritual ( spirits=alcohol ) preparation and retreat for our Pilgrimages to the Holy Shrines at Santiago ( Vigo ) and Fatima ( Lisboa ). We will all be offering prayer for you to find a really sharp razor blade to put yourselves painlessly out of your misery at the Pier Hotel in Harwich. I must give you my cell phone number just in case you need a suicide intervention that night !!!!

When we call at Vigo, I am planning a mile walk on my knees to reach Santiago de Compostela, Paul, who will be supervising the spiritual aspect of my PENNANCE, cannot make up his mind if we need to pack whips so that he can punish me suitably during this part of our pilgrimage, did check Celebrity's website, it seems I cannot pack my hand-cuffs for the event as they are prohibited items on the ship like electrical extension cords and candles !!!! Oh well !!!!!

By the way, are there any other takers for my little spiritual venture ????

Hugz and Mega Mazels to all

Peter

Hey Hobie! So happy that you have decided to stay with us! Peter...YES...Rhode Island is now the 10th state to legalize our marriages! Tom and I have discussed it.....a lot! We will get married....but probably not not right out of the chute! So...is he now my Fiance??? Still waiting for the DOMA decision! But, that being said, a cruise is as good as a honeymoon any time!!!! Peter, have you booked your hotel? We are leaning toward Thistle Marble Arch for the "convenience" of the ride home at night after a few drinks!

We are holding off a while to book the Marble Arch Thistle as it seems senseless to give them your money up-front, especially as the exchange rate is all over the place. We have booked the Harwich Bus with a Thistle pick-up, but then the Cumberland is next door and owned by the Thistle folk so we will be in one of the other. Yes the Thistle or the Cumberland is defintely the way to go as it is next the Shrine of Our Blessed Lady of Flowing Alcohol which is where we will be making Donations and Offerings at night and maybe if lucky, going on our knees in the downstairs sacred Grotto should there be a wonderous apparition for worship purposes !!!

Our Buddy Howard and maybe Hobie ( Glenn ) will be joining us at the Thistle for the convenience of Worship at the Shrine of our Blessed Lady of Flowing Alcohol, so we should have a mini-CC pre-sailing Prayer Meeting here...What Joy !!!! Who will volunteer to supply name tags and Mardi Gras Beads for the event ???? Should we meet in the Grotto ??? Thoughts ???

Mega Hugz

Peter