Setting up a GLBT meet-and-greet onboard

[mk-ultra]

Traveling on the RCCL Liberty on May 16th with two friends.

 

I'm curious -- how do y'all usually go about setting up a meet-and-greet (FOD meeting)? Do you just get in touch with the CD after you board, or do you try to get in contact with them prior to sailing?

[Malmö]

Traveling on the RCCL Liberty on May 16th with two friends.

 

I'm curious -- how do y'all usually go about setting up a meet-and-greet (FOD meeting)? Do you just get in touch with the CD after you board, or do you try to get in contact with them prior to sailing?

 

Try contacting the cruise director in advance, perhaps by passing a message on through the cruise company. Make contact as soon as you board. You may have to leave a note, but give a time period (reasonable) in which to answer.

 

On some cruises, the notice was posted in the dailygram. On others, on a notice board that not many passed (unless they had complaints). On others, we had to fight.

 

Lastly, you might want to use "LGBT" or Lesbian/gay. Only americans over a certain age know what the nudge-nudge "Dorothy" means. We have been on cruises where non-americans never attended as they didn't know what this meant. Likewise younger gays. :eek:

 

Hope this helps!

[mk-ultra]

Thanks! I'm all for calling the meeting for what it is instead of trying to use some sort of coded language.

 

Does anyone know who the current cruise director is on the Liberty of the Seas? Any way to reach him/her via email before setting sail? James Andrews? Ken Rush?

 

Google fails me :P

[tycruiser]

I usually find that they have already planned for it and have it scheduled on their daily sheet, Two times it was not and I asked. One time they told me that I should have requested it in advance as their daily sheets were already set up. The other told me that I should have just considered going on a gay cruise. See if you can ask someone on here who has been on your ship and same itinierary (either gay or str8) if they have copies of the daily sheets and if it is on there. I just got all the daily sheets for the cruise I am taking Sunday and it is on there. You can also ask your travel agent to find out, or contact the line directly. You may get your answer up front. Good luck.

[d&a Delaware]

My experience with RCCL (Explorer & Adventure) is that they will not list such meetings in their daily compass pages (seems to be the policy for all groups except perhaps Bill W), but they maintain a notice board where you may post such an announcement. On Explorer, the notice board was located next to guest relations desk, on Adventure it was near the Prominade Cafe. In both instances someone had posted an FOD meeting notice, but since they were (both times) late at night in the disco, we were in bed and asleep and didn't attend. But no reason you couldn't post a notice for something like a pre-dinner happy hour LGBT get together and see who shows up.

 

David

[COMBOY]

Sorry, but RCCL does not list FOD-GLBT meetings in the newsletter nor host one. There is usually a group meeting board in the library to post times and places. On my last cruise it was already listed as a standard group meeting that met on the second day of the cruise at 4PM in the Viking Crown Lounge. You can arrange and post other meeting times if you so choose. The problem is not everyone checks these boards. I didn't find it until the third day and by then I missed it.

[JoeAndMichael]

As several previous posters have said, RCL doesn't schedul FODs in their daily schedules. On a cruise 5 years ago we were given a quote from the head office in Miami that Friends of Dorothy meetings were specifically forbidden (see attached correspondence). I kid you not!

 

Now, as previously reported, they allow passengers to post notices of meetings in a central area. Of course, who the hell will check out an unadvertised bulletin board? If you don't know it's there, you're out of luck. Celebrity and HAL, to the contrary, schedule FODs automatically! Our recommendation to friends is always "Skip Royal Caribbean! They're NOT gay-friendly... hell, they're not even gay-tolerant!" Ironic that Celebrity (LOVE Celebrity!) is owned by the same parent company.

 

We also concur with the previous writer who suggested adding LGBT to FOD. Non-Americans and 1st Time Cruisers may not know what FOD means. Sad, but that's one of the little "insider" tidbits I guess we'll have to give up in exchange for inclusion.

 

So... post your FOD/LGBT meeting notice on the bulletin board and hope some fellow gays "stumble upon it" in passing (sigh!). Good locations for such gatherings include a section of the disco just before dinner when nobody else will be there, or one of the smaller bars. Some discos have a sorta' "conversation pit" area that's good for identifying FODs from the others. Before leaving home, you may wish to print up some little table cards with "FOD/LGBT Welcome Here" and place them on 2 or 3 tables in a bar area and hope the waiters don't remove them.

 

Good Luck... but next time do as we do and pick another cruise line!

 

Joe & Michael

[dknybbrz]

I have to agree, my partner and I were on a RCCL ship and had to fight to ultimately get a FOD on the last day! Do you hear that RCCL? it's the sound of yet another couple with a six figure income taking their numerous future vacation plans (and money) to one of your competitors with better ships better service.

[ShipsInBergen]

I've got to stand up for Royal Caribbean here (never thought I'd say that!). From my experiences I wouldn't say they weren't 'gay friendly'. On both my RCCL cruises gay meetings have been posted on the notice boards. I think it is their policy that any group should arrange a meeting this way. I see no reason why a group of gays are entitled to have a meeting posted any more than a group of vintage car lovers or barbershop singers. I only attended one of the get togethers, on my second cruise. It was clearly a 'gay meeting' and noone batted an eyelid. Just wasn't a problem.

 

As for whether or not other lines have better ships/service, I'm sure they do, but I am not in a position to comment on that. I enjoy RCCL and I can afford RCCL (just, but I am a student!)

 

So go for it, post a meeting on the notice board, and please don't be put off RCCL!

[topguy]

On my first two cruises with Carnival, they had two meetings scheduled for the whole seven days and listed it as FOD. The meetings were usually in the afternoon.

Last year's cruise on the Carnival Freedom, they had changed the name to LGBT and had a meeting every night of the 7 day cruise around 11 pm at the wine bar. We had around 8-10 people each night, some gay, some staight married couples and everyone had a great time.

[CbusCruiser]

My experience with RCCL was ok. We were told in 2003 that they did away with them because they were getting out of hand. Well we were able to end up getting one listed in the schedule, the fact that there were about 40 of us on board in our group made their decision a little easier. Plus we made friends with one of the dancers and she was dating the cruise director at the time...so she kind of helped out too. We had a great time and even the lead singer in the shows came and she sang Somewhere over the Rainbow.

[JoeAndMichael]

On both my RCCL cruises gay meetings have been posted on the notice boards. I think it is their policy that any group should arrange a meeting this way. I see no reason why a group of gays are entitled to have a meeting posted any more than a group of vintage car lovers or barbershop singers.

 

Note that those gay meetings were posted by passengers, not by RCCL. Other cruise lines, Celebrity and Azamara (both owned by RCCL's parent company), Carnival, Princess and Holland America, ALL freely schedule FOD gatherings, usually without a request from passengers: they just DO it as a friendly gesture to their gay passengers!

 

If you've never heard of FODs, how are you supposed to know to check some bulletin board in a location that you will not pass each day? They don't advertise the board, the cruise director may not mention it, or he/she may mention it at a show you didn't attend. And they have no problem scheduling Friends of Bill W. in the daily Compass! Did you read my attachments?

 

Nobody thinks Gay groups are "entitled" to anything... except maybe courtesy. But neither are Friends of Bill W. If other cruise lines have NO problem scheduling them either automatically or by passenger request, why does RCCL? If that's not gay-unfriendly, what is? Refusing to sell us cabins? We're not talking entitlement here; we're talking accomodation to what may be 10% of their passengers. If an organized group of "vintage car lovers or barbershop singers" is onboard, they (like Pied Piper, for instance) publish their own private schedules when arranging their group. Gays & lesbians are not a "car club", nor did we organize our cruise thru some magazine devoted to barbershop singing.

 

Further, I do NOT believe their excuse that Compass pages are set in stone well in advance! They have no problem modifying them when there's a change in THEIR schedule of events. Are they wizards? Is that how they manage to print tomorrow's weather forecast in the Compass?

 

This is the ONLY gripe I have against RCCL. Other than this, we've loved our several cruises on their ships. But Celebrity and HAL are just as reasonably priced and they don't have a problem with gays. RCCL obviously does. So except when going with a gay group that has organized a cruise on an RCCL ship (like Pied Piper or Aquafest), we refuse to give them our gay dollars. Read the attached correspondence.

 

Joe

[diknjoe]

We are frequent cruisers on Royal Caribbean. Honestly folks it couldn't be a simpler process.1. Find out where the message board is. 2.Check to see if there is a meeting posted. 3. If not, make a decision ( time date and venue) and post it yourself.

 

Your CD may, or may not be Gay Friendly. And the Company Policy may not allow him/her to actively publicise our get togethers. I thinkit's best we do it ourselves.

 

Prior to the cruise, make use of this board to identify other GLBT/Dorothy's and asdvise them to check the bulletin board periodically.

 

I think we need to be sensitive to the fact that many younger and European cruisers may not know what FOD is. It's probably best to use GLBT Meet and Greet instead.

 

BTW we're on The Briliance of the Seas 12/12/09.

 

Dick and Joe

[Jerry & Kirk]

We are frequent cruisers on Royal Caribbean. Honestly folks it couldn't be a simpler process.1. Find out where the message board is. 2.Check to see if there is a meeting posted. 3. If not, make a decision ( time date and venue) and post it yourself.

 

Your CD may, or may not be Gay Friendly. And the Company Policy may not allow him/her to actively publicise our get togethers. I thinkit's best we do it ourselves.

 

Prior to the cruise, make use of this board to identify other GLBT/Dorothy's and asdvise them to check the bulletin board periodically.

 

I think we need to be sensitive to the fact that many younger and European cruisers may not know what FOD is. It's probably best to use GLBT Meet and Greet instead.

 

BTW we're on The Briliance of the Seas 12/12/09.

 

Dick and Joe

 

Hi Dick and Joe,

 

We agree with you totally. By the way, we sent you an email today and it was rejected so we must have an incorrect address. Can you forward?

 

Jerry and Kirk

[ShipsInBergen]

Note that those gay meetings were posted by passengers, not by RCCL. Other cruise lines, Celebrity and Azamara (both owned by RCCL's parent company), Carnival, Princess and Holland America, ALL freely schedule FOD gatherings, usually without a request from passengers: they just DO it as a friendly gesture to their gay passengers!

 

If you've never heard of FODs, how are you supposed to know to check some bulletin board in a location that you will not pass each day? They don't advertise the board, the cruise director may not mention it, or he/she may mention it at a show you didn't attend. And they have no problem scheduling Friends of Bill W. in the daily Compass! Did you read my attachments?

 

Nobody thinks Gay groups are "entitled" to anything... except maybe courtesy. But neither are Friends of Bill W. If other cruise lines have NO problem scheduling them either automatically or by passenger request, why does RCCL? If that's not gay-unfriendly, what is? Refusing to sell us cabins? We're not talking entitlement here; we're talking accomodation to what may be 10% of their passengers. If an organized group of "vintage car lovers or barbershop singers" is onboard, they (like Pied Piper, for instance) publish their own private schedules when arranging their group. Gays & lesbians are not a "car club", nor did we organize our cruise thru some magazine devoted to barbershop singing.

 

Further, I do NOT believe their excuse that Compass pages are set in stone well in advance! They have no problem modifying them when there's a change in THEIR schedule of events. Are they wizards? Is that how they manage to print tomorrow's weather forecast in the Compass?

 

This is the ONLY gripe I have against RCCL. Other than this, we've loved our several cruises on their ships. But Celebrity and HAL are just as reasonably priced and they don't have a problem with gays. RCCL obviously does. So except when going with a gay group that has organized a cruise on an RCCL ship (like Pied Piper or Aquafest), we refuse to give them our gay dollars. Read the attached correspondence.

 

Joe

 

:eek: Firstly, I don't see how you are linking your arguments. Secondly, I don't know why I am here defending a company I have nothing to do with, but heck.

 

Why is it the god given right of gays to have special treatment and be given their own meeting? I completely agree with you that if 'friends of Bill W' are getting one automatically, then the option for a gay meeting should be there, but it is (albeit organised by passengers).

 

Personally, I'm not entirely sure what the need is for having a gay group meeting. Surely this just goes further to encourage segregation. They do not post any activities for 'straight' passengers (and yes I know everyone is welcome at an 'FOD' meeting, but it's basically just for gay passengers).

 

Also, I know that when I'm on a cruise, I don't live like a hermit. In my opinion, spending time in places you enjoy, such as a bar/show/nightclub is where you are going to meet people with similar interests and tastes, surely. Gay or straight.

 

I'm not trying to have a go, but i just don't see why people get their backs up so much about this, saying 'RCCL clearly has a problem with gays' and that the next step is them refusing to sell us cabins. Seriously. So it is not printed every morning telling me exactly where to go and at what time to meet exclusively gay passengers. Is this enough to put me off a particaular cruise line? Absolutely not.

 

I just read that back and it seems pretty angry. I assure you it is not, it is just my opinion and one which I have not seen expressed on these boards before :rolleyes:

[Malmö]

:eek:

Why is it the god given right of gays to have special treatment and be given their own meeting? I completely agree with you that if 'friends of Bill W' are getting one automatically, then the option for a gay meeting should be there, but it is (albeit organised by passengers).

Personally, I'm not entirely sure what the need is for having a gay group meeting. Surely this just goes further to encourage segregation. They do not post any activities for 'straight' passengers (and yes I know everyone is welcome at an 'FOD' meeting, but it's basically just for gay passengers).

is where you are going to meet people with similar interests and tastes, surely. Gay or straight.

'RCCL clearly has a problem with gays' and that the next step is them refusing to sell us cabins. Seriously. So it is not printed every morning telling me exactly where to go and at what time to meet exclusively gay passengers.

:rolleyes:

 

I do have to agree with the guys. I read (their posting?) where one cruise director said "go on an all gay cruise".

Segregation? No, it is more comfortable sometimes to be around people with a similar life experience. It gets so tedious to always be facing people who have their religious beliefs against us, or who ask, "who is the man, and who is the woman?". One gets tired of being a perpetual educator, even when on holiday. And having to explain the most basic abc's of being gay to straight people, who refer to us and our "friends". (Sorry, mates, we are married.)

I have been on cruises where the gay meetings WERE posted in the sheet. Finding the notice board, squirreled away somewhere unpleasant is not something I think to do.

Straight people meeting? Is this like telling the black people that they should no more expect a meeting than the white people? Majority?

"Why is it the god given right of gays to have special treatment" :mad: This sounds like the religio-fascists who protest against gay rights. "Special treatment" are really inappropriate words.

So, just my comments on this. :eek:

[laura gizmo]

I'm almost 60 and been a lesbian all my life and would one of you nice folks explain what FOD means. who is Dorothy?

I know we're not in Kansas anymore!:confused:

[JoeAndMichael]

I'm almost 60 and been a lesbian all my life and would one of you nice folks explain what FOD means. who is Dorothy?

I know we're not in Kansas anymore!:confused:

 

One rumor I heard is that back during WWII, it was a coded way for soldiers to identify fellow-gays: Q: "Aren't you a friend of Dorothy's" could be followed by A: "Dorothy who?" Q: "Oh, Dorothy Smith in St. Louis. Sorry, I thought you looked familiar... maybe from one of her parties.". Or the answer might be: "Yes, I am! I see we have something in common!"

 

In the latter case, Bingo! You've met a fellow-gay. In the former case, you're off the hook without "incriminating" yourself.

 

Dorothy is/was the gay icon, Dorothy Gale of Wizard of Oz fame, Judy Garland being another gay icon, hence "Friend of Dorothy" or FOD.

 

Though it certainly should be no longer necessary, it's kinda' fun to play the little code-game by scheduling a meeting of Dorothy's friends onboard. :p

 

Joe

[Schplinky]

I think saying RCL is anti-gay is inaccurate. They also don't post bible study listings, Re Hat Society listings or other groups. I doubt that makes them anti-christian, anti-old lady or whatever.

 

Personally, we prefer the community bulletin board. When we sailed HAL, they scheduled te FOD during the first dinner seating because everyone knows all gays are fabulous and eat late besides us! On Constellation, it was always held in a busy bar between seatings of dinner. In both cases, it was pointless, for our purposes. We like being able to choose a time and place to initiate a gathering.

 

While I appreciate the FOD meeting and would agree it's a welcoming gesture, I have never thought that any line was anti-Canadian because there was not a mixer exclusively for Canadians. I've long wondered why this is such a hot button on this board.

[laura gizmo]

Thanks guys! You have eloquently answered my question.

One rumor I heard is that back during WWII, it was a coded way for soldiers to identify fellow-gays: Q: "Aren't you a friend of Dorothy's" could be followed by A: "Dorothy who?" Q: "Oh, Dorothy Smith in St. Louis. Sorry, I thought you looked familiar... maybe from one of her parties.". Or the answer might be: "Yes, I am! I see we have something in common!"

 

In the latter case, Bingo! You've met a fellow-gay. In the former case, you're off the hook without "incriminating" yourself.

 

Dorothy is/was the gay icon, Dorothy Gale of Wizard of Oz fame, Judy Garland being another gay icon, hence "Friend of Dorothy" or FOD.

 

Though it certainly should be no longer necessary, it's kinda' fun to play the little code-game by scheduling a meeting of Dorothy's friends onboard. :p

 

Joe

[d&a Delaware]

... I've long wondered why this is such a hot button on this board.

 

Lee,

It's not so much that I wonder why it is such a hot button here, I think I understand that. But for me and Allen personally, it is not a hot button. If there is a meeting scheduled at a convenient time and we are inclined to go, we do. We have had much more luck and good experiences with gatherings (single or repetitive) which just seem to grow orgnanically, and they are not always based on sexual orientation or gender.

 

On our Mariner/Mexican Riviera cruise next April (yup, Spring break again) we learned after we had made our reservation that there would be a Pied Piper group on the cruise, and our TA has managed to get us included with that group. So now we'll get to experience being part of a purposeful and openly gay group on a cruise. Very much looking forward to it, just as we are looking forward to our Alaska cruise in 2 months (no idea if an FOD meeting will emerge) and our "family" cruise to Bermuda in October 2010 with Allen's mother and sister and a bunch of Allen's mother's friends. That one will be a blast:D. FOD meetings can be fun or not, either way they don't make or break a cruise.

 

David

[shepp]

Why is it the god given right of gays to have special treatment and be given their own meeting? I completely agree with you that if 'friends of Bill W' are getting one automatically, then the option for a gay meeting should be there, but it is (albeit organised by passengers).

 

Personally, I'm not entirely sure what the need is for having a gay group meeting. Surely this just goes further to encourage segregation. They do not post any activities for 'straight' passengers (and yes I know everyone is welcome at an 'FOD' meeting, but it's basically just for gay passengers).

 

Wow. You seem pretty vehement, and I don't know why. Maybe I'm just not a rabid assimilationist.

 

First, as some else suggested - you're in the UK and may not know this - "special rights" is the phrase repeatedly used by the rightwing to shoot down, oh, equal rights for GLBT people. As in: "Promoting same-sex marriage is asking for special rights."

 

Second, I'm not sure where you get off being so categorical, though maybe you just meant RCL, not all cruises. I don't have my ship's daily bulletins in front of me, but to the very best of my recollection, at least one cruise I was on featured a ship-sponsored get-together for "young singles," a phrase that most assuredly suggests "het."

 

Third, I fail to understand how FOD meetings "encourage segregation." Unlike you, if I hang out in an all-qu**r group, I don't feel like I'm committing some political faux pas. (But like I said, I'm not much of an assimilationist.) I don't know if you've been on a cruise with a ship-sponsored get-together for Cruise Critic members, but I have, and it was kinda fun to meet a group with which I had some history in common. Would you think that was segregationist or wrong, as well? After all, we even drank some god-given-rights free champagne.

 

Not everyone has your social skills (which, as far as I was able to discern from you other posts, includes spending all night out drinking and dancing, something I no longer do). Though I've said before that FOD meetings haven't always been that big a deal for me, on a 7-day cruise, it can be nice to get some help finding some other LGBT folks right at the start. After all, a week's not long - even with gaydar running full blast - to sort through a couple of thosand other pax and figure out Who Is and Who Ain't. I posted on another thread my negative experiences with homophobia on a HAL cruise. In a situation like that (especially since I wasn't with my partner), it was really nice to know how to touch base with some of my gay brothers onboard.

 

Sorry, but I'd rather give my business to companies that are gay-friendly, not gay-neutral or outwardly hostile. Therefore, Princess sponsoring a post-sailaway, on-deck LGBT party where I drank a couple of free mimosas and met a bunch of nice guys - some of whom I hung out with during the rest of the cruise - is just more attractive to me than "If you want to make up a notice and put it on a bulletin board, we won't tear it down, but that's it."

 

Just curious - do you travel with a partner, and if so, do you...oh, I don't know...hold hands? slow dance in public? And on your three cruises, how many other LGBT folks did you actually meet, and how did that work out for you?

[Wilde_37]

Note that those gay meetings were posted by passengers, not by RCCL. Other cruise lines, Celebrity and Azamara (both owned by RCCL's parent company), Carnival, Princess and Holland America, ALL freely schedule FOD gatherings, usually without a request from passengers: they just DO it as a friendly gesture to their gay passengers!

 

I've come to the conclusion that it all depends on the Cruise Director. I have done numerous cruises with RCCL and on everyone of them there were adverts for FOD meetings posted on the notice board. In the past some have been typed and some have been had written. In fact on my last cruise on Independance in April I went directly to the notice board as soon as I boarded - and I was one of the first to board. There was a notice on it which was printed by RCCL (same typeface etc as all the other notices) stating the time and loaction of the FOD get togethers - which were advertised for every night.

 

Certainly individual guests are allowed to post their own notices (there was even one for a "Swingers" get-together at 10:0pm nightly).

 

On a few celebrity cruises they are willing to put it into the daily planner. On Millennium our cruise director Lisa even asked us if she should put it in a FOD or LGBT !

 

So, as far as I can see it comes down to the Cruise Director whether or not it is posted by RCCL. And if it isn't then we should all feel free to grab one of the blank cards there and post our own (with LGBT included on it).

[Malmö]

:D

I'm almost 60 and been a lesbian all my life and would one of you nice folks explain what FOD means. who is Dorothy?

I know we're not in Kansas anymore!:confused:

 

The research shows (and cruisecritic has a whole section explaining it as well) that the "Dorothy" of the wink-wink-nudge-nudge "Friends of ..." refers to the one-time gay icon Dorothy Parker. Writer from the '20s, died in the '60s I believe. ;)

 

The Wizard of Oz movie didn't catch on until recent times, and has really nothing to do with the "FoD" other than a confusing similarity in female names.

 

But you are right that this is out-of-date and confusing. Lesbians, non-americans, younger gays have no idea what this means, and miss out on "FoD" events scheduled on cruises.

 

Time to get with the new century, and put it out as Lesbian/Gay or LGBT. :eek:

[ShipsInBergen]

Wow. You seem pretty vehement, and I don't know why. Maybe I'm just not a rabid assimilationist.

 

First, as some else suggested - you're in the UK and may not know this - "special rights" is the phrase repeatedly used by the rightwing to shoot down, oh, equal rights for GLBT people. As in: "Promoting same-sex marriage is asking for special rights."

 

Second, I'm not sure where you get off being so categorical, though maybe you just meant RCL, not all cruises. I don't have my ship's daily bulletins in front of me, but to the very best of my recollection, at least one cruise I was on featured a ship-sponsored get-together for "young singles," a phrase that most assuredly suggests "het."

 

Third, I fail to understand how FOD meetings "encourage segregation." Unlike you, if I hang out in an all-qu**r group, I don't feel like I'm committing some political faux pas. (But like I said, I'm not much of an assimilationist.) I don't know if you've been on a cruise with a ship-sponsored get-together for Cruise Critic members, but I have, and it was kinda fun to meet a group with which I had some history in common. Would you think that was segregationist or wrong, as well? After all, we even drank some god-given-rights free champagne.

 

Not everyone has your social skills (which, as far as I was able to discern from you other posts, includes spending all night out drinking and dancing, something I no longer do). Though I've said before that FOD meetings haven't always been that big a deal for me, on a 7-day cruise, it can be nice to get some help finding some other LGBT folks right at the start. After all, a week's not long - even with gaydar running full blast - to sort through a couple of thosand other pax and figure out Who Is and Who Ain't. I posted on another thread my negative experiences with homophobia on a HAL cruise. In a situation like that (especially since I wasn't with my partner), it was really nice to know how to touch base with some of my gay brothers onboard.

 

Sorry, but I'd rather give my business to companies that are gay-friendly, not gay-neutral or outwardly hostile. Therefore, Princess sponsoring a post-sailaway, on-deck LGBT party where I drank a couple of free mimosas and met a bunch of nice guys - some of whom I hung out with during the rest of the cruise - is just more attractive to me than "If you want to make up a notice and put it on a bulletin board, we won't tear it down, but that's it."

 

Just curious - do you travel with a partner, and if so, do you...oh, I don't know...hold hands? slow dance in public? And on your three cruises, how many other LGBT folks did you actually meet, and how did that work out for you?

 

Here goes...

 

First to clear up where these arguments were coming from. They were a reponse to the idea that RCCL are 'anti-gay' and that gay passengers would not have a positive experience on this line. I completely disagree with this, so posted the comments which you seem to have taken some offense to. This was never my intention, I simply wished to show RCCL, in my experience, offer a great cruise package at a much better rate than, say, princess, and that the lack of an FOD meeting scheduled by the cruise line should not be enough to detract from someone's cruise.

 

Also, let me say I do not have any problem with gay get-togethers on board. I totally see their purpose, but as I said above, I have found many more people who I have a lot in common with just by meeting others in my favourite areas of the ship, and starting a conversation.

 

To answer your questions, I have been on one cruise with my (then) boyfriend, and didn't have any issues. We would hold hands, have a cuddle on deck, etc. and this was never a problem for us. I don't see though how this is relevant to the comments in my previous post. On my last 2 cruises I have travelled with friends (all straight) and have again had fantastic experiences. On those trips I met many gay and straight couples, groups and singles. 'How did that work out for me?', just fine, thanks for asking. Again, not sure of the relevance.

 

Oh and just to clear up one point you made, I do not fee like I am 'committing some political faux pas' by being with an all gay group. It's just that for me, sexuality isn't a big deal when making friends. What i still don't get is why some people (I'm sure you are not one of these) seem to base their entire cruise experience on how many gay activities there are. There is a lot more to me than the fact that I am gay, and it's a shame that for some people being outside of a gay environment is such an issue.

 

SO to come right back round and reinforce a point I made way back last month, RCCL offer a great cruise and being gay on their ships has never been an issue for me. Please do not be put off by negative reviews on these boards.