movedeast

On 10/10/2023 at 12:32 AM, tjunmin said:

Hey there, Ray and Steve! Thom and Brian here, from Ontario, Canada. I was going to start a roll call for this cruise, but glad to see that you got it going! If I'm not mistaken, this cruise starts on December 10, right?

What are your plans for shore excursions? I have not started looking into them yet. If you are interested in doing private tours, as opposed to ship tours, let me know!

Thom

Hi Thom and Brian!  Sorry for the delay in response.  We look forward to meeting you onboard.  You are right... we depart on the 10th.  I'll try to update the roll call title.  We'll be arriving in Tampa on December 9... that date stuck in my mind.  Thanks for asking the question about shorex.  Steve and I haven't dug into those details yet.  Please let us know what looks interesting to you.

Hi everyone.  Ray and Steve from the New York area looking forward to our first cruise on Connie and to ports in the southern Caribbean. The itinerary looks fantastic. We're big fans of Celebrity's vacations having made many lifelong friends.  This is our first cruise since 2019.  We are very excited to get away and relax.  See you in the Solarium!   Let us know if you plan to be on board.

My partner and I are on the 24 Feb sailing. Coming in from the NY area. Looking forward to meeting up.

A group of four friends from DC area joining (sourced from the same site). They are in Aqua Class.

Anyone who was on the fence about purchasing trip insurance, might want to if sailing to Labadee. There are several cruise specific policies available that offer $750+ for itinerary changes. You might actually make money on the policy. Lol

Does RCL's Cruise Care have such a clause? If not any other carrier suggestions?

Hi Brad, I logged into another site this week and connected with two more guys who will be sailing with us. They're from East Lansing Michigan. Our group is growing!

Hi Brad! We look forward to meeting you and Mary Ann too!

Hi there. Thanks for posting the roll call for this sailing. Ray and Steve here. We are looking forward to returning to the Silhouette. The western Carib is our favorite itinerary. We like to maximize our beach time and will in Cozumel, Cayman and Labadee. We'll be searching for excursions in Falmouth. (Last time in port we wasted the day by staying near the ship). We are flying into FLL on Friday the 4th to get vacation started early. Looking forward to meeting up at the first LGBT cocktail hour!

Hi Andrew! Glad you'll be sailing! We'll be looking for you.

Roberto - I love the idea of everyone getting together the first night. Steve and I are in!

Peter - You provided a lot of good food for thought. If the weather holds up (currently predicting 20% rain, 83 degrees) perhaps we can look at ST03 - the self guided six (6) hour excursion to St John. The ship gets you to Cruz Bay and back - the rest is up to the passenger. We are big fans of Trunk Bay. There are showers, snack bar, snorkel rentals and lots of white sandy beach to lay down on. It's $35 per person and leaves the ship at 8:30 am.

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/mycelebrity/packaging/bookingExcursionDetails.do?productCode=STO3&componentType=1&ComponentCode=STO3

Ray

Big day in St. Thomas when we are there. Beaches will be crowded. The ships that are scheduled to be in port are:

Carnival Dream,

Carnival Freedom,

Noordam,

Oasis Of The Seas,

Celebrity Reflection

Hi Peter, we haven't sorted that out yet. We've stayed in St. John before and I feel comfortable getting there and back (ferry/taxi). With an early start we can take a ferry back before they get crowded ... so there's a little bit of risk (but that also depends on the number of ships in port). I haven't look at the excursions thoroughly. As an alternative I've also been scanning the web for St. Thomas resorts with nice beaches/restaurants that allow day visitors. What do you think?

31 Days left to go!

Checked in, luggage tags received here too. I just returned from 10 days in Los Angeles (temps were 80). Its 12 degrees here in NY and we had 11" of snow last night - fantastic.

Remaining check list:

Wine: Considering a wine package and thinking about bringing wine/bubbly on board for the restaurant or room (corkage fee - $25 bottle if consumed in restaurant).

Attire: Accessories for tuxes; some new cruise wear.

Specialty Dining: We want one night at Murano (love it) and we'll aim for one of the formal nights. Sending a note to the group about Qsine (never tried it). Also on our list - Champagne high tea in Murano (afternoons between 4-6).

Formal nights for our sailing are: 2/23, 2/28 per Marco at Celebrity.

Shore days: San Juan under discussion. St Thomas - trip to St. John beaches if time allows. St. Martin Orient Bay - was a hit with us - wouldn't be upset if we did it again.

R

Snowing here in New York City... we expect to have between 5 to 9" before it ends tomorrow afternoon.

Tomorrow, Friday, Jan 3 - its 50 days until we sail.

On-line check-in allows passengers to order luggage tags. Something to do on a snowy day.

Have a great weekend!

So glad you joined the thread. 65 days until we fly to Miami... There are holidays and a little work travel between now and then. I'm hoping time will pass by quickly

Question for all: How do you plan to dress on formal nights? A key reason why we enjoy Celebrity, passengers for the most part respect smart casual on regular dining nights; and are prepared to dress themselves on formal nights. We have favored suits or dinner jackets on the latter. This year we're going to step it up and both wear tuxedos. We are excited.

Hi Dru and Dave! Glad you posted to the roll call. Steve and I are looking forward to meeting you. We have another couple from the Boston area cruising with us on this trip.

Peter, our group of six is in Aqua Class as well - so we'll likely see you in Blu! We've been wanting to try Qsine and since you mention its fun with a group - perhaps we'll give it a try!

Danny, we have tried Tuscan Grill and Murano on past cruises. Murano has become a favorite of ours. We try to get a reservation on one of the formal nights.

I'm headed out into the snow to run a few errands! Nice to spend a minute thinking about the Caribbean.

Final payment in! Less than 75 days to go! Glad you are sailing Danny and Hans. We are looking forward to meeting you.

Ray & Steve

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Peter and Richard - glad to hear you'll be on Celebrity Reflection. We are Ray (49) and Steven (45) from New York. Our other cruise companions are all around the same age and have similar cruising history (this will be our eighth). We are looking forward to meeting you.

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Just checking in guys. Anyone booked for this itinerary?

Three fun-loving couples have just booked. One from New York, another from Washington DC and a third from Boston (a fourth pair from Toronto is sailing with Atlantis - those devils!). We are gathering in Miami to cruise again around the Eastern Caribbean. We are sure others are planning to be on board - and we hope to meet you. All of us are in Aqua Class. Perhaps we may see you dining with your beau in Blu. Or maybe we'll see you at GLBT cocktail hour, staying cool in the Solarium, working out in the gym or sunning on the Solstice deck. Let us know if we can expect you. Bon voyage!! :)