Celebrity Solstice May 1 2011 Trans Atlantic - Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona

[Petert102]

My partner Paul and I have just booked the Solstice from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona on May 1 2011. It is a tad early to start the Board, but here it is. Be great to hear who else will be booking. We did the Summit last year from San Juan to Barcelona on April and met a ton of great Guys and Gals, it was a fantastic crossing.... a haze of martinis.

 

Martini Bar....Here we come.....Cheers

 

Peter

[cw_cw_cw]

We have booked - a fab price - first time on celebrity.

[Petert102]

We have booked - a fab price - first time on celebrity.

Great, our numbers are growing, there are Doug and David from Dallas, Fred and John from Chicago and us Peter and Paul from NYC and Fire Island. Register on the main board and you will see them there. Our E-mail is Petert102@aol.com Last time, in April 2009, on the T/A on the Celebrity Summit - San Juan to Barcelona we had a blast, about 200+ Gays and we took over the Martini Bar. Book either anytime dining or late dining if you want to take advantage of the Martini Bar nightly frolicks. Fred and John and ourselves are booked in Aqua Class so will be dining in Blu ( late sitting ) Doug and David are in Concierge so will be in the Mair Dining Room. Depending where you are, it is sometimes a good idea to set up a table with like minded folks. Look forward to hearing from you with details. You will really like Celebrity, a very elegant line

 

Hugz

 

Peter

[Wim]

Hello all,

Have a booking on this crossing...always have a great time on Celebrity and really enjoy the crossings..Last year really enjoyed the Summit..See you onboard..Bill from San Diego

[Petert102]

Hello all,

Have a booking on this crossing...always have a great time on Celebrity and really enjoy the crossings..Last year really enjoyed the Summit..See you onboard..Bill from San Diego

Hi Bill

 

We are slowly growing in numbers, look at the main Celebrity Board, I think that we are up to about 10 of us now. Bill are you traveling alone or with someone ? Send me an e-mail and I will shoot you one back with the e-mail addresses of everyone my address is petert102@aol.com . Were you on the April 2009 Summit T/A from San Juan to Barcelona as Paul and I were, but I do not remember anyone from San Diego ?

 

Peter

[Retty2Go]

Hi guys. Peter is right, the list is growing daily. This will be the first cruise for Fred and I. I look forward to meeting more of you here on the board before we meet in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Cheers,

John

[mlbuboy]

Great to find a Roll Call for the May 1,2011 TA! Regular cruisers Tom and Art from LA, Julian from San Francisco and Mike from San Diego have all signed on for the voyage. Hope to see a good crowd in May!

 

Mike

[Petert102]

Great to find a Roll Call for the May 1,2011 TA! Regular cruisers Tom and Art from LA, Julian from San Francisco and Mike from San Diego have all signed on for the voyage. Hope to see a good crowd in May!

 

Mike

Welcum Guys

 

Our Group os getting larger by the day. Look at the "Main Straight Board" Someone has done a linked spreadsheet, with some intelligent "partner spotting" you will see that there are a good number of us on the trip. I can see, from our last T/A on the Summit in April 2001, that we will be taking the Martini Bar over again. Paul and I as well as Fred and John are in Aqua, so will be dining in Blu, what are you guys doing ? If you want to have an "off the Board" communication you can e-mail me at petert102@mac.com which is how Doug and David, Fred and John and Jason and David all communicate and get to know one another before we board.

 

Hugz to all

 

Peter

[mlbuboy]

Hi Peter..Thanks for the message. Looks like we have a few more joining us so needless to say this will be quite the adventure. The May TA is an annual adventure for our little group, although this is our first time aboard a Solstice class. We were aboard Connie last year and met a fantastic group who have all stayed in touch, some of whom are also joining us this year.

 

Looking forward to meeting up!

 

Mike

mlbuboy@yahoo.com

[dougiedt]

Hi Peter..Thanks for the message. Looks like we have a few more joining us so needless to say this will be quite the adventure. The May TA is an annual adventure for our little group, although this is our first time aboard a Solstice class. We were aboard Connie last year and met a fantastic group who have all stayed in touch, some of whom are also joining us this year.

 

Looking forward to meeting up!

 

Mike

mlbuboy@yahoo.com

 

Welcome aboard the board Mike. I'm loving your idea of the *annual* May TA -- something to ponder. We were onboard Eclipse in Dec '10 for a 7-nighter. The Solstice class ships are fabulous! They have lots of wonderful features and it is truly a good build. Specialty restaurants are particularly good (Eclipse features qSine which is worth the entire trip!). We had few complaints about the ship, service or food during our last adventure. We know that May will be just as wonderful.

 

Doug

of Doug & David

Dallas, TX

[mlbuboy]

Doug...thanks for the nice note and the review of the S-Class. Being a bit of a liner nerd, I have followed their journey for a few years now so I am really looking forward to this voyage which I also note is your first TA. I am confident you will wonder why we just don't travel everywhere in such grand fashion. Our annual TA has become quite the ritual and have met some great people in the past.

 

See you soon! M

[JonAlone]

Hi all..

 

I hope to be booking my T/A this weekend but still cant choose between this, Equinox and Adventure of the Seas..

 

I have Elite on Celbrity and Diamond on RCCL but hard to work out which restaurants this permits...??

 

Are there any single guys going on this trip (Ideally under 40 yrs old) ?

 

Is anyone organising a gay dining table?? There were a few last year on AOS and I joined one on the 3rd day and it really made my trip...(and hopefully theirs too.. :))

 

Any advice welcome.... (there were over 60 gay guys on the AOS last year and RCCL even gave us the Star Bar for a party one night AND put it in the newspaper listings!!! Apparently that was a first ... but there were a lot of Diamond Plus gays on board and if they boycotted the champagne bar RCCL shares would have plummeted...;)

 

Jonathan

(London UK)

[Petert102]

Hi all..

 

I hope to be booking my T/A this weekend but still cant choose between this, Equinox and Adventure of the Seas..

 

I have Elite on Celbrity and Diamond on RCCL but hard to work out which restaurants this permits...??

 

Are there any single guys going on this trip (Ideally under 40 yrs old) ?

 

Is anyone organising a gay dining table?? There were a few last year on AOS and I joined one on the 3rd day and it really made my trip...(and hopefully theirs too.. :))

 

Any advice welcome.... (there were over 60 gay guys on the AOS last year and RCCL even gave us the Star Bar for a party one night AND put it in the newspaper listings!!! Apparently that was a first ... but there were a lot of Diamond Plus gays on board and if they boycotted the champagne bar RCCL shares would have plummeted...;)

 

Jonathan

(London UK)

Jon

 

Good to see you here, was wondering if you were going to make the trip from the main boards. My last T/A two years ago was on the Celebrity Summit from San Juan to Barcelona, we had over 200 Gays on board. As this sailing departs from Fort Lauderdale, Gay heartland, I would expect a similar attendance. You may have unrealistic expectation in finding lots of under 40s. In the USA we do not have the long vacations that are customary in Europe, therefore most under 40s tend to take trips of a week or so. If this is what you are looking for, then an Atlantis Charter or a Chumley Bear Cruise may suit you better. Having said that, your selection of Cruise Line is also important. Celebrity is favored by many Gays mainly due to their friendliness and high service standards, but having said that, their guests are from a more mature demographic, If you are looking for a younger "make out" environment, then RCCL may be better for you. On our last T/A, the 200 + guests came from the USA, Canada, Germany ( large fun crowd ) and a few from the UK. Us Guys have been in "Off board" contact, and my initial impression is that the Group on this crossing should be exceptional and I am looking forward to meeting everyone face to face, we have some Guys from the UK already who seem exceptionally nice. Hope all this helps, do not worry about feeling alone, and book flexible dining. In situations in the past where, like you we have had a table from hell, we have found it best to approach the Maitre D' and request a table with "gentlemen" , this has usually worked and we have gotten great tables. Anyway, if you need any help e-mail me at petert102@aol.com

 

Hugz

 

Peter

[mlbuboy]

Hi Jon...As Peter points out for our community the TA's aboard Celebrity tend to lean towards the 40+ crowd with very notable and attractive exceptions. Last year we had probably 100+ on the Constellation ranging from early 30's to 80's and had a wonderful time. Being stuck in Europe thanks to a volcano can be a bonding experience. Select Dining is definitely the way to go so as to not get stuck in static dining times and it allows for pre-dinner cocktails to flow nicely into a full evening. I have not personally done a voyage on Royal but one of our gang has on a number of occasions with his extended family. His comments are that he enjoys them but they tend to cater to families with kids demographic to a greater degree than Celebrity which he finds more attractive when he is traveling just with the boys.

 

Hope to see you on the Solstice, but whatever you do have a wonderful time and a safe journey.

 

Mike

[JonAlone]

I am interested too to know why you guys chose Solstice over Equinox ..

 

Equinox is about $150 cheaper and I think the route is better...

[Petert102]

I am interested too to know why you guys chose Solstice over Equinox ..

 

Equinox is about $150 cheaper and I think the route is better...

Jon

 

You are buying in the UK market and have different pricing and discounts than we have available to us in the USA. For us, Solstice has consistently been cheaper, offering discounts for residence in particular States, or occupational discounts for Military, Firefighter, or as in my case, Police. In our case we have been able to take advantage of $1,200.00 worth of price reductions since we booked and Aqua Class is currently costing just $100 per day each, give or take a Dollar or two. Another factor is the Barcelona end port, it is cheaper to get home from there and easier to get flights to other places in Europe. Plus you are not plagued with the endless strikes that seem to dominate all travel to Italy, not to mention the truly appalling italian airlines. We are flying to London afterwards and got an incredible deal on BA City Flyer into London City and a great price on Air Lingus home from Heathrow to JFK via Shannon. Flights back home for us from North America are much more expensive from Italy than from Spain. With T/As, it is the sea journey experience with long lazy sea days to unwind, de-stress and relax, ( not the Ports of Call, which are a pleasant bonus,) that are important. Some people even fly straight home from Barcelona as soon as the ship docks.

 

Peter

[mlbuboy]

Jon...once again Peter beat me to it. Indeed, it was just a better deal for me as a single traveler to do Solstice. We have been to Florence, Rome et al and the Spanish route appealed to our little group more.

 

Peter...when are you flying out of BCN to LCY? I booked that same flight for Monday, May 16 to catch my US bound flight on 17 May.

[JonAlone]

Last year I flew from City to San Juan via Madrid and flew back from Barcelona into City.. I live by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge so City airport is only 15mins from here... City also has a 20min check-in rather than 2 hours at Heathrow or Gatwick .. It is a great service and I like the small eurpoean hopper planes.. Luggage is ready quickly too and no endless march through the terminal to get out ... You will be out the airport within 30mins of landing!

 

How long are u in London? There is a particular club I go to where firefighter / police uniforms go down a treat!! :D (more so if in leather...)

[Petert102]

Last year I flew from City to San Juan via Madrid and flew back from Barcelona into City.. I live by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge so City airport is only 15mins from here... City also has a 20min check-in rather than 2 hours at Heathrow or Gatwick .. It is a great service and I like the small eurpoean hopper planes.. Luggage is ready quickly too and no endless march through the terminal to get out ... You will be out the airport within 30mins of landing!

 

How long are u in London? There is a particular club I go to where firefighter / police uniforms go down a treat!! :D (more so if in leather...)

Guys, we are active today

 

Mike - Paul and I are on the 11am BA Cityflyer flight on Saturday May14, the day we dock in Barcelona. We are staying in London until Wednesday May 18 and will be at the Marble Arch Thistle.

 

Jon - Gasp !!!! the last thing I need is to show up at a Club in my work clothes (uniform). If you like that, then join us for New York's Gay Pride March. I always march with GOAL (Gay Officers Action League ) a riot of fun. As I am in the Ceremonial Unit, I have to see that everyone is looking sharp, getting a Gay Feather Boa ( classified as an unauthorized adornment ) off a ferocious Dyke Cop should be classified as hazzardous duty. Jon may be if you show up on our cruise, I will bring you a gift of a used (unwashed naturally) NYPD uniform shirt worn on duty by me !!!!! LOL

 

Mega Hugz

 

Peter

[Petert102]

Last year I flew from City to San Juan via Madrid and flew back from Barcelona into City.. I live by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge so City airport is only 15mins from here... City also has a 20min check-in rather than 2 hours at Heathrow or Gatwick .. It is a great service and I like the small eurpoean hopper planes.. Luggage is ready quickly too and no endless march through the terminal to get out ... You will be out the airport within 30mins of landing!

 

How long are u in London? There is a particular club I go to where firefighter / police uniforms go down a treat!! :D (more so if in leather...)

You have another reason then to take the Solstice, you fly back to London City from Barcelona whereas you cannot from Rome

 

Peter

[JonAlone]

Actually, I tend to use Swiss Air and fly via Geneva or Zurich to and from anywhere in Europe.. even the stop over of an hour makes it easier than taking the train to Gatwick or car to Heathrow...

[RSVE821]

Bob and Don joining you aboard the Solstice TA. We are a couple in our 50's (sorry Jon, lol) taking our 25th cruise and 4th TA. First time aboard a Solstice class ship and especially excited to be trying Aqua Class and dining in Blu. I'll check in with the main roll call soon.

 

Bob

[Petert102]

Bob and Don joining you aboard the Solstice TA. We are a couple in our 50's (sorry Jon, lol) taking our 25th cruise and 4th TA. First time aboard a Solstice class ship and especially excited to be trying Aqua Class and dining in Blu. I'll check in with the main roll call soon.

 

Bob

Welcome Bob and Don. You will be joining Fed and John from Madison WI and ourselves Peter and Paul from NYC in Blu, so glad that we will be well represented there. Look forward to meeting you Guys in the Martini Bar and some fun dinners

 

Peter

[RSVE821]

Thanks for the welcome, Peter. I'm originally from WI (Milwaukee area) so I like your friends already!

[aireboy]

Hi everyone! I caught your thread and wanted to chime in. I'm Chuck though I'm not on the Solstice cruise, I'm on NCL Epic May 7th. However, I manage a gay guesthouse in Ft. Lauderdale. Anyone interested in a pre-cruise stay go to www.chestonhouse.com Let me know you saw this thread for a discount. I also have an inexpensive shuttle from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami at $15.00 per person and reliable! www.ridesas.com

Bon Voyage!! :)