JVNYC Posted September 9, 2015 #1 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Hello all. I'm looking to book my first Transatlantic cruise and I'm seeing from this board that it's quite a popular route with gay and lesbian travelers. My question is to all the frequent Transatlantic cruisers....is there one particular line that tends to have more gay and lesbian travelers than another? My partner may not be interested in going so I may go solo and I'd like to find other gay and lesbian travelers to connect with. Hoping to hear your past experiences and thoughts. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pke-atlanta Posted September 9, 2015 #2 Share Posted September 9, 2015 (edited) I've only ever done transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 on straight cruises. Of the 3 I've done, there have always been other gays on board, even though there were no organized gay "groups" traveling on the ship. While I would have to say that Celebrity is probably my favorite of the large-ship lines for cruising in general, whenever I think of a crossing, my mind immediately goes to Cunard. Edited September 9, 2015 by pke-atlanta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted September 10, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Thanks for the reply pke-atlanta. It probably was a stupid question for me to ask but I'm seeing Celebrity transatlantics are pretty popular on this board. I'm looking at Seabourn and Crystal...the transatlantic is such a good value on those lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinMaterial Posted September 10, 2015 #4 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Hello all. I'm looking to book my first Transatlantic cruise and I'm seeing from this board that it's quite a popular route with gay and lesbian travelers. My question is to all the frequent Transatlantic cruisers....is there one particular line that tends to have more gay and lesbian travelers than another? My partner may not be interested in going so I may go solo and I'd like to find other gay and lesbian travelers to connect with. Hoping to hear your past experiences and thoughts. Thanks! The new Norwegian ship Trans-Atlantics tend to be quite popular with the GLBT folks as well. Check out the Norwegian Escape sailing next month. There's a very active roll call for that ship. I know several of the cruisers sailing on it's inaugural TA. I did the Breakaway one and we had a huge crowd for the GLBT gatherings. If you're planning on going solo then the Norwegian option works great. I'm sure when the Epic comes back from Europe that she'll have another huge group, she did on her return to the US a year ago. Now she's spending the rest of this year in Europe and not coming back but Fall of 2016 she's coming back to Port Canaveral. Check that one out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuncanHusky Posted September 10, 2015 #5 Share Posted September 10, 2015 We are considering a transatlantic as well (in 2017 for us). Celebrity is our default and we love the line a lot, but there's also a lot of other great possibilities out there. I too would be very interested to see what other think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted September 10, 2015 #6 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I have been doing TAs for more years than I care to remember including the SS France, the QE2, QM2, Oceania and many on Seabourn and Silversea. There is usually a higher contingency of gays on TAs than on regular cruises and you are right about the value of a TA on Seabourn. It's my favorite. Everything is included and each day is special. Go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted September 10, 2015 Author #7 Share Posted September 10, 2015 I have been doing TAs for more years than I care to remember including the SS France, the QE2, QM2, Oceania and many on Seabourn and Silversea. There is usually a higher contingency of gays on TAs than on regular cruises and you are right about the value of a TA on Seabourn. It's my favorite. Everything is included and each day is special. Go for it. Thanks wripro. I always like what you have to say on the Oceania and Seabourn boards and always am in agreement with you. I'm glad to hear Seabourn is a favorite....that looks like it will be my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted September 11, 2015 #8 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Which TA are you thinking of doing? One thing to keep in mind is that the ones that sail from the U. S. to Europe will have several 23 hour days due to time changes while the ones sailing from Europe back to the U.S will have 25 hours days. Those extra hours of sleep can be a Godsend if you've been up partying the night before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted September 11, 2015 Author #9 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Which TA are you thinking of doing? One thing to keep in mind is that the ones that sail from the U. S. to Europe will have several 23 hour days due to time changes while the ones sailing from Europe back to the U.S will have 25 hours days. Those extra hours of sleep can be a Godsend if you've been up partying the night before. I booked the westbound Lisbon to Lauderdale in Nov, 2017. I agree....the longer days will be fantastic....more time to do nothing. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tv24 Posted September 13, 2015 #10 Share Posted September 13, 2015 We've done several TAs on the Queen Mary and always met bunches of gay folks at the LGBT happy hour meet up each day at 5:00 in the Commodore Club. Also done 2 TAs on Azamara; just a few gay folks on AZ. One TA on Holland America, but that was with our family. Never crossed on Seabourn, but I will echo Wripro that one is likely to meet a number of LBGT plus kindred spirits very casually on Seabourn. Now Crystal is another story. Again, we have never crossed on Crystal, but after 2 Crystal cruises (one very recent long one where we crossed the Indian Ocean), I would say the crowd on Crystal is very non-gay. Lots of old people of wealth. And we did not find them friendly, sad to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tv24 Posted September 13, 2015 #11 Share Posted September 13, 2015 BTW, we crossed the Pacific on Seabourn, so lots of days on board. Met and connected with a friendly group of gay folks, plus just a lot of nice interesting people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter spain Posted September 13, 2015 #12 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I would sugest Celebrity Verstuurd vanaf mijn Nexus 6 met Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithm Posted September 13, 2015 #13 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Hello all. I'm looking to book my first Transatlantic cruise and I'm seeing from this board that it's quite a popular route with gay and lesbian travelers. My question is to all the frequent Transatlantic cruisers....is there one particular line that tends to have more gay and lesbian travelers than another? My partner may not be interested in going so I may go solo and I'd like to find other gay and lesbian travelers to connect with. Hoping to hear your past experiences and thoughts. Thanks! QM2 is the only "true" Ocean liner out there. You'll find most other lines do a more southerly route,as the rough seas can make for a not so enjoyable trip for many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea brown Posted September 14, 2015 #14 Share Posted September 14, 2015 (edited) I've only ever done transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2 on straight cruises. Of the 3 I've done, there have always been other gays on board, even though there were no organized gay "groups" traveling on the ship. While I would have to say that Celebrity is probably my favorite of the large-ship lines for cruising in general, whenever I think of a crossing, my mind immediately goes to Cunard. We've done a few BTB crossings as well ad loads of Cunard , and there are always FOD meetings but mainly organized crossings are Pied Piper . . Edited September 14, 2015 by chelsea brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVNYC Posted September 14, 2015 Author #15 Share Posted September 14, 2015 We've done several TAs on the Queen Mary and always met bunches of gay folks at the LGBT happy hour meet up each day at 5:00 in the Commodore Club. Also done 2 TAs on Azamara; just a few gay folks on AZ. One TA on Holland America, but that was with our family. Never crossed on Seabourn, but I will echo Wripro that one is likely to meet a number of LBGT plus kindred spirits very casually on Seabourn. Now Crystal is another story. Again, we have never crossed on Crystal, but after 2 Crystal cruises (one very recent long one where we crossed the Indian Ocean), I would say the crowd on Crystal is very non-gay. Lots of old people of wealth. And we did not find them friendly, sad to report. Thanks for this info. I've always wanted to try Crystal but then never get to the point of booking because of doubts.....and hearing this makes me glad I trusted my instinct. Maybe when the new ships come but not now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag fan Posted September 16, 2015 #16 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Another option to consider is a Transatlantic with Pied Piper--which puts together gay groups on regular cruises (rather than a full ship gay charter). I know they have done a number of Transatlantics on the Queen Mary 2 and perhaps they have some on other lines. I have never sailed with this group, but want to try it some day. I have done QM2 transatlantics and, as others have mentioned, there are always a large group of gay people and active LGBT/Friends of Dorothy meetings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted September 16, 2015 #17 Share Posted September 16, 2015 The problem with Pied Piper is that you will pay more because of their fees. But it may not be a problem for some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea brown Posted September 16, 2015 #18 Share Posted September 16, 2015 The problem with Pied Piper is that you will pay more because of their fees. But it may not be a problem for some. I hadn't realized that Pied Piper was more than regular prices , good information . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Timber Posted September 16, 2015 #19 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I hadn't realized that Pied Piper was more than regular prices , good information . It isn't. I have been on several and have found it to be less than the rate charged by the cruise line as well as my regular online travel agent. Check out the prices yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazerboy Posted September 17, 2015 #20 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) Thanks for this info. I've always wanted to try Crystal but then never get to the point of booking because of doubts.....and hearing this makes me glad I trusted my instinct. Maybe when the new ships come but not now.Another perspective here...I've done two Crystal TA's and found them to be very gay friendly. Large group of men, both single and couples, and even some women couples on both crossings. TA's are my first choice. I've done them on Cunard, Celebrity and Crystal as an adult, and plenty of crossings on the old lines when I was a child. The advantage to Celebrity has been the age cohort skewing younger...back in the day, I did a Crystal crossing when I turned 30, and was the youngest by far... Now that I'm...ahem...older, Celebrity still fits well, with a nice mix of 30's to 60's. The advantage of Cunard is definitely the 'ride' as you cross. And if you're a 'traditionalist' it certainly has a nice feel. All TA's I've been on have had a more interesting cross section of folks...something about them that appeals to interesting people. Andrew Edited September 17, 2015 by Blazerboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshrich Posted September 17, 2015 #21 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Hi Not seen RCI mentioned on here, we have done about 5 TA's with them and enjoyed them all, met a lot of interesting folk and there seemed to be quite a few gay and lesbian people, last cruise was the Vision TA in April and there were a lot so it was fun to hang out for drinks or chat in the Steam/Sauna onboard. RCI do put a FOD meeting on their notice board but it always seems to be at an odd time, someone tends to put a better time up though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnatello Posted September 17, 2015 #22 Share Posted September 17, 2015 We've done 3 "repo" cruises on "X" and had a wonderful time with other GLBT passengers. We've also done a few TA's on the Queen Mary UK to NY. Always met other GLBT passengers on those crossings. We haven't done o a TA to NY on QM is meeting other GLBT is n important criteria for you. Oh...and in case you didnt' know, "X" is Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted September 25, 2015 #23 Share Posted September 25, 2015 My partner and I have done six crossings with Oceania on both the smaller and larger ships, on a variety of Europe - North America crossings and Europe - South America, with a Cape Town - Rio crossing coming up in November. Oceania are quite progressive in that they allow same sex crew couples to co habit, and the crew seem to have very liberal outlooks in general.... I guess it helps that one of the counter founders of the line is openly gay. I've never encountered less than 10% LGBT fellow passengers on a crossing, with at least 15-20% on a crossing on Regatta in 2012. After November we have another two crossings booked next year, so I guess they are doing something right for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter spain Posted September 26, 2015 #24 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Thnx for your information. Is Oceana for younger people too? We are 46. We have the feeling that Oceana is having a 60+ crowd. My partner and I have done six crossings with Oceania on both the smaller and larger ships' date=' on a variety of Europe - North America crossings and Europe - South America, with a Cape Town - Rio crossing coming up in November. Oceania are quite progressive in that they allow same sex crew couples to co habit, and the crew seem to have very liberal outlooks in general.... I guess it helps that one of the counter founders of the line is openly gay.I've never encountered less than 10% LGBT fellow passengers on a crossing, with at least 15-20% on a crossing on Regatta in 2012. After November we have another two crossings booked next year, so I guess they are doing something right for us![/quote'] Verstuurd vanaf mijn Nexus 6 met Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbsboy Posted October 5, 2015 #25 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Hello We were on Marina Oceania 2 years ago from Barcelona to Rio and had a ball. The food, the service and the fellow travelers were great and lots of G&L clients, the average age was560 plus however we are in our 40's and had a great time. We are doing another transatlantic next month for 14 nights again with O and cant wait. We have done Cunard several times but once you have done O you would not want to do Cunard! Best Wishes Grant:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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