First Cruise For Retired Gay Couple?

[JohnBoulder]

We are a recently retired (late 50s) male couple. We are kicking around the idea of making our first cruise later this year (December 4-21). We have visited discount cruise sites, regular cruise line websites, and spoken with a travel agent in Denver. I was hoping someone might have a suggestion for us. Ideally we would like to visit the eastern or southern Caribbean for seven plus days on a ship or cruise line that won't make a fuss when we ask for the twin beds to be pushed together. A nice size junior suite or room with a balcony is a must. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! JohnB

[bhopal21]

You will just be 2 more passengers on Princess, no one will bat an eye.

 

Mike:)

[Kenito]

Welcome to cruising John! ;)

 

I do not believe you will have any problem requesting the beds together or for any other reason.

 

We have a group of 30+ guys who cruise every year or so, and everyone has a funny story about the beds. If it is two obvious male names, the beds are often apart, and we just quickly ask the room steward to change it while we are at dinner, and it will be quickly done. Sometimes we have just two male friends... like Chris and John... and the steward assumes male and female, and they ask the beds to be parted!

 

There are so many gay staff and crew on cruise ships I think they love to see gay passengers. I've had straight wives tell me they love to party with gay guys... her husband never minds if she stays up late with us!

 

We all dine together at the evening meal, go to the GLBT/Friends of Dorothy meetings, and if the Cruise Director hasn't scheduled one, we ask for it, or ask that it be changed to a more convient time and place. We don't hide and we have a great time.

 

You go on your cruise and you have a good time! No one will say anything to you. Every time we do something public, it helps us out in society, so go for it!

 

If you want to do the Mexican Riviera in January, join us! Every things is better on a cruise ship!

 

~K

[Kenito]

Regarding your other questions...

 

For first time cruisers, I think dealing with a travel agent face to face will benefit you.

 

You need to go over all the options, figure out your budget, and sort what is really important to you. Don't over spend... remember if you start off with a "value" cruise line first, you won't be disappointed then or later. It may make a good introduction for you... obviously I like Carnival even though I have cruised on other lines also.

 

If you "spoil" yourself on your first cruise, you make it harder to keep you pleased later :p

 

You can add a lot of costs based on the departure point. Some cruises you can arrive on the same day... others you need to arrive a day early, and that can add 20% or more to your total costs.

 

Holidays when school is out, you will have a younger crowd. Longer cruises tend to be quieter, more sedate crowd. Changing the sail date can change the cost considerably, and since you are retired, be flexible. Nothing wrong with sailing two times a year rather than spend it all on one cruise per year, or less.

 

Again... good luck, and enjoy.

[keithm]

We are a recently retired (late 50s) male couple. We are kicking around the idea of making our first cruise later this year (December 4-21). We have visited discount cruise sites, regular cruise line websites, and spoken with a travel agent in Denver. I was hoping someone might have a suggestion for us. Ideally we would like to visit the eastern or southern Caribbean for seven plus days on a ship or cruise line that won't make a fuss when we ask for the twin beds to be pushed together. A nice size junior suite or room with a balcony is a must. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! JohnB

If you're looking for a "junior" suite, I suggest Cunard(which we sail) or perhaps Holland America. If you do Carnival..stay away from the short(known as booze cruises)These are frequently the cheapest & often get the less tolarant members of society, due to the very low cost.

[HALFans]

We've been sailing only on Holland America Line so far... No problem with the one bed requests ever!

 

I don't remember us ever having a problem. Even the people who invariably ask 'Are you two brothers' take it in stride (or get even friendlier) when we tell them we're a couple.

 

My biggest complaint is there isn't much of a night life on most of the itineraries we've been on... except on the larger Vista and Signature class ships (all of the newer ones) that have the 'disco' Northern Lights nightclub.

 

Generally I end up closing the bar down with a few pals hours after the hubby has gone to bed. :o (So I'm a bit of a night owl, um, and maybe a lush.) I think about the latest they've kept them open is about 2:30. Normally things shut down after Midnight.

 

Especially on HAL, Friends of Dorothy can be real Hit or Miss as to whether anyone shows up.

 

Overall, we really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, superb service, good food, friendly people and elegant ships. Normally the entertainment is fairly decent too.

 

Let us know what you decide and how it works out! Given your dates we'd probably take the Zaandam December 5th to Hawaii again.

[Wingtips56]

We've been perfectly fine on Princess and NCL. Even Carnival, way back when. Our beds were apart on arrival, so we pushed them together and overlapped the bedding. After servicing the next day, the bed was remade as one queen bed, with no request necessary. And we had a series of spectacular beach towel critters greet us every evening.

 

Some booking sites give you the option of requesting twin or queen set-up. If not, just have your steward make it up.

 

We do otherwise butch it up on deck, so we're going to try the RSVP Hawaiian cruise this October; we aren't interested in the big parties, dances and ...what not..., but we are looking forward to holding hands and having more romantic dinners.

 

Steven

[JohnBoulder]

Wow, what a pleasure to logon early this morning and see the helpful responses to my initial post. Looks like the next step is to visit a local TA this next week to get the ball rolling.

 

What a great site. Thanks again, John

[HALFans]

Oh, I forgot to mention!

 

Most of the Caribbean and Mexian Riviera cruises are very port intensive. (Meaning you'll be at a port almost every day.)

 

It was our 6th cruise when we took our Hawaii trip (Round Trip from San Diego) and finally discovered the full wonders of the cruising experience... Sea Days! That cruise had 9 Sea Days and 6 Port Days, a great combination and was just about perfect for us.

 

If funds aren't a consideration, a good introduction to cruising would be a 7 day Mediterranean combined with a 7 day Atlantic crossing. You'd get the best of both worlds that way too. :D

 

Not sure how that idea fits your target dates though.

[Trickie Dickie]

My Hubby and I have sailed Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and NCL. All three lines were very accomodating to us. No problems with the beds together. We have been treated like gold by everyone. We seem to prefer Royal Caribbean because of the good balance of activities (like ice skating and mini golf) and relaxation. We went to Friends of Dorothy get togethers on all the cruises except our first one because we didn't know about them. We have maintained many new friendships because of the meetings. :D Happy Cruising!

[2DesertGuys]

John, by now you probably have the impression that you won't have a problem and correctly so My partner and I have done 4 RCL cruises without anyone, staff or passengers batting an eye. We not that obvious but have had staff pick up on the situation. I've had our wait staff ask if my partner was feeling "ok" if he wasn't with me or missing from the table. I think you're biggest challenge will be to find a suitable ship or cruise line. RCL is good and lot's of activities which attracts lot's of children and their ships can be very large and over whelming. This year we're doing Holland American - Oosterdam and we look forward to a quieter time and fewer people. Your problem is not if you will be accepted but which ship, which company!

[MiamiSpartan]

on 21 cruise, have never had an issue with them pushing the beds together on any line....

[brightonguys]

I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents worth, too, since we have been on all the major lines a this point (except NCL), and also have never had a problem at all. You can ask your travel agent to have the beds configured together before you even get onboard, too, which makes that aspect even easier. Of all the lines out there, I think Celebrity and Princess might be the best fit for you guys, since it sounds like you're looking for a little nicer experience than the purely mainstream lines offer (of course, you could also start out on a lux line, too, but that raises the price point considerably). I would take HAL out of that category based on our recent experiences, but I know others have found that line to still be a little better than average.

 

In any event, I've never been on a bad cruise -- best way to travel! Be prepared to become addicted! :)

[ONT-CA]

...In any event, I've never been on a bad cruise -- best way to travel! Be prepared to become addicted! :)

 

We couldn't agree more. We have reached the Elite status with Princess with over 20 cruises and we are totally addicted. But having tried all the major lines there is only Princess for us now. We have become friends with staff over the years and that has added to our enjoyment. Your location would suggest a western departure and we have been on the Vancouver-Panama-Fort Lauderdale several times and have enjoyed it immensely. If the Caribbean is your desire be careful not to book too short a cruise for, in our estimation, the more liberal thinking crowd is found on the longer cruises. We now gravitate to the trans Atlantic runs for we have visited so many ports and as you suggest, a balcony is a must, a mini suite an advantage but just being aboard is heaven.

[RMS Olympic]

Celebrity, HAL and Princess all treat LGBT wonderfully. But my hat goes off to Princess as the most gay friendly. I just completed cruise number 70....and I sailed Princess. The bar staff quickly acknowledged my "orientation" although I do not wear it on my sleeve. Lets just say they know their business. I was treated like a member of their family and never felt out of place. There was a LGBT scheduled gathering every evening, with a crew member to be present at least at the beginning of the appointed time.

My take on these three mass market lines....

HAL..nicest cabins

Celebrity....the most fashionable ships

Princess.....the most friendly relaxed crew.

Hope your first gets you addicted like my first cruise did

Tom

[JerseyGuys]

We've only sailed on Princess so I can only speak for them. Never had any issues with pushing the beds together. Never had and issues with being a couple on board. Have done traditional dining sitting with parties of up to 8, and everyone has been accepting and respectful. Princess seems to have a slightly older group of travelers, and they seem to be especially accepting. I agree with one of the previous posters if you you start with a suite you may get use to it. If money's no object hey go for it. For a first cruise a good balcony cabin should suffice. On a seven day cruise we spend so little time in the cabin, that I really don't see the need for a larger cabin. On a longer cruise I would consider upgrading.

[bigbenboys]

We are a recently retired (late 50s) male couple. We are kicking around the idea of making our first cruise later this year (December 4-21). We have visited discount cruise sites, regular cruise line websites, and spoken with a travel agent in Denver. I was hoping someone might have a suggestion for us. Ideally we would like to visit the eastern or southern Caribbean for seven plus days on a ship or cruise line that won't make a fuss when we ask for the twin beds to be pushed together. A nice size junior suite or room with a balcony is a must. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! JohnB

 

Hi John,

 

Randy and I have gone on 26 or so cruises. We have been together for 18 years. We have gone on Holland, RCL, Princess, Celebrity and Carival. I like Celebrity Concierge Class rooms on the Solstice class ships the best. The bed is together most of the time. If it is not I tell the room guy and he doesnt blink a eye. We have not gone on a gay cruise as of yet. If your talking caribbean I like the eastern better than Western. Southern 14 day is great you get down to Aruba. The more south the hotter sun u get. If your doing more then a 7 day cruise your going to get less children. We do all our looking at *****.com and the cruiselines home page. We have a cruise Counselor we go though. As to rooms RCL D1 rooms are nice, they have a balcony. It is all you really need. JS room is bigger, but you dont get the extras that you get in a Grand Suite. So to me JS is just not worth the money, but a GS would be. Richard:)

[awp529]

We are a couple who have been together for 29 years and have been cruising for many years. Our first cruise was out of Galveston on Carnival. We had a great time and found the line to be very friendly. We have also cruised on Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Princess, and Celebrity. Each experience has been unique and all very enjoyable. I have found that as long as you act like a gentleman there is absolutely no problem. The only problem I have seen was when someone acted in an obnoxious manner and made some crude remarks.

For an inexpensive first cruise, Carnival runs two ships out of Galveston, TX. Galveston is a fun city for pre/post activities and the two ships the Ecstasy and the Conquest offer 4, 5, and 7 day trips to Mexico and the Caribbean. We have booked all types of cabins and as another responder noted; after booking balconies and mini-suites we have gotten very spoiled and only book balconies.

Happy cruising and enjoy your retirement.

[2menUK]

It sounds like you are getting alot of good adivce. We have sailed on several cruise lines. As you see, most of the lines are gay friendly. My one observation, is that you may want to consider the type of passengers you may find on different cruises. Like another post suggested the shorter cheaper cruises particularly on Carnival tend to get a bit more of the partiers that can be quite crude.

 

My suggestion is HAL and Celebrity tend to have a better class of passenger and if you shop around you can get prices quite close to the prices of the lesser lines like NCL and Carnival.

 

If you want ultimate luxury and all inclusive who also treat gays very well, we loved Silversea. However you pay but sometimes if you add the cost of drinks etc its not too bad.

[Chicago Boy]

Hi John,

 

My partner and I always ask to have the beds put together and there never has been a problem. It is done quickly and efficiently. If you and your partner are older, like me and my partner are, I think you would enjoy being on a premium cruise line like Celebrity. The crowd tends to be older, there are fewer children and there are always lots of gay guys to meet and chat with. Carnival is a nice line but tends to attract families with children. If budget is important, you guys can always take an inside cabin. They are comfortable. Just ask your travel agent to be sure you are not under an entertainment or kitchen area. Location is always important regardless of the cabin you choose, so ask for the best of what is available in your price range. :)

 

Enjoy your cruise!