Celebrity Reflection - Nov 1, 2013

[vesselvirgins]

Do they now allow non Aqua-spa folks to eat in Blu? Last year they did not allow that.

[Schplinky]

They allow suite people to, on a space available basis.

[vulcan1971]

Hard to believe we are in the final stretch. I did some last minute shopping this weekend as well as some errands. Clothes are coming out of the closet, back from the cleaners, and laundered at home. Going through my checklists and some trial packing this week. Also some last minute printing of important paperwork. I'm tying up loose ends at work. I'm working this whole week until the shuttle service picks me up on Friday to deliver me to the JFK airport where I meet Iain. Best of luck and safe travels to all this week and next as we make our way to Rome. (Craig, hope you are having a brilliant time on the Norwegian Jade!)

 

 

Walter

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE network using Tapatalk 4 Pro

[Schplinky]

Safe travels to you. I used to be someone who loved packing but I've lost that talent. Our tables for things to bring along are quite empty at this point!

[vulcan1971]

Safe travels to you. I used to be someone who loved packing but I've lost that talent. Our tables for things to bring along are quite empty at this point!

 

Lee -

 

Maybe you enjoy the thrill of working under pressure, but you also have a whole weekend before you leave that I don't have since we arrive in Rome at noon on Saturday. I'm actually a bit behind myself and running to catch up. My whole life (both work and home) usually keep me so busy that I am never really ahead. Looking forward to slowing down once I step on that flight to Rome. I picked up one of those generic variations of a PM pain reliever to assist with falling asleep on our night flight to Rome. We fly non-stop from JFK departing at 9:40 PM to FCO arriving at 12:05 PM. If all goes well, we should be in our apartment by 3:00 PM and start to unpack and venture out into our neighborhood. Cannot wait to try my first authentic Italian dish, be it pizza, pasta, gelato... or all three!

 

 

Walter

[Schplinky]

Mine will definitely be pasta!

[sdbart]

Lee -

 

Maybe you enjoy the thrill of working under pressure, but you also have a whole weekend before you leave that I don't have since we arrive in Rome at noon on Saturday. I'm actually a bit behind myself and running to catch up. My whole life (both work and home) usually keep me so busy that I am never really ahead. Looking forward to slowing down once I step on that flight to Rome. I picked up one of those generic variations of a PM pain reliever to assist with falling asleep on our night flight to Rome. We fly non-stop from JFK departing at 9:40 PM to FCO arriving at 12:05 PM. If all goes well, we should be in our apartment by 3:00 PM and start to unpack and venture out into our neighborhood. Cannot wait to try my first authentic Italian dish, be it pizza, pasta, gelato... or all three!

 

 

Walter

 

All three, Walter! Other than last minute stuff, we're all packed. I'm notifying my credit card and ATM companies today, stopping by the bank and getting extra cat food (we're going to miss the fur babies). We leave for the airport at 4:00 am Friday; Bob plans to stay up all night. I probably won't be sleeping much, either. We arrive in Rome at 7:45 Friday morning, though I checked and the United flights have been arriving early. We should be in our apartment at 10:00. It should be mild—in the 70s all week in Rome; perfect sightseeing weather. Safe travels to all!

[vulcan1971]

All three, Walter! Other than last minute stuff, we're all packed. I'm notifying my credit card and ATM companies today, stopping by the bank and getting extra cat food (we're going to miss the fur babies). We leave for the airport at 4:00 am Friday; Bob plans to stay up all night. I probably won't be sleeping much, either. We arrive in Rome at 7:45 Friday morning, though I checked and the United flights have been arriving early. We should be in our apartment at 10:00. It should be mild—in the 70s all week in Rome; perfect sightseeing weather. Safe travels to all!

 

Bart -

 

I think you meant to say you are arriving in Rome on Saturday morning at 07:45. Either you are travelling on the next generation concord or you are already sleep deprived! :D

 

 

Walter

[sdbart]

Bart -

 

I think you meant to say you are arriving in Rome on Saturday morning at 07:45. Either you are travelling on the next generation concord or you are already sleep deprived! :D

 

 

Walter

 

Looks like I'm going to need you to keep me in line, Walter. ;) Yeah, we arrive on Saturday. But in my defense, It was 5:00 am when I wrote that and it will still be Friday in California when we land in Rome. I envy Bob who is not worrying about any of this—he knows I'll be stressing the details for both of us!

[jb_yvr]

All three, Walter! Other than last minute stuff, we're all packed. I'm notifying my credit card and ATM companies today, stopping by the bank and getting extra cat food (we're going to miss the fur babies). We leave for the airport at 4:00 am Friday; Bob plans to stay up all night. I probably won't be sleeping much, either. We arrive in Rome at 7:45 Friday morning, though I checked and the United flights have been arriving early. We should be in our apartment at 10:00. It should be mild—in the 70s all week in Rome; perfect sightseeing weather. Safe travels to all!

 

I have to march to the beat of the NYC/Silicon Valley drum which does not take kindly to vacations.

 

We kind of have the opposite type itinerary by leaving very late at night - our flight to London only leaves around 10pm so I still have a day at work before fun starts.

 

It will be fun though as we 1/4 of the 12 person first class cabin on the British Airways flight - so I hope they are well stocked with Champagne :D

 

My first bit of excitement will be to see if the supplied pajamas fit me!

 

Half of our 9 1/2 hour flight takes us way up north across the mind-boggling vastness of the planet called Canada.

 

Normally by the time I see Godthab (in Greenland) on the map I am sick and tired of flying and then we still have to go past Keflavik (in Iceland) and then I just want to get off the plane.

 

I cannot sleep on a plane so it is pure hell. Unfortunately we arrive in London just too late to take a shower in the arrivals lounge.

 

After a couple of hours of layover we need to do the LHR-FCO portion which is another 2 1/2 hours of flying.

 

We only get to our hotel in Rome around 9pm - just in time for dinner. Then one short day of doing our favourite Roman things.

 

By the time we board the ship and you guys see us you will all be acclimated and our jet lag will probably just kick into full gear. :eek:

[jb_yvr]

Mine will definitely be pasta!

 

Mine too - and with my luck I will probably get bolognese sauce all over my clothes :D

[Schplinky]

Mine too - and with my luck I will probably get bolognese sauce all over my clothes :D

 

 

Come sit next to me. You'll look clean and tidy by comparison.

[sdbart]

Come sit next to me. You'll look clean and tidy by comparison.

 

Bob is taking a bib—seriously!

[vulcan1971]

I just got back from lunch and nearly choked on my soda while catching up on these amusing posts. Thanks! See you all soon.

[rockmartian]

I'm jealous of all of you that are leaving earlier than we are! Kim and I are not leaving until Tuesday night from ATL thru London and finally FCO. We all have an exhausting trip ahead of us but I find that the excitement of landing in Europe makes me easily forget/ignore any jet lag I have.

Of course, a couple xanex on the flight always helps!

Have a great journey everyone and see you onboard!!!

Ted

[sdbart]

I'm jealous of all of you that are leaving earlier than we are! Kim and I are not leaving until Tuesday night from ATL thru London and finally FCO. We all have an exhausting trip ahead of us but I find that the excitement of landing in Europe makes me easily forget/ignore any jet lag I have.

Of course, a couple xanex on the flight always helps!

Have a great journey everyone and see you onboard!!!

Ted

 

I'm lucky as I can usually sleep (at least a little) on planes. Remember to NOT take a nap when you arrive, but get outside for a couple of hours in the daylight. Apparently being outside helps your body fight jet lag. Three more days! Looking forward to meeting everyone.

[vulcan1971]

I'm jealous of all of you that are leaving earlier than we are! Kim and I are not leaving until Tuesday night from ATL thru London and finally FCO. We all have an exhausting trip ahead of us but I find that the excitement of landing in Europe makes me easily forget/ignore any jet lag I have.

Of course, a couple xanex on the flight always helps!

Have a great journey everyone and see you onboard!!!

Ted

 

Ted -

 

From departure to return to work, I am using 15 vacation days. I didn't have the luxury of my trip falling during our Thanksgiving holiday like it did last year (only 13 days used). What we gained this year was a whole week in Rome (last year we arrived the day before the cruise departed). Last year's trip involved a connection in Dublin on Aer Lingus. The flight overll went smoothly, but I didn't get much sleep. I powered through that first day and went to a cocktail party that evening on the rooftop deck at the hotel across the street from us to meet many of the cruisers, about half gay. The following day we woke as if we had never lost any sleep and enjoyed the entire cruise with no jetlag. This year, I decided to book a non-stop flight from JFK (8.5 hours) that leaves around 10 PM. I will be sleeping on this flight. :cool:

 

 

I'm lucky as I can usually sleep (at least a little) on planes. Remember to NOT take a nap when you arrive, but get outside for a couple of hours in the daylight. Apparently being outside helps your body fight jet lag. Three more days! Looking forward to meeting everyone.

 

Bart -

 

Good advice... also, drink as much water as you can stand to get your body rehydrated after being on those flights.

[Schplinky]

Ted -

 

From departure to return to work, I am using 15 vacation days. I didn't have the luxury of my trip falling during our Thanksgiving holiday like it did last year (only 13 days used). What we gained this year was a whole week in Rome (last year we arrived the day before the cruise departed). Last year's trip involved a connection in Dublin on Aer Lingus. The flight overll went smoothly, but I didn't get much sleep. I powered through that first day and went to a cocktail party that evening on the rooftop deck at the hotel across the street from us to meet many of the cruisers, about half gay. The following day we woke as if we had never lost any sleep and enjoyed the entire cruise with no jetlag. This year, I decided to book a non-stop flight from JFK (8.5 hours) that leaves around 10 PM. I will be sleeping on this flight. :cool:

 

 

 

 

Bart -

 

Good advice... also, drink as much water as you can stand to get your body rehydrated after being on those flights.

 

 

Good tip on the water. A lot of the symptoms people attribute to jet lag are really just dehydration.

 

I find stuff like Advil PM can leave me groggy so I half the dose.

[sdbart]

Ted -

 

From departure to return to work, I am using 15 vacation days. I didn't have the luxury of my trip falling during our Thanksgiving holiday like it did last year (only 13 days used). What we gained this year was a whole week in Rome (last year we arrived the day before the cruise departed). Last year's trip involved a connection in Dublin on Aer Lingus. The flight overll went smoothly, but I didn't get much sleep. I powered through that first day and went to a cocktail party that evening on the rooftop deck at the hotel across the street from us to meet many of the cruisers, about half gay. The following day we woke as if we had never lost any sleep and enjoyed the entire cruise with no jetlag. This year, I decided to book a non-stop flight from JFK (8.5 hours) that leaves around 10 PM. I will be sleeping on this flight. :cool:

 

 

Bart -

 

Good advice... also, drink as much water as you can stand to get your body rehydrated after being on those flights.

 

 

I do, Walter. We each carry a water bottle in our back packs (we fill it after security). A lot of people flying in the front of the plane fill up on the included booze, not realizing it dehydrates them. Two years ago, we arrived at the airport here at 5:00 am, flew to JFK, then to BCN. We took the airport bus to our hotel in Barcelona, showered in the bathroom of friends staying at the same hotel (our room wasn't ready yet), had breakfast and then did a walking tour of the Barri Gotic, where Bob managed to get himself locked in the cathedral. Then went for tapas and more touring. A group from our roll call went to dinner late and everyone was amazed that we were still going strong at 11:00 pm. Especially Bob, who had just had open-heart surgery a couple months before. We were up early the next morning and off for further adventures in Barca.

 

I never got off more than 10 work days at a time, so our European trips were never more than two weeks long. We'd leave after work and I'd be back at work the morning after our arrival home (usually late at night). I guess my mind just willed me to do it.

[vulcan1971]

 

I like the suggestion about wrapping the tip for room service around some chocolate... what I usually do is go to the bank before the cruise and get a bunch of $2 bills as I was told by someone that the crew really get a kick out of them...

 

 

Randy -

 

Just so you won't feel alone on this trip, when I stopped at the bank to break up some big bills for smaller US bills, I inquired to see if they happened to have any $2 bills. I was in luck and purchased several. Now I just have to pick up some miniature chocolate candy bars.

 

 

Walter

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE network using Tapatalk 4 Pro

[AndersonIslander]

Randy -

 

Just so you won't feel alone on this trip, when I stopped at the bank to break up some big bills for smaller US bills, I inquired to see if they happened to have any $2 bills. I was in luck and purchased several. Now I just have to pick up some miniature chocolate candy bars.

 

Walter

 

Now if we could just come up with some 3 dollar bills! oh...wait... LOL

 

Randy

[Schplinky]

The lowest bills we could bring from Canada would be $5 ones. We've occasionally gone into the casino and broken a larger bill down to smaller ones. They always seem happy to do it. Guest Services has done it as well.

[rhertzberg]

The day has finally arrived!! Wasn't sure for health reasons that it would happen, but it's a go. Waiting for the driver to take us to Miami and our flights to Italy for a week and then the cruise. Look forward to meeting. Safe travels to you all.

 

Bob and Bill

[Schplinky]

Travel safely! Looking forward to meeting you

[sdbart]

Travel safely! Looking forward to meeting you

 

Safe travels, everyone. We leave in eight hours; the trip is finally here. There were a couple of times I thought about canceling, due to health problems, but we're doing it! See everyone in Rome or on the ship.