Seeking input on Celebrity Millennium-Alaska-Pied Piper

[LACruiserGuy]

Did anyone sail with Pied Piper on the August 2011 cruise on the Celebriy Millennium? We are planning on doing the August 2012 trip and just wanted to get an idea of how many people sailed with the gourp on the trip this past summer, and what excursions the group offered. This will be our first cruise with Pied Piper.

[almostavirgin]

Did anyone sail with Pied Piper on the August 2011 cruise on the Celebriy Millennium? We are planning on doing the August 2012 trip and just wanted to get an idea of how many people sailed with the gourp on the trip this past summer, and what excursions the group offered. This will be our first cruise with Pied Piper.

 

 

I almost got into this cruise, but I guess I inquired quite late. I asked PP to have me in their room-sharing program, filled the online form, got an email back from them asking which room I was interested in, but never heard back from them anymore, not even a "you're too f******* ugly to have a match!" LOL. Oh well, I guess that's their way of saying "we found no match".

 

Anyway, I'll try to sign-up earlier for this cruise next year, as I really am interested, so any feedback from those who were in the same cruise would be appreciated!

[LACruiserGuy]

@Almostavirgin - I share your curiosity in getting information from anyone out there who was on this cruise in August or any prior Alaska cruise with Pied Piper just to get an idea of what to expect. Never having been on a PP cruise before, I'm guessing that the larger the group is the more group social activities and excursions will be available. It's my understanding that they have to have at least 10 people in the PP group to have an on board leader to organize gatherings and excursions.

[MattInFLL]

I can't comment on Alaska, but I've done two PP cruises before and they really go out of their way to make the experience a good one. They organize special get togethers and excursions, and you are all seated together in the dining room. I really wouldn't worry.

[Clay Clayton]

Can't talk about last year or even two years ago, but we did Alaska with PP in August 2003 (:eek: damn we are getting old!). Seems to me there were about 30 or so in the group. As I recall, we didn't have any private excursions, but that may have been because I had already set up some for the group of five we were traveling with. We did sit together at dinner and as I recall, they suggested that folks rotate among the three or four PP tables so that everyone could meet everyone else. Also, we regularly met for pre-dinner cocktails.

 

While it certainly wasn't an Atlantis type cruise, we enjoyed it and would go with PP again if the price was as good as theirs was for that cruise. As I recall, we saved $200 or $300 pp over the best I could do online.

[almostavirgin]

@Almostavirgin - I share your curiosity in getting information from anyone out there who was on this cruise in August or any prior Alaska cruise with Pied Piper just to get an idea of what to expect. Never having been on a PP cruise before, I'm guessing that the larger the group is the more group social activities and excursions will be available. It's my understanding that they have to have at least 10 people in the PP group to have an on board leader to organize gatherings and excursions.

 

An Alaska cruise, whether purely gay or just a group, is in my bucket list, so I'll be watching this thread. Next year will be ideal, as I'll be reaching a milestone that year!

 

Thanks also for the inputs, Matt and Clay!

 

-Ray

[MattInFLL]

Actually, I forgot I did Alaska with a different travel agent/gay group, and like PP, they made sure we all sat together, had cocktails together, and there was at least one joint shore excursion. But forgetting the gay or straight thing, Alaska ranks as one of my all time favorite cruises - simply spectacular.

[rlo4934]

My partner and I are also considering the Alaska cruise this year with Pied Piper. We did our first Pied Piper cruise (Mediterranean Aug 2011) and had a great time. There was 50 in our group, we all sat together at dinner, met for drinks before and after. No private excursions, but they did have "recommended" excursions which our PP host would also take. Our host Carl was awesome. He knew the guides and would give us more insight at the different cities we visited. He also arranged bridge tours and also hosted a couple open bar cocktail parties. We're also looking at the Panamal Canal cruise in October with Pied Piper.

[raysdad512]

My partner and I are doing Alaska this august with the aquafest group. Another option you may want to check out.

[LACruiserGuy]

The dates for the AquaFest Alaska cruise don't work for us, mainly because my partner is a teacher and it would conflict with the first week of school. I would also be a little concerned about booking a first time Alaska cruise in late August, early September. Based on what I've read on CC, and taking into consideration that long term weather forecasting is unpredictable, that period is considered shoulder season and the weather has the potential of being an issue, e.g. rainy weather and rougher seas in the Gulf of Alaksa.

[COMBOY]

Did anyone sail with Pied Piper on the August 2011 cruise on the Celebriy Millennium? We are planning on doing the August 2012 trip and just wanted to get an idea of how many people sailed with the gourp on the trip this past summer, and what excursions the group offered. This will be our first cruise with Pied Piper.

 

I did this cruise several years ago with PP on the Celebrity Mercury. We had about 35 people. Mostly men; however, there were a few women couples and straight friends. We all met each evening for pre-dinner cocktails and were seated at in the dining room all together at several different tables. They hosted a few other private cocktail parties as well arranged optional group shore tours in the various Alaskan ports. PP arranged in Juneau a salmon BBQ in a private home overlooking the bay with the local GLBT community which was quite nice. We all did the narrow gauge railroad out of Skagway to the Yukon and back which was quite fun and interesting. We also did a private bus tours of Juneau with a visit to Mendenhall Glacier. Everyone seen to hang out in the disco after the show in the evening and we kinda took over the place since Alaskan cruises are not known for wild nightlife. All in all in was a great time. Everyone was really nice and friendly. The weather was overcast, rainy and cold until we hit Ketchikan and then it because sunny and warm. The scenery is simply spectacular. I generally think the Alaskan group ranges from 30 to maybe 50-60 people, but I really don't think you'd want to large group since this cruise is very port intensive. You don't have to do anything with the group if you don't want. Everything is optional. I would highly recommend it.

[beachmonkey]

I went with a friend on the Pied Piper cruise to Alaska in 2002 and had a great time. There were over 100 of us and the activities were a lot of fun.

 

Robert