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Celebrity, Silhouette, November 1, 2014 - Transatlantic

torjen

By torjen,
in LGBTQIA+ Roll Calls

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TorontoSailor

TorontoSailor

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Our friends and neighbors, John and Ed, have booked this cruise. I've given them the link for this board, but they're busy having fun in Mexico. Tough life.

 

In any event, we're late dining (early dining cuts into the cocktail hour and we certainly can't have that) and are going to link our table reservations for the MDR.

 

If any of you late diners would like to join us, please email me. As the Flintstones' song says "we'll have a gay old time" :)

 

 

John

 

Email is johncaster at dc dot rr dot com

 

 

John:

 

We would love to join you guys for dinner. Hoping some of the others might, too, and we could have a BIG fun table.

 

We are late seating, too, so perfect.

 

I will email you our reservation details.

 

Would LOVE to have a nice big table if others can join. We would have fun, for sure.

 

Best,

 

Scott

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TorontoSailor

TorontoSailor

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We got too quiet here -- we dropped off the first screen!

 

Only 9 months to sailaway, but who's counting! :)

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

Judith

 

Thanks for keeping us active, Judith! Afraid we've been a bit distracted by our upcoming cruise on the Eclipse, which sails on Feb. 8.

 

Today is first packing day for me. Ugh! I always pack way too much. Trying to seriously pare it back this time. They say to lay all your stuff out and cut by half. Ha! Easier said than done!

 

Good thing about the Caribbean is all you really need are shorts, polos, some smart casual and a suit. Beginning to figure out is better to have stuff cleaned/ironed on the ship than hauling a steamer trunk :)

 

Have a great weekend everyone. We are NOT football fans, but if anyone is, hope you enjoy the game and your team prevails :)

 

Best,

 

Scott

 

PS) Are you late or early seating?

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torjen

torjen

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Scott,

 

enjoy the sailing on the Equinox - 14 nights in the warm southern sun? Please make sure you post some pictures soon...

 

Jens and I will be dining in Blu so - I will be waiting for you at the Martini Bar when you come out of the late dining... ( Jens isn't too much into the Martini Bar thing... )

 

See you all in 270-something days ! ! !

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stjohn1

stjohn1

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A chocolate martini sounds like a good after dinner drink to me :)

 

Scott,

 

enjoy the sailing on the Equinox - 14 nights in the warm southern sun? Please make sure you post some pictures soon...

 

Jens and I will be dining in Blu so - I will be waiting for you at the Martini Bar when you come out of the late dining... ( Jens isn't too much into the Martini Bar thing... )

 

See you all in 270-something days ! ! !

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

Posted
Posted
Thanks for keeping us active, Judith! Afraid we've been a bit distracted by our upcoming cruise on the Eclipse, which sails on Feb. 8.

 

Today is first packing day for me. Ugh! I always pack way too much. Trying to seriously pare it back this time. They say to lay all your stuff out and cut by half. Ha! Easier said than done!

 

Good thing about the Caribbean is all you really need are shorts, polos, some smart casual and a suit. Beginning to figure out is better to have stuff cleaned/ironed on the ship than hauling a steamer trunk :)

 

Have a great weekend everyone. We are NOT football fans, but if anyone is, hope you enjoy the game and your team prevails :)

 

Best,

 

Scott

 

PS) Are you late or early seating?

 

I think having another cruise in less than a week is a good reason not to be paying too much attention to this one that's nine months out!

 

Eileen and I both loved the Eclipse. And what a great time to go someplace warm. I hope you have a wonderful cruise! (I am an overpacker as well, so I know what you are going through!)

 

We are signed up for Select dining on the TA. It will be our first time trying this on Celebrity and we are looking forward to seeing how it goes. We know there will be some trade offs (particularly in not having the same servers), but on the plus side (I hope!) we'll be less scheduled. I'm sure we'll wind up eating on the later side (need that social time at the Martini Bar pre-dinner :) ) but we just won't have to be at dinner at a fixed time. We love that "freestyle" aspect of NCL, we'll see how it translates on Celebrity. I hope we like it!

 

Judith

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TorontoSailor

TorontoSailor

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I think having another cruise in less than a week is a good reason not to be paying too much attention to this one that's nine months out!

 

Eileen and I both loved the Eclipse. And what a great time to go someplace warm. I hope you have a wonderful cruise! (I am an overpacker as well, so I know what you are going through!)

 

We are signed up for Select dining on the TA. It will be our first time trying this on Celebrity and we are looking forward to seeing how it goes. We know there will be some trade offs (particularly in not having the same servers), but on the plus side (I hope!) we'll be less scheduled. I'm sure we'll wind up eating on the later side (need that social time at the Martini Bar pre-dinner :) ) but we just won't have to be at dinner at a fixed time. We love that "freestyle" aspect of NCL, we'll see how it translates on Celebrity. I hope we like it!

 

Judith

 

Hi Judith:

 

That is cool. You can see how it works for you. Might be nice on a TA.

 

We tried it once on a Caribbean and it was nice to have the flexibility. Ironically, though, we met some fun people and they invited us to join their table…so back to regular we were. Lasted all of two days in Select.

 

You're right about the pros and cons. The flexibility is certainly nice, and the service is just as good. We like having our regular table and regular servers, so are a bit old-fashioned in that regard.

 

But you never know unless you try, and I think it could definitely be pleasant for you on a TA with so many sea days. Plus, you'll have the option--depending on how you are feeling each night--to sit with others or on your own. So best of both worlds.

 

Will be interested to see how you find it.

 

Scott

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TorontoSailor

TorontoSailor

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Scott,

 

enjoy the sailing on the Equinox - 14 nights in the warm southern sun? Please make sure you post some pictures soon...

 

Jens and I will be dining in Blu so - I will be waiting for you at the Martini Bar when you come out of the late dining... ( Jens isn't too much into the Martini Bar thing... )

 

See you all in 270-something days ! ! !

 

Thanks Torsten. With the frigid temperatures here in Toronto right now, this Friday's flight to Fort Lauderdale cannot come quickly enough.

 

Really looking forward to it. The weather down there looks blissful compared to here.

 

We really enjoyed the Eclipse last year, so are really excited.

 

We have some fun activities planned: some relaxing (of course), some ATVing, some sailing, some beaching, some snorkelling and some deep sea fishing in St. Lucia.

 

A couple of years ago in St. Lucia, in a very Hemingway-esque moment, I actually caught a blue marlin. Weighed about 250 to 300 pounds! It was an incredible experience. But fear not: The big-game fish are strictly catch-and-release (I could NEVER kill such a magnificent creature), so I posed with my marlin for a few minutes and then off he went from whence he came :)

 

It was such an amazing experience to be strapped into that chair, seeing him jump several hundred metres behind the boat! Was a thrill of a lifetime. I was so pumped with adrenaline that I got the fish in in about 20 minutes….not the two or three hour fights that you sometimes hear about. He must have been a bit lazy, I suspect :) Know fishing is not for everyone, but I have LOVED it since my late father and grandfather used to take me as a child.

 

With that now off of my bucket list (I had been trying for years to get a blue marlin) it is Jan's turn to land a big one. He caught a very nice tuna on that last trip….but would like to see him experience a marlin or a sailfish :) Quite something.

 

Scott

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stjohn1

stjohn1

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Our fish story is this: we were in key west in 2002 and took a 1 day snorkeling cruise. All of a sudden we saw a barracuda chasing a small fish. Next thing we knew the fish jumped out of the water and onto the boat deck. Poor barracuda, I guess he didn't get lunch that day :)

 

 

Thanks Torsten. With the frigid temperatures here in Toronto right now, this Friday's flight to Fort Lauderdale cannot come quickly enough.

 

Really looking forward to it. The weather down there looks blissful compared to here.

 

We really enjoyed the Eclipse last year, so are really excited.

 

We have some fun activities planned: some relaxing (of course), some ATVing, some sailing, some beaching, some snorkelling and some deep sea fishing in St. Lucia.

 

A couple of years ago in St. Lucia, in a very Hemingway-esque moment, I actually caught a blue marlin. Weighed about 250 to 300 pounds! It was an incredible experience. But fear not: The big-game fish are strictly catch-and-release (I could NEVER kill such a magnificent creature), so I posed with my marlin for a few minutes and then off he went from whence he came :)

 

It was such an amazing experience to be strapped into that chair, seeing him jump several hundred metres behind the boat! Was a thrill of a lifetime. I was so pumped with adrenaline that I got the fish in in about 20 minutes….not the two or three hour fights that you sometimes hear about. He must have been a bit lazy, I suspect :) Know fishing is not for everyone, but I have LOVED it since my late father and grandfather used to take me as a child.

 

With that now off of my bucket list (I had been trying for years to get a blue marlin) it is Jan's turn to land a big one. He caught a very nice tuna on that last trip….but would like to see him experience a marlin or a sailfish :) Quite something.

 

Scott

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Oliver2309

Oliver2309

Posted
Posted
I think having another cruise in less than a week is a good reason not to be paying too much attention to this one that's nine months out!

 

Eileen and I both loved the Eclipse. And what a great time to go someplace warm. I hope you have a wonderful cruise! (I am an overpacker as well, so I know what you are going through!)

 

We are signed up for Select dining on the TA. It will be our first time trying this on Celebrity and we are looking forward to seeing how it goes. We know there will be some trade offs (particularly in not having the same servers), but on the plus side (I hope!) we'll be less scheduled. I'm sure we'll wind up eating on the later side (need that social time at the Martini Bar pre-dinner :) ) but we just won't have to be at dinner at a fixed time. We love that "freestyle" aspect of NCL, we'll see how it translates on Celebrity. I hope we like it!

 

Judith

 

Hi Judith

My friends and I did the TA on Reflection this past November and also had Select Dining. I just thought I'd share with you that we really liked our crew on that first night, and so we asked the maitre d if we could have them again. Well, even though we did not dine at the same time each night, we did end up with them almost all of the other evenings. We just let them know, as we were leaving, what time we thought we would arrive the following night. Occasionally we had a 5-10 minute wait, but we were coming from the Martini Bar and were in such a good mood all the time, that we didn't mind at all! :) I will add one thing though. Our sommelier was entertaining and just superb, the assistant waiter was as sweet as could be, and the head waiter was cute as a button, from Goa. But...as the evenings progressed, Ashley, the HW would stand at our table as soon as the main entrees were served, and regale us with stories from 'back home'....and each night the stories got longer and longer. We would all be sitting there, with knife and fork in hand posed, ready to dig in to the meal, but also trying to be polite and listen to him. Some of us would actually glaze over and start eating, but Ashley would continue. I think, because he knew that we had requested him in the Select Dining room, that we must REALLY like him and so he felt we also wanted to hear all of his stories! It was quite funny and we had a good laugh over it. But some nights, he would appear and begin one of his monologues and we would all be shooting each other 'looks', like 'oh no, here we go'!! Thankfully he was not hard on the eyes...

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

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Hi Judith

My friends and I did the TA on Reflection this past November and also had Select Dining. I just thought I'd share with you that we really liked our crew on that first night, and so we asked the maitre d if we could have them again. Well, even though we did not dine at the same time each night, we did end up with them almost all of the other evenings. We just let them know, as we were leaving, what time we thought we would arrive the following night. Occasionally we had a 5-10 minute wait, but we were coming from the Martini Bar and were in such a good mood all the time, that we didn't mind at all! :) I will add one thing though. Our sommelier was entertaining and just superb, the assistant waiter was as sweet as could be, and the head waiter was cute as a button, from Goa. But...as the evenings progressed, Ashley, the HW would stand at our table as soon as the main entrees were served, and regale us with stories from 'back home'....and each night the stories got longer and longer. We would all be sitting there, with knife and fork in hand posed, ready to dig in to the meal, but also trying to be polite and listen to him. Some of us would actually glaze over and start eating, but Ashley would continue. I think, because he knew that we had requested him in the Select Dining room, that we must REALLY like him and so he felt we also wanted to hear all of his stories! It was quite funny and we had a good laugh over it. But some nights, he would appear and begin one of his monologues and we would all be shooting each other 'looks', like 'oh no, here we go'!! Thankfully he was not hard on the eyes...

 

That's quite a story, thanks for the "heads up" on Select dining. :)

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stjohn1

stjohn1

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Of course not! That would seriously impact the cocktail hour and we absolutely can't have that :)

 

We seem to be a good cross-section of the various dining options on Celebrity (except that I think no one has Early dining :) ).

 

Judith

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