Celebrity EQUINOX - Inaugrual Transatlantic 5th November 2009

[Blue Peter]

Indeed, welcome aboard Rich and ??? .... This transatlantic crossing shall be a moment in history. Besides that it will be MV Equinox maiden transatlantic voyage, just the company of all of you people on board will make this crossing so memorable.

And for me to see familiar faces such as Andrew and Karyn and meet new ones will enhance this voyage tremendously.

In the meantime, I will be sailing Century, Galaxy and Millennium, and I am convinced that I will have a wonderful time but for whatever reason, MV Equinox comes on top of my head. ... It shall be a unique experience. Saddly, Marcus ( Prada Cowboy ) will miss out on this one for reasons that I would rather keep to myself.

 

Celebrity Cruises keeps adding more computer generated images of their Solstice Class Ships. ... I even noticed that they have the smoke stacks in darker blue and the lifeboats deck painted in navy blue. ... I even suggested to them that the fourth ship of the class ( beyond the MV Eclipse ) could be named "Celebrity Universe". There is a nice ring to it and keeps in the celestial type of names as previous ships.

[Seadragon555]

Oops!! Must have been distracted by the other postings or something :rolleyes: .... It is Rich and John (the shy one) from Des Moines, IA - USA. Thank you for the welcoming. I do find it amazing that there are so many postings so early...but it looks like a fantastic ship & to experience its first TA should be a definite highlight. Looking forward to meeting all of you!!

[Blue Peter]

Rich,

Once again, welcome onboard. ... You and John will be in for a voyage of a lifetime, so I see it. ... I have sailed Celebrity Cruises a few times, as others on this board, and I will tell you that it is the best experience at sea for what one could invest in. ... The service is superb, the quality is great, etc. ... For the few Celebrity Cruises I have undertook, they were all excellent.

So Rich and John, we welcome you onboard.

[Schplinky]

Oops!! Must have been distracted by the other postings or something :rolleyes: .... It is Rich and John (the shy one) from Des Moines, IA - USA. Thank you for the welcoming. I do find it amazing that there are so many postings so early...but it looks like a fantastic ship & to experience its first TA should be a definite highlight. Looking forward to meeting all of you!!

 

Rich and John? We met a Rich and John from the mid-west when we were on Brilliance. Was that you?

[Seadragon555]

I'm afraid it wasn't the same Rich & John....we have not been on the Brilliance (we were on Voyager for TA in 11/06 and met several Canadians on that cruise). We were on Diamond Princess sailing out of L.A. to Hawaii in Jan. 2008 and, again, met several Canadians. Maybe they do this on Celebrity...at least I hope they do...but on the Diamond one of the crew took it upon himself to set up a LGBT Party (instead of the confusing FOD Party [his words]) and so we were able to meet many gay passengers and a large number were from Canada. Plus, there were several "wanna be's" circling the group during the party. I must admit that the use of the term "LGBT" definitely caught everyone's eye and they knew exactly what it meant, even for first time travelers.

Oh, and this is John doing the posting....Rich would never be able to figure out how to do it (computer challenged) but I will be sharing the postings with him. I think this forum is a great way to "meet" people before actually getting on the ship....

[Seadragon555]

Question: Since a lot of you are more familiar with this site then I am, I have been searching for gay postings for the Equinox's sailing on 10/23/09....but have not been able to find a Roll Call for that sailing. Has there been one established & I am just missing it? Or, is there not one established? Sorry to be a pest...just wanting to find other family members for the first 14 days of our trip before starting the TA part. Thanks!

John

[Blue Peter]

Hello John,

More likely, there are no post yet for the 23 October 2009 sailing. But you sure are welcome to start one. ... You never know how it will turn out. ...

Now, for the transatlantic crossing, you sure do know that we will be there with you.

[Seadragon555]

Francois,

Thank you for the affirmation that you will be there along with all of the others. It is too bad that Marcus won't be able to make it....but maybe their situation will change by then. I have been trying to recruit other friends to make this trip (either the first part or the second part or both). So far one straight couple is considering the first part....which is fine as Rich & I both have many straight friends....but would definitely prefer more gay friends to go along that you folks would enjoy meeting, too. However, if they don't, then we will still have a great family on board!!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!! Take care....

John

[Blue Peter]

By the way you may have noticed that I have changed my username from Francois11 to Blue Peter.

A "Blue Peter" is a blue flag with a white square at the center of it. It is one of a number of those little maritime flags that one might see fluttering in the breeze, high in the masts of a sea going vessel. If worked in with other alphabetical flags, it stands for the letter 'P'. If, however, the "Blue Peter" is hoisted alone, it stands for something else. Under the International Code of Signals, in harbour, hoisted at the foremast head, the Blue Peter flag flying alone would mean that "All persons should report on board as the vessel is about to proceed to sea." At sea, it may be used by fishing vessels to mean, "My nets have come fast upon an obstruction

 

I kind of like it.

[Seadragon555]

Francois,

I am glad you explained the change in your name....I was beginning to wonder about it (grin).

I did take your advice and post a "Roll Call" thread for the Equinox for 10/23/09. So far no comments but have had some "hits." Will be interesting to find out who all is on that part of the cruise and whether they are continuing on the TA part. If they are I can always tell them about this thread. It is a cool, dreary day here in Iowa so I am finding myself daydreaming about cruises, the warm sun, the drinks, the friends....

Just an fyi....Rich is a work-out nut so if any of you are looking for a work-out buddy I am sure he would be glad to help and visa versa. He retired in December 2007 so I will be the one in the internet cafe sending/receiving emails from my office since I have a few years to go until retirement.

Take care everyone....looking forward to meeting all of you in-person!!

John

[daviddfld]

Welcome aboard ... glad you were able to join us. My partner Larry, and I are from an area about 15 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale. We will have celebrated our 32 anniversary by the time the ship sails

 

I check these boards regularly for any important information, but I'm not the "chatty" type. Nor is Larry, so you won't see a lot of posts from either of us ... but we're checking up on the rest of you!

[Blazerboy]

David (and Larry, if he reads...) I always say (and did recently on the main rollcall) that everyone gets to participate at their own level. Some want to have every minute planned, others just go with the flow and perhaps meet a few folks, but don't want to be in lock-step...more of my m.o. I'm actually chattier here than onboard...nonetheless, glad you're both here, post when you like, and looking forward to meeting everyone!

 

Francois, like the new name/avatar.:D

 

Hey John/Rich...:)

 

Andrew

[Blue Peter]

We will have celebrated our 32 anniversary by the time the ship sails

David and Larry, Congratulations.

 

Andrew, Thank you for liking the name and avatar.

[Schplinky]

We will have celebrated our 32 anniversary by the time the ship sails

 

David and Larry, Congratulations.

 

 

Andrew, Thank you for liking the name and avatar.

 

Francois, I like it too. It sort of reminds me of the background of the hrc logo.

 

 

http://www.hrc.org

[Blue Peter]

Lee,

You are right, I just visited the HRC site. ... Also you must be busy getting ready for your cruise. ... Are you like me and fly the day before the ship sails? One certainly would not want to miss the boat, literally.

You will love Century, and treat yourselves to "Murano", the specialty restaurant. Well worth the 30 usd per passenger. Superb food and service. ... The Martini Bar, nicknamed the Ice Bar. The actual counter top is covered with ice. Pure contrast with Michael's Club next door.

 

And before you disembark on Monday the 28th , could you make sure that my cabin 4109 on Continental Deck, is well cleaned and appointed. lol. Just kidding of course.

[Schplinky]

Francois.

 

We would leave a mint Milano on your pillow if we could!

 

We're both very excited about the Century cruise. So much so that I actually forgot that today is Michael's birthday. It's not as bad as it sounds (I hope) because we celebrated his birthday over Easter by seeing a few shows in Las Vegas. We actually had drinks with a nice poster from the gay boards here on CC (SakeDad).

 

It was such a beautiful day here today. 74 degrees and sunny all day long. We went to Canadian Tire (translation for our American friends: Home Depot but with no lumber and a lot more lifestyle and durable goods) and it was so nice to be out running errands.

 

We are planning to be in Muranos on Thursday evening, the first night of the cruise. We are also having martinis that evening with new friends we met on this board so it will be a nice start to the sailing.

 

Like you, Francois, we always fly in early. Coming from here, we know that flights get canceled, connections get missed. It's unavoidable and we would hate to miss something we look forward to so much. This time, we're flying Northweat through Detroit on the way down and United through DC on the way back.

[Blue Peter]

Lee,

I certainly hope that Michael will not hold the fact that you forgot his birthday against you. ... He did not give you a little hint? ... Well Happy Birthday Michael !!!

I assume you have not made reservations yet for "Murano's". ... If not, I suggest you call tomorrow Monday Celebrity Captain's Club to make your reservation. The phone number is 800 760 0654 from 08h00 until 23h00.

If it is not possible Lee, as soon as you board the ship on Thursday, go to Murano on Plaza Deck just off the Main Foyer to make your reservation for that evening. ... I am saying this because it is a very popular venue and it sits only sixty passengers.

And thank you for the Mint. A nice thought.

[Schplinky]

Lee,

 

I certainly hope that Michael will not hold the fact that you forgot his birthday against you. ... He did not give you a little hint? ... Well Happy Birthday Michael !!!

 

I assume you have not made reservations yet for "Murano's". ... If not, I suggest you call tomorrow Monday Celebrity Captain's Club to make your reservation. The phone number is 800 760 0654 from 08h00 until 23h00.

If it is not possible Lee, as soon as you board the ship on Thursday, go to Murano on Plaza Deck just off the Main Foyer to make your reservation for that evening. ... I am saying this because it is a very popular venue and it sits only sixty passengers.

 

And thank you for the Mint. A nice thought.

 

Thanks Francois. We're all booked for 7p.m., which will be nice because we can enjoy sailaway, have a martini, then head to dinner.

[Blazerboy]

I truly am looking forward to my trip this week, but to hear you talk about Century makes me a little green with envy, too. While we're hiking the mountains of Transylvania, stepping in mud and snow, and pulling pieces of hay out of our fleeces, you'll be in the lap of luxury, sipping Cosmos.:( Ah, well, it's all good (and rumor has it that the Count serves caraway brandy to his guests...)

 

We leave Wednesday morning, so Francois, Mark & John, David & Larry, Linda & ___, Mike & Bruce, Tery & Neil, and Bill will have to hold down the fort. (did I miss anyone?)

 

Andrew

[Schplinky]

We'll keep a light on for you.

 

Well, not us, but the others will, I presume. We'll hoist a glass to the honor of everyone here. I might even try once more to drink a "real" martini. No promises. I might actually like a dirty martini. Anything to cut the jet fuel taste.

 

Lee

[Blazerboy]

Oooh, and happy birthday, Mike! If you ever need company for shoe shopping, leave Lee behind and join Ed and me...must have 150 pair between the two of us!:eek:

 

Andrew

[Blue Peter]

Andrew,

So you leave very shortly for Romania. Have you been there before? It is such an interesting country, out of the beaten path. ... I had the opportunity to visit a very few parts of Romania in 2002 where a friend and her husband were posted for the Government of Canada in Bucharest ... Ceaucescu's Palace (now the People's Palace) is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. What it took to build this Palace is beyond human understanting.

 

One of the highlight of this voyage was Peles Castle in Sinaia. Just wonderful.

 

 

It is worth to be googled up. (is there such an expression?)

The city of Brashow with it's plaza is also rather lovely. And of course Transylvania, Bran and its castle (Count Dracula). For whatever reason, here, the Rocky Horror Picture Show comes to my mind, not that I really cared for it, although seen once.

Lee and Michael, you have a wonderful cruise aboard Century. And once I step into my stateroom next monday, I will be thinking of that Mint. What a nice thought.

[ottawapuppy]

Oooh, and happy birthday, Mike! If you ever need company for shoe shopping, leave Lee behind and join Ed and me...must have 150 pair between the two of us!:eek:

 

 

My gosh, how many feet do you have two have?...

 

Birthdays are fun. I got to see Anne Murray tonight. Live! Really!

 

Mike

[Blue Peter]

Michael,

Was she at the National Art Centre?

 

Andrew and Ed.

 

It is like Imelda Marcos revisited. ... I am also told Céline has a thing for shoes as well. ... What is it. Foot fetish? Just kidding. You have a wonderful journey to Romania.

 

And I think Andrew you did not forget anyone on the roll call. Thank you for gathering it all together.

[Blazerboy]

Thanks for the wishes...

 

And we are staying just outside Brasov, so will see many of the things mentioned. A few nights in Bucharest, and then to Istanbul.

 

Shoes? You are gay men..well, assume you aren't, Linda:o ...so you all MUST see the attraction, no? No matter how much weight you gain or lose, shoe shopping is always an option! So if you love to shop, it's the one thing you can successfully shop for, no matter how many martinis and goat cheese souflees you have had!:D Plus, shoes finish the outfit. Haven't any of you see a good looking, well dressed person, and then noticed the scuffed shoes...ruins whatever good effect any of the rest of the clothing has...And don't get me started on the horrible "Working Girl" business suit with trainers look! (O.k., so in some ways, I am a walking stereotype...:rolleyes: )

 

Lee and Mike, have a great trip.

 

Andrew