johhnnyt

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

It'll be here before we know it! Just wondering... Who all among the posters to this board are NOT in with the Aquafest crowd? Seems like much of this board is about Aquafest-related posts. Anyone else a non-Aquafester?

By my count there has be about 50 Aquafest people and a good 30+ more non Aquafest gay folks on board just from the messages here and on the 12/01/12 Silhouette main board

FYI If anyone needs a lift from airport to downtown Rome on the morning of the 29th, email me at jwtrocks at gmail. I reserved the car today and have room for one extra if someone needs it. I'll be at the FortySeven Hotel ( just across form the Temple of Vesta inside the Roman Forum), so if close by and need a ride let me know.

I remember it well, I spent $799 for the cruise and proceeded to spend almost that much in liquor on board. I remember the beautiful seafood midnight buffet.

I met a man whose father was Captain Zannis Xenios of the Patris. He was Captain of the Patris from 1950-1969. The Patris was the first ship in the Chandris fleet.

It's funny though what happened to Chandris Lines. Mr Chandris never had children so when he died, the sons of his brother were the new owners. They disliked the old stuff, crew, even officers,and wanted to change everything" Went onto say they sold Chandris and kept a few cargo ships, and his father felt they would have run Chandis into ruins had they kept it longer.

He also said his "godfather, was Dimitri Kaparis,who was the chief nautical engineer of the company,a real genius" and got so fed up with the new owners he left as well before he saw the company fall into a continuing downward spiral.

Fascinating book on the whole Chandris/Celebrity story I just bought from an Australian publisher, saving it and going to read it on my next cruise

Then again, I would never make a judgement on any of the staff based on one persons opinion, because that's all it is. Its a one sided perspective of one persons experience. I've seen passengers that were absolutely a hotel staff worst nightmare, men and woman, young and old of just about every nationality, that were so self absorbed they were a pain at every juncture. Demanding, rude, and then wonder why the staff doesn't want to cater their whims.

Luckily though most people are the opposite, and those are the people that I cherish seeing on cruises. The people that are there to relax and enjoy, and don't let little nuiscances annoy their voyage. The ones that say please and thank you, and laugh when there is a queue rather than push and curse about it.

I can honestly say in 15 years or so of cruising, I can only theink of a half dozen staff members, that I thought really weren't suited for their work

If people start be reading the top line, it will show which each row represents. I could put headings along the side but I believe that those on tablets would have a problem. This chart is the maximum height for my monitor.

 

It seems to make better sense this way

Berdos, is Charming Funny, and so knowledgeable

Niina is even more charming , funnier and knows how to keep things in perfect order

Captain Berdos

HD Nina Hautaniemi

CD Alejandro Tartarelli

Executive Chef: Javier Carmona

It's so nice to receive updates from those on board. Thank you all who send updates for this thread.

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I'm speculating but seeing ~50 through Aquafest and at least another 35+ on top of that (figuratively of course :D)

Bernhard Stacher is the HD on the Si now. Started around 2 weeks ago and on for 4 months

 

Why would a real assets to X resign?

Ever thought there might be some hidden truths behind these resignations?

Just too strange for me

I think its more just the way the hospitality industry is, the figures I remember seeing a year or two ago were 29 percent changing jobs in the past year and 42 percent having done so during the past two years. So the exceptions I would think are the ones that stay. Those figures are based on land based jobs, so would guess sea based hospitality jobs would be an even higher turnover.

I know you were directing this question to johhnnyt, but, we haven't been informed yet of the official itinerary. Maybe he has. If we hear anything soon will let you know. Are you booked through Aquafest also?

Sorry been sidetracked doing family court mediation lately, sometimes I miss the simplicity of doing business mediation, maybe I'll switch back or do both to keep balanced :rolleyes:

Didn't see anything other than what was mentioned on website, my guess is it will be similar to Pied Piper where have nightly drinks together before dinner, tours of bridge, backstage, and kitchen, and a few gatherings on sea days

Onboard Aquafest Amenities Include

Private group shore excursions in selected Mediterranean ports-of-call

$50 per cabin onboard spending credit

Bottle of wine per stateroom

Private cocktail Party

Private group gatherings and socials

I know I did sign up for the pre cruise package in FCO and that included

2 night's accommodations at Forty Seven Luxury Boutique Hotel at the Roman Forum with daily breakfast included

2 full days of intimate group sightseeing of Rome's main treasures including the forum, Coliseum, a walking tour of the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and private "skip-the-line"Â entrance into the Vatican-2 lunches included

Private group transfers to Civitavecchia and Celebrity Silhouette on sailing day

Hosted by - Tom Baker of Aquafest and Exclusive Famous Rome Archaeologist Guide - Dr. Enza Fratello

John,

You are a wealth of infomation.;) I really hope to meet you on our upcoming T.A. ... we'll see, you are a busy man:D

Kevin

Look forward to meeting you as well Kevin:D

I've done a bit of work with the Navy over the years, and am always curious, the structure of the crew as well as the physical elements of the ship, so I do find myself asking a lot of questions. Last cruise I ended spending three hours one morning having coffee with the environmental officer and learning about his work onboard. I also have gotten to know quite a few hotel directors over the years, as I always ask them who would be best to answer my questions, and fascinated about their multi-pupose work.

Been fortunate that the last 6 or 7 cruises been invited to dine with the Captain on each as well, and always interested to learn their backgrounds, some are funny, some stiff, but just about all love to share experiences. It was funny last cruise the Captain gave me all the details on his cabin, how often his family in onboard and his yearly schedule.

No magic formula I don't think other than being interested in their work, and the hurdles they face, and the commonality we all share

We just got off Century a week or so ago, and it seems that a lot of the officers were making their debut in new promotions (captain, staff captain).

Tom Brady was shadowing Jaimie Petts (another gem) for a good part of the week, do you think it was his first assignment as Hotel Director onboard Century? Would it make sense that Century has become the training vessel for newbies to get their feet wet?

I know Christian, Niina, Raffaele have all said its like a badge of honor to serve on Century at some point during your tenure. I think most of the Captains and first officers are rotated on it as well

Good to know. I havent sailed with Nina in ages. She's fantastic, and hope to see her again on a future sailing.

Yeah I agree fully Niina (two eyes, as she says) is an excellent hotel director, she and Christian (haven't seen him in years) always struck me as they that they seem to have eyes in the back of her head as well as ones in the front.

I saw that Tom is now Hotel Manager on Century, I know he's worked as Asst Hotel Director with Niina for quite a while, another ace performer on the Celebrity team

Me too !!!!! When we were on the Equinox with her, all the staff was always so happy. They claimed she was the best to work with. Can we start a campaign to get her on for December LOL

Nina was Hotel Direktor on Equinox this August

I'm hoping she switches over to Silhouette by December (Never hurts to hope), she was the one that actually showed me pictures of Silhouette right after it was put in service, that sparked my interest in it.

I few months back I had wished her a Happy Birthday via Facebook, and mentioned to her that I would be on transatlantic in December, so I'm hoping she makes the hop from Equinox/Solstice

Yahoo! We can hardly wait! Just got a new suitcase for our suits for my birthday. Can hardly wait to use it!

 

Are there any new Aquafester's yet? Noticed they no longer have pricing on their website and wonder if the group is full? Also has anyone decided to do Aquafest's tours? We've decided to go with the Genoa and Provence tours.

Spoke to Tom on some unrelated matter today and he said 52 in group total

What ever happened to Niina H, she was the Hotel Diector on the Equinox. Where is she now?

I know she has been on Solstice this year quite a bit, I think she's on her off time now. My wishful thinking is her next ship will be Silhouette by December, of all the hotel directors she's in my top two favorites, not only for the charming personality, but she knows how to run a top tier operation.

I now have almost all the pictures of the captains in the fleet.

Kostas Patsoulas and Michael Sympouras are not in my archives.. ;)

 

Its nice to know who's who before you get there, thanks for your good work:D

Yahoo! We can hardly wait! Just got a new suitcase for our suits for my birthday. Can hardly wait to use it!

 

Are there any new Aquafester's yet? Noticed they no longer have pricing on their website and wonder if the group is full? Also has anyone decided to do Aquafest's tours? We've decided to go with the Genoa and Provence tours.

I'm not sure if they filled their quota or it was a time limited offer Celebrity gave them, I do hope it's a good size group.

I signed up for the Rome pre cruise 2 day tour/transfers but really haven't looked at the Aquafest onboard tours. I'll have to look at the Genoa and Provence ones. My friend told me the other day Provence was really a nice unspoiled port

First Officer (Navigation or Deck) to Safety Officer to Staff Captain to Captain.

 

It is a very long arduous road from First Officer passing the exams for the Masters License and becoming a Master.

 

Most do not make it all the way.

Just like the Navy, few make it to Captain, but the ones that do are usually the exceptional ones, and all three that I know are exceptional

Many officers leaving in the next few weeks.

That's the nature of the cruise industry always a large turnover of people

I know of at least three first officers that have completed their masters training, so curious to see when they move up. It will be interesting as all three I know of are American....will be interesting as all three seem to be terrific hard working knowledgeable guys from talking to their Captains

I agree! It also has the oldest university in the western world.

Good Morning All! First time on the site ... A friend (Susan) and myself (Jeff) will be on this cruise and just came across this site in our google search to get info ... Thanks to all of you for the info we have already seen.

Welcome aboard Jeff & Susan

A huge message board full of information on this December 1, 2012 Silhouette sailing can also be found here Silhouette December 1 2012

Been so busy with work and looks as if schedule will be going full throttle till December. I do a lot of mediation work and lately many of the cases have been in Family Court, and its just more draining than civil/business cases.

Can't wait till our Late November/ December getaway :D

Yes, we sometimes visit family in the Albany area and pass through. I think you're on the opposite side of the Hudson from the Thruway.

Yeah we were pretty lucky, my grandparents always had a big beach house in Sag Harbor. It was big enough for the 8 grandkids aand their parents.

Just turned 55 this year so not sure if I'll stay up here or move to warmer climates, my guess is I'll stay up here for a while.

I do some mediation/consulting mostly with military/government and have a online business www.simplysapphires.com and great thing about that is since no storefront, can move that business with a few clicks on a keyboard

I'd be happy to maintain an online spreadsheet of who's who onboard if there would be interest.

Just need to get current from all the ships as a starting point

If you know current ones either post or email me

Master

Staff Captain

Chief Engineer

Hotel Director

Asst Hotel Director

Guest Relations Manager

Cruise Director

Food and Beverage Manager

Executive Chef

Captains Club Host

Feel Free to email me