Millenium Transatlantic 11/18/05

[Jerry & Kirk]

Ahoymatey,

 

Sorry I led you down the garden path concerning the Majestic Hotel. Our TA (new to us) told me it would cost about $100 USD per night. I think I'll have to have a heart to heart with her. She also mentioned some good places to eat. I wonder if we can trust her judgement???

 

Has anybody done research on travel insurance?...buy it from the cruiseline? We've always bought insurance from Access America or Travel Guard....just because....

 

Later.....J & K

[joeyanddavid]

 

Has anybody done research on travel insurance?...buy it from the cruiseline? We've always bought insurance from Access America or Travel Guard....just because....

 

Later.....J & K

 

Hey if you guys are Registered Domestic Partners, you might want to check into a company that also recognizes that fact.

For our cruise to the Med we bought from a company HTW worldwide which has policies specificaly for DP.

I found them by doing my research on http://www. insuremytrip.com

 

hope this helps

[Faygelah]

Joey:

 

I wish we had thought of that. We already bought insurance. We're actually marrried (we were married in Toronto) and will be traveling in Spain, where our marriage will be recognized. I wonder if that will make a difference.....

 

PD

[joeyanddavid]

Joey:

 

I wish we had thought of that. We already bought insurance. We're actually marrried (we were married in Toronto) and will be traveling in Spain, where our marriage will be recognized. I wonder if that will make a difference.....

 

PD

Difference in? I didnt understand the question, We are planning a marrage Ritual in Barcelona ourselves. Then again in Vancouver, we'll keep going until the US Supreme Court gets a clue!

[Faygelah]

I was wondering-- a little too optimistically, probably -- if something happened while we were in Spain, for example, they would have to honor any part of the contract that specified spouse or husband. We should have looked at insurance that specified domestic partners.

[Brucemcdou]

We haven't been worried about coverage as a couple because we're always travelling together, and usually the important coverages key off of "travel companion" or some similar defined term for the person you're traveling with. We don't buy travel insurance until after we've made the final payment - we don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for the insurance until the cruise cost is non-refundable. But, because of Joey's comments I've checked a couple of policies. Interestingly, Celebrity's CruiseCare coverage includes Domestic Partners, which they define to include not only those who are financially interdependent (joint bank accts, etc.), those who have lived together more than six months, but also those who are registered as domestic partners or the equivalent (Civil Union?) in a jurisdiction that permits such registration. Just a thought for those of us who are not legally married (yet) but are registered.

 

Faygelah - (I know I shouldn't give legal advice outside my area of expertise, but...) your insurance coverage will be dependent on the contractual language, as interpreted in the state where the insurer is located - look for a choice of law clause in the contract. So the fact that something might happen in, say, Spain where your Canadian marriage may be recognized doesn't affect whether your insurance company has to pay up. Your insurer could be located in Oklahoma, and a Tulsa court will be looking at the contractual language to determine coverage. Sorry :o

[joeyanddavid]

 

Faygelah - Your insurer could be located in Oklahoma, and a Tulsa court will be looking at the contractual language to determine coverage. Sorry :o

 

Faygelah,

That was my point thats why I went with a California Registered company.

[Jerry & Kirk]

Hi all,

 

Joey and David....Thanks for the insurance information. We will certainly look into it.

 

Bruce.....We had NO idea that Celebrity offered Domestic Partnership insurance. We'll look into that too.

 

Joey and David (side-stepping).......... What ever happened to the G/L gathering for local Los Angeles cruise buffs? We haven't followed the boards on that subject so we're in the dark. Sure was nice of Hobie to offer his place to meet, not to mention his invite to join him at Gay Pride in Long Beach. Do you know of anybody that took him up on his offer?

 

More later.....Jerry (and Kirk)

[joeyanddavid]

 

Joey and David (side-stepping).......... What ever happened to the G/L gathering for local Los Angeles cruise buffs? We haven't followed the boards on that subject so we're in the dark. Sure was nice of Hobie to offer his place to meet, not to mention his invite to join him at Gay Pride in Long Beach. Do you know of anybody that took him up on his offer?

 

More later.....Jerry (and Kirk)

We walked by but didnt see anyone.. we watch teh parade from the Park

[ahoymatey3]

Ahoymatey,

 

Sorry I led you down the garden path concerning the Majestic Hotel. Our TA (new to us) told me it would cost about $100 USD per night. I think I'll have to have a heart to heart with her. She also mentioned some good places to eat. I wonder if we can trust her judgement???

 

Has anybody done research on travel insurance?...buy it from the cruiseline? We've always bought insurance from Access America or Travel Guard....just because....

 

Later.....J & K

 

Your TA may have a special rate. It does look like a very nice 5-star.

[diknjoemia]

A big wave from Miami. Dick and Joe here. We are cruising with Joe's Mom and a friend of her's, as well as our friend Peter and his buddy. We met Peter at FOD meetings on a previous cruise. We will be adjusting to Barcelona time and a bit of siteseeing the day/night before; but hope to see you all, on board. This looks like a real "family" event.:) .

Dick and Joe

[diknjoemia]

There is no way to do justice to Rome in a day. We booked a ship tour by default. As I remember, Rome is about 90 minutes away from the port. If for some reason (strike, traffic, accidents, or volcanic eruptions :eek: ) we are delayed ; at least there's a better chance of not waving bye bye to the "Millie"

from our approaching tour bus.

 

All the other ports, we plan on walking around ourselves, unless someone has a better idea.

 

Dick and Joe

[ahoymatey3]

Welcome DIck, Joe & company. Glad you found us over here. There does seem like a lot of family on this cruise. Should be fun. I wonder if X will have a FOD party for us, or if we really need one. Seems like a pretty sociable group anyway.

 

When are you arriving in Barcelona? What hotel? As you can see from the messages above, we are planning a ‘boys night out’ on Thursday. Hope you can join us.

 

Finally, which excursion in Rome did you decide on? I’m still undecided. Sorry for the 20 questions.

 

[Brucemcdou]

Another welcome to Dick and Joe, Joe's Mom and friend, and Peter and his Buddy (phew!) Glad to see so many family will be on board, although I'd never doubt that on any Celebrity cruise!

 

I think we'll end up with FOD meetings by default anyway when we meet onboard for drinks if we haven't met up earlier in Barcelona. The first three days of this cruise are so port-intensive, with stops where we'd really like to see things, that I imagine we won't have much energy for staying up late. Once we have our first day at sea we'll really be able to catch our collective breath. Does anyone know who the Cruise Director is on the Millenium? Of course, that could change before late November, but some are more family-friendly than others.

 

I agree that if somebody wants to go to Rome, they should use a ship's tour or a very reliable private tour guide. I've read about people trying to take the train back and forth on their own and getting stuck in Rome due to an unannounced strike or a breakdown.

[ahoymatey3]

I wish they would have 1 ship's tour (besides the 'on your own') that did not include the vatican. That's my whine for the day. ;)

[diknjoemia]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. We selected the "Imperial Rome" tour. Joe and I have been to Rome before, but Joe's Mom and Friend have not. That one seems to hit many of the high points, or as many as can be jammed into 9-10 hours.

 

We would be for FOD meetings, even if it's just for an informal coctail hour arranged at a convenient time. We did this on a "crossing" a couple years back. We still see guys from that trip regularly.

 

But as has been said, this group seems to hang together before we even go anywhere. It's great!

[diknjoemia]

We will be at the "Barcelo Hotel Atenea Mar" on Thursday night. I have no idea if it's good or not. It is 82.50 Eur and seems pretty close to Las Ramblas and the dock. And for one night, the roaches can't be worse than Miami. There's a link at the Barcelona City Site

[ahoymatey3]

We will be at the "Barcelo Hotel Atenea Mar" on Thursday night. I have no idea if it's good or not. It is 82.50 Eur and seems pretty close to Las Ramblas and the dock. And for one night, the roaches can't be worse than Miami. There's a link at the Barcelona City Site

 

:eek:

[Brucemcdou]

Dick and Joe - I hope the Spanish cockroaches are at least singing "La Cucaracha" for you! (sorry, I couldn't resist...)

 

Just to make sure you and your friends know about it, there is a fairly active thread for this cruise over on the Roll Call boards here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=99908. There's a lot of helpful information on the thread about private tours, hotels, etc., particularly if you start at the beginning. I got in a little bit of trouble over there when I started this thread, but I figured we might have different things to talk about here than the general group :p

[ahoymatey3]

Dick and Joe, your hotel looks nice. Good rates too. The Imperial Rome tour is interesting. It’s the least ‘religious’ (not that there’s anything wrong with that). A bit pricey at $155, but that is probably the one I’ll end up on. If I spoke better Italian, I’d do the ‘Rome on your own’. I’m learning Spanish now, and probably won’t have the time (or brain capacity) to learn enough Italian to get by.

 

Brucemcdou, I think it was nice that they wanted to be included in our chit chat. I almost started one before you did, but last cruise I did I got 0 replies. More family must cruise X.

[voyagerx]

To all you lucky fellows taking this cruise.

We did it in 2003 after a stay in Bcn. For those who haven't visited Bcn, it is one of the gayest and most intriguing cities in Europe. Many of the nicest bars are near the University in Eixample Izquierda (Eixample left), as are some baths and restaurants. Eixample is a short walk from Plaza Cataluna. We tried several gay retaurants, a couple were very inexpensive ($12 for 3 courses including wine and water...ya get what yapay for). The two which we liked were Castro and Cosmopolita. A memorable appetizer (Cosmopolita) was a fried combination of eggplant, pate and cheese; to dream about! Don't order the wine on the table or recommended wine. Next door is a gay bar. Diva is a classy drag show restaurant also in Eixample.

 

Hop on hop off bus is great. You get to see a great deal. Check out Park Guell, just follow the others getting off the bus. It is somewhat of a walk but worth it. Be sure to get to walk through Barrio Gothico and,also, see the Gaudi buildings on Paseo de Gracia.

 

On Milleniium: Gays tend to meet at the Martini bar before dinner. On our cruise the Social Hostess was Winnie Hung and she was wonderful. If you have a problem check her out, if she is still on board. The curise director, when we crossed, was a blatant homophobe named Rivera. He refused to place an FOD message in the ship's daily (check the paper out daily for such notices). After much arguement, he put in an ad for "Judy Garland Lovers." Even this ad brought folks out. It was scheduled early eveningin a a bar used almost exclusively during the day and with an evil bartender. He treated the guys so nastily that we left and went to another bar, at which point, he threw an empty beer bottle. Hope you have a less nasty CD.

 

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

 

I'll watch this thread for questions which I may be able to answer . Will be off on my own nine week Asia cruise Oct. 3.

[voyagerx]

RE above. Castro and Cosmopolita restaurants are moderate in price, definitely not cheap.

[Brucemcdou]

VoyagerX - thanks for all the useful information about Barcelona. It sounds as if you were able to spend some time there - I've only been for quick weekend visits so have never felt that I really "saw" the city. And I was usually heading out to Sitges anyway...:rolleyes:

 

A nine week cruise! I'm jealous. Are you doing part of a World cruise, or are you combining some cruises B2B2B?

 

Re: Celebrity cruise directors, your experience with Rivera sounds awful. We've always been fortunate. Our favorite was David Cole, who was CD on the Mercury in October of 2003 when we were on for our Honeymoon. We had just had our Commitment Ceremony on a Saturday evening with our families and friends, and boarded the Mercury in San Francisco on Sunday morning. We spoke with David the first day, as well as the Social Hostess, who's name I forget but she was a sweetheart. Both David and the Social Hostess insisted that we attend the Honeymoon and Anniversary reception on the third day, and made a point of asking us to stand up for the crowd. David also hosted several FOD meetings on board.

[voyagerx]

Brueetc.

Have spent considerable time in Bcn over the years and really love it. Have gotten to know it well.

 

The cruise we are on is HAL's Pacific Explorer and it is a single cruise, though segments are available. It goes from Seattle to Siberia and then south to Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, Bali, Australia, 4 South Sea islands, Hawaii and ends in San Diego. This is a wet run to see if we would be able to tolerate a world cruise. We have never been on a cruise that was longer than 26 days. Love days at sea. In Spring 2003 on a crossing from Miami to Rome we were caught in a storm off the coast of Africa and had to stay at sea for 11 days. Heaven!

 

It was fine that the CD treated you so well on your honeymoon. Our Millenium crossing was the only cruise on which we had any difficulty. The last cruise on NCL Dawn, there was a notice for FOD every evening in the ships paper. We were told it was standard. It so happened only we and one other couple showed up. They and we did not really click. The cruise was filled with families as it went to Port Canaveral for Disney World and was the first week after school let out. Don't think we will cruise in the Summer again.

 

Wishing you happy sailing and great days at sea.

Michael

[diknjoemia]

Joe proposes that we tell Mr Rivera ( or whoever) that we WILL meet in the martini bar at 6PM on night 1. Let's all wear pink in case it's not publicized. That's probably easier than red shoes:o . If we don't like the bartender we can always switch venues.

 

It might make sense if we all shared last names so we can communicate on board. I understand we have voice mail in each cabin. It might make more sense if you would like to e-mail this information to me. I'll put a list together and e-mail it back.

 

Dick and Joe

miadik@bellsouth.net