Eclipse, 10 May 2016, Iceland, FOD

[jostman]

Hello,

I see that some people get the name "Gastrobar" confused. I like the look and sound of it. I will try to sit so that I can't see the screen.

As well as F.O.D. m&m's there are Cruise Critic ones?

Are these worth a try? I guess they will be larger than the F.O.D.'s mingle.

 

Regards

 

Jostman

Edited February 6, 2015 by jostman

[cublet]

Hello,

I see that some people get the name "Gastrobar" confused. I like the look and sound of it. I will try to sit so that I can't see the screen.

As well as F.O.D. m&m's there are Cruise Critic ones?

Are these worth a try? I guess they will be larger than the F.O.D.'s mingle.

 

Regards

 

Jostman

 

Hello,

 

There has been some cross contamination of the terms: RCCL has had 'Meet and Mingle' and until recently Celebrity had 'Celebrity Connections' but the M&M term seems to have spread.

 

Here is a link to the CC/M&M party: https://secure.celebritycruises.com/cruisecritic/getParty

 

The Cruise Critic meet is usually in the morning of the first sea day and can be almost anywhere depending on numbers. This is what I wrote on a main thread as to what to expect:

 

 

I think this is exactly the question that Pliny the Elder [c23 – 79AD] had in mind when he wrote: “

Solum ut inter ista certum sit, nihil esse certi

” - The only certainty is that nothing is certain.

 

There should be an invitation in your cabin on arrival. The invitation is usually either just a printed card or a card in an envelope. If not there then you should first contact your cabin steward or failing that then Guest Relations. X could be going the RCI route with a complex piece of origami fulfilling the requirements of an invitation, name tag (for CC screen name to given name) and raffle ticket.

 

The M&M meets usually on the morning of the first sea day between 10.30 and 11.30. Depending on numbers it has been held in MDR, Sky Observation Lounge and Michael’s Club. This latter is unlikely as it has now morphed into the Captain’s Club Zenith Members’ Lounge.

 

Laid on will be anything from nothing to tea, coffee, juice, croissants and sweet pastries. In the past, this has been either self or waiter served.

 

Apart from us, the ship will be represented by a member of the entertainments team as a minimum, usually Cruise Director and Loyalty Ambassador, but right up the Cruise Director and every senior ship’s officer including the Captain (though only once – on the Constellation).

 

RCI origami or not, there may be a raffle, or not. Prizes include such things as internet minutes, wine and notepads.

 

The ‘presentation’ will be a run-down of the ship’s facilities, the itinerary, the excursions, the ‘enrichment programme’ (wine tasting or anything similar the ship can ‘sell’ you to do). Once the presentation is over and the ship’s representatives leave we all then pile into what remains of the buffet as we have to survive another hour before luncheon.

 

 

As to 'how many' it all depends. The first night or so you/we may be sat in the Martini Bar feeling like an exhibit in a zoo as what are obviously 'family' members walk past and 'size-us-up'. Depending on whether they are afraid we might bite or not, then others may join us and it turns into one mad party. Go to the Molecular Bar / Galleria Tastings. For 13 nights three of us FODs were there drinking (plus one wannabe) and on the last (14th) night a couple of dozen came out the woodwork. This little thread has had nearly 2000 views after all!

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

Edited February 6, 2015 by cublet

[jostman]

Hello Cublet,

 

I found the place to register for "Celebrity Connections". I can not do this until May. This is fine. However it also indicates that one person is registered. How can this be if registration is not more than one year before sailing?

 

You wrote "For 13 nights three of us FODs were there drinking"

 

I find it surprising that on a ship that can accommodate up to 3000 passengers only 3 people attend FOD socials.

 

Regards

 

Jostman

[cublet]

Hello Cublet,

 

I found the place to register for "Celebrity Connections". I can not do this until May. This is fine. However it also indicates that one person is registered. How can this be if registration is not more than one year before sailing?

 

You wrote "For 13 nights three of us FODs were there drinking"

 

I find it surprising that on a ship that can accommodate up to 3000 passengers only 3 people attend FOD socials.

 

Regards

 

Jostman

 

Hello,

 

The operations of the Celebrity M&Ms is a bit like The Peace of God - It passeth all understanding. I cannot find anything to show that I'm the 'one' since I booked in November.

 

Perhaps the problem with the FOD attendances in the Molecular Bar was its location. You'll see soon enough but it's not like a 'destination' in its own right but a public thoroughfare from the theatre to the rest of the ship. Apart from relative safety in numbers, what kept me there was the delightful barman (Andrew) who hails from Bristol. Still: Quality not quantity.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I don't know if you have been following the general boards, but Celebrity has increased the gratuity on drinks from 15% to 18%. This does not effect drinks 'bought' on any drinks package already purchased.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[srqDan]

Hello

We have booked this through Pied Piper so expect a larger crowd at the Martini Bar...

 

DAN

[jostman]

Hello,

 

Spotted the increase in gratuities. Oh well! No point me moaning about it. :o

[jostman]

Hello,

 

Pleased to see there may be more than 3 FOD's

[cublet]

Hello,

 

Spotted the increase in gratuities. Oh well! No point me moaning about it. :o

 

Hello,

 

But did you not say earlier that you had upgraded your cabin and got a drinks package? That being so, the increase in the gratuity on the price of drinks should not affect you (apart from purchases not included in the classic package).

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[cublet]

Hello

We have booked this through Pied Piper so expect a larger crowd at the Martini Bar...

 

DAN

 

Hello,

 

And welcome to my little (but perfectly formed) thread.

 

I have just looked at Pied Piper and see my cabin with them is only $200 more than the price to me (before my TA's discount) at current exchange rate.

 

Over a year to go so I expect a lot more chats before then.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[srqDan]

Hello cublet

For us the fares with Pied Piper are cheaper than Celebrity's fares. I will try to find out the size of the Pied Piper group before we sail, it varies on every cruise (sometimes 10 or so and upwards...).

 

We will be in Beaulieu for a few days prior to embarkation (staying with friends).

 

Glad to be sailing with Celebrity after some RCCL cruises.....

 

Dan

Edited February 26, 2015 by srqDan
mispelling

[cublet]

Hello cublet

For us the fares with Pied Piper are cheaper than Celebrity's fares. I will try to find out the size of the Pied Piper group before we sail, it varies on every cruise (sometimes 10 or so and upwards...).

 

We will be in Beaulieu for a few days prior to embarkation (staying with friends).

 

Glad to be sailing with Celebrity after some RCCL cruises.....

 

Dan

 

Hello,

 

Do you still get Celebrity's Captains Club points for these group bookings?

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[jostman]

Hello,

 

We do indeed have the classic drinks package. Would not the increase in gratuities mean that fewer drinks will be priced below the limit. We may upgrade to the premium package. The upgrade price will have increased.

Though only a little.

 

Regards

 

Jostman

[cublet]

Hello,

 

We do indeed have the classic drinks package. Would not the increase in gratuities mean that fewer drinks will be priced below the limit. We may upgrade to the premium package. The upgrade price will have increased.

Though only a little.

 

Regards

 

Jostman

 

Hello,

 

No - the increase in grats does not affect the price of drinks available.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[cublet]

Hello,

 

Rabbits, Rabbits, RABBITS!

 

First of the month so up we go. First day of spring too.

 

We'll be there soon.

 

And a welcome to all Pied Pipers.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[srqDan]

Hello,

 

Do you still get Celebrity's Captains Club points for these group bookings?

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

I believe so. We have not sailed with Pied Piper before but have been on cruises where there was a small Pied Piper group (QE2 to the Canaries in 2005). We get all the Celebrity perks currently offered so I assume we will accrue points.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

Rabbits, RABBITS, RABBITS!

 

Here’s wishing all my readers a Happy New April.

 

Whilst this should push my thread up the boards, I’m off to count my Easter eggs and check on the April Fools stories in today’s papers.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[kennetro]

Hi guys,

 

I think there are going to be more of ‘us’ on this cruise than you think. 

 

We are Ken & Ray (61 & 67) from Dallas, TX & we booked this cruise several months ago. (But we’ve been on two major trips since we booked this one, so I have yet to even begin researching & organizing for this trip. I feel so ‘behind’!) Glad to see we already have a Roll call going, though.

 

We will also be traveling with two other great guys, “Rick & Chris” from Northern California. We met them 3 years ago on a transatlantic crossing from Rome to Miami, & enjoyed being with them so much that we also traveled with them to The Galapagos Islands & Machu Picchu last year (also on Celebrity).

 

All 4 of us are also booked on the Norwegian Fjords cruise immediately preceding this one. But for some weird reason there is a 2 day ‘gap’ between the cruises which, unfortunately, means we’ll have to disembark the Eclipse, find somewhere to go or something to do for 2 days, & then re-board the ship. Ugh.

 

Jostman, congrats on your first cruise. I’ll bet you’re going to love it. We took our first cruise in 2003 on the QM2, and have now been on somewhere between 15 & 20 all over the world. It’s an expensive habit to have (especially being retired!), but we dearly love it. ….& because we both traveled so much in our careers, we retired with almost 7 million airline miles ‘in the bank’! Our running joke is that we can fly First Class for free to anywhere in the world, at a moment’s notice. We just can’t afford to buy LUNCH once we get there!

 

Looks like we now have enough bodies to fill at least a small corner of the Martini Bar. :-)

 

We look forward to meeting you all!

 

Ken & Ray

[cublet]

Hi guys,

 

I think there are going to be more of ‘us’ on this cruise than you think. 

 

We are Ken & Ray (61 & 67) from Dallas, TX & we booked this cruise several months ago. (But we’ve been on two major trips since we booked this one, so I have yet to even begin researching & organizing for this trip. I feel so ‘behind’!) Glad to see we already have a Roll call going, though.

 

We will also be traveling with two other great guys, “Rick & Chris” from Northern California. We met them 3 years ago on a transatlantic crossing from Rome to Miami, & enjoyed being with them so much that we also traveled with them to The Galapagos Islands & Machu Picchu last year (also on Celebrity).

 

All 4 of us are also booked on the Norwegian Fjords cruise immediately preceding this one. But for some weird reason there is a 2 day ‘gap’ between the cruises which, unfortunately, means we’ll have to disembark the Eclipse, find somewhere to go or something to do for 2 days, & then re-board the ship. Ugh.

 

Jostman, congrats on your first cruise. I’ll bet you’re going to love it. We took our first cruise in 2003 on the QM2, and have now been on somewhere between 15 & 20 all over the world. It’s an expensive habit to have (especially being retired!), but we dearly love it. ….& because we both traveled so much in our careers, we retired with almost 7 million airline miles ‘in the bank’! Our running joke is that we can fly First Class for free to anywhere in the world, at a moment’s notice. We just can’t afford to buy LUNCH once we get there!

 

Looks like we now have enough bodies to fill at least a small corner of the Martini Bar. :-)

 

We look forward to meeting you all!

 

Ken & Ray

 

Hello,

 

The 'two day gap' between this and the cruise prior was intended for travel agents however it has now been opened to the masses (at least on a couple of agents' sites). Hmm, they could be selling their places though couldn't they?:rolleyes:

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[cublet]

Hi guys,

 

I think there are going to be more of ‘us’ on this cruise than you think. 

 

We are Ken & Ray (61 & 67) from Dallas, TX & we booked this cruise several months ago. (But we’ve been on two major trips since we booked this one, so I have yet to even begin researching & organizing for this trip. I feel so ‘behind’!) Glad to see we already have a Roll call going, though.

 

We will also be traveling with two other great guys, “Rick & Chris” from Northern California. We met them 3 years ago on a transatlantic crossing from Rome to Miami, & enjoyed being with them so much that we also traveled with them to The Galapagos Islands & Machu Picchu last year (also on Celebrity).

 

All 4 of us are also booked on the Norwegian Fjords cruise immediately preceding this one. But for some weird reason there is a 2 day ‘gap’ between the cruises which, unfortunately, means we’ll have to disembark the Eclipse, find somewhere to go or something to do for 2 days, & then re-board the ship. Ugh.

 

Jostman, congrats on your first cruise. I’ll bet you’re going to love it. We took our first cruise in 2003 on the QM2, and have now been on somewhere between 15 & 20 all over the world. It’s an expensive habit to have (especially being retired!), but we dearly love it. ….& because we both traveled so much in our careers, we retired with almost 7 million airline miles ‘in the bank’! Our running joke is that we can fly First Class for free to anywhere in the world, at a moment’s notice. We just can’t afford to buy LUNCH once we get there!

 

Looks like we now have enough bodies to fill at least a small corner of the Martini Bar. :-)

 

We look forward to meeting you all!

 

Ken & Ray

 

Hello,

 

Please forgive my manners - I should have welcomed you to my little thread.

 

There have been over four thousand views of this thread so I'm surprised there are so few postings especially as this cruise is featured in Pied Piper. Have you booked through them or independently?

 

When last on the Eclipse, the FOD meeting was in the Martini Bar but for some reason behind a net curtain - not that we got up to anything (in public).

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[kennetro]

No prob at all!

 

Interesting that some agents are selling those 2 days. Wish I could find one. It sure would be better than the hassle of disembarking & re-boarding. :-)

 

No, we booked direct with Celebrity. They were offering one of their "deals" while we were onboard the Summit last year. ...If we put down a $100 deposit on a cruise, they would give us a $300 OBC on that current cruise. ....Which was a no-brainer for us. Of course we got the 10% Elite discount & the 1-2-3 Go offer as well, so we were satisfied with that.

 

We're looking at spending a few days in London on the front end, & hoping to take in as much theatre as possible... but a lot of that depends on what kind of flight arrangements we can get. Will come home immediately afterwards though, cuz we're usually so homesick for our "babies" (large male Weimaraners) at that point & 26 - 27 nights 'out' is about our limit.

 

Have you booked any excursions / tours yet?

 

K

[cublet]

No prob at all!

 

Interesting that some agents are selling those 2 days. Wish I could find one. It sure would be better than the hassle of disembarking & re-boarding. :-)

 

No, we booked direct with Celebrity. They were offering one of their "deals" while we were onboard the Summit last year. ...If we put down a $100 deposit on a cruise, they would give us a $300 OBC on that current cruise. ....Which was a no-brainer for us. Of course we got the 10% Elite discount & the 1-2-3 Go offer as well, so we were satisfied with that.

 

We're looking at spending a few days in London on the front end, & hoping to take in as much theatre as possible... but a lot of that depends on what kind of flight arrangements we can get. Will come home immediately afterwards though, cuz we're usually so homesick for our "babies" (large male WWeimaraners) at that point & 26 - 27 nights 'out' is about our limit.

 

Have you booked any excursions / tours yet?

 

K

 

Hello,

 

I looked yesterday and the 2 day cruise was not showing on the X website but I did see it on some obscure UK TA websites - like I said yesterday probably selling their own places. Sadly Southampton does not offer many places to go or places to see that are of interest - though someone may know better.

 

The only Elite 10% discount available in the UK is on the purchase of an internet package, not on the cruise fare. What we *used* to get was a two category cabin upgrade but now I see it's only one category and that certainly was not worth 10% of the cruise fare.

 

I was in Iceland on the Eclipse in August 2012 so am not desperate to book anything yet - I'll wait until I am on board and use some of my many $ OBC.

 

I friend has a Weimaraner named Biff but called, by me, Muttley (as in Wacky Races). He certainly can whip you hard with his tail.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[cublet]

Hello,

 

Rabbits, RABBITS, RABBITS!

 

Here's wishing all my readers a happy new month and to push this thread higher up the boards.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[kennetro]

Just found out from my TA that the 2 day cruise in between is to Le Havre & is being sold in the UK as a "2-Night Taste of Modern Luxury". ...but the price on it is practically double what the cruises on either side of it are listed as.... Looks like we'll just layover for a couple of nights in the Southampton area.... (Gee, thanks, Celebrity!)

[cublet]

Hello,

 

Royal Caribbean has raised its gratuity rate effective from bookings made on/after 1st June and to those current bookings that have not pre-paid/pre-booked gratuities (ie will pay daily on board). There has not been an announcement by Celebrity so far but will no doubt follow suit shortly.

 

Anyone wishing to protect themselves from the increased gratuity rate and have not prepaid (booked) gratuities should do so soon.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet