Need cruiseline recom....Alaska anyone?

[PoseidonGodoftheSea]

I've only sailed Holland America and not once did I run into another gay man, not even at the FOD meetings, I was the only one that showed up:eek:. I'm thinking of trying Princess, Celebrity or RCI. Carnival is also an option but sounds a little over the top. Gay themed cruises are kinda pricey and I'm nonscene anyway (I work construction and not really out). Meat market atmospheres would not appeal to me, but a few singles would be nice. Any help appreciated! Thanks.

[shepp]

Really the luck of the draw. I've been on HAL out of FLL, and the pax seemed older, straighter, and less gay-friendly (in the case of one cruise, actually more homophobic) than my cruises from SFO on X and Princess. Go Left Coast! But the lines themselves all seemed pretty equally queer-friendly.

 

BTW, I'm a big ol' homo, but kinda over FOD meetings myself. I would guess that you're more likely to meet gay couples than singles on non-gay cruises. Just the way it is. And then there are guys like me and my partner, who are Hitched But Available For Fun.

[gmhohio]

Hi Poseidon,

 

My partner and I are heading to Alaska in a couple of weeks on NCL, aboard the Pearl. While some folks may find fault with NCL, we've found them to be extremely LGBT friendly and how flexible dinner can be with no assigned times or seating.

 

We are going with the Aquafest Gay Group Cruise. We've found that they are a lot less expensive than the charters and with only being a group of a hundred or so on a larger cruise, the cruise group tends to be more laid back and somewhat mellow.

 

Good luck with your selection process.

[SakeDad]

I think Princess out of Seattle R/T would be a good option for you. It's a nice line (especially if you like HAL) and is VERY GLBT friendly. Good luck with the search.:D

[SanDiegoSteven]

Hey there! Alaska is a great cruise. Celebrity is awesome and so is Princess. Have you checked http://www.GaySailAway.com and http://www.GaySailAway.com/blog There's tons of infomraiton of crusing for the LGBT community there...provided by gay guys! Have a wonderful vacation whatever ship you decide to sail on!

[satxdiver]

Princess is a good one to choose as they are very gay friendly and have sponsored GL meetings on board so that you can meet your fellow GL passengers. RCI is friendly but they will not host or hold a FOD (no GL) meeting so you have to initiate one yourself by putting a notice on the little board near guest relations and hope other gays see it. I prefer Princess myself.

 

I went on one HAL cruise and it was to Alaska. The pax were all very old or acted like they were old with one foot in the grave. They all went to bed right after dinner so the bars and clubs with music were vacant as was the whole public area. It was the most boring cruise I have ever been on. Luckily I had a balcony stateroom and the scenery was magnificent which I did enjoy.

[VibeGuy]

Alaska as a whole tends to attract more couples and skews slightly older. That said, I had the time of my life on a Princess VAN-ANC-VAN B2B. I'm in an LTR, but I'm *extremely poorly behaved*, and I found plenty of diversions who were equally poorly behaved.

 

The ships *are* dead after late seating; people think they have to be up at the crack of dawn to see scenery. I don't think the first week we ever had more than 15 pax in Skywalkers. The second week was livelier, in every sense of the word, but it still wasn't "scene".

 

Princess has taken to having GLBT get-togethers during sailaway, on the open deck, so while it makes it harder to figure out just who is who, it's not as intimidating for someone who is a little more . . . circumspect. I don't read as homo 11 months out of the year (the pink mohawk for Breast Cancer Awareness Month notwithstanding), and still manage to meet the right guys.

 

I would definitely *not* do HAL to Alaska; if you think they're old in the Caribbean, wait until you see the Alaska trips - the favorite afternoon activity? Defibrilation.

 

E

[TnTom]

I did a Princess trip to Alaska last year. It included a pre-cruise land tour, and then a week at sea. Watching the Princess "machine" at work on the ground in Alaska was amazing. They have perfected handling large groups of people and getting them to their different destinations efficiently... without making them feel like they're being herded like cattle. It was great!

 

The minute we stepped onto the Diamond Princess, all of that changed. It was a nice enough ship, but it was just "ok". I can't say that there was anything that stood out as "special" on the ship (food, entertainment, accomodations, etc.). I didn't see any other gay folks aboard, although I am sure they were there.

 

I have sailed with HAL, MSC, Princess and Celebrity. Al of those lines try to be accommodating to their LGBT passengers with FOD meeting and/or other services. My experience is that a majority of gay cruisers aboard a "regular" cruise are there to blend in, and they aren't looking to be part of a gay group of any size or kind. I, for one, feel like being on a gay charter would be like being locked in a gay bar for a week... YIKES!

 

Counter to what others have posted, the best one I have been on (where there was a large impromptu group of LGBT passengers) was a HAL Mexican Riviera cruise on the Oosterdam. We had a couple of pre-dinner get-togethers, and it was fun to cross paths and compare notes during the week. Oddly enough, the group got started at a Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. Even the staff was a hoot, and I think they were more festive because there had been an Atlantis charter of the boat a couple of weeks before.

 

I am looking forward to my first Pied Piper group cruise this Fall. I want to believe it will be the best of both worlds.

[HALFans]

We're doing HAL for Alaska next month. This will be our 2nd time to take HAL up there.

 

First time was several years ago on the Ryndam and I DON'T want to talk about that one again.

 

Next (Sept. 4th) weekend we'll be on the Rotterdam. There is a thread started by a GLBT CCer here... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1261411

 

I'll update and let you know how it was for us on our cruise.

[Boytjie]

Gay themed cruises are kinda pricey and I'm nonscene anyway (I work construction and not really out). Meat market atmospheres would not appeal to me, but a few singles would be nice. Any help appreciated! Thanks.

 

On RSVP cruises there are people from all walks of life - blue collar, white collar doesn't matter. On the last cruise during one of the pool contest some of them were doctors, nurses and corrections officers (male and female) amongst the contestants. There are biker types and girly twinks and everything in between; some barely above 20 and some knocking on 80.

 

It is not really a big meat market. There is a lot of bodies in bathing suits (or less on the C/O deck) etc and some are hot and some are not, and nobody really cares. It is a very friendly bunch. I have met many people from parts of the country where they just not feel comfortable being out and the cruise is there week of being gay and comfortable and happy.

 

Yes, it is more expensive to do a gay charter but think about trying it some time. You may be surprised. :)

 

Other optiosn are gay groups sich as Pied Piper on regular cruises, I am sure some of the groups go to Alaska.

[Boytjie]

My experience is that a majority of gay cruisers aboard a "regular" cruise are there to blend in, and they aren't looking to be part of a gay group of any size or kind.

 

Funny you should mention that; we were on the QM2 with a Pied Piper group of about 35 and there were other gays that interacted with us in the Commodore lounge (FOD events or just after dinner) and in G32 (teh disco) and there were others that kept to themsleves and seem to not even acknowledge any other gays onboard.

 

 

I, for one, feel like being on a gay charter would be like being locked in a gay bar for a week... YIKES!

 

IMHO a gay charter is much friendlier and less attitudy that most gay bars ;)

[COMBOY]

I've only sailed Holland America and not once did I run into another gay man, not even at the FOD meetings, I was the only one that showed up:eek:. I'm thinking of trying Princess, Celebrity or RCI. Carnival is also an option but sounds a little over the top. Gay themed cruises are kinda pricey and I'm nonscene anyway (I work construction and not really out). Meat market atmospheres would not appeal to me, but a few singles would be nice. Any help appreciated! Thanks.

 

Well, there no way to guarantee to connect with other GLBT on a mainstream cruise. It's really a roll on the dice. I think doing a hosted gay group like on Pied Piper or Aquafest would be your best bet on a main stream cruise ship especially for solo cruiser. They have groups from 10 to several hundred on a sailing. That way at least you've know you won't be alone and have people to connect with. Most offer a roommate share program to avoid the single supplement charge. They offer group dining, hosted cocktails party and group shore tours if you so chose to participate. I think you should check them out.

[shepp]

I would definitely *not* do HAL to Alaska; if you think they're old in the Caribbean, wait until you see the Alaska trips - the favorite afternoon activity? Defibrilation.

 

Thanks for making me nose-spray my coffee all over the keyboard. :)

[Kenito]

We have done small groups of 30-40 guys twice now on Carnival and it's been a pretty good experience. For 2012 I am looking at Alaska... and would consider Carnival, Princess or HAL. I guess after hearing some of these comments, perhaps Princess would get the nod.

 

We have never had any issues with other pax, and certainly not Carnival. Since we have such a large group of men together, it probably is not a stretch for anyone to figure we were all gay, but frankly we simply do our own thing and wouldn't notice or care if anyone did give us a side-ways glance.

 

So perhaps it is up to all of us. If we conduct ourselves with respect and consideration for those around us, I expect them to do the same if I give my boyfriend a little kiss or hug.

 

All that said... I guess I'd still give Princess a shot first for our 2011/12 adventure! After all, there are just too many good one-liners about queens on Princess to pass up. ;)

 

~K

[martonia]

My partner and I (Canadians,legally married) just got back from our first cruise on HAL to Alaska. There were LGBT meets on several afternoons in one of the lounges; these were posted on the ship's activity list along with the spa, movies, and defibrilation (:p). We were busy with onshore tours, and never got to a meeting in spite of good intentions. Next time we'll try harder to schedule things so that we get to one.

 

I have no idea whether or not other passengers were homophobic; we're out everywhere and don't give homophobes any space in our lives or heads, so didn't bother to notice if people gave us the evil eye! The crew treated us like royalty throughout the ship, and our cabin and dining stewards couldn't have been more friendly and gracious. As a wedding anniversary keepsake, we had our formal portrait done in the photo studio on board, and were put in all the same romantic poses as any other couple -- no hassle or discomfort detected from the photographer, who has probably seen it all before. I'd have no problem sailing with HAL again.

[colocop004]

We did Alaska on Celebrity Infinity, while we were not impressed with the ship, we were thoughly impressed with the crew and the number of other GLBT travelers on board. We attended the FOD meetings everyday and met new people everyday. All in all we found approximately 20 of us on board and actually became close friends with several of the entertainment staff.

 

We also sail with Pied Piper on their Gay Group sailings. We havee done the Post Thanksgiving cruise for 5 years now and are very excitd to sail again this year. The groups have been between 400 and 900 with the group on this sailing. We have made many friends that we see on a regular basis and in fact most of them return evry year with us on the Post Thanksgiving cruise.

 

Piped Piper always has an alaska sailing in August of every year, sorry tht I did not let you know abou this before now, but there you have it!! Good luck and hope your trip to Alaska is as amazing as our was!!!

[TexanHou]

We did Alaska on Celebrity Infinity, while we were not impressed with the ship, we were thoughly impressed with the crew and the number of other GLBT travelers on board. We attended the FOD meetings everyday and met new people everyday. All in all we found approximately 20 of us on board and actually became close friends with several of the entertainment staff.

My partner and I also did Alaska on Celebrity Infinity June 2010. Had a fantastic time. The crew was great as well as fellow passengers. The ship is in need of an overhaul, but I believe it scheduled for an upgrade like the Constellation very soon. Good luck!

[sexebear]

himate

were an ozie couple doing alaska as part of a bigger cruise from beijing to vancouver so if you choose princess cruises well be there on the diamond.. were also not really out and enjoy our isolated life to the full .. have few friends coz of the age diference 63 and 33 and the fact we wont play seperatly //we do like company but like you not into sceney or specific gay things like cruises so at least you know you have a couple of gays on th:D:D:De diamond cheers brent

[CaboGuys]

Hey, we just got back from a 14 day Alaska cruise on Holland America, and it was fantastic. It was Seattle/Seattle roundtrip, super itinerary and super nice people.

Not many gay couples, but there were some and some singles. Staff was very gay friendly, and many staff were gay themselves, so all was well.

Highly recommend Holland America!

Being in construction industry myself, I can understand where the original poster is coming from.

It was our 10th anniversary and just a great trip...

[Kenito]

Welcome back guys and thank you for posting comments re HAL.

Our group is strongly considering Alaska next year and feel pretty good about either Princess or HAL. We'd also consider Carnival... but they send the same ship (the Spirit) to Alaska as we have taken for our Mexican Riviera cruises.

By the way... we will be in Cabo in early February. Would love to hear from you regarding any suggestions you might have for our day in Cabo.

K