Fred1204 Posted January 12, 2019 #1 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Can anyone tell me about the LGBT Meetings on Holland America . Will be on the New Staatendam on Feb 24th. What are they like and where are they usually Held ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tv24 Posted January 12, 2019 #2 Share Posted January 12, 2019 We were on the Rotterdam in July and went to the meet up in the Crows Nest and met some lovely folks, 3 lesbians and one straight guy. We ended up hanging out with them off-and-on for the full 18 days. Also met 2 gay guys through the CC Gay roll call and spent time with them as well. On HAL the LGBT meet up can be hit-and-miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAndDennis Posted January 28, 2019 #3 Share Posted January 28, 2019 As with most things, this varies from ship to ship and itinerary to itinerary. On the longer cruises we've been on (24-day+), the LGBT groups are outstanding and wonderful experiences. Lots of people show up and tend to be frequent (if not every night) visitors to the get-togethers. We have made many lifelong friends through these groups. It helps when HAL schedules them for a time during what most people would consider "happy hour," ie early evening before dinner. We have heard that if the group is scheduled at an awkward time, you can ask that it be changed. Never done that ourselves, but from what we've heard. On the other hand, we have been on shorter HAL cruises -- 10 days, 14-days -- and there is NO ONE at the LGBT get-togethers, on any of the nights. Our experience has been that there are lots of gay couples on these shorter cruises, but there is somehow less of a desire or a need to get together in any kind of official way. Lastly, wherever the LGBT group gathers, the bar and wait staff on HAL is always very lovely to the gay groups, however large or small they might be. Very welcoming in our experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GateGuardian Posted January 28, 2019 #4 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I was on the Koningsdam over the Christmas holiday and they don't have the LGBT meetups listed every night. In addition, it's at 5:30pm, so you're SOL if you have early dinner time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tv24 Posted January 28, 2019 #5 Share Posted January 28, 2019 We've had similar experience to Robert and Dennis. For longer cruises, some folks do show up. And there can be some flexibility in scheduled time. On the other hand, for a week-long cruise, none of the many LGBT folks on board showed up other than us. I think lots of PAX were traveling in groups of family members or friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred1204 Posted January 28, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Thank you all for responding . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffm Posted January 28, 2019 #7 Share Posted January 28, 2019 I'm on the Noordam trans-Pacific cruise Apr 21 to Vancouver. Friends of mine in AU who have been on the same trip say there is normally a FOD/LGBT group that's posted within 1st day or 2. But I guess that varies depending on who's travelling/organizing etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tv24 Posted January 29, 2019 #8 Share Posted January 29, 2019 6 hours ago, cliffm said: I'm on the Noordam trans-Pacific cruise Apr 21 to Vancouver. Friends of mine in AU who have been on the same trip say there is normally a FOD/LGBT group that's posted within 1st day or 2. But I guess that varies depending on who's travelling/organizing etc? Cliff: Pretty amazing, we will be on the same crossing, coming back to North America after a couple of months Down Under. We will look for you on board, especially at any LGBT meet-ups. We are Tom and Ron from Oakland, California, sailed a few times on HAL. Happy travel planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffm Posted January 29, 2019 #9 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Tom, Ron, thx for your note. It seems there’s at least an informal meeting of CC members on first day around dep time, so possibly we’ll meet up then. Would be interested to hear of your experiences in AU....I have friends in Melbourne Sydney and Canberra and have been there a number of times. It’s one of my favourite destinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howndder Posted January 29, 2019 #10 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Good morning, Please be aware that the cruise director on the Nieuw Statendam, was very UNHELPFUL, with regards to LGBTQ and I wrote him up to Holland America. They used to be much better the last few years, but this cruise director, though hot as a man could be, was definitely not a friend of ours. The ship however is beautiful. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QOC Posted February 5, 2019 #11 Share Posted February 5, 2019 May I ask a question ? I am sailing solo on Saturday and I'm thinking of attending the FOD meeting just to meet some people. Although I am not LGBT or Q, would this be bad form ? Just looking for friendly folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred1204 Posted February 5, 2019 Author #12 Share Posted February 5, 2019 I do not Believe it would be in bad form at all. I dont think that the people who may be going to FOD Meetings ask what your sexual preference is. Now given you are gong to meet people who might suspect to be primarily Members of the LGBTQ Community and considering you are alone you may Fond that you imight meet another SOLO Traveler who is seeking COMPANIONSHIP and my find you attractive but they wohnt ask you to leave because you say your str8. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QOC Posted February 5, 2019 #13 Share Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Fred1204 said: I do not Believe it would be in bad form at all. I dont think that the people who may be going to FOD Meetings ask what your sexual preference is. Now given you are gong to meet people who might suspect to be primarily Members of the LGBTQ Community and considering you are alone you may Fond that you imight meet another SOLO Traveler who is seeking COMPANIONSHIP and my find you attractive but they wohnt ask you to leave because you say your str8. IMHO OH I would be upfront, and I'm not looking for companionship one of the reasons I don't like the SINGLE gatherings, Thanks for your quick response Edited February 5, 2019 by QOC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tv24 Posted February 5, 2019 #14 Share Posted February 5, 2019 On our last HAL cruise, our small LGBT meet-up included two gay male couples, one lesbian couple, and one male-female couple . The last 2 might have been BI, not sure. But anyway they were cool people on an around-the-world adventure and we were happy to have met them. We continued to hang out with them (music trivia, etc.) throughout the cruise, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joat Posted February 7, 2019 #15 Share Posted February 7, 2019 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 HAL Zeiderdaam 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbaudit Posted May 10, 2019 #16 Share Posted May 10, 2019 We did a Panama Canal transit on the HAL Amsterdam in December 2017 to January 2018 and the LGBT group met in the Crows Nest. There were a variable group of 10-12 that met for cocktails each night and most were experienced cruisers and very friendly. We're cruising again during the holidays this year and hope we have another friendly group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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