Celebrity Infinity - Oct 24 2013 - T/A Harwich to Miami - Pied Piper sailing

[Petert102]

Hi Folks

 

Paul, my Hubby, and I have just booked this re-positioning cruise, as it is a Pied Piper sailing, wuz wondering if there is anyone out there also booked on this one, if so will see you at the Matini Bar each evening at 7pm for libations !!!!!.

 

Mega Hugz

 

Peter

Edited January 26, 2013 by Petert102

[Hobie]

I'm also going to be onboard this cruise and look forward to meeting you guys.

 

See you at the Martini Bar!

[fflying]

Hi guys

My partner and myself will be onboard as well. We are two Danish guys from Copenhagen that looks forward to try Pied Piper and hopefully some good company. Looking forward to meet you guys

kind regards

Flemming

[Petert102]

Hi guys

My partner and myself will be onboard as well. We are two Danish guys from Copenhagen that looks forward to try Pied Piper and hopefully some good company. Looking forward to meet you guys

kind regards

Flemming

Flemming

 

Welcome, it looks like this is going to be a great crossing, Hobie ( second posting ) and Paul and I are hoping for a really fun time.....Martini Bar...at 7pm...here we come

 

Paul and I love Copenhagen, we had a great vacation there a few years back

 

Flemming if you want to contact me off message board, my e-mail is petert102@mac.com. We will be spending six days in the UK before the sailing

 

Hugz

 

Peter

Edited January 27, 2013 by Petert102

[Hobie]

I haven't planned my pre-cruise yet. @Peter: Where are you guys visiting during your 6 days pre-cruise?

[Petert102]

I haven't planned my pre-cruise yet. @Peter: Where are you guys visiting during your 6 days pre-cruise?

We leave JFK on Thursday Oct 17 and take AA from JFK to London Heathrow, then we take a bus from London Heathrow ( they go every hour ) straight down to Brighton to stay at the Brighton Thistle Hotel for three nights, we will be visiting my Mother who lives with my sister and her family. Brighton is very Gay and has tons to see and do and it is good to have a few days away from busy London, so we will have some respite from family in the evenings, then on Monday Oct 21 we take the train to London and stay for three nights at the Marble Arch Thistle which is above the City Of Quebec Pub ( Gay) . We always have our Hotel in London close to our final watering hole of the evening due to the appalling cost of late nite cabs and the scarcity of late nite buses in London, then on Thursday 24th we will take the central lne subway from Marble Arch to Liverpool Street Railroad Station and the train the Harwich International Station which is yards away from the ship, the trains run hourly and take 90 minutes.

 

Then we start our float accross the Atlantic !!!!!

 

We are off to Paris at the end of March to celebrate Paul's Birthday and our being together for 30 years

 

Peter

Edited January 28, 2013 by Petert102

[Hobie]

@Peter:

Thank you for your detailed pre-cruise itinerary. You guys have a good plan.

 

I was in London in November pre-cruise. My roommate had points with Hyatt so we stayed at the Hyatt Churchill which is only 3 or 4 blocks from the City of Quebec pub. I went there twice and had a great time. That is the first time that I have stayed in that area and may try to stay somewhere in the Marble Arch area this time. I'm also thinking of maybe taking a side trip to Paris or Amsterdam before boarding the Infinity.

 

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! 30 years is impressive! I'm sure that you will have a great time in Paris and hope to hear about your visit and your recommendations after March.

[Hobie]

At this point, I'm booked solo on the cruise.

 

I haven't checked out the main roll call yet. I'll go over there and look for it now.

[studhilo]

Hello All,

 

I just booked this cruise. Much more fun than flying across the Atlantic.

 

Russ from Arizona

[Hobie]

Russ,

Welcome aboard.

I look forward to meeting you on the Infinity in October.

[Petert102]

Hello All,

 

I just booked this cruise. Much more fun than flying across the Atlantic.

 

Russ from Arizona

Hi Russ

 

Welcome, we are starting to look like we are going to be a great group. Are you booked with Pied Piper ?

 

Hugz

 

Peter

[studhilo]

Hi Russ

 

Welcome, we are starting to look like we are going to be a great group. Are you booked with Pied Piper ?

 

Hugz

 

Peter

 

Thanks,

 

Yes I booked with Pied Piper. They always seem to have a good group.

[Petert102]

Thanks,

 

Yes I booked with Pied Piper. They always seem to have a good group.

Great, Russ

 

I have a feeling that we have a really good group in the making, with Glenn from CA and Flemming and his partner from Denmark. I see that you are going to Poole for a week, do you have family there ? Paul and I will be flying over on Oct 17 from JFK to LHR on AA, for three days in Brighton to visit my 87 year old, Mama and my Sister and her family before going to London for three days ( for Paul, he loves London, I hate it !!! ) thence to Harwich and our float !!!! I think that our group is gaining critical mass for the Pied Piper HO to send Bruce to be our Host on this Trip. We have another friend, Howard, who is currently undergoing medical procedures, but will know in Mid-April if he can join us, he wants to, so lets keep our fingers crossed.

 

Paul, my husband of 30 years ( we finally were allowed to get married in NYC in 2011) is 80, and has some health issues ( went blind in one eye, very suddenly ) last summer and is only partially sighted in the other plus has cardiac issues, so a cruise is ideal for us. I had to leave my job and go into earlier retirement than I wanted, in Nov 2012, to be a 100% care giver to take care of Paul, so we now have the time to do these long cruises.

 

Hugz

 

Peter

Edited February 10, 2013 by Petert102

[Turtles06]

Hello, everyone! My partner, Eileen, and I have also booked this crossing with Pied Piper. Gender diversity! :) Seriously, we were in the Pied Piper group (of several dozen) aboard the Celebrity Eclipse eastbound TA last spring, and had a really fun time, except for the 23-hour days, which got pretty tiring by the end. So we're very much looking forward to the 25-hour days on this crossing!

 

We'll definitely be at the Martini Bar (in fact, a good martini is pretty much Eileen's favorite drink!).

 

The European ports on this trip are new to us, so all suggestions are welcome. I'll throw one out for Vigo: Santiago de Compostela, which is pretty incredible.

 

We look forward to meeting all of you, and to the continuing conversation on this Roll Call and over on the Celebrity forum Roll Call.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Judith

 

PS: If I've counted correctly, that's 8 of us with Pied Piper just here on Cruise Critic, which very few cruisers even know about. It would seem very likely then that we will have enough for PP to send Bruce! Let's hope we get to the critical mass!

Edited February 16, 2013 by Turtles06

[Petert102]

Welcome Judith and Eileen

 

Yes our numbers are slowly building especially if you count those that are on PP and not on this Board, when I spoke to PP, they seemed to think that Bruce wold be making this trip as our escort.

 

Our last crossing on the Solstice, ( not a PP crossing, from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona ) there were so many of us that we completely took over the Martini Bar at cocktail hour to the delight of of the Celebrity Staff as we all tend to drink like fish and are generous with our tips, Yes, I think we are in for a great crossing, where are you Girls from, we are NYC folks ?

 

Mega Hugz

 

Peter

[KiwiAtSea]

Hi all,

 

I'm Alan, from New Zealand. Not with PP, but I'll be on this cruise as part of a B2B from Harwich to San Diego. Single, but travelling with a small group of friends. Have not been back on the M class since they were solstisized, so I'm looking forward to discovering the changes and meeting everyone :)

[KiwiAtSea]

 

Looking forward to meeting you and your "small group" of friends, what do they consist of, I am intrigued ?

Peter

 

My friends are CC members too - they'll probably pop up on the main Rollcall sooner or later. We've all cruised together a couple of times and are firm Martini Bar lovers from the S class, so we will definitely be there on this cruise.

[Petert102]

My friends are CC members too - they'll probably pop up on the main Rollcall sooner or later. We've all cruised together a couple of times and are firm Martini Bar lovers from the S class, so we will definitely be there on this cruise.

Paul and I actually prefer the M Class to the S Class, they are more intimate and give you a greater chance to get to know one another better, we also like the wider cabins as opposed to the longer and thinner ones of the S class. Like you Guys, we have not been on the Solticized M class but look forward to seeing the enhancements

 

Peter

[Turtles06]

Paul and I actually prefer the M Class to the S Class, they are more intimate and give you a greater chance to get to know one another better, we also like the wider cabins as opposed to the longer and thinner ones of the S class. Like you Guys, we have not been on the Solticized M class but look forward to seeing the enhancements

 

Peter

 

Having only been on the Eclipse (in terms of Celebrity ships) and really loved the ship, I'm glad to read your thoughts about the M Class ships, and am looking forward to sailing on one and seeing the difference.

 

Given the size of the Eclipse, I thought I might find it crowded, but the ship was so well designed I never felt that there were 3,000 people aboard.

[Petert102]

Having only been on the Eclipse (in terms of Celebrity ships) and really loved the ship, I'm glad to read your thoughts about the M Class ships, and am looking forward to sailing on one and seeing the difference.

 

Given the size of the Eclipse, I thought I might find it crowded, but the ship was so well designed I never felt that there were 3,000 people aboard.

Try to get a cabin closer to the center, the M class tend to suffer from a bit of a tail swing as you will see in the restaurant. The S class are as you say beautifully designed, but the upgraded M class should be great with the addition of Bistro on Five, Qsine, the up-dated and relocated Martini Bar, sadly the Caffe Boccio seems to have been replaced and the kiddies club has been carved out of the forward observation lounge. Having said that, nothing can replace Celebrity's fabulous staff, attention to detail and general aura of civilization, sadly missing on so many other Cruise Lines

 

Peter

Edited February 17, 2013 by Petert102

[Turtles06]

Try to get a cabin closer to the center, the M class tend to suffer from a bit of a tail swing as you will see in the restaurant. The S class are as you say beautifully designed, but the upgraded M class should be great with the addition of Bistro on Five, Qsine, the up-dated and relocated Martini Bar, sadly the Caffe Boccio seems to have been replaced and the kiddies club has been carved out of the forward observation lounge. Having said that, nothing can replace Celebrity's fabulous staff, attention to detail and general aura of civilization, sadly missing on so many other Cruise Lines

 

Peter

 

Thanks Peter! Our cabin is pretty much midship... (As for ship motion, we just got back from an expedition to Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Explorer. This involved crossing the Drake Passage twice, so we're pretty much ready for anything. In fact, the chairs in the dining room were stapped to the deck. :))

 

From the Infinity deck plans, it appears that Cafe al Bacio is still on Deck 5, which will make Eileen very happy as she loved to start the day on the Eclipse with a cappuccino there. I do hate that X has carved out some of the observation lounge on the Infinity; that was one of my favorite indoor spaces on the Eclipse.

 

I'm really glad they've added Bistro on Five, that's a big plus. Love nutella crepes. And it's a great place for lunch on embarkation day. (Don't tell anyone. ;))

[Petert102]

Thanks Peter! Our cabin is pretty much midship... (As for ship motion, we just got back from an expedition to Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Explorer. This involved crossing the Drake Passage twice, so we're pretty much ready for anything. In fact, the chairs in the dining room were stapped to the deck. :))

 

From the Infinity deck plans, it appears that Cafe al Bacio is still on Deck 5, which will make Eileen very happy as she loved to start the day on the Eclipse with a cappuccino there. I do hate that X has carved out some of the observation lounge on the Infinity; that was one of my favorite indoor spaces on the Eclipse.

 

I'm really glad they've added Bistro on Five, that's a big plus. Love nutella crepes. And it's a great place for lunch on embarkation day. (Don't tell anyone. ;))

We seem to be soul mates......love everything that you two do !!!!! Actually I stand corrected, the Cafe had another name in the previous incarnation of the M class ships, but like you we love that cup of cafe and a pastry at the Cafe on the S class ships, especially in the evening with the Accapella Singers or the Harp Player there to entertain us.

 

Where do you two Ladies hail from ?

 

We are in 3080, like you mid ships. Paul needs to be close to the elevators, so this is ideal for us.

 

Peter

Edited February 17, 2013 by Petert102

[Turtles06]

Just realized over the weekend that we'll be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for Halloween! :) That will be a first for us.

 

A very quick search of the Celebrity board didn't yield much info as to anything Celebrity itself might do.... Anyone have any info or ideas? Do we all need to bring masks?! :)

 

What a trip: a bunch of time changes each way (not to mention that Daylight Savings time will be ending in different weeks for Europe and the US while we're aboard), Halloween, and a solar eclipse!

[KiwiAtSea]

Just realized over the weekend that we'll be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for Halloween! :) That will be a first for us.

 

A very quick search of the Celebrity board didn't yield much info as to anything Celebrity itself might do.... Anyone have any info or ideas? Do we all need to bring masks?! :)

 

 

I was on the Silhouette for Halloween 2011. They decorated the Lobby with glowing pumpkins and lots of fake spider webs and the dresscode that night was Halloween/Formal Night. So half the ship wore formal, the rest looked like Zombies. There was a fancy dress competition in the afternoon for best costume, and that night a group of passengers, who had been going to organised rehersals, did the MJ Thriller Dance.

[Turtles06]

I was on the Silhouette for Halloween 2011. They decorated the Lobby with glowing pumpkins and lots of fake spider webs and the dresscode that night was Halloween/Formal Night. So half the ship wore formal, the rest looked like Zombies. There was a fancy dress competition in the afternoon for best costume, and that night a group of passengers, who had been going to organised rehersals, did the MJ Thriller Dance.

 

Thanks Kiwi! Eileen and I are pretty informal folks, so when we are decked out in our formal attire for Celebrity, for us it's like being in costume for Halloween! :)