PRE-TRIP REPORT - MARCH 2011
Written by Tam -
with
comments by Deb in red
This year sees a number of celebrations for the Churchills and
Stringers – firstly Kev and I celebrate our 25th wedding
Anniversary in April, Deb celebrates her 50th birthday in July,
Georgia is 18 in October and India will be 21 in November.
But perhaps, most importantly, 2011 is the 10th anniversary of
the meeting of the Churchills and the Stringers, at the first
ever South West DIS meet on Deb’s 40th birthday In July 2001
. A meeting, which started an amazing friendship, which has
blossomed over the years and seen us share our ups and downs,
experience lots of firsts together (Deb: Wayhay, baby!
(Tam, are you sure you ought to be sharing this?) and generally enhanced our lives in such
a positive way. They are without doubt, our bestest of best
friends.
Deb: Just a couple of days before my birthday, we cancelled the party we’d been planning because my mum had been very ill and we simply weren’t feeling up to a big celebration. The morning of my 40th dawned with the prospect of nothing more than a long empty day ahead of us. We made the impromptu decision to attend the DIS meet and will forever be grateful for whatever karmic forces were in play that day.
The plan was to
celebrate each of these auspicious occasions with a special
celebration. Hence the planning started.
It was obvious we couldn’t accommodate all of us in our
holiday plans as the girls are now at college and university
respectively and we didn’t want to go during the school
holidays. It was Deb’s prerogative to choose where and when,
as Kev had done for his 50th two years ago. We suggested a cruise
and Deb said she had been thinking the same thing. Our original
thoughts were Disney’s Dream but then a Mexican itinerary
was thrown into the mix and the two didn’t combine. Then a
good friend of ours, well Deb and Matt’s friends originally
but we now count them as our friends, (Gareth and Jane) mentioned
that it was Jane’s 50th birthday in 2011 and she would like
to celebrate with the four of us and they had also been thinking
of doing a cruise. So four became six.
Gareth and Jane aren’t Disney people and it would have taken
a huge leap of faith on their part to consider the Dream. They
had however sailed on Celebrity on their honeymoon, a year
previously, and we had sailed with Celebrity in 2008. Therefore
it seemed like fate when Gareth said there was a new ship being
launched which was doing a Mexican itinerary in 2011 – The
Celebrity Eclipse.
Itinerary and ship agreed, we concurred that we should all book
the same category stateroom – the favoured option was
concierge and this meant we could get aft cabins. Having
previously sailed out of Miami on the NCL Jewel in aft staterooms
we knew this was our preferred location. Concierge also meant we
had a few extra perks thrown in like flowers, canapés, champagne
etc., but as it was a big celebration we figured we were worth
it. Jane also liked the fact that Concierge room service menu had
a more extensive choice for breakfast, another bonus as she is a
late riser and likes to relax on her balcony in the morning
Fast forward a few weeks and Deb’s brother and sister in law
decide they would like to join us so we are now a party of 8 for
the 7 night Celebrity Eclipse Western Caribbean cruise.
Deb: Daryl and Karen are new to cruising. My brother trained as a
Deck Cadet with Shell from the ages of 16-20 and then went on to
pilot oil tankers as a First Officer. Consequently, the prospect
of sailing on a ship as a passenger has never appealed. However,
they felt they should make the effort to join us for the big
celebration, so it’ll be interesting to see how he copes.
Our itinerary is Grand Cayman. Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan.
This is new for all of us so we are looking forward to exploring
new territories.
In Grand Cayman Kev, myself, Gareth, Jane, Daryl and Karen have
booked Stingray City with Stingray Sailing. We sail on a
catamaran to a shallow reef where we get the chance to swim with
stingrays before moving on to another spot for some snorkelling.
Deb:
I can’t swim and Matt gets very sick on little boats, so
we’ve decided to sit this one out. A big part of the appeal
of this itinerary, for me at least, is that it gives us the
excuse to simply chillax without feeling the need to be seeking
out cultural experiences at every twist and turn. On Grand
Cayman, Matt and I will probably just do the touristy thing of
duty free shopping and bar-propping. This is the Caribbean, after
all!
In both Cozumel and Roatan we have booked private tours to
explore the islands and hopefully find some nice bars and
restaurants.
Deb:
Both tours will give us the opportunity to get off the beaten
track and to see some of the more authentic parts of the islands.
Finally in Costa Maya we have booked an all inclusive beach
resort where we can enjoy snorkelling, kayaking, cycling or for a
more relaxing time – massages, an all-inclusive bar and a
beautiful beach. Numbers are limited to 40 so it should prove to
be a lovely relaxing day.
There are a number of speciality restaurants on board and we have
booked all three, as they are all very different. Murano is an
upmarket dining experience in a beautiful restaurant, Tuscan
Grillle is an Italian restaurant and QSine is a quirky restaurant
where food is ordered on ipads and served tapas style but in an
unusual way – such as spring rolls on springs and sushi
lollipops. I’m keeping my expectations in check on this one
(Qsine).
Deb:
From what I’ve read, it’s an inspired idea, but perhaps
a bit lacking in execution. That’s not to say I’m not
looking forward to it, but it sounds as though they may have some
kinks to work out.
The ship has had some great reviews and we can’t wait to get
on board and explore.
One other thing I should mention is that Celebrity offers a
pre-paid drinks package. There are different levels ie soda
package, classic package or a premium drinks package which
enables you to sample any drink up to $12 – guess which one
we chose? Not too difficult is it? Although this wasn’t
cheap by any means it enables us to not have to think before
ordering and as there is an amazing martini bar and a Molecular
bar, which serves cocktail concoctions with dried ice etc. there
will be more than enough choice to keep us happy for the
duration. The package includes all alcohol, premium coffees,
smoothies and bottles of water so we will definitely be making
the most of it.
Deb:
We have dubbed it the Maximum Drinking Plan and we intend to work
it!
So now you know the where - the next question is when.
Kev and I fly out on 2nd March – we stay the night before at
the Gatwick Sofitel (booked on airmiles) and then fly out with BA
(also booked with airmiles) to Orlando. We pick up a car –
booked through Dollar and then head straight to Bay Lake Towers
where we have a 1 bedroom with Castle View booked for 3 nights.
Once checked in we aim to head straight to Top of The World
lounge for a drink, snack and to watch Wishes before retiring to
bed.
The next day we are off to Epcot for the day. It will be the
beginning of the Flower and Garden Festival – which we love
– so we aim on wandering around enjoying the sights and
sounds of Epcot with a drinkie or two. This will be our first
visit to Epcot on our own without either the girls, friends, or
family since 1990 so it will be a real novelty and rather weird.
In the evening we have booked Tokyo Dining, as we have not eaten
there before. Then, to finish the evening, our beloved
Illuminations.
Friday is planned as a chill out day – we aim to enjoy all
the delights Bay Lake Towers has to offer – chilling around
the pool and generally taking it easy before eating at Narcossees
in the evening.
Saturday morning we will up early for the drive to Miami where we
meet up with the rest of the gang on the ship and start our
wonderful 7 night cruise
Deb,Matt, Gareth, Jane, Daryl and Karen are flying out with
Virgin on Friday and staying in Miami the night before the cruise
so they should have no problem getting on board and finding the
bar before we join them.
Deb:
We’ve all booked the cruise through Thomas Cook, but
independently of one another. Gareth and Jane booked a package
which includes flights and a hotel for the first night in Miami,
which is likely to be the Wyndham Miami Airport (albeit that
it’s since been taken over by Sheraton), but that isn’t
guaranteed. We could have booked it, but couldn’t risk doing
so at the advance rate (payment on booking, non-refundable).
It’s a nice enough hotel, but the fully flexible rate was
more than we were willing to pay. After much searching, tenacity
and patience, we’ve managed to get a good rate at the brand
new JW Marriott Marquis in Downtown Miami, overlooking the bay.
Our plans after the cruise are to head to Vero Beach where we
have a studio booked for 3 nights before flying home on Tuesday.
Our only plan is to get a taxi to Captain Hirams on Saturday
night as they have live music. Apart from that we have nothing
organised and will just see what takes our fancy – doing as
much or as little as we want.
Deb:
Gareth and Jane have several other holiday commitments relating
to Jane’s 50th this year (which isn’t until December),
so are just flying in for the cruise. Daryl and Karen are heading
back to the JW Marriott Marquis for one night after the cruise
and will spend the last two nights of the trip at the new
Waldorf-Astoria in Orlando (before flying home with us). When I
spoke with them last weekend, they still hadn’t decided
where to stay for the rest of the week. They’re big fans of
the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, but the prices are prohibitive for
the nights they need. They’re considering options around
Palm Beach (and may well have booked something by now). Matt and
I will make our way to Orlando as soon as we disembark, where
we’ll spend the week at the home of Simon and Susan Veness.
We’re thrilled at the prospect of some new experiences and
know we couldn’t be in better hands. We’re feeling
stupidly excited and privileged.
So all in all an exciting 2 week holiday to look forward to and
we just know we will have the most amazing time – filled
with much fun and laughter – what better way to start a year
of celebrations than with good friends on a wonderful cruise
Now I hear you ask - how do the girls get to celebrate their
birthdays if they aren’t accompanying us. Well we have
promised that we will take them to Glastonbury Festival if we can
get tickets in the re-sale and although they are very grateful
they are slightly miffed that they are not having a foreign
holiday courtesy of their parents. However having had a holiday
every year of their lives we are not feeling too guilty and they
could always fund one themselves if they wish. Obviously we plan
to celebrate their individual birthdays with them later in the
year and hope to make them memorable
So that’s what the next two weeks hold in store for us.
Tam (Deb's comments in red)