Celebrity Solstice 11/28/10 Pied Piper Post Thanksgiving

[02143]

I did contact them today. We will lose some of the incentives the other travel agency offered, so I have to get the groups approval on giving those up. I know there are parties and stuff PP does on board so I'm trying to gather up the positives to convince them to switch.

 

The parties are a big draw. There is a mixer early on and a midnight theme party mid-week, plus a beach party excursion. I don't know what incentives you'd be giving up, but if cruising for your group involves socializing with other people, it could be awkward to not have those opportunities.

[smoosh21]

I did contact them today. We will lose some of the incentives the other travel agency offered, so I have to get the groups approval on giving those up. I know there are parties and stuff PP does on board so I'm trying to gather up the positives to convince them to switch.

 

You would not be able to go to the Pied Piper events, or the Pied Piper excursions, but you could still 'meet up' with people elsewhere.

You can meet up for before dinner drinks at a lounge, at the pool, shows, etc.

 

I guess it depends on how good the other offers you would be giving up are.

[boatboy4fun69]

After talking with PP again, it appears all we will lose is the free gratuities. Thats a lot easier to convince the others over than losing the stateroom credits as well.

[CrusingJoe]

After talking with PP again, it appears all we will lose is the free gratuities. Thats a lot easier to convince the others over than losing the stateroom credits as well.

 

What price are you paying for the cabins, with the gratuities? PP rates are low and maybe lower than what you might be booked for now. What stateroom credits are you talking about?

[twofortheroad]

Hello all. My partner and I are really looking forward to this cruise, his first. We seldom drink, but love spending afternoons and early evenings hanging out in a piano bar with a singer or sing alongs. Is Michael's Club this type of venue? Are there other places that might fit the bill? Have any of you looked into the beverage packages? I think we've finally decided on the Premium Non-Alcoholic package, we'll purchase an alcoholic beverage a la carte, if the mood hits!;)

[colocop004]

Man I'm a little bummed to find out about this Pied Piper sailing. A group of us from Dallas are going to be on this sailing, but made our reservation thru another travel agency. But hopefully we will be able to meet some of you all.

 

 

If you are interested in joining the Pied Piper Group, you shold be able to contact them and have your Cruise reservation rebooked through Pied Piper. I have friends who have done that in the past.

[colocop004]

I just checked prices for this cruise on the celebrity web site and it looks like they have gone down since I have booked. Does anyone know if Pied Piper will give us OBC for the difference?

 

And yes, I plan on contacting Pied Piper but was hoping to get a firm answer before calling. :-)

 

Thanks for any info.

 

David

 

Last year, the price was cut in half and the Cruise line gave us the difference in OBC. That happened about one month before we sailed. So far everyone is coorect in that if you have made your final payment then you will get the difference in OBC, if the price drops before final payment, they just reduce how much you owe for the final payment.

[02143]

Last year, the price was cut in half and the Cruise line gave us the difference in OBC. That happened about one month before we sailed. So far everyone is coorect in that if you have made your final payment then you will get the difference in OBC, if the price drops before final payment, they just reduce how much you owe for the final payment.

 

A word of caution--Celebrity changed its policies this year about credit in these situations, which determines whether or not the TA can do anything. I have not followed the situation well enough on the main Celebrity boards to speak with authority, can someone confirm that it's business as usual for OBC for price drops or is it now different and restricted?

[colocop004]

Hey all,

 

I was just checking out the Pied Piper site the other day and saw that they have announced the comedian for this years Post Thanksgiving Cruise! It is Jason Stuart!!! I do not know if this is new news or not, but we are very excited to see him! He is extreemly funny and will be a great addition to our cruise! Kudo's to Derek and the Pied Piper staff for getting this type of quailty entertainment for our cruise!!! There is a link to Jason's website on the 2010 Post Thanksgiving page on Pied Pipers Website. Check it out!!!:D

[Cruisefunguy]

Ready to book this one but wondering about Pied Piper. Have been on gay cruises before but the intensity was too much. More than likely going as a single and in the AQ category. How many guys are on this one?

[colocop004]

So I was just thinking about onboard activities, and probably my favorite activity of all last year was an unorganized one: hanging out in the Schooner Bar every night drinking cocktails and listening to (and sometimes singing along with) the piano man.

 

For those of you who have been on the Solstice class before: is there a comparable bar onboard with live music?

 

 

It really helped that the piano guy was HOT!!!! Hey Tim, This is Kyle, Adam and I are looking forward to this years cruise again!!!

[colocop004]

Ready to book this one but wondering about Pied Piper. Have been on gay cruises before but the intensity was too much. More than likely going as a single and in the AQ category. How many guys are on this one?

 

You have nothing to worry about with Pied Piper!!! This is my 6th PP post thanksgiving cruise and they are always laid back and relaxing. The groups on these cruises are very laid back and very diverse. If you want to party every lnight, you will meet that group (we are everywhere) if not that is fine also. This is such a unique group of people that I would not miss these cruises for anything. The long and the short of it is that you will find what you want on this cruise!

[colocop004]

Hello all. My partner and I are really looking forward to this cruise, his first. We seldom drink, but love spending afternoons and early evenings hanging out in a piano bar with a singer or sing alongs. Is Michael's Club this type of venue? Are there other places that might fit the bill? Have any of you looked into the beverage packages? I think we've finally decided on the Premium Non-Alcoholic package, we'll purchase an alcoholic beverage a la carte, if the mood hits!;)

 

We hqave never been on the Solstice, but have been on the Infinity. Michael's club on this ship was a quaint little piano bar. There were no sing alongs to speak of that we were aware of, but the pianist was amazing! We are hoping that we can find a venue that has a singer that may turn into sing alongs as we did last year!

 

As far as the beverage packages go, we have been checking them out as well. We are also wondering if people have had good or bad experiences with them.

[colocop004]

I saw that someone posted a question regarding a get together the night before we set sail. The last few years there have been several groups that have gotten together in various locations. Georgies Alibi in FLL seems to be a favorite. There will be an avenue to discuss these socials announced after final payment date. Keep an eye out for more information.

[twofortheroad]

We hqave never been on the Solstice, but have been on the Infinity. Michael's club on this ship was a quaint little piano bar. There were no sing alongs to speak of that we were aware of, but the pianist was amazing! We are hoping that we can find a venue that has a singer that may turn into sing alongs as we did last year!

 

As far as the beverage packages go, we have been checking them out as well. We are also wondering if people have had good or bad experiences with them.

 

 

Thanks Colocop for the information, a smaller bar can be quite warm and friendly. We are from the Syracuse, NY area and meeting up with seven others from our locale. All of us our looking forward to this cruise, and from what I read, we won't be disappointed!

[Bayotter]

Ready to book this one but wondering about Pied Piper. Have been on gay cruises before but the intensity was too much. More than likely going as a single and in the AQ category. How many guys are on this one?

 

Pied Piper generally does not release in advance the number of people booked in the group, although sometimes that number does come out right before sailing. I have been with a number of Pied Piper groups with the average number being around 40 to 60. However, this cruise is the most popular and it is my understanding that the group size runs into the many hundreds. This is my first post-Thanksgiving cruise, so I only know what previous cruisers have told me.

 

I have been on the all-gay cruises, which I enjoy, but since you find them too intense, you may enjoy Pied Piper better. Since we are a gay group on a regular scheduled sailing with non-gay passengers along, the daily dance parties and customized entertainment don't really exist. We will have some private cocktail parties and sit together in the dining room, and be able to head out on shore excursions together. We also have the uncanny ability to take over the disco at night. -lol

 

Others who have been on this one can fill you in with more details.

 

Jamie

[DavyB]

Anyone from the Baltimore/DC vicinity going on this cruise?

[TimATL]

On the topic of beverage packages, I'm intrigued with the premium package. For $49 per day, I can basically drink anything that I want: soda, premium bottled water, bottled juice, specialty coffees and teas, frozen drinks, smoothies, Red Bull, Vitamin Water and Celebrity's entire selection of beer, spirits, cocktails and wine by the glass. I'm seriously considering it. It'd be nice not to have to worry about a growing bar tab. You'd know exactly what you're going to spend going into it, no matter how much you drink.

[DavyB]

TimATL - I was thinking the same thing. It'll allow me to try different drinks too. If I don't like a drink, I can try another without having to worry about forking out more $$$. :p

 

I've tried to purchase the premium alcohol beverage package but was unable to onlilne. Has anyone else had any issues? :confused:

[colocop004]

On the topic of beverage packages, I'm intrigued with the premium package. For $49 per day, I can basically drink anything that I want: soda, premium bottled water, bottled juice, specialty coffees and teas, frozen drinks, smoothies, Red Bull, Vitamin Water and Celebrity's entire selection of beer, spirits, cocktails and wine by the glass. I'm seriously considering it. It'd be nice not to have to worry about a growing bar tab. You'd know exactly what you're going to spend going into it, no matter how much you drink.

 

We are intrigued with this option as well. Just remember that it says any cocktail or wine up to $12 per serving. There is an entire thread dedicated to the topic here on Cruise Critic, they have all the drink prices listed in various posts.

 

As far as purchasing the packages, it looks like they may have fixed the issue on the website.

[DavyB]

We are intrigued with this option as well. Just remember that it says any cocktail or wine up to $12 per serving. There is an entire thread dedicated to the topic here on Cruise Critic, they have all the drink prices listed in various posts.

 

As far as purchasing the packages, it looks like they may have fixed the issue on the website.

 

 

Thanks Colocop004. I was able to purchase the premium alcohol package this afternoon. Now if I could just decide on excursions... :D

[TimATL]

We are intrigued with this option as well. Just remember that it says any cocktail or wine up to $12 per serving. There is an entire thread dedicated to the topic here on Cruise Critic, they have all the drink prices listed in various posts.

 

I saw those threads too, but didn't see any drinks, cocktails or glasses of wine that were more than $12, did you?

 

I can wait to buy the premium package until I get on the boat, right?

[colocop004]

Thanks Colocop004. I was able to purchase the premium alcohol package this afternoon. Now if I could just decide on excursions... :D

 

 

Hold off on the Excursions!!!!!! Pied Piper will announce private, for our group only excursions in late September. They will mimic what is available through Celebrity, but are generally cheaper. There will be many options for you to chose from and they will only have Pied Piper guests included. There is always a "Beach Bash" of somesort that is very reasonable for the price and has included food and drinks in the past. This is always a good time.

[colocop004]

I saw those threads too, but didn't see any drinks, cocktails or glasses of wine that were more than $12, did you?

 

I can wait to buy the premium package until I get on the boat, right?

 

 

I think there are a few drinks that are more than $12, but not very many. There is so much information on that thread that it is kind of hard to keep track of.

 

You can wait to buy the package on the ship. I have read that you have to go to customer service and also that you can get it at any bar. I am not sure what the process is. I hate to wait in line, so I plan to purchase right before we sail. They state that you have to purchase on line at least 4 days before the sail date. I am going to do it a week or 2 out.

 

There has also been discussion on the other threads regarding when you can buy on the ship. Most people have agreed that you can buy it any day, but.... The disagreement is what happens if you buy the package on the third or fourth day. Some say that you have to pay for the entire cruise, ie all 7 days worth, and celebrity will take all of the individual drinks off your SeaPass account. Some say that you only have to pay for the remaining days of the cruise. There has been no difinitive answer regarding this question, and it seems to be a gamble to me not to purchase in advance or at least on the first day.

 

Another question was wheather or not you have to pay taxes on the liquor package if you purchase on the first day while still in port. This has been brought up for foreign port and not US ports, but I know in Seattle all drinks purchased before we sailed were taxed in port. Purchasing prior to the cruise you do not have to pay taxes, again it is a gamble.......

 

I am sure that I confused the crap out of everyone at this point so I will stop now. See ya ll soon!

[TimATL]

You can wait to buy the package on the ship. I have read that you have to go to customer service and also that you can get it at any bar. I am not sure what the process is. I hate to wait in line, so I plan to purchase right before we sail. They state that you have to purchase on line at least 4 days before the sail date. I am going to do it a week or 2 out.

 

Another question was wheather or not you have to pay taxes on the liquor package if you purchase on the first day while still in port. This has been brought up for foreign port and not US ports, but I know in Seattle all drinks purchased before we sailed were taxed in port. Purchasing prior to the cruise you do not have to pay taxes, again it is a gamble.......

 

Good info. Buy the premium liquor package a week out instead of the first day on the boat and avoid potential lines and taxes. Done.