LGBT Cruisers

[mvanderson11]

Hello! I’m traveling on the Carnival Glory Oct 6 2019. I’m traveling solo and I was wondering if Carnival still hosts LGBT gathering? Is anyone on here going? 

[Bengant]

Thanks KeithM for the information.  Much appreciated.  

[hsolis67]

On 12/28/2018 at 12:05 PM, redcardms said:

Hi, I am hoping to get some peoples thoughts on this.

 

I am a 56 year old recent widower. Even as a married person my thoughts were always on a same sex relationship. My  wife and I loved cruising and I am now considering a solo cruise.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on which line would be the best for me to at least reach out to this community and possibly explore who I am and if this might be the right direction in my current life.

 

I am not comfortable at this time speaking to people I know, but am really curious if this is a good way to be more at ease.

 

I am not looking for any kind of relationship but more on getting some opinions.

 

Thank you

Hello, 

I also find the LGBT Meet and Greets a hit-n-miss.

When I travel solo, I always find the rollcall or other social media groups for my itineraries and try to meet people before the cruise. Usually this make it a ton of fun and I meet all kinds of people and yes, some gay people too. Generally I like to join these groups to find people that are fun and I can spend sometime together regardless of sexual orientation. Incidentally, my next cruise is NCL Bliss Feb 16-23 out of Miami, traveling in a Solo cabin. Anyone in this group going on this cruise?

[MH8535]

On 1/20/2019 at 10:03 PM, hsolis67 said:

Hello, 

I also find the LGBT Meet and Greets a hit-n-miss.

When I travel solo, I always find the rollcall or other social media groups for my itineraries and try to meet people before the cruise. Usually this make it a ton of fun and I meet all kinds of people and yes, some gay people too. Generally I like to join these groups to find people that are fun and I can spend sometime together regardless of sexual orientation. Incidentally, my next cruise is NCL Bliss Feb 16-23 out of Miami, traveling in a Solo cabin. Anyone in this group going on this cruise?

Hi. Also will be on NCL Bliss Feb 16-23. Can't wait! I am travelling solo and hoping to meet others in this group who are going before or at the LGBT meet and greet. Less than a month to go!  -Mike, Toronto, Ontario (mh8535@gmail.com)

[zitsky]

I thought the LGBT meetup was good for meeting people.  There were more people at the beginning.  I would run into some folks and say hello.  Never did get together for lunch or dinner.  People were friendly when you saw them on the ship.

[Fred1204]

Hey there, We are from Naples Florida and will be on the New Staatendam Feb 24. 

 

[scaquilina]

Hi Everyone. I'll be on my second cruise next week, departing 31st January from Sydney on Celebrity Solstice. I'll be accompanying my elderly Mum who is a very experienced cruiser and sailed extensively with my Dad when he was alive.

 

I look forward to meeting other LGBT cruisers on Celebrity Solstice next week!

[OzPinoyCruiser]

47 minutes ago, scaquilina said:

Hi Everyone. I'll be on my second cruise next week, departing 31st January from Sydney on Celebrity Solstice. I'll be accompanying my elderly Mum who is a very experienced cruiser and sailed extensively with my Dad when he was alive.

 

I look forward to meeting other LGBT cruisers on Celebrity Solstice next week!

Happy cruising! Hope you are enjoying or will enjoy Sydney weather...pretty sure you will have a ball onboard... cj and mike from Sydney Australia...

[joat]

My husband and I are from Arizona.  We are retired and try to cruise at least once each year.  HAL is our first choice in cruise lines.  We have tried others but return to HAL every time.  (Have not tried any of the Brit lines, such as Fred.Olsen--yet.)

 

This year we have a 24-day cruise on Holland America Line (HAL) from Copenhagen (06JUL) to Boston via the northern route.  We would love to meet up with other LGBT cruisers on this cruise.

There is a roll call for our cruise and so far we are the only gay couple participating in it.

If there is a gay cruisers roll call for this cruise, I have not found it.

If any of you should happen to be on this cruise, please, let us know.

[joat]

Leaving for a short 7-night cruise on Emerald Princess from LAX on 17FEB--Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and back.

First time on this line. 

Anyone else in this group on the cruise?

[joat]

Very disappointed with Princess.  Cabin was great.  Cabin Steward was great.  Nice itinerary--all familiar places and a chance for a quick visit with friends in each of the 4 ports.  Most of the rest of the staff with whom we were in contact were under trained or had had no training before being put on the job.  I feel sorry for the crew for being put in such situations. 

 

Quality of food is very important.  EP had none.  Mediocre at best.  Often cold after a long delay in arriving to the tables in MD and in specialty restaurants.  Always overcooked.  Bland.

My hubby ordered eggs Benedict one time.  The dish arrived with crusty hollandaise sauce on it and hard cooked eggs.  When asked of the waiter we were told that they always put it under the salamander to warm it.  Warm it?  Not cook fresh?  No.

I tried for an omelet in the buffet for breakfast.  After 25 minutes it arrived swimming in grease and cold and far overcooked.  Inedible.

 

The ship design is not good.  The kitchen and dining rooms are on decks 5 and 6 in the middle of the ship.  If you want to get from one side to the other it is necessary to go up at least one deck, walk through, come back down to the deck you want.  Just a terrible design.  Deck  4, 15, 16 have obstructed flow also. 

 

The panoramic view from the lounge is nice.  That bar also has the dance floor, which is miniscule.  There is no service until sometime after 10PM and it is difficult to get to.

 

Elevators are very slow and separated from each other making it difficult to RUN to an elevator when it does arrive.  Older folks had much difficulty.  One lady said she just used whatever one arrived and she would eventually get to the deck she wanted. 

 

Entertainment==of 7 night, two nights in the main theater were movies.  But one could always go shopping, buy bad art and/or jewelry.  Entertainment in the lounges was mediocre or less.  One duo should look into a career change because the could never carry a song on key.

 

This was an experiment to see if we wanted to sail with Princess sometimes.  The line offers some itineraries our favorite line does not.  Since Princess is a part of the same corporate family, we expected nearly the same quality.  Not there.  Other cruisers with whom we discussed the issues told us they had found similar situations of other ships of the line over the past two years.  Such a shame.

 

Will not repeat sail with Princess.  Too bad.  We had such hopes of it being a good alternative for cruising.

 

 

[OzPinoyCruiser]

On 3/9/2019 at 7:20 AM, joat said:

Very disappointed with Princess.  Cabin was great.  Cabin Steward was great.  Nice itinerary--all familiar places and a chance for a quick visit with friends in each of the 4 ports.  Most of the rest of the staff with whom we were in contact were under trained or had had no training before being put on the job.  I feel sorry for the crew for being put in such situations. 

 

Quality of food is very important.  EP had none.  Mediocre at best.  Often cold after a long delay in arriving to the tables in MD and in specialty restaurants.  Always overcooked.  Bland.

My hubby ordered eggs Benedict one time.  The dish arrived with crusty hollandaise sauce on it and hard cooked eggs.  When asked of the waiter we were told that they always put it under the salamander to warm it.  Warm it?  Not cook fresh?  No.

I tried for an omelet in the buffet for breakfast.  After 25 minutes it arrived swimming in grease and cold and far overcooked.  Inedible.

 

The ship design is not good.  The kitchen and dining rooms are on decks 5 and 6 in the middle of the ship.  If you want to get from one side to the other it is necessary to go up at least one deck, walk through, come back down to the deck you want.  Just a terrible design.  Deck  4, 15, 16 have obstructed flow also. 

 

The panoramic view from the lounge is nice.  That bar also has the dance floor, which is miniscule.  There is no service until sometime after 10PM and it is difficult to get to.

 

Elevators are very slow and separated from each other making it difficult to RUN to an elevator when it does arrive.  Older folks had much difficulty.  One lady said she just used whatever one arrived and she would eventually get to the deck she wanted. 

 

Entertainment==of 7 night, two nights in the main theater were movies.  But one could always go shopping, buy bad art and/or jewelry.  Entertainment in the lounges was mediocre or less.  One duo should look into a career change because the could never carry a song on key.

 

This was an experiment to see if we wanted to sail with Princess sometimes.  The line offers some itineraries our favorite line does not.  Since Princess is a part of the same corporate family, we expected nearly the same quality.  Not there.  Other cruisers with whom we discussed the issues told us they had found similar situations of other ships of the line over the past two years.  Such a shame.

 

Will not repeat sail with Princess.  Too bad.  We had such hopes of it being a good alternative for cruising.

 

 

Sorry to hear about your princess cruise experience...were you able to meet some member of the community at least to have a better experience onboard?

[Kid in me]

Anyone doing Nov 2,19 birthday cruise on Symphony of the seas. We are doing B2B . 11-2 & 11-9 to 16.

[joat]

We did meet a number of great people on the cruise, straight and gay.  There was a contingent of 45 guys from Palm Springs, CA, a few from Canada.  All were great.

 

[OzPinoyCruiser]

18 hours ago, Kid in me said:

Anyone doing Nov 2,19 birthday cruise on Symphony of the seas. We are doing B2B . 11-2 & 11-9 to 16.

We are booked fo the Nov 2 birthday cruise... so far we are still going... c”,)

[Kid in me]

Great we are Pam & Theresa,from Brooklyn N.Y.see you at the cruise critic meet & greet.

[joat]

Just booked the last of the flights we will need for next summer.

Already had Norwegian Air from home to LAX and  LAX > CPN to join HAL Zuiderdam on 06JUL for the 24-day cruise ending in Boston.

Today I booked a nonstop from Boston to Phoenix.  We will shuttle from there to home.

All coming together nicely.  WooHoo!

[balkor2]

On 3/16/2019 at 8:41 PM, joat said:

Just booked the last of the flights we will need for next summer.

Already had Norwegian Air from home to LAX and  LAX > CPN to join HAL Zuiderdam on 06JUL for the 24-day cruise ending in Boston.

Today I booked a nonstop from Boston to Phoenix.  We will shuttle from there to home.

All coming together nicely.  WooHoo!

SaWEET 

Enjoy

[Bigmike911]

Folks there is a thread for G&L Roll Calls as the first item in the GandL category. Try posting your voyages there and you will likely find a lot more fellow cruisers than on this thread.  

[balkor2]

10 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

Folks there is a thread for G&L Roll Calls as the first item in the GandL category. Try posting your voyages there and you will likely find a lot more fellow cruisers than on this thread.  

 

I have done that for several cruises and have little to no response but high volume of readers but little to no talkers

Edited March 24, 2019 by balkor2

[DrGaellon]

2 minutes ago, balkor2 said:

 

I have done that for several cruises and have little to no response but high volume of readers but little to no talkers

 

Agreed. I created one for my upcoming cruise, and have gotten nothing.

[joat]

Holland America Zuiderdam 06JUL-30JUL2019

 

My husband and I are booked for the full 24 day cruise from Copenhagen to Boston.

This is a 2 segment cruise. Copenhagen to Rotterdam is a 7-day segment.  Then the ship sails from Rotterdam for the 17-day segment to the Shetland Islands, Iceland, Greenland, the Maritimes and to Boston.

Any others on this cruise? 

There is another roll call for this cruise of over 16+ couples who are planning 2 M&G's.  We are the only gay couple in this group.

Hope to connect with other gays as well.

Have a great day.

Joseph and Larry.

[balkor2]

12 hours ago, DrGaellon said:

 

Agreed. I created one for my upcoming cruise, and have gotten nothing.

At least here there is something

 

[skipperanne]

I guess the fact that we as LGBTQI+ people are essentially no big deal on most cruises has made this roll call less important to many people.   I still enjoy knowing that there are other LGBTQ people on a cruise and a friendly smile as we pass each other in a corridor..   That is why I always try to attend at least the first night of an LGBTQ get together while on a cruise.   I don't always make it,  and then it gets even more difficult to fine the other "members of the tribe" when they gather.

 

Hopefully these groups will continue,  and people will attend to at least be a touchstone for others.

[Bigmike911]

On 3/24/2019 at 5:36 AM, balkor2 said:

 

I have done that for several cruises and have little to no response but high volume of readers but little to no talkers

Could you comment on your success at connecting with others on your cruise, by posting here as opposed to the Roll Call section? I have had reasonable success using the roll call, but occasionally, monthly in my case, I wake it up and it automatically moves to the top of the list, and that helps. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Bigmike911