How are Gay Couples treated on Straight cruises?

[Okiguy]

In our experience as a hetero couple, my wife and I have met several gay couples on cruises. We've enjoyed seeing the world through their perspective. On a Liberty of the seas cruise last year, the cruise critic roll call started getting lots of non-cruise discussions going so one of the gay couples set up a separate roll call more cruise related on the gay and lesbian roll calls section. By the end of the cruise a very large number of the folks on the cruise eneded up posting on both roll calls. We are following one of the guys on Facebook who has lost his job since the cruise and everyone is pulling for him to find a new job.

 

We are Princess cruisers and have not seen any discrimination on board, so I'd say straight cruises should be as much fun as the gay cruises (I understand the gay cruises are more expensive anyway).

[Boytjie]

so I'd say straight cruises should be as much fun as the gay cruises (I understand the gay cruises are more expensive anyway).

 

But gay cruises are SOOO much more fun! :D

[RandB_Toronto]

As Attila said, Princess is not known as a "family" line, unlike Disney, RCCL, or NCL with its costumed Shrek running around. It really depends when you cruise and for how long. A week-long during spring break? Lotsa kids. On the Grand last month? Maybe a few dozen sub-teens out of 2000 pax, only one of whom was a crying infant. No one is required to dress for formal nights - easy enough to eat at a specialty restaurant. And it's easy to find a pretty quiet place, whether on the promenade deck, in the Sanctuary, the adult pool, or elsewhere. To echo what you said, some people find Princess too quiet.

 

I'm certainly not trying to talk you into cruising Princess; if you like Oceania, you'd probably find it a big step down. I was just curious, and you've satisfied that. Enjoy your sailings!

 

Hey, maybe we should give Princess a try. We could certainly afford to go on more of them! We were on a 35 day HAL cruise and did enjoy it, although there was a big difference (especially the food) from Oceania. We chose it solely for the itinerary.

[shepp]

Hey, maybe we should give Princess a try. We could certainly afford to go on more of them! We were on a 35 day HAL cruise and did enjoy it, although there was a big difference (especially the food) from Oceania. We chose it solely for the itinerary.

 

Well, don't blame me if you hate it. ;)

 

It's been a while since I sailed HAL, but remember it as being pretty much on a par with Princess, though the service was a teeny bit more formal. However, as I said before (maybe on this very thread), the only antigay attitude I ever experienced on a cruise was on a HAL cruise (both fellow pax and, in a minor way, staff), though I'm sure it was just a luck-of-the-draw thing.

[jessicasquared]

I read about FOD on Carnival and was curious if it was only for men or are Lesbians welcome too? This is my wide's first cruise and she is a boi, so more obvious than I am. She is so nervous about people being uncomforable with her and I thought meeting "family" might put her at ease.

[Boytjie]

I read about FOD on Carnival and was curious if it was only for men or are Lesbians welcome too? This is my wide's first cruise and she is a boi, so more obvious than I am. She is so nervous about people being uncomforable with her and I thought meeting "family" might put her at ease.

 

I am sure women are just as welcome. (Or should be!) I have only been on one non-gay cruise and on that one the FOD had a few women attend IIRC.

[SAABTURBO]

All the FOD meetings on Carnival that my boyfriend and I have attended there were lesbian couples also. We have always been comfortable on a Carnival ship.

[dljones]

We have been on six cruises (I think) and never had a problem. We have had great table mates on some and black holes on others. Besides, half the crew is gay. If you don't like your table mates asked to be moved. No big deal. Otherwise, never had a problem with the staff or other passengers and always had a great time. It is all in your attitude. If you want to have a good time you will. If you want to find things to complain about you will find them. Just read the reviews. Most folks have a great time and those that never do anywhere they are don't. If others don't like you then tough tickles. Move on... they don't know that they don't know. ...Simple as that.

[sully108]

no one bothered us .. and we have cruised on 2 different back to backs .. both NCL and Royal. Just have fun.

[tiffy0428]

I read about FOD on Carnival and was curious if it was only for men or are Lesbians welcome too? This is my wide's first cruise and she is a boi, so more obvious than I am. She is so nervous about people being uncomforable with her and I thought meeting "family" might put her at ease.

 

 

My wife and I cruise Carnival every August. Sensation, Miracle and this year Conquest. We have three children and this year we are brining more of our lesbian friends ont he cruise and this is their first time. I can honestly say that we have not had any bad experience with cruising on Carnival, and my wife is also a "boi"

[Crew Wolf]

Just a question...We are going on our first cruise and are a little concerned about how we will be treated since we are a gay couple and we are going on Liberty of the Seas in September.

Thanks for any help or suggestions..

Jason and Dwight

 

From a Crew point you will be treated EXCELENT. I had always positive experience with gay guests during all my 5 years as a crew member. Gay people are great and fun to serve. I wish you all the best on your cruise.

[brink7377]

My wife and I have been on 6 cruises together. We're not into PDA (ok, I'm not) but she "outs" me anyhow (dyke)...we've ALWAYS had a fabulous time on RC. We've taken cruises with our children, some with our family, some alone. I don't mind the "looks" we get sometimes...the more gay/lesbians are publicly unafraid and accessable to straights, the more the conservative types will realize...we're human too. I think ppl forget sometimes...that we're human...because it's been taboo for so long.

I also think if you don't put much thought into what others think or are feeling, you'll have tons more fun!

[tomwins]

We've been on RCI and Celebrity and have never had a problem. Some friends go only on gay cruises and we've been on two. Since we cruise to go to new places and meet new people, the gay cruise is not as important to us. We live in a very gay-friendly city and are out everywhere, so maybe it is not as important to us to be in a gay-only environment. Some of the most interesting people we've met on cruises and the ones we have remained in contact with have been straight. Put on top of that the higher cost of a gay cruise and we will likely not go on another one.

[getfuzzy]

We have never had an issue. Everyone seems very pleased to have us there, as a matter of fact, the staff seems more attentive to us than the straight folks. Lol! Anyway, we have straight couples tell us all the time that they like seeing us holding hands onboard and dancing together.

[cruzpalz]

Hi:)

My very first message as Ive just joined! Yep Ive cruised abit, mainly with Princess (USA) and P&O (Australia,NZ,Sth Pacific) and from my experiences your just like everyone else, having a blast! On this subject, if you dont mind, how do I find other gay cruzpalz to cabin share as I find its just too expensive paying a single supplement down this end of the world! (NZ). Is there anyone from NZ in a similar situation that maybe interested in being a cruzpal with me as well? It would be so much cheaper! Anyway thanks to you all.

[EdmPair]

However, it does not seem much of a risk. We did an RSVP to Caribbean with HAL. The all gay thing was nice but we are not dance club junkies so the extra coin seemed to be spent a fair bit their. Don't get me wrong, we did enjoy the eye candy and did meet some very nice guys and gals.

 

After reading hear, we realized booking just any cruise posed a very minor risk of trouble of any sort of harassment problem. Plus, the all gay cruises are few and far between. It sets real limits on your destinations and timing. The latest Baltic trip from Copenhagen was not only more dear but also forced us into more expensive and difficult air tickets.

 

In our lives, we deal with people both in and out do the Gay communities and figure that will work just as well on Princess this time. I will let you know if we have any troubles.

[twokey]

When I was searching for my first cruise, I entered the location, cruise line, number of nights, etc. The response came up with 62 different cruises. I then went back to the orignal menu. Where it asked for "Special Situations" ie: Handicapped, Religious, LGTB, Spanish Speaking, etc., I chose LGTB. The number of cruises that came up this time was ... 62! Exactly the same cruises came up when I asked for "special situations", being LGTB.

What this says to me is, there is no difference in the treatment of passengers, whether they have a queer eye or a straight eye - I love that saying!

 

I, too was a little anxious about considering a a "straight" cruise for my partner, Will, and I. After all of the research and discussion I've had about our cruise(we finally settled on a 7 day Southern Caribbean, leaving out of Colon, Panama on DCecember 2), I realize that the cruise lines are at least as excited to have us on board as they are any other passenger. The Travel Agent we booked through couldn't have been any gay-friendlier.

 

I considered the Gay Only cruises until I realized that all that they do is commission one of the regular cruise ships, on a regular itinerary and charge twice as much. Maybe one day. But my first cruise will be with some of those straight folks.

[tscateh]

My wife and I go on a cruise every year with my mother and her gentleman friend. We mainly cruise Princess, but have also done NCL and Celebrity. I'm pretty much a butch dyke, so I don't "pass" well. Have never had an issue except for the occasional "stink eye" - which has always been offset by lovely allies who come up to us and tell us how pleased they are to see us out on the dance floor together! I imagine it also helps that we dance well... ;-)

 

I think if you're comfortable with who you are and pleasant to talk with, you won't have any issues.

 

tscateh!

[PolarisKale]

In our experience as a hetero couple, my wife and I have met several gay couples on cruises. We've enjoyed seeing the world through their perspective...

 

First, Okiguy, let me say 'Thank You' for being on the Gay & Lesbian boards & being active. It is so wonderful when we meet people like you & your wife.

 

Personally I've never been on a 'straight' cruise -- or a 'gay' cruise for that matter. I've only been on cruises with people of all nationalities, ages, beliefs, and desires. Two years ago we sailed on HAL's Zuiderdam and will NEVER go HAL again, partly because the median age was somewhere around "dust" and the sidewalks got rolled up at 9:30. It was on that cruise, however, that we met two of the most wonderful ladies who had been together for 20+ years. Perhaps we were all seeking strength in numbers, but there were more people at those FOD meetings than on any other cruise we've been on.

 

Our second cruise was to the Western Carib, and I quickly picked up on all the Harley gear around us at check-in. Turns out we were on the "HOGS on the High Seas" cruise, with about 45% of the ship being Harley-Davidson owners. Our first reaction was "OHHH $#!T!!!," but we just acted like we would have at any other place and wound up LOVING it! I've never seen so much Bud Light consumed IN MY LIFE as I saw that one week, but the people were awesome. Turns out the HotHS cruisers pay more than book price because they cover the entire cost of dialysis patients & their families to come on the trip. On that particular trip they had paid for 6 dialysis machines to be on board. By the end of it, several people had invited us to watch for the HotHS cruises and come join them - and we don't even ride!

 

My point: be yourself, be comfortable, be confident, and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how you're received.