skidawg71

Hey there gents and ladies. Just reaching out to see if there is like minding folk on this sailing. With my husband for the 7 day from Ft. Lauderdale, staying at Worthington/Alcazar before. Otherwise, it's standard Holland America, the Gay Ninety's. Either your gay on HAL or Ninety!

Thanks for the feedback. I'll check out the HAL board as suggested :)

Hey there folks. My husband and I are doing our first back to back sailings starting Nov 30th and again on Dec 7th on HAL Nieuw Amsterdam. Has anyone ever had an experience doing a back to back on HAL? Do we have to get off the ship and check in again? We have the same cabin so I guess this will make a few things easier.

Husband and I are on back to back sailings 11/30 and a group of friends joining us on the Dec 7th sailing. Any others?

We are also on the Nov 30th Sailing doing these back to back.

Hello! Group of us sailing on N.A. on December 7th. Anyone else???

LOL. Yeah, us too. sometimes it's so nice to enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty ship while at port. On our last cruise, we only got off in Cozumel to have lunch at a favorite restaurant. The rest of the time, we had the ship to ourselves and relaxed in our cabana. It was heaven :)

Glad you're giving it a shot. Personally, we fell in love with the Nieuw Amsterdam. There are original works by Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein's, Richard Estes and others onboard. It's a very modern ship but has so many classic qualities about it. We love the "New York" theme. The LGBT meetings are always well attended and we have met some wonderful gentlemen from all over the world. The string quartets and jazz trio, and solo guitars are all fantastic. Unfortunately, the "big shows" on HAL are so amateurish and bad. At first they are kind of funny in their tragicness, but quickly just become painful to watch.

We prefer the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam and are reluctant to sail on the smaller ships in the HAL fleet for a few reasons...

1. We are addicted to Tamarind. It's simply amazing.

2. We love the larger Thermo pool and gym.

3. Private Cabana's. We're addicted to these. Unlike on other lines, they are very reasonable. $299 per couple for the entire cruise and includes champagne every day!

4. Master Chef's tasting. Hands down one of the most fantastic and over the top meals we've experienced. Well worth the upcharge.

5. Finally, the smaller ships tend to cater to the oldest segment of the HAL cruisers. Though I prefer a mature crowd, some of those sailings can be a week-long vacation of scooter and walker dodging.

What it boiled down to was this was the only 7 night caribbean sailing on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity ships out of MIA or FLL that weekend that didn't repeat last year's itinerary. PP and its guests definitely prefer RC and X to other ones, so they stick with them.

 

There's a FB group where we've actively talked about it, and basically, most are just gong to call it a ship day and not go into port. Almost like having a the pool deck and bear soup all to ourselves for the day!

 

Most on the sailing go for the camaraderie and annual reunion to see old friends and not so much the ports or entertainment.

 

They will still have the large group this particular sailing normally has, 700 to 900 or so of us. :D

Hey Curt. Totally understand not wanting to repeat itineraries. I know that has been a huge concern for the people that have gone on the PT cruise.

I'm curious as to the discussion on FB and if it was a no-go for other guys that would normal attend. I'm a bit conflicted about certain places and whether to ban them or keep traveling regardless. I'm not too worried about getting called names. We get that even in the most liberal places. it's when our safety is in question and whether the police or government has laws of imprisonment or turn a blind eye towards bashings/haters that worry me

It just seems funny that people would rather stay onboard the ship in Jamaica or Haiti, but not repeat an itinerary. If most are going to stay and enjoy the ship, can't you just as easily do that on the same route rather than support countries that are dangerous to gay men and women thought port fees and taxes? Anyway, just curious about what the response has been.

Cheers,

N

My friend sailed with Pied Piper twice a number of years ago and had a great time so I was looking at doing the same. Unfortunately I was a bit surprised by the choice of itinerary for their post thanksgiving cruise this year. If I had to build an itinerary and make a real effort to stop in anti-gay place in the caribbean, this would be the perfect sailing. I have a hard time feeling as though I would be safe let alone welcome. Cayman, Jamaica, and Haiti?? Really? Does anyone else feel that this route is a bit odd for Pied Piper to choose? I know Cayman isn't hostile to gays anymore but the human rights abuses towards gay people in Jamaica and Haiti are disturbing at best. In Jamaica, gay men can be imprisoned up to 10 years for gay acts. Here's a headline from just last year in Haiti....

Haiti gangs beat 47 gays with machetes, sticks and cement blocks

Spiraling violence against LGBT men in Haiti began when anti-gay Christians marched against fictional same-sex marriage bill

31 JULY 2013 | BY TRIS REID-SMITH

Dozens of gay men were beaten by gangs with knives, machetes, cement blocks, sticks and iron bars in Haiti, GSN can reveal.

Human rights campaigners in the Caribbean nation say they know of 47 assaults in just one week (17 to 24 July), though attacks have slowed in recent days following government intervention.

Some have had their lives threatened or had their houses have been burned down or looted.

No thanks, Pied Piper.

Hey there. Husband and I sailing on NA on 3/9/14. Any others??

My best friend did Pied Piper's Post Thanksgiving cruise in November. He loved it so much, he's already booked this year's. He said there were no problems at all and they had well over 1,000 guys, mostly 25 - 50 with real jobs/lives/and personalities. I asked him if anyone else on the cruise seemed to care, he said not at all. He liked that he could book an upgraded balcony cabin as a single and still pay lower than if he had gone on an all gay cruise charter sharing a cabin.

I didn't search for "gays in Jamaica" before booking, and probably won't for future trips either. Unless I love the island, I probably won't go in the future. I'm not going to let homophobia stop me from getting the experience of traveling. And when I do travel to places less friendly to us, I hope to find like-minded gay men and women who will give me words of advice and/or caution, which for the most part I can get here, for which I give thanks.

 

My activism isn't conducted through my pocketbook, but through the way I live my life. It takes those of us who are less militant to change the mind of those that are militant on the other side of things. It sounds like Jamaica could use a homo-ambassador or two! <grin> We need activism of all types.

 

Regards,

 

Danny

I understand how you feel. Unfortunately we live in a world that understands one thing slightly more than anything else. That's money. It seems people are more apt to be influenced socially and politically when it comes to their own pocket book rather than their hearts. Am I sounding bitter <grin>?

Even setting aside any fear of your own safety at some of these places, there are other reasons. I just keep thinking about all those guys on the deck of those ships, pulling up to port and seeing all the whack-job protesters waving signs, chanting and mocking them as they tried to dock. Man, I can imagine the mixture of emotions going through them. Anger, embarrassment, fear, pain, and perhaps pity for those ignorant people. I can bet that few of those guys were eager to get off and probably not in any hurry to get back after such an ordeal.

I would be hesitant to compare hatred of gays in this country to those in the Carribean. Here, the Matthew Shephard tragedy was seen as a shock to most people and was denounced by the majority. Unfortunately, in those countries, violence like that doesn't just happen often but is tolerated, condoned and even promoted by their own government. I don't want to sound preachy, 'cause i'm not that much of a militant protester myself. It just may be something to think about.

Your original thread asked if you should worry about Ochos Rios. The fact that you are asking, is pretty good indication that there is something in the back of your mind. This place is dangerous for anybody and I wouldn't send any of my own family members there. And like pidaho71 says, a thousand times scarier for people like us.

No matter what you do, just please be careful. Happy and safe cruising :)

Nate

Hi Danny,

The Carribean, though beautiful, isn't the most embracing of Gay men and women. Unfortunately, many of these countries have real and active policies and attitudes of gay hatred and intolerance. There's a reason why gay charter cruises don't stop at many of these ports.

I doubt that your imediate safety is in jeopardy more than anyone else in Jamaica. The real question is whether you want to give this country any of your hard earned gay money. In Grand Caymen, my partner and I are enjoying the emptiness and quietness of the ship while in port, taking in some spa time and having a relaxing and romantic day. As far as the Caymen's go, the government was actively involved in the anti gay sentiment when they refused the entry of a gay chartered cruise ship. They allowed antigay demonstrations and issued a statement that gay men cannot be trusted to behave properly while in their country. I don't know about you, but I just don't feel comfortable giving a country like that one more dollar than I have to.

That's just my thought. Regardless, I hope you have a safe and happy cruise experience.