Roll Call (probably premature?), Celebrity Mercury 1/6/08 Auckland to Sydney

[Psoque]

Hi. Richard and I will be going on this cruise. We are really looking forward to it. This will be my third cruise with Pied Piper and a second one for Richard.

[robnbill]

This still may be too early to post. My husband (Bill) and I are with the Pied Piper group on this cruise. We've never been "down under" - really looking forward to it.

 

We will arrive in Auckland the Friday before the cruise. When we arrive in Sydney we will stay there until Wednesday and return to Washington, DC.

 

I didn't ask PP how many are booked. Another couple-- friends of ours -- Tom & Doug from So. Cal. -- will be going too.

 

I think this is our tenth cruise - maybe more.

 

Look forward to meeting you all.

 

Rob (and Bill)

[Psoque]

Thanks Rob and Bill for posting. I was wondering why there was no activity on this thread. Nice to hear that we are not the only ones booked through Pied Piper.

 

Richard and I are looking forward to meet you both, as well as Tom and Doug on this ship.

[sfgoguy]

I'm considering this Celebrity/Pied Piper itinerary. It would be my first time in the area and my first Pied Piper tour. (I've done several RSVP and Atlantis cruises and will do an Atlantis resort in Puerto Vallarta this Halloween.)

 

For those who are PP alums, what should I expect from PP over and above the regular Celebrity-for-all-their-passengers events? :confused:

 

(BTW, as an alternative to this cruise, I'm also considering the Australia land package offered by Alyson Adventures that's a little later in the year - Feb/Mar - and includes Sydney Mardi Gras.)

 

Gary

San Francisco

[robnbill]

We have used Pied Piper since 2001 for all our cruises. We have booked both with their hosted cruises such as this one as well as on our own. We have found their prices to be quite reasonable and better than we could get elsewhere for the same rooms. We have also been able to get rooms that were not available with other travel agents or through the cruise lines internet site. The key is that Pied Piper books blocks of rooms way in advance and locks the price down where the cruise line continues to escalate the prices as the cruise fills up.

 

During a hosted cruise, they have get togethers for cocktail parties, the group sits together for dinner (late seating) and depending on the cruise also can have other activities, group excursions, movie nights etc. They also have a group photo.

 

The atmosphere is certainly NOT that of RSVP or Atlantis. This is a gay group on-board a normal cruise. They do not bring their own entertainment. They partying mood also is dependent on the cruise length and cost. The cheaper, shorter cruises draws a younger and larger group. For instance the Post Thanksgiving cruise, which has sort of become a Pied Piper tradition has grown larger every year. This year there are going to be 850 in our group. We took a South American cruise with them and it was a group of 24 an generally a little older.

 

You will not find the non-stop white party atmosphere on one of these cruises. That is what RSVP and Atlantis do so well. What you do find is a diverse group of gay and lesbian travelers who are out to have a great time.

 

The larger groups also tend to have more activities all though this is not a hard and fast rule.

 

Derek, the owner, has always been very responsive to us and really works with us and the cruise line to make sure we have a good time. We do not hesitate to use them or to recommend them.

 

We have met a number of great friends through these cruises. And are booked on the Post Thanksgiving Cruise in November as well as the New Zealand/Australia cruise in January.

 

Can't wait. Hope this helps you and do hope to meet you on one of these.

[sfgoguy]

for the info on PP. That's pretty much what I had read on other threads on this and other sites.

 

For the larger hosted PP tours, does PP ever offer any shore excursions for only their group or are you relegated to those offered by Celebrity (in this case) or those arranged independently? Having gay-only excursions would be ideal, I think, for port-intensive itineraries like the Aukland/Sydney cruise.

 

And, finally, has anyone shared with you the positive or negative aspects of the PP "match-up a cabin mate" program? (I know it would be second-hand info for you, but thought I'd ask.) If I opt for that, I'd like more input than just "smoking/non-smoking" if possible.

 

Enjoy your PP cruises, guys. And, if business or pleasure brings you to SF, let me know. :)

 

Gary

San Francisco

[robnbill]

PP does arrange shore excursions for the larger groups that we have been involved with. Especially if it is a cruise they do time and again. Other times they give the Celebrity excursions that they recommend the group to go on and anyone who chooses then can select it. So it can be just the group or almost all the group involved in the tour.

 

Can't help you on the cabin sharing. We have never tried it.

[sfgoguy]

I appreciate you sharing the info. Hope we "cruise" into each other sometime, guys. :)

 

 

Gary

[tokid]

Hi--we are from Toronto and have booked this cruise on our own. It is great to see that there will be other Friends of Dorothy cruisers on the ship and we are looking forward to meeting some of you. We did a cruise on NCL around Cape Horn last winter and ended up making friends with about 15 other gay/lesbian couples from all over the world. Looking forward to a wonderful cruise--love New Zealand--and I hear the Mercury is an awesome ship.

 

Wes and Dave:)

[aussiedisneyfan]

Am not sure if it is appropriate for me to post here or not but here goes. We are booked for this one too and had no idea what "Pied Piper" was so did a google to find out and then checked out here to see if people were booked. I am actually married with a family but still look forward to meeting anyone that enjoys cruising.

[robnbill]

Wes & Dave -- look forward to meeting you on this cruise. My partner -- Bill -- and I are going on this cruise with Pied Piper. If you would like to 'touch base' prior to the sailing consider emailing us at (eliminate all the periods in the email save for the .com) r.o.b.n.b.i.l.l.@hotmail.com. We check that email every once and awhile.

 

AussieDisneyFan -- nothing wrong with posting here at all. Looking forward to meeting other people that enjoy cruising too. The Pied Piper group is a fun group. If you too would like to email us -- please use the above address. We would rather enjoy meeting people from Australia. Bill and I have been in a committed relationship now for 19 years.

 

Look forward to the cruise-- Rob

[Psoque]

I'm happy to see that this thread is finally becoming active. Thanks to Rob and Bill, Wes and Dave, and even AussieDisneyFan (and yes, I also agree, it is highly appropriate for you to post a message here...we in fact encourage this...and you don't even have to "convert" before speaking to any of us on the ship), for contributing.

 

I'm looking forward to meet all of you, and many others on this ship in January.

 

Naoyuki and Richard

[Psoque]

This is in response to a question from Gary from San Francisco who was wondering about "roommate match program" by PP. When I did my first ever cruise in February 2002, I was single, and I asked PP to find me a roommate. I specifically asked (and I was rather naive and blunt at that time) that I don't want to room with anybody "scary." Yes, I actually said that to Derrick, the owner.

 

He arranged for me to share a cabin with the guide from the company. It worked out great. I was never late to anything, and Mark, the guide, introduced me to a lot of people in the group as well as the people working on the ship.

 

Naoyuki

[tokid]

Great to have so much action on this thread. Dave and I are really excited about this cruise. We are actually travelling with my brother and sister and their soulmates-both being hetrosexual. I believe diversity is the spice of life and am looking forward to meeting and making new friends on this cruise. I do have a friend who is interested in Pied Piper and the possibility of joining us--maybe even sharing a cabin. Can you give me an email address or homepage. I don't seem to get directly to Pied Piper when I do a google search. Take care/wes:)

[aussiedisneyfan]

Isn't their website http://home.att.net/~gaygroupcruises/?

[tokid]

Thanks for the info and yes the url worked perfectly. Looking forward to meeting you on board, aussiedisneyfan, and rob and bill, i did send you an email but not sure if you got it or not.:)

 

wes

[sfgoguy]

And, especially, to PSOQUE on the roommate match. I plan to make my "go/no go" decision on this by the end of September and will likely use the roommate match service. Anyone know what would happen if PP could not find a roommate for the share? Would I have a single room without paying the supplement? Now that would be "sweet."

 

Hope to see you all - either on PP or another cruise.

 

Gary

San Francisco

[aussiedisneyfan]

I would imagine that is how it would work. That would be great!

 

Robnbill, I have sent you an email too.

[Psoque]

Hi. Sorry to introduce a slightly new subject to this thread. Well, I guess since I started this thread, I hope I'm allowed to do this. ("It's my party I can cry if I want to...")

 

I know that previously, PP people have set up Yahoo group for information exchange on some of their group cruises. I haven't heard anything about a Yahoo group on this upcoming cruise. I'm wondering if the participation is not as big as some of their other cruises (for example, their ever popular post-Thanksgiving Caribbean cruises).