mithryl

Etoile,

Have fun in Las Vegas! It's not a cruise, but enjoy it anyway. Do you enjoy gambling?

Bonnie and I like the casino's on board the ships, but we've also done Vegas. She likes blackjack, but I like the slots. I know the odds aren't good..but the potential is great and I think they're really fun.

Any other gamblers out there?

I love sea days so I can spend more time in the Casino. I usually enter the slot tournaments and Bonnie enters the Blackjack tournaments. So far, neither of us has won...but we've each made it to finals once and gotten T-Shirts!

Hi everyone.

There at least 29 of us communicating on this thread.

Two Rowboats,

I'm with you...dining is a great experience. We usually book a table for 6 to 8 so there is plenty of opportunity for conversation. We've never had a bad experience as a lesbian couple on a "traditional" cruise. The wierdest table mates we've ever had was actually on an Oliva Cruise with a table for 6. We couldn't relate to either of the other two couples we were seated with.

Sunshine,

Enjoy yourselves. I think you will find most people to be pretty open and formal night can be a lot of fun. If you really feel uncomfortable, just skip the main dining room on that night and go to the buffet or specialty dining. I personally rarely wear a dress (I'm more butch than my partner). I usually pick a nice pants/jacket outfit that is "me" but is definitely dressy. On ocassion, I've done a tux look and that works too.

Marylis,

Welcome, I checked out your site, but didn't find anyone that is on our next sailing (2/25/07 Island Princess to Hawaii). I like what you're trying to accomplish for our community...keep up the good work. There's one gay male couple on our next cruise that we know of so far...and no women that have checked in.

Ruthith,

Congratuations on your anniversary! We were married in Oregon in 2004, but it didn't "stick" legally. We'd love to try the tansatlantic experience as well.

Oc_chick,

We'll be doing the 15 day circle Hawaii cruise out of LA on Princess that you mentioned in just a few weeks (2/25/07). We'll let you know how it goes. We've done the Mexican Riviera twice. We usually stay on the ship, as we're not as fond of those ports, but it's a great first cruise experience for all the reasons you mentions.

To all...Keep sailing and keep posting. I'm so glad we can all share these experiences. Pass the word if you know other lesbian cruisers so we can extend our new community!

If anyone is interested in being able to share information outside of this board, (or the one Maryliz has) my email address is vicki.apple@verizon.net. Since we can't even use the buddy list to communicate individually with each other at this point, this seems to be our only other option. I do not share or mis-use email addresses and I trust that none of you will either.

Happy sailings!

Hi Funlady,

I'll have to wait and see how our upcoming Hawaii cruise goes on Princess, I wasn't overly impressed with our first and only other sailing with them last year, but was willing to give them a second chance. I've really enjoyed RCCL. Sailed with them twice and both we're great experiences, I wouldn't hesitate sailing with them again...but Pincess seems to have good prices overall. (I'm not too interested in Carnival...which may have the best prices but has a reputation of a party boat...I'd be interested in others opiions and experiences with them.) I also haven't leaned toward NCL with their freestyle cruising. I guess I enjoy some of the more traditioanl flair.

Funlady,

San Antonio is a great town. I live just outside of Dallas for a few years and visited San Antonio. Love the boat rides on the canal! (Guess I love anykind of boat...even really small ones!)

We haven't done Cozumel yet, but it's on my list of places to go. We're thinking of sailing out of Galveston to visit those ports. Do you every sail from the west coast?

Maria,

I hear what you're saying about savoying the cities. My experience is that cruising is more about cruising than about the various locations. I love seeing new places and cultures, but you are tight that you'll get more of an "overview" of each place while cruising. It is a great way to see if there are places you'd like to go back and spend more time on a land vacation and others that you immediately know you wouldn't want to waste your time and/or money on. I enjoy the relaxation of the ship board experience and the benefit of seeing several places without having to pack, unpack and repack. The ship is the hotel and your room is always ready when you return from your excursions. The meals are general great too.

I also love having a floating casino! The shows offered are also something you general miss (or pay a lot to see) if you're on a land vacation. Let us know how you like the experience.

My favorite cruise so far was Alaska. It's so beautiful and there's a lot to see and do. I'm hoping that I'll be saying that the circle hawaii cruise we're about to take is my favorite after we get back!

Happy sailing! (and thanks for joining the thread!)

Hi Etoile,

Wow...we'd love to be able to do the cruise your In-Laws are taking! We have the time...but don't know about the money right now. What Cruiseline are they taking? How many days total?

You'll have fun in Alaska...it's an awesome sight to see the Glaciers, etc.

Welcome FlipFlop 104! Happy Anniversary. Please share with us your experiences in Barbados. Tell us a little bit about yourselves.

Welcome Paddy Anne and Cme4ltc,

I guess I should do a better introduction myself as well. My partner is 55, I'm 54. She's lived in Ohio, Florida, Texas, Oregon and Idaho. I've lived in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arkansas, California, Texas, Oregon and Idaho. (I'm pretty much a vagabond...but most of the moves were corporate, job related situations). Now that we work for ourselves we call Northern Idaho home. That may sound crazy for a couple of lesbians, but we've found great acceptance here. Most of our friends are straight, although the number of lesbians and gays in the area is growing quickly since it's a resort area. We both love the mountains and lakes and the changing seasons. I'm more of a cruise fanatic than she is, but she does enjoy it once I've worked out all of the planning. We're real estate investors and have been doing it successfully, full time for the past three years. Each year we've been able to take a cruise and add to the length each year. We also have a partnership with another couple (straight) in a healing music business.

I spend a lot of my free time investigating potential cruise deals for the next year and I love hearing the experiences of others. I just found CC about a month ago and really enjoy all of the information and ldeas that are shared.

Having the lesbian and gay category makes it even better.

Thank you all for keeping this going. Maybe one day we can all coordinate to go on the same cruise and meet each other. If not, we can at least enjoy sharing our individual experiences of "traditional cruising" from our own unique viewpoint.

Hi Spikeya4,

Thanks you everyone for their responses. Looks like lots of couples from the east coast. Although we're landlocked in Idaho, it's great to see there are other lesbian couples out there who love cruising. We'd love to do a fall cruise from the east coast up to Canada and/or any European cruises. Id love to see Italy, Greece, Germany, etc. We haven't done any trips to Europe yet, but would love recommendations as to your favorite cruises, ports, etc.

We mainly try to leave from west coast ports, but are open to anything that other lesbian couples recommend. It's a small world and getting smaller all the time. Thanks for participating in this thread. I hope it continues to grow. I know there are many of us out there and it's great to start connecting!

Hi Funlady,

We're considering a Princess cruise to Alaska in June as well. We we're there with Olivia back in 2001. We're thinking about the Sun Princess on 6/10/07 that circles out of Seattle and back so we can just drive over and save on any airfare. Which cruise are you booked on?

I'll be sure and let you know what we think of our Hawaii cruise as soon as we return.

I'd like to hear what you think of Carnival when you return. I thought it might be too much of a "straight party" ship, but I have nothing to base that on. let me know.

By the way, my partner and I are in Northern Idaho (kinda far from most port cities with the exception of Seattle). Anyone else from around this area?

Hi Jay and T,

I've sailed RC twice (Caribbean and Mexican Riv.). I thought their service was great. Since Olivia uses Holland America a lot for their cruises, I can say that the only difference I can see is the comfort of being around all lesbians and the specialized entertainment for us.

I was actually on the very first cruise that Olivia did with HAL, and the crew, although somewhat tentative at first, ended up really enjoying themselves. There was a big "Thank You" at the end, and it was very sincere.

I just looked at the price difference for Olivia's Danube River Cruise in 2008 and compared it to the normal price for Viking. It was $1,000 a person higher.

You have to weigh just how much the specialized "Olivia" experience means to you (especially during a anniversary, etc.) compared to a regular cruise environment.

My partner and I will be celebrating our 9th year together and our 4th anniversary on our upcoming cruise to Hawaii.(We we're married in Portland during the few weeks that it was allowed.) Since it's a fairly expensive trip, we opted to go with Princess and book a Vista Suite for the 15 days. The price is comparable to a suite on a 7 day cruise with Olivia. Hope this helps a little.

Mithryl

Hi Gator,

Thanks for the reply. Olivia's Mexican Riveria with Lily Tomlin sounds great! Let us know if you think it was worth the extra dollars. We'll be cruising to Hawaii on Princess this year at the same approximate time as your Mexico Cruise. We're considering the 2008 Olivia river cruise on the Danube. My heritage is Germanic, so I'm fasinated by the idea...but I'm always conscious of the cost of Olivia verus "regular" cruises to the same place.

Do you mind if I add you to my "buddy list" on Cruise Critic so we can say i touch?

We've done Olivia cruises and love the experience, but find we can get much more for our dollar on regular cruises. We've been together 9 years and love to cruise. We've never had a bad cruise experience, but would enjoy more "like-minded" company to share the adventures with from time to time. We usually plan at least one cruise a year and we'd love to be in contact with other women who regularly schedule "non-lesbian only" cruises.

Out next cruise is 2/25/07 on the Island Princess to Hawaii.

If you're out there, let us know. We can share experiences and potentially plan something together.

Guys...you're not excluded. We'd love to know of you're going to be on any future cruises so we can meet.

We just learned about FOD on our last cruise. Didn't know it existed prior to that.

Good sailing!

My experience is that using a passport is faster and easier, no matter what. I went on a cruise two yeara ago with a friend who had a passport and I didn't. She was able to go through a differnt line during disembarkation and was done much faster than I was. I got my passport soon after that, and would recommend to anyone who travel to get one A.S.A.P. Even tough you may not nee it yet...you will! And if you get hooked on cruising, you might as well beat the last minute crowd and get one now. They're good for 10 years. I'll never be without one again.