This month, we’re excited to tell you about Captain’s Club members Sylvie and Paul Porrior and how their first cruise aboard Celebrity Solstice® turned them into superfans for life.
When Celebrity Solstice launched, Sylvie and Paul read the rave reviews and decided they had to experience it for themselves. So, in 2010, they booked their first cruise with Celebrity, choosing a seven-day Eastern Caribbean sailing on Celebrity Solstice. “From the moment we boarded, we were simply awestruck by the 12-deck-high atrium, live grass lawn, and the contemporary design…we felt like we were in a five-star hotel, with a timeless boutique design, and first-class personalized service,” Paul told us. They loved the experience so much they booked their next vacation with our Future Cruise team while on board.
In the summer of 2012, Sylvie and Paul embarked once again on Celebrity Solstice, this time on a Mediterranean voyage. It was on this vacation that Paul proposed to Sylvie during a gondola ride on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, right when they passed under the Rialto Bridge. Now that’s romantic! “I had absolutely no clue, in fact, I was giving Paul heck for not sharing the gondola ride with another young couple who were having trouble finding an available gondola,” Sylvie said. “It wasn’t until he started recounting about how we first met that I finally started to connect the dots.” Paul popped the question, and Sylvie said yes. It was a special moment they’d remember forever.
Back on board, they went right to Michael’s Club for a glass of celebratory champagne. The next evening before dinner at the Captain’s Club social hour, Paul and Sylvie were presented with a singing gondolier bear, a gift they cherish as a loving memory to this day. When Donnette, their Captain’s Club Hostess, heard the big news, she reached out to them and provided contact details for Katie Nelson, the shoreside Event Manager for Celebrity Weddings. “Sylvie and I asked ourselves…why not tie the knot at sea? Our love for one another and the sea was unparalleled, so we decided to reach out to the Celebrity Wedding Experience group to learn more about “Nautical Nuptials,” Paul said.
“Andrea was assigned as our Celebrity Wedding Consultant—think of it as having your own Celebrity Wedding Concierge. Every detail was taken care of from bow to stern: marriage license, ceremony, flowers, cake, entertainment, photographer, salon, and dinner reception,” Paul said. With plans signed, sealed, and delivered, they just needed the perfect cruise. They decided on a two-week back-to-back sailing in January 2014 on Celebrity Silhouette®. The first leg would be their wedding voyage, complete with 30 of their friends and family, and the second leg would be their honeymoon.
On the day of our embarkation, they were met by the ship’s event coordinator Sara, who made sure all the wedding details were seamless and stress-free. With everything taken care of, it was time for the ceremony. Captain Dimitris Kafetzis (soon to be Captain of Celebrity Ascent) did the honors. “His graciousness, warmth, and humor were unforgettable,” the couple said. A few days after their wedding, Paul and Sylvie met with Captain Dimitris again, and they enjoyed recounting their big day and hearing about the beauty of his homeland Greece. It was during this conversation that their next Celebrity vacation began to take shape. This August, Sylvie and Paul will be checking off another bucket list destination when they visit the breathtaking Greek Islands on Celebrity Infinity® to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
