Lesbian Couples who love cruising

[stormloca777]

My friends and I booked our trip for next year Yeah!!! :D

 

Anyone else want to join us March 28, 2008 ~ 9 nights on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. We are excited because we don't have to fly and we get two extra nights ~ we usually take 7 night cruises :cool:

 

My partner and I will be celebrating our 7 years together on this cruise ;)

[shan9700]

Jess,

 

Congrats on booking your next cruise. I'm sure you guys we'll have a great time. It must be nice to be able to drive to the cruise terminal. I can't wait to see the pictures from that cruise too.

 

You guys take care and have a great weekend,

shan9700:)

[stormloca777]

Jess,

 

Congrats on booking your next cruise. I'm sure you guys we'll have a great time. It must be nice to be able to drive to the cruise terminal. I can't wait to see the pictures from that cruise too.

 

You guys take care and have a great weekend,

shan9700:)

 

 

The biggest reason why we booked the trip because it's so close to home :D It will be great not having to deal with missed or delayed flights ~ airports in general ~ it shall be great!

 

You all have a good one...

[OCLadies]

Hey there ladies, we've just booked our next cruise and are we excited!!!! Leaves LA on 2/16/08 on inagural cruise. This is a one time only event. NCL has renamed the Pride of Hawaii to the Jade and is doing a repositioning after new paint job and adding casino. The Jade will end up doing the Europe area's but they got to get it from here to there and they chose to go thru the entire Panama Canal. 13 days of pure heaven!!! We were able to snag a mini suite for a fantastic price and could not pass this one up!!! Check this one out ladies as it won't ever be available again and the pricing is great!!!

[mithryl]

Wow! If we weren't already scheduled for our RT to Hawaii on 3/2/07, I'd be very tempted to join you. Sounds like a great cruise. The Canal is on our list of "must do's" in the fairly near future.

I was really surprized to see how fast the Spring '09 trip that "Waunabcrusin" (Carol & Linda) have booked, from Sydney to SF has filled up. No balcony cabins or suites left and it's a year and a half away! Guess we'll have to start booking even sooner. We booked our RT to Hawaii about 9 months in advance, but that won't cut it for some of the longer, more limited cruises.

We're now looking at 7/20/08, HAL's Westerdam from Seattle, RT to Alaska, booking through the Abraham Hicks site to be able to take advantage of 14 hours of Seminar time with Ester Hicks and enjoying the beauty of Alaska for our second time.

My ultimate goal is to continue to increase our cruise time to equal Carol & Linda's 30+ days and then move beyond that to 60+ and 100+ as time and money allows. When I can buy a suite on "The World", I'll be a really happy camper/sailor! It must be really something to have your second (or only) home be on a cruise ship that sails the world!

Until then, looking forward to our 4 day 10/15/07 on X and our 16 day 3/2/08 o the Diamond Princess!

[KL&KR]

Mithryl--came across this article this morning, thought you might enjoy it, and the suggested books (at the end):

 

Aloha Friday

 

Where to lunch like a local

 

Jeanne Cooper, Special to SF Gate

Friday, September 7, 2007

 

 

 

 

When it comes to dining out in Hawaii, a key word to know is 'ono — Hawaiian for delicious. It's easily confused with ono, an 'ono kind of mackerel known as wahoo in Florida and the Caribbean. But if you're on a budget, you're more likely to say "Oh no!" when you open a menu at a resort restaurant. To avoid sticker shock — and to savor flavors you won't find anywhere else — be sure to seek out the places where the locals eat.

These include saimin (noodle soup) stands, shrimp and fish taco trucks, diners serving plate lunches (a hearty entree with two scoops of rice and/or macaroni salad), okazuya (Japanese-Hawaiian delis) in simple storefronts, and convenience stores that also sell bento boxes, Spam musubi (a large sushi roll with fried Spam) and local sweet treats like coconut mochi (steamed, pounded rice) and peach manju (like a mini turnover).

Especially outside of Honolulu, you'll probably need a car to find these places — and a patient attitude toward service. But the rewards can be great, as even the James Beard Foundation agrees. In 2006, it gave one of its prestigious culinary awards to Hamura's Saimin Stand, a hole-in-the-wall, counters-and-stools diner in Lihue on Kauai. In addition to several varieties of piping-hot saimin, Hamura's is also famed for its liliko'i chiffon pie — a passion fruit version of lemon meringue.

The popularity of Oahu's graffiti-covered Giovanni's Shrimp Truck off the highway in Kahuku has begotten a host of nearby trucks with similar offerings of garlicky, sauteed shrimp and rice. In some cases, the shrimp comes from the freshwater farms in Kahuku, while others use frozen shrimp, but it's all pretty tasty. Just bring a few extra dollars to stop at a North Shore fruit stand for an iced coconut or freshly sliced pineapple — good for combatting garlic breath.

Kauai has its own version of Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, with garlic and Brazilian-style shrimp for sale, off Lawai Road in Poipu. On my last visit, there were only four chairs and one table, but we could have easily taken our shrimp over to a picnic table at Poipu Beach Park or Spouting Horn. Kauai is also home to our favorite roadside burger joint: Duane's Ono Char-Burgers in Anahola. As the sign notes, these are not burgers made of ono, but they are indeed 'ono — and the wild jungle chickens and feral cats that lurk in the shrubs will be happy to take the leftovers (if any) off your hands. For dessert, stop by the convenience store in the same shopping strip to see if there's any mochi on the counter.

Speaking of sweets, bakeries that sell malasadas — Portuguese-style hole-less doughnuts — can be found all over the islands, but the Big Island, appropriately, has one of the biggest establishments: Tex Drive-In in Honokaa, which sells more than 60,000 of the pastries every month, and also has a simple restaurant serving local-style grinds. It's a big enough tourist draw that it has its own gift shop, but it's also one of the few establishments in the area (the Hamakua coastline east of Waimea and north of Hilo) that stays open relatively late, so the patrons include many residents.

Tex Drive-In is a big enough business that the authors of "The Puka Guide: 100 Hawaiian-Style Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants" (Watermark, $9.95) didn't include it in their recently updated version, but the book is an invaluable source of other mom-and-pop eateries in the islands, especially ones that offer omiyage, or food packaged as gifts or souvenirs. The same publisher also has several island-specific titles of good use for budget gourmands: "Lunch Break Honolulu: 65 Great Places to Beat the Clock" ($9.95), "50 Thrifty Maui Restaurants" ($8.95) and "50 Thrifty Big Island Restaurants" ($6.95). You can order them online at bookshawaii.net.

By eating like the locals, you won't enjoy formal service, palm-frond decor or a lot of heart-healthy cuisine, but your finances will let you say "Oh yes" when you splurge on the macadamia-crusted ono at a resort restaurant.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/09/07/alohafriday090707.DTL

[travelgirls]

We've done Olivia cruises and love the experience, but find we can get much more for our dollar on regular cruises. We've been together 9 years and love to cruise. We've never had a bad cruise experience, but would enjoy more "like-minded" company to share the adventures with from time to time. We usually plan at least one cruise a year and we'd love to be in contact with other women who regularly schedule "non-lesbian only" cruises.

Out next cruise is 2/25/07 on the Island Princess to Hawaii.

If you're out there, let us know. We can share experiences and potentially plan something together.

Guys...you're not excluded. We'd love to know of you're going to be on any future cruises so we can meet.

We just learned about FOD on our last cruise. Didn't know it existed prior to that.

Good sailing!

 

Hello there! It looks like it's been awhile since you posted, we just found out about this site. Although we've never been on an Olivia cruise, the rest of your post is quite familiar. Our next cruise is on Royal Carribean (we've not sailed with them yet) in Nov. (Have to say the Diamond Princess was not our favorite - hopefully they've worked out the kinks since we took it to Alaska a couple of years ago.)

 

We typically never know where we are going to go next. Since we don't have kids (7 1/2 years together), we can go whenever there is a great deal to some place we'd like to go.

 

If you're still checking posts, write back...it would be nice to chat. E

[shan9700]

Hey Ladies,

 

Well wish us luck we're heading for Miami in the morning. Two days of R&R before we go on our cruise sounded good to us. We're doing to Facsination four cruise to Keywest and Calica. I'll have a foo foo drink for everyone!

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

shan9700:)

[stormloca777]

Hey Ladies,

 

Well wish us luck we're heading for Miami in the morning. Two days of R&R before we go on our cruise sounded good to us. We're doing to Facsination four cruise to Keywest and Calica. I'll have a foo foo drink for everyone!

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

shan9700:)

 

 

Have a safe trip ~ Can't wait to see pics :D

[dollfan]

Shan,

Bon Voyage! Safe waters and Fair Winds to you.

 

I agree with mithryl, although we have never been on an Olivia cruise and are considering it ONLY because we too would like to be on a ship with others of like mind. We are Celebrity faithful and have planned a cruise on the their newest Solstice class of ships, the Solstice in Jan 09. Would LOVE to have others join us. So if anyone out there is interested in joining us in Jan 09 and also help me celebrate my birthday, come on!

 

We are also considering going to an all inclusive resort somewhere. Gina has never been to Hawaii ( I lived there for two years), so we may look in that direction also.

 

Toni

[mithryl]

Hi KL & KR,

 

Thanks so much for all of the GREAT food recommendations! Eating with the locals sounds WAY more fun than any of those fancy resorts. This information is priceless! I'm printing out to file with all of my trip information!

[mithryl]

We typically never know where we are going to go next. Since we don't have kids (7 1/2 years together), we can go whenever there is a great deal to some place we'd like to go.

 

If you're still checking posts, write back...it would be nice to chat. E

 

E.,

 

I'd like to hear more about your experience on the Diamond. We've signed up for anytime dining for the first time. Since the Diamond has several different anytime dining rooms, we thought it would be a good time to check it out. We usually prefer traditional early seating.

We loved our two RCCL cruises. I'm sure you'll enjoy them as well.

What lines have you sailed and to where? We don't have kind either, so we're pretty flexible. I do like to stay away from the Caribbean and East Coast from June through November, so we typically sail during the winter or spring (except for Alaska). Also, it's a great time to get out of Idaho for awhile!:D

Checked on the Sydney to SF '09 cruise that Waunabcruisin booked, but there are already no balconies or suites left!

[paddy Anne]

[quote

We are Celebrity faithful and have planned a cruise on the their newest Solstice class of ships, the Solstice in Jan 09. Would LOVE to have others join us. So if anyone out there is interested in joining us in Jan 09 and also help me celebrate my birthday, come on!

 

Toni

 

I am glad to hear that you love Celebrity as we have recently booked our first with them. If any of you are wine lovers Celebrity has an amazing wine cruise from Vancouver to San Diego Oct 2008.

I would look into your Jan 2009 birthday cruise but so far we are booked on Princess Jan 2009 for Mary's 50th.

 

Have a great weekend everyone,

cheers,

Paddy Anne

[KL&KR]

Mithryl--

Glad you liked the info--if you're like us, the pre-cruise research paperwork ends up filling a box or two, right :p ?

 

I have a question. Over on the Millennium Roll Call board, some folks are recommending a food place called Salumi in Seatle. Anyone been there?

 

Kristen and Kathy

[chrisbd1]

Hello. My name is Chris (38) and TOH-The other half :) is Barbara (52) have been togather for 14 years and live in Dallas, Texas. I had been on one cruise with my parents and loved it. Last year TOH and I took our first cruise togather to the Mediterranean on NCL and we both loved it! TOH pretty much was ready for another cruise before we docked. We went to the Eastern Carribean in March and loved it so much we're going back after Thanksgiving! As it stands now she is already planning our next 2 cruises-NCL to Bermuda and anywhere else NCL goes as long as we at least have a Balcony.

 

I guess it's clear that we are pretty loyal to NCL. I had such positive experiences with them, why change? In theory I would book another cruise line, if the price was right, but TOH is ga-ga for Freestyle dining. The funny thing is, most people would peg Barbara as being for a more traditional dining option but since her only cruise experience has been Freestyle, I'm not sure if could actually get her to agree to anything else. We will, however, try for one night of dress-up. TOH tends to be a bit high-femme and likes to sparkle. :D

 

I've been reading about the Dawn and look forward to trying a different ship, just to see how it compares to the Jewel. Anyone else been on the Dawn?

[chrisbd1]

Double wacky post. Wacky webside grumle, grumble.

[Pussycat]

Hey Carol & Linda, looks like Phyl & I will be raising a glass on the January Olivia cruise to toast your wedding!

[decyp]

Hello. My name is Chris (38) and TOH-The other half :) is Barbara (52) have been togather for 14 years and live in Dallas, Texas. I had been on one cruise with my parents and loved it. Last year TOH and I took our first cruise togather to the Mediterranean on NCL and we both loved it! TOH pretty much was ready for another cruise before we docked. We went to the Eastern Carribean in March and loved it so much we're going back after Thanksgiving! As it stands now she is already planning our next 2 cruises-NCL to Bermuda and anywhere else NCL goes as long as we at least have a Balcony.

 

I guess it's clear that we are pretty loyal to NCL. I had such positive experiences with them, why change? In theory I would book another cruise line, if the price was right, but TOH is ga-ga for Freestyle dining. The funny thing is, most people would peg Barbara as being for a more traditional dining option but since her only cruise experience has been Freestyle, I'm not sure if could actually get her to agree to anything else. We will, however, try for one night of dress-up. TOH tends to be a bit high-femme and likes to sparkle. :D

 

I've been reading about the Dawn and look forward to trying a different ship, just to see how it compares to the Jewel. Anyone else been on the Dawn?

 

 

 

Hi, I found your message interesting as myself and my partner are on our first NCL cruise on 9/23/07 (have to get the day and month the right way 'round there!) from New York.

We haven't sailed on NCL before, previously going with Princess to the Caribbean and Australia and New Zealand. So it's encouraging to read someone saying how much they like NCL.

The cruise is very much a last minute, impulsive decision. We usually go to Cyprus at the end of September/beginning of October for a couple of weeks as we have an apartment over there. However, my partner says she wants to be somewhere else for her birthday this year!

Most of our friends who have been to New York either seem to love or hate it with no middle ground but I'm hoping we'll love it!

By the way having read some of the other messages here, it seems it is not yet legal for gay people to marry in USA yet. Am I right and is it ok to ask?

We are lucky here that it became legal in December 2005 and we wasted little time in having our Civil Partnership Ceremony in January 2006.

Anyway, back to the cruising, and thanks once again for the reassurance about NCL and all the interesting messages posted here!

Suzanne

[dollfan]

[quote

 

 

Toni

 

I am glad to hear that you love Celebrity as we have recently booked our first with them. If any of you are wine lovers Celebrity has an amazing wine cruise from Vancouver to San Diego Oct 2008.

I would look into your Jan 2009 birthday cruise but so far we are booked on Princess Jan 2009 for Mary's 50th.

 

Have a great weekend everyone,

cheers,

Paddy Anne

 

Hi There Paddy Anne,

I am the wine lover of the family, Gina likes wine but leaves the choosing mostly up to me. The wine cruise sounds tempting. I may have to check that one out. When is Mary's birthday. Mine is the 4th and I turned 50 this past Jan. Like Chris and her dear other half, there is a bit of an age difference between Gina nd I. I am 50 and she will be 40 next week. It's just the two of us now with our spoiled cocker spaniels. We raised my two kids son (30) and daughter (24) together during our 16 years together.

 

I have never tried the Princess lines but would like to one day or NCL since I hear so much about it. As for dining we have only ever done the traditonal but would love to try "freestyling" . There is something erlaxing about setting your own schedule instead of rushing back to the ship to get ready for dinner or leaving the pool before we are really ready. We have two Carribean cruises coming up and we plan to be more flexible. We booked a suite so we may order dinner in our room from the dining room a couple of times since the butler will serve it course by course to us on the veranda. With a bottle of our own wine, that sounds like a relaxing dinner.

 

Looking forward to hearing about everyones cruise adventures.

Toni

[waunabcruizin]

Pussycat - Hi there! So glad you will be on the Olivia cruise in January! It will be great to know someone beforehand :) . And we appreciate the toast to our wedding, too. We're really looking forward to the Caribbean as it's been many, many years since I have been there - and Linda has never been. Ahhh, warm sun, clear warm water, sugar-sand beaches, vibrant colors, fascinating people, great snorkeling and water sports.....am I remembering correctly? All from the comfort and excitement of an Olivia cruise! Wow!

 

decyp - Welcome to the thread. You are correct that marriage is not legal in most states of the U.S. And even a marriage in Massachusetts, where it is legal, is not recognized by the federal government or most other states. There are many of us who are working toward the goal of equal marriage, though, and we hope that success is in our future. Congrats on your marriage and may you always be happy and in love.:)

 

dollfan - Hi Toni and Gina. Linda and I cruised Princess to Mexico this past January and really loved it! We stuck with traditional dining because we can never make up our minds where to go for dinner. It's like, "What do you feel like for dinner?" "I don't know, what do you feel like?" "Well, do you want seafood or a steak or what?" "Whatever you feel like is fine with me." It's exasperating for both of us and by the time we make up our minds what to do for dinner it's either too late to eat or there's a huge long wait for a table. So, we prefer traditional set (late) dining. We know we just show up for dinner at a certain time and don't have to think about it. Works for us.

 

mithryl - Vicki and Bonnie. Have you pulled out your suitcase yet? We are still in the throes of last-minute plans for our wedding. We went to Victoria a few days ago and hated the B&B we had booked for our ceremony so we had to change the venue at the last minute, notify everyone of the change, come up with dinner menu choices, etc., etc. We don't have a lot of time right now to be excited about the cruise. I think we should have eloped.... sigh.

 

Hope everyone is enjoying the last gasp of summer.

 

Carol and Linda.

[misspissed]

deleted double post!

[misspissed]

Mithryl--

Glad you liked the info--if you're like us, the pre-cruise research paperwork ends up filling a box or two, right :p ?

 

I have a question. Over on the Millennium Roll Call board, some folks are recommending a food place called Salumi in Seatle. Anyone been there?

 

Kristen and Kathy

 

Sorry if this is OT; I just wanted to respond to KL & KR's post.

 

I enthusiastically recommend Salumi! Please go! It is such a unique place.

 

Well, I don't think I have ever posted here, but yes, I am a lesbian who loves cruising. :p Mostly, I just lurk around... but hello all, and enjoy your upcoming cruises. As for me, I have none planned (just got off the Rhapsody in August, though). I would love to take an Olivia cruise in the next year or two!!

[paddy Anne]

Hi There Paddy Anne,

I am the wine lover of the family, Gina likes wine but leaves the choosing mostly up to me. The wine cruise sounds tempting. I may have to check that one out. When is Mary's birthday. Mine is the 4th and I turned 50 this past Jan. Like Chris and her dear other half, there is a bit of an age difference between Gina nd I. I am 50 and she will be 40 next week. It's just the two of us now with our spoiled cocker spaniels. We raised my two kids son (30) and daughter (24) together during our 16 years together.

Hi Tony,

Mary will be 50 Jan 20 2009 and I am 43. Both big wine lovers but Mary knows way more than me. There is more "family" on our cruise so check it out..

I have sailed NCL but I like the traditional dining because I love to meet people at dinner. I also have kids 6 and 13 who will be sailing with us this Jan (family cruise)but not the next 2 cruises.

Let me know what you think about the wine cruise.

cheers,

PA

[mithryl]

mithryl - Vicki and Bonnie. Have you pulled out your suitcase yet? I think we should have eloped.... sigh.

 

Carol and Linda.

 

Hi Carol & Linda,

I never put our bags away from our trip to Seattle two weeks ago! Left them out so we can start packing anytime!

Regarding eloping...could you get married on the ship?

(Just a thought since we'll be in Canadian waters);)

I know it will be fine and we'll be anxious to hear about when we all meet on ship!

 

Vicki

[chrisbd1]

Hi, I found your message interesting as myself and my partner are on our first NCL cruise on 9/23/07 (have to get the day and month the right way 'round there!) from New York.

We haven't sailed on NCL before, previously going with Princess to the Caribbean and Australia and New Zealand. So it's encouraging to read someone saying how much they like NCL.

The cruise is very much a last minute, impulsive decision. We usually go to Cyprus at the end of September/beginning of October for a couple of weeks as we have an apartment over there. However, my partner says she wants to be somewhere else for her birthday this year!

Most of our friends who have been to New York either seem to love or hate it with no middle ground but I'm hoping we'll love it!

By the way having read some of the other messages here, it seems it is not yet legal for gay people to marry in USA yet. Am I right and is it ok to ask?

We are lucky here that it became legal in December 2005 and we wasted little time in having our Civil Partnership Ceremony in January 2006.

Anyway, back to the cruising, and thanks once again for the reassurance about NCL and all the interesting messages posted here!

Suzanne

 

Just saw your reply. Glad I could provide some info.

 

If memory serves, only one state has legal marriages. There are Domestic Partnerships in a couple of others, forget which. We live in Texas and it is never gonna happen here. Though Dallas is home to the largest Gay church in America, has gays on the city council and the county sheriff is a lesbian :eek: .