johhnnyt

I know a few first officers that were completing their Masters certification recently, and was wondering if it was one of them

I know Nick, and Christian were getting close and both of them were mid thirties. Terrific officers also

Just got off the Summit and there is a new captain that was promoted just recently. He is only 34!! I was shocked! It was nice to see how much he interacted with everyone. We were impressed and really liked that.

I believe that there was a meeting of RMs in January at Miami HQ. I understand that the "dress code"was a topic for discussion. They've been holding meetings for others, such as HD as well. I was on Eclipse when a meeting for Executive Chefs was held to work on the "new" menu. These meetings along with some of what has been reported to me leads me to conclude that some changes are taking place.

I know Dan Hanrahan told me he used to have all the HD's over to his house once a year and really enjoyed getting their collective ideas. I do wonder how logistically they do it. My guess is at least 20% can't attend

Was on Silhouette in December and stayed in a Celebrity Suite for the 15 night cruise

Had a great butler that introduced himself on day 1 of the cruise named Jesus, but really couldn't think of anything I needed. He would leave me plates of sweets that I wouldn't eat (always was eating too much in MDR), and ask me if I needed anything, and I really couldn't think of anything for him to do.

By day 4 of the cruise he cornered me and asked me to PLEASE let him do somthing for me. He said I was the only guest he had that requested nothing.

I finally thought of something on day 5. I said instead of leaving me sweets every day could he possibly leave me either a cheese or shrimp cocktail platter instead, he was thrilled to oblige, and said he would alternate them.

Day 6 I remebered we were doing a cruise critic cabin crawl. so I asked Jesus if it was possible to maybe have some snacks available at 1pm the next day for the people crawling through. He said leave it to him, he would take care of everything.

The day of the cabin crawl got back to my room about an hour before it started, was very pleasantly surprised.

He had decorated the room quite nice, and had a large shrimp platter, two large cheese platters, a crudités platter, and had taken the two wine bottles and three champagne bottles that I had received as gifts set up with a champagne glass pyramid, along with soft drinks and bottled water for the people coming through.

He also stayed in the room the whole time during the cabin crawl, serving drinks and offering food

All I could say is WOW , and needless to say he got a large tip before the cruise ended.

We just came back from 11 nights on the celebrity. Equinox. I found pied piper. To be useless. Derek. And his team were poor hosts and did not speak to me or my partner throughout the whole trip. We were left to dine alone at dinner while two of his 'hosts' sat at the next table and didn't not even come to speak to us.it seems that although they offer good prices and you get a few free drinks .that is all they offer. nothing else except what was already available with celebrity no special shore excursions. no specific port information nothing!

This was our fourth cruise and our first gay group cruise.I would prefer to just go onboard and meet fellow gay travellers at the fod meetings. Maybe we were unlucky but it spoilt what should have been an amazing trip.

I've done about 10-12 trips with Pied Piper and vast majority were wonderful. Hosts were personable and made it a point to make all the guests feel they were a part of the group. Also had two I think where the hosts went off and did their own thing and really saw neither except in passing.

I don't fault PP as the hosts aren't paid per se, so I don't expect them to be the personal concierge for the group. I book with pied piper for two reasons

1. Group Rates

2. Having Dinner with the group

Everything else I consider nice but not necessary. Although I do think that since the hosts are getting a free cruise, part of their job is to be the social conduit that helps bind the group as a whole.

It's an absolute pleasure when you do get a host that gives it his (their) all, and has the ability to really mobilizes the group into a fun 'family' in a short time.

I think I've seen that happen about 5 times in my travels. So much though I think has to do with the dynamic of the group themselves. Couple of times I've seen the host rotate through the tables for dinner each night, which I thought was a great idea to help build the bond.

I would encourage you to give PP another chance, as most of the onboard experiences I've had with them were really good, sorry that your host didn't live up to expectations

No pictures yet... Delirious (depend on what you're having for "tea". :eek:

We'll probably see you in November.... ;)

 

(ex-) Captain Pagonis will be with his family in Madrid, in an executive position with Pullmantur Cruises, an affiliate of RCI.

Just wanted to say thanks for keeping this board up. Always nice to get an idea on who my shipmates will be next cruise :D

I think it's actually clearer without the pictures of the staff. I think with the small space alloted for the posts, it just comes out too jumbled when a lot of photos are included in the jpg, while the chart is neater, and clearer no matter which browser, computer you use to view it.

After 7 weeks at sea, we are back to reality.

We have no Celebrity cruise plans for at least 7 months and no firm plans for 2014.

 

Thanks RMSeadog and Kirsten T for the latest updates.

johhnnyt: "I know Niina Hautaniemi has now moved to Summit as Hotel Director ".... Do you know the effective date and any other officer changes on Summit?

She said she was joining Summit the last week in February, I'm guessing for the standard 4 month contract, but didn't really ask any details, and can't really help you with crew on Summit, never been on it. Although eyeing a getaway for a week of 12May, maybe I'll try the Summit

Here is a partial update. Thanks for all the posts that allow me to keep this list. Spelling will be corrected when I can find my glasses.

 

I know Niina Hautaniemi has now moved to Summit as Hotel Director

There is a website that will show you which cruise lines are offering single supplement deals at any given time, for example I cruise on Celebrity, it shows there are 11 Celebrity voyages with single 'deals', here are a couple of them

Summit 3/9/13 has a 52% single supplement on a category 9

Solstice 5/13/13 has a 48% on category 9, 19% on 2A,2C,26% on A1,A2

If interested, email me and happy to provide you the details/website, it works for any cruiseline

Having done both, I have to agree with most of the posts although PP experience is only based on the 2012 Post Thanksgiving cruise. Communication was not what we're used to with RSVP. We tried to talk to Derek several times before booking, only to be told he prefers email. Since we were newbies to Pied Piper, and skeptical about what the cruise would be like, would a brief chat on the phone have killed anyone's day? That said, PP staff redeemed themselves on board.

 

I would also question whether the PP rates are all that much better than the cruise line's published rates. After a little research, we found our fare to be about the same as Celebrity's. The difference? Celebrity rates included tax and port fees. PP did not.

 

Bottom line: would we book PP again? You betcha!

One thing that can make PP rates confusing is they list all the cabin categories on their website, but at least half aren't discounted.

For example we're going on the June 24th sailing on Infinity, If I booked a C1 or C2 I would pay same rate as Celebrity charges, I booked a C3 and it's a ~$900 less per person than Celebrity.

Because Pied Piper only get group rates on about 5 or 6 cabin categories, don't make the assumption all the categories are discounted. You really need to check them and do a side by side comparison to see which ones are the biggest bang for the buck

It would be easier I guess if they just listed the group (discounted) rates, but until they do I make up a quick spreadsheet to compare them apples/apples

My husband and I had the first same sex "wedding" ceremony on Celebrity Century from Auckland to Sydney in January 2012. We were members of the Pied Piper group along with some 30 other guys. Pied Piper coordinated and organized the ceremony and the whole group were invited. It was the first same-sex ceremony ever on Celebrity, and I am sure the charming captain had a lot to tell his wife and kids when he returned home. It was a wonderful time, the officers and crew were fantastic and so supportive, and the group was great. We are booked on another two Pied Piper cruises - Mediterranean on 21 August and Queen Elizabeth Black Sea cruise in September.

I really thought it was beautiful to watch you and Donald exchange vows onboard. Really thought that both Celebity's event coordinator Matt and Pied Piper did do a great job. Could tell though the Captain was nervous at the start but really got into the feeling/fun of the ceremony the end.

Did find out yesterday that the terms of the 1-2-3 promotion changed where now they include all three

1. Free Gratuities

2. OBC of $300

3. Free drink package

For European cruises during Juune, July, August. For guys that drink beer, spirits, it's a great deal, but even for guys that don't drink liquor like myself, it's still a good deal since you get soda, bottled water, specialty tea and coffee, and fruit smoothie's for free

My travel agent said they just added a new promotion TODAY (Jan 23rd) for Captain’s Club members sailing on European cruises for June-August of this year with bookings starting today. You will receive all three promotions! It will be automatic for each booking that includes Captain’s Club numbers.

My travel agent told me this morning, that because my reservation was made between the offering period of the new promotion Jan. 7-27, 2013, I would automatically get all three items rather than just the two I initially selected. Like I mentioned I don't drink, but even this way get soda, bottled water, specialty tea and coffee, and fruit smoothie's for free

Ummm, what is Captains Club?, is that the same as Elite?

 

 

Also, I am not a drinker and I am reading that most non drinkers are still going for the beverage package, am I missing something? Wouldn't on board credit and gratuities be worth more:confused:

If you are Elite, you should be in Captains Club, it's just the means they track your sailings/credits with

But it does include soda, specialty coffee, bottled water, as well, so even if it saves me the price of the soda package, if can get it included at no charge figured would give it a shot.

Obviously the big savings are when you drink beer and liquor, can save you $15-25/day based on a few a day, but even with soda/coffee/water it could probably save half that

Will this work retroactively or just for new bookings?

I hope it would, I got two out of three when I booked our Norway tour for June 24th, but the third would be nice. If anyone finds out they let it be retroactive let me know

My travel agent said they just added a new promotion TODAY (Jan 23rd) for Captain’s Club members sailing on European cruises for June-August of this year with bookings starting today. You will receive all three promotions! It will be automatic for each booking that includes Captain’s Club numbers.

That's interesting. It's been a while since I've sailed with them, but in my experience with several of the post-Thanksgiving cruises, the owner (Derek) was always very quick to respond to emails and questions. I'm sorry that wasn't your experience with the visa issue.

Yeah it's funny. I really want them to succeed, because I think they really fill a true need in the travel community for gay and lesbian community, and they are nice people, but they are frustrating to deal with. Plus they really get some great pricing or I wouldn't keep returning. Just yesterday a friend emailed me said he had emailed Pied Piper and cancelled a booking on Jan 8th and re-booked it to take advantage of the current 1-2-3 offer, as of the 16th, he hasn't received anything via email whether they made the changes or not.

I know in my experience with them, I find it necessary to do any/all research myself, and then email the exact details and simply have them make the booking. I know the four guys that I travel with quite a bit share the same frustrations, at this point we've given up on asking questions, ,whether be it details on the cruise, changes in fares, air or ground transportation.

I happily recommend them based on their pricing though, I've heard that the post Thanksgiving trip is a great get together also

Have done about 10 Pied Piper Cruises, Usually can expect a froup of 30-70 (mostly men in Celebrity demographics age group), They do have 500+ on the post Thanksgiving cruise but never been on one myself. Overall best benefit is their pricing as you can usually save $500-1000 per person off Celebrity rates by booking through Pied Piper as their gay group rates are generally excellent.

In regard to onboard events etc, usually two or themed onboard cocktail parties with some free drinks, a daily get together pre-dinner, and some exclusive Pied Piper excursions. I remember on the transatlantic on Constellation they did a superb one to Blue Lagoon on our trip to Iceland. They also do a group picture which is nice. Most excursions are a pretty competitive price and solely for Pied Piper group members.

They also have on onboard host to help iron out any problems onboard and coordinate the social events, some are really terrific, most are mediocre , so the onboard host can be hit or miss whether he'll be any benefit to you onboard.

The one thing they really lack is communication. Its in your best interest to keep an eye on rates, because if they go down, odds are they will not inform you. If you have questions they are super slow to get back to you and most time better off finding the answer on your own. For example when we did the Pied Piper Australia rep in January 2012, two of my friends were have problems getting their Australian VISA's and Pied Piper offered no help or suggestions. This will give you an idea on communication, we traveled to Australia/New Zealand in January, finally received the group picture sometime during the summer

Their intentions are good, but they are really stuck on only doing things the way they did them in the 80's

Hope that helps.

We have never booked thru Pied Piper before and really thought we would NEVER take a gay cruise, because we thought it would be all 2% body fat people and less and just vapid gay men looking for drugs and sex. So we are willing to try out a gay group cruise first to see how it is run. We are definitely interested in this cruise and its itinerary. We sailed on Celebrity's Silhouette last year and fell in love with the line! SO when we saw both gay and Celebrity we really had to give them a once over!

 

Can anyone give us any info on how Pied Piper runs? Are there gay excursions or any parties that are hosted by Pied Piper? Are there any benefits to book thru them as opposed thru the Cruise line itself or another travel agency like Vacations to Go?

 

We would appreciate any and all info about Pied Piper. We also were looking into the Northern Europe cruise as well thats also in June thru Pied Piper. Looking forward to some feedback!! Thanks for reading!!

Jamey & Marc

Overall found them very good in bang for the buck as you can usually save $500-1000 per person off Celebrity rates by booking through pied piper as their gay group rates are generally excellent.

In regard to onboard events etc, usually two or themed onboard cocktail parties with some free drinks, a daily get together pre-dinner, and some exclusive Pied Piper excursions. I remember on the transatlantic on Constellation they did a superb one to Blue Lagoon on our trip to Iceland. Most are a pretty competitive price and solely for Pied Piper groups.

They also have on onboard host to help iron out any problems onboard and coordinate the social events, some are terrific, some I think are just along for the ride (they don't get paid for it other than a free cruise), so the onboard host can be hit and miss.

Hope that helps. Just reserved my spot on Infinity today to take advantage of that 1-2-3 promotion. Almost makes me wish I drank again as that free drink package is a great deal. Still though even having free gratuities and $300 OBC is pretty good also

It does look like a great itinerary. Had spent a day in Reykjavik before, and found the blue lagoon mesmerizing, and have wanted to go back since. I know it’s truly a generality but the people in Iceland we saw as a whole were some of the most attractive and genuine people I met.

Always wanted to go to Norway, so more and more I’m thinking this trip is a good fit.. Will probably book with Pied Piper as with their discount they generally get about a couple of hundred less per person then when you book with Celebrity.

What Jay mentioned is true in regard to Pied Piper, they will not tell you anything about how many people they booked. Been my only negative with the 10 or so Pied Piper cruises I’ve taken, is that their communication is severely lacking, but the cost savings still make them worth it

December 1-16th Transatlantic 2012 on Silhouette was the first experience I had with Aquafest, here's my background and thoughts on it.

Have done about 12 normal mixed straight cruises, 10 Pied Piper Gay Group cruises, 2 Atlantis gay group charters, 1 RSVP Gay Group, and now 1 Aquafest

Aquafest was top notch above any of the others I've experienced in terms of service, responsiveness, attention to detail, and overall experience. Here are a couple of reasons why (at least in my opinion)

1. Service was personalized prior to and during the cruise, questions answered quickly, you always felt like you were being kept in the loop even prior to the cruise

2. Pre cruise package in Rome was outstanding. Hotel they suggested was superb, priced right and location was excellent. Guide was a doctor of Archeology, who literally seemed to know everything. I've been to Rome on three previous trips, but never learned as much as I did on this one

3. Aquafest shore excursions were very good. Only participated in one, but on a scale of 1-5, where 2 is the Celebrity tour, and 5 is a custom private tour, the Aquafest tour was a 4, and it was a lower price as the Celebrity tour, but much more personalized

4. Pre cruise niceties. I know of 6 people onboard that Aquafest arranged to get upgraded to a better cabin categories without the people even asking, and no cgarge whatsoever for upgrade, there might be more but I do know of at least 6.

5. Really enjoyed the extra special dining events onboard compared to other cruises I was on. Tom arranged optional discounted dinners at just about every specialty restaraunt onboard, with saving raging from 40-60% off the normal rates for us at Murano, Tuscan Grille, Qsine & Lawn Club Grill. Probably had 20-30 people participate in each one

6. Enjoyed the social events Aquafest arranged as well, from card games, movie nights, guest lectures, and evening get togethers before dinner. Nothing was mandatory, everything was optional, but great turnout for all

7. Loved Aquafest's attention to details. Had a couple instances where some members from the group needed special attention for problems or medical issues, and Tom went out of his way, to make sure every need was addressed promptly and thoroughly.

8. Was a great spirit to the group rather than it being clique'ey

If you haven't tried an Aquafest cruise, I would, it was a terrific experience. Tom and Marc were outstanding as hosts.

Only used this site once before so not sure if I'm threading in the correct place, any other gay Brits on this cruise 1/12/2012 Silhouette me and my partner John are looking forward to meeting lots of new friend's been reading lots of threads on this site seems like sa great crowd:):)

Welcome Aboard.

My best guess-timate is there is quite a large gay population on this cruise, My best guess is around 125-150, so I would be surprised if not at least a few are from the UK if past cruises are any indication.

There is a massive thread for the entire cruise located here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1708776&page=122. It's hundreds of pages long, but does have a lot of good information

Also two of the fine folks who will be cruising with us set up some wonderful web pages with great information as well, you can see them here

Our Silhouette 2012 Cruise Pages:

Monica's Cruise page and Sherry's Cruise Page

Look forward to meeting you both:cool:

Just on the off chance. anyone else

Flying out of JFK on the 28th on the Alitalia 5:35PM flight?

Staying at the Hotel Forty Seven in Rome?

I think there are two larger groups, probably 4 more pods of friends traveling together, along with another dozen or so solo couples and groups from what I can tell, can't wait to go and meet you all (already supposed to get down to 30's in temperature in NY this week).

two questions: any thoughts on tuxedo rental for formal nights?

I know quite a few people that have used this, and been real happy with the service,and lack of having to pack one. I always bring mine, as its my once or twice a year chance to see if I still fit in the pants.

any sense of weather as we cross Atlantic between Tenerife and Fort Lauderdale?

Monica had posted this link Cruise Outlook which shows you expected weather for the cruise, but I guess its only available 10 days before sailing

I know its a crap shoot to tell, but one transatlantic I did we had three days at see windy and cool but rest were delightful

but still feel like I'm 47 1/2

Looking forward to meeting everyone. The hubby will be on with a couple of couples we know as well, as well as meeting an English friend of ours just for our Rome stay. I daresay this may well be the largest group I've ever seen on a cruise. :D

Just from postings alone I think you're right about size of gay community onboard being much larger than I've been used to

Probably could easily add another 15-20% more than we don't know about