Opinions on Which is the best Cruise Line ?

[DB961]

I would appreciate opinions on which is the Best Cruise line and reasons, and which is the most gay friendly. I know everyone will probably have a different opinion. I have cruised with Disney 3 times, Carnival once (not impressed at all) and Royal Caribbean once(Brilliance of the Seas). My opinion at this point is Disney and Royal Caribbean are very close in several ways. I really cannot say that I noted any other gay men or couples on either of these. No FOD meetings on either. I note that there are lots of Roll Calls on Princess Ships. Is Princess the way I should go? Princess ratings on reviews are certainly not as good as RCCL or Disney.

Appreciate everyones input.

David

[quepaquete]

I think that you need to specify what you are looking for in best, such as best on service, best on food, best night life, best accomodations or best overall?? Are you looking for the best as "family" friendly?? or are you looking for the best in budget cruising?? The best are usually in the upscale pricing.

For me the best middle budget line would be Princess

lower upper class would be Celebrity

and in a few months I will be able to compare with Silversea

all gay-friendly.

I'm sure you will get many different opinions on this one!!

[Blazerboy]

David, that's a tall order (and I like 'em tall, too:D )

 

Lots of opinions here, I'm sure. Princess does have a great reputation for hosting FOD meetings. And funny, because no matter the ratings, I'd book on Princess before RCCL, yet I like RCCL's other brand best of the three (Celebrity) Princess has had FOD meetings on every trip I've done. But, then again, so have Cunard, Crystal, and Celebrity. Disney wouldn't seem to attract the most gay men, but that's just a stereotype on my part, and I could be wrong. There have been conflicting reports about RCCL and their policies about FOD meetings, and some have complained of homophobic treatment, while others say they've had no problems. It's too much ice skating/rock wall/neon for my tastes, though.

 

Probably the best bet is to find the itinerary and price range you want for a cruise, and try one of the more popular lines- Princess, Celebrity (my line of choice at the moment because of the value versus service) and HAL- the only reputation they have is that the passengers are older, but someone on here that sails them regularly and loves them is under 40, and sayd that's not necessarily true, so go figure.

 

Cunard is very gay-friendly and has lots of gay group tours through Pied Piper, but the itineraries are limited by the size of the ships (one is Panamax), the crossings that the QM2 does regularly, the world cruises, and the fact that they only have two ships. That said, I love Cunard, and would sail her more if price/itinerary were better for us from the West Coast.

 

And then there are the luxury lines like Crystal, Radisson, Seaborne, etc. My limited experience there is that, when you pay that much money, most won't bat an eye, but it won't necesarily have a disco full of men dancing either (although that did happen on the Harmony!)

 

Gays make up a significant % of cruisers industry-wide, and most experienced travelers are sophisticated enough to either embrace our presence, or not make their thoughts known (just as we try not to show our displeasure at some of their outfits!:eek: )

 

So to give you some perspective on my opinions, my partner and I are in our late 30's/early forties (Hey! I'm early 40's until August, so keep quiet all of you! ;) ), enjoy cocktails before dinner, but rarely stay out late, like to balance food with exercise, and don't care so much about ports- we like crossings best!

 

Probably best to give some of your own demographics, and I'm sure others will chime in (Age range, late night parties/early to bed, single/married, vacation goals, etc.)

 

Good luck deciding.

 

Andrew

[2Cruise4Ever]

I've been on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival, and NCL. And, I remember specifically that there were advertised FOD meetings in the daily newsletters on both Carnival and NCL. And, don't forget that Rosie O' charters the NCL Dawn once a year!

[Bramcruiser]

Now if there was ever a question that was geared for subjective answers that would be it. Best line is like asking for favourite hotel chain or restaurant. Only been on two to date - Carnival and Holland America Line. Enjoyed my time on both but must admit that HAL is more to my style. Why? I always loved the image of the old classic glory days of the ocean liners and HAL is probably closer to that feel that you will get out of a cruise today without being priced so extravangantly out of range. I think HAL has the best beds anywhere on the high seas and apparently a lot agree on that point. Food is good. Service so-so. But then I know people who complain about HAL being the fleet for seniors and very boring as one young girl in my office said when she got back from her honeymoon. So go figure! Trying out Cunard in December so can't comment on that one yet but HAL is my current benchmark.

 

As for gay friendly? Well my partner and I are not big socialites (we tend to stay by ourselves anywhere we go) and I never once saw an FOD on any cruise I've been on. Still I see couples onboard here and there and never once did we have a problem with cruise staff in regards to being gay. Our cabin steward on our last cruise (HAL of course) was the best and definitely deserved the big tip I left.

 

Just speaking from my experiences and I am sure there are much more seasoned travellers out there.

[pxn748]

My partner and I sailed on HOlland America in March of 2005 on the Zuiderdam, eastrern Caribbean and there was a FOD meeting almost every day.

We are in our mid-forties and don't consider ourselves fuddy-duddies. We thought there was always a lot to do.

we love the traditional elegance on board. We aren't rich so we haven't done a lot of 1st class travelling, but for us it seems very glamorous and exciting

[SeaTeacher]

Price: Crystal, Radisson, Seaborne, etc. are too expensive on my teacher's salary, especially considering I can only travel during the most expensive periods.

 

Style: RCCI ships seem too much like a big suburban mall. I prefer a ship that has a quiet elegance to it, is more understated and anchored in old style marine architecture. NCL cabins are smaller than average. I like cruising on a line that has smaller, midsize, and larger ships. So we chose Princess for its diverse ships and low-key traditional elegance.

 

Food: We may try Celebrity some day. The excellent reputation for fine dining is attractive. Princess food has its ups and downs. But generally, it is on a par with RCCL and sometimes with Celebrity. I have seen HAL menus, but they are a little bit too pedestrian for what I want. Princess has good basic food, and the line experiments with some special styles and flavors – often enough to add some interest. Princess is middle of the road and that’s good enough for me right now. Add to that the variety of dining options (traditional seating, personal choice, specialty, bringing wine onboard, reasonable alcohol prices, etc) then I think the scales tilt in favor of Princess.

 

Personal Issues: RCCI and Celebrity get mixed reviews for the way they welcome gay passengers. They can be inconsistent – sometimes welcoming and other times cold and downright homophobic (on the part of corporate policies and cruise directors – not crew). I am a big politically active 'mo. Corporate policies matter to me. If I have a choice, my money goes to corporations and products that show me consistent respect, both on paper and in person. Princess always has FOD meetups.

 

Passengers: I am a middle age urban school teacher. I'm out at work and when I travel. I have a wide variety of friends and acquaintances. I choose a cruise line that caters to a broad cross section of people, including children, middle age folks, young adults, retirees, people of all colors, creeds, and political philosophies. Celebrity skews a little older, HAL a lot older. NCL is about the same as Princess and RCI. The luxury lines skew older as well.

 

Activities: RCCI offers active ships. HAL and Celebrity a little less. Carnival ships definitely tilt too far toward a floating party (I don't do Atlantis cruises either). Princess provides activities that are almost as diverse as RCCI including pool games, seminars, golf , SCUBA and dance clubs. Gay couples in the disco are a seldom given a second glance. Also, most ships have a pool designated for adults only. Again, Princess has all that.

 

Overall: When I balance ship style, food, corporate policies, activities, demographics, and price – Princess is the right line for us. Besides - the name is soooo GAY!

[DB961]

John,

I really appreciate the intelligent answer, you really covered every aspect of what I was asking. I have read your site Edenhill also and its great. Would be great to meet you some time. Maybe on a cruise...Thanks again for your help, hope your upcoming cruises are as great as what you described on Sapphire Princess in December.

David

[bobar]

Have never been on a line that i didn't find to be gay friendly. My best cruises have been on msc and costa, but then again i'm italian. Have been on 26 cruises now including most of the mainstream lines, except princess.

In the last few yrs seem to keep ending up on ncl and am never dissapointed.they have the best marks for me in overall combined experience. wish their food was a hair better but it's good. Their entertainment, casinos,service and outdoor pool areas are most excellent.

their ships are not overly massive and are very nicely appointed and although smaller cabins, always very nice and comfortable. If I had my way costa and celebrity would offer 7 night sailings out of galveston.Just went on the norwegian sun in november and it was gorgeous. going on the norwegian spirit out of nyc in june.only choices were carnival,ncl and princess and i picked ncl again. Ncl always seems to have the best prices

also. When it's all said and done find a budget and an itinarary youl like and book it. I've never been on a bad cruise..:cool:

[Blazerboy]

Gee, David, I didn't realize my answer wasn't inteligent!:eek:

 

;) Glad you got the info you needed.

 

Andrew

[SeaTeacher]

Thanks DB. I appreciate, your compliments. I've also been told I'm too orderly, too logical, and too serious. Still want to meet up on a cruise? :eek:

 

We are about to leave on our next cruise in just one week. Then, it's probably Alaska in the summer of 2007.

 

And throw Blazerboy a bone. He's so cute and he needs some attention! Oh, that's the dog's picture, well still....:p pat pat, nice boy..... Look, his tail's wagging!

[aaerobear]

Thank god we all have our own opinions. What a boring world we would live in if we all agreed on anything (expept about the current resident of 1600)

 

My (our) choices.

 

princess/Celebrity/HAL/Cunard...yes, anytime

 

NCL......maybe...depends on the itinerary

 

RCCL/Carnivour/Disney........not even on the radar

 

remember "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to"

 

Ed/Jeff

[Blazerboy]

John, thanks for the bone, but, alas, Hubble is a Corgi, and has no tail to wag. He makes up for it by drooling. Or was that about my tail?:eek:

 

Andrew

[SeaTeacher]

John, thanks for the bone, but, alas, Hubble is a Corgi, and has no tail to wag. He makes up for it by drooling. Or was that about my tail?:eek:

 

Andrew

 

All this talk about bones and tails, I'm likely to get in trouble with the CC host. Hmmm, lets's just say...anyone who wags his tail (or something closs to it) is probably happy because he's going on a cruise. 'Nuf said for this venue. ;)

[intrepid_guy]

Just off an 11 day cruise on NORWEGIAN SPIRIT and there were 10 FOD parties! In addition, the ACD John and I organized a FOD dinner party at Cagney's that was attended by 16 gay and lesbian passengers and crew! My partner and I also went to the Anniversary/Honeymoon party and never got a second glance. We have always had a blast on NCL.

 

~Intrepid

[jeffs55]

I guess I've been lucky that I've never yet had a bad day at sea. I've met several "Disney Queens" who love that line also.

[DB961]

Jeff & All,

Yes there are some Disney queens. I have sailed 3 times with Disney, and they are fabulous. Their food was great, the presentation of it was great, the service was nothing less than you would expect from Disney, their entertainment was wonderful, far better than what I saw on RCCL. They had a magician who did some David Copperfield catagory magic, a guy who did some of the most amazing juggling I have ever seen, not counting the Broadway type productions that were great and always got standing ovations at the end of each performance.

I know everyone thinks Disney is just for children and families, nothing could be further from the truth. Disney has this so well planned out that you hardly know children are on board. There are decks for children and teens only and they are not allowed on the adults decks except if they choose to eat with their families at main dining. I usually cruise in April or May anyway, before school is out, that avoids the vast majority of children.

We were treated very well from everyone we encountered, cruise staff, other guest, etc. The cruise director went out of her way to make sure every day at least once, to come to us and ask if there was anything they could do to make out cruise more enjoyable.

I will have to say that we did not note a large number of other G/L cruisers, but I personally think it is because everyone thinks they would not enjoy a Disney cruise because of children, etc. I wish everyone could experience what a fantastic time they would have on a Disney Cruise.

David

[Gary Omaha]

David,

 

I'm glad to hear that you've had good experiences with Disney. My partner and I have been talking for a long time about cruising on Disney, but were concerned about some of the things you've mentioned. We have some very good (straight) friends who take a Disney cruise almost annually.

 

Does Disney have assigned dinner seating? If so, how comfortable have you been with your (presumably straight) table companions? For us, I think that's an important issue. So much of the cruising experience is food-related :p and we wouldn't want to be stuck at a GOP fundraising table.

 

Beyond that...yes, this is certainly a subjective discussion! Our one and only cruise was on HAL's Oosterdam and we considered it pretty classy and high-quality. We didn't have anything to compare it with except the (land) hotels and restaurants we've been to, so this may be apples-to-oranges. But the experience was about what we had expected, our cabin exceeded expectations, the food was great. We did complain that in many venues they made it next-to-impossible to easily get non-alcoholic beverages (which I'd imagine is not a problem on Disney!) But overall, the experience of just being on -- and exploring -- the ship was worth it. I'd imagine that Disney ships would be of the same quality.

[DB961]

Gary,

You will love a Disney Cruise, I guarantee it. Yes its easy to get Non-alcoholic beverages anywhere on Disney Cruise Lines. They also now serve alcoholic beverages at designated locations, and appropriate drinks with dinner. Yes Disney has the traditional seating, but both ships have 3 different Dining rooms, each totally different themes, and you rotate to each of them during the cruise, and your wait staff rotate with you, so they are always familar with what you like and how you want everything. The table guest we have had on all the Disney cruises were very nice people and had no problem with us being together at all, included us in all conversations and we all had a great time. As I mentioned before, if you cruise during regular school months like April and early to middle May, you see very few children, and even in other months they are allowed on childrens decks only, never disruptive. Be sure to go to http://www.disneycruise.com and order their free DVD planning kit, its great. Hope this helps.

David