Is Carnival Gay Friendly

By who? And how were you acting when it happened ?

Wow, blame the victim much? Are you saying there is a situation in which throwing a drink at someone is justified? In my mind, that is a degrading and disgusting thing to do. Here's to hoping someone does the same to you and then we can question what you did to deserve it. Jeez.

yikes .. im going on the Conquest in August .. my first cruise alone .. i'll have to practice my ducking skills

How did that cruise go?

I just got back from a Spring Break vacation on the Carnival Conquest and had a lot of fun. Although there was a FOD meeting scheduled every night (usually at 11:00 or 11:30), nobody ever showed up. However, the waitress said the week before that there were about 20 people per night for it.

As for the rest of the ship, I was traveling with my mom (it was her 1 year cancer free anniversary) and so I had a lot of free time, but I never had any issues. I always wore my college GSA's rainbow bracelet we have and every now and then a shirt.

It was a Spring Break trip and there were a lot of other college students onboard. I actually wound up spending the majority of my time with a bunch of guys from a different fraternity and college onboard, so that was interesting and a lot of fun. I didn't feel slighted by them and they were actually really curious what it was like being openly gay in a fraternity in Mississippi.

I just got back from a Spring Break vacation on the Carnival Conquest and had a lot of fun. Although there was a FOD meeting scheduled every night (usually at 11:00 or 11:30), nobody ever showed up. However, the waitress said the week before that there were about 20 people per night for it.

 

As for the rest of the ship, I was traveling with my mom (it was her 1 year cancer free anniversary) and so I had a lot of free time, but I never had any issues. I always wore my college GSA's rainbow bracelet we have and every now and then a shirt.

 

It was a Spring Break trip and there were a lot of other college students onboard. I actually wound up spending the majority of my time with a bunch of guys from a different fraternity and college onboard, so that was interesting and a lot of fun. I didn't feel slighted by them and they were actually really curious what it was like being openly gay in a fraternity in Mississippi.

Glad you had such a great response! I sailed my first time some 20 yrs ago with my parents and had a grat time meeting up with other cruisers from different schools (I was a fairly recent graduate and about to start graduate school).

As a travel agent I always let people know Carnival is NOT gay friendly. I am not saying they will harass you but where NCL and Celebrity bot allow Friends of Dorthy clubs, Carnvial would not allow it on 2 of my past cruises.

As a travel agent I always let people know Carnival is NOT gay friendly. I am not saying they will harass you but where NCL and Celebrity bot allow Friends of Dorthy clubs, Carnvial would not allow it on 2 of my past cruises.

First off, as a TA, you have a surprising amount of misspellings. I know Carnival may cater to a demographic group not known to be gay friendly, but I've never seen or heard the cruiseline(or any other)being not gay friendly.Perhaps there was no interest aboard. Most of us that cruise, do so on other lines.Celebrity doesn't post FOD events in their daily paper. You have to check the "Bulletin Board" to see where they are.

I just got back from the Glory and we had FOD meetings at least 2 nights on both segments of our b2b. We didn't attend, but they are obviously offered on some ships.

As a travel agent I always let people know Carnival is NOT gay friendly. I am not saying they will harass you but where NCL and Celebrity bot allow Friends of Dorthy clubs, Carnvial would not allow it on 2 of my past cruises.

I have no idea what you are talking about. All 15 of my Carnival cruises had FoD meetings on them. My partner and I have never felt the slightest bit uncomfortable on the line. For that matter, I have never felt even remotely harassed by any of the other cliental onboard. I am by no means a Carnival cheerleader, but I do get irritated by all the erroneous info out there about the line.

The demographics on Carnival are A LOT younger than the other cruises I've taken. On the short Carnival cruise I took last year I don't think there was anyone on the ship older than 70. (On most cruiselines the median age is in the 60s).

The nightclub was full every night and I never felt like anyone was being judgmental. My BF & I didn't meet any other gay people (there were some on the ship for sure), but there were plenty of fun straight people to hang out with.

I've booked another Carnival cruise for Sept. It's still not my first choice, but not much to choose from in Sept in the Caribbean (and not going to pay a premium for a megaship with 3 of 6 days at sea).

If you want to "play it safe" and be around people who probably don't like gay people but are too old to care, then don't go on Carnival.

I have no idea what you are talking about. All 15 of my Carnival cruises had FoD meetings on them. My partner and I have never felt the slightest bit uncomfortable on the line. For that matter, I have never felt even remotely harassed by any of the other cliental onboard. I am by no means a Carnival cheerleader, but I do get irritated by all the erroneous info out there about the line.

Hi David, dido for us, who is she?

Joe

__________________

 

Hi David, dido for us, who is she?

 

Joe

__________________

Sorry, but I don't understand the question.

Sorry, but I don't understand the question.

Sorry I refuring to post #206

Sorry I refuring to post #206

Hi, I think you're referring to "Friends of Dorothy"? If you are it's a reference to either Judy Garland(Dorothy)the actress/singer, or Dorothy Parker, who used to have these totally grand parties, that a lot of gays were invited to. This was way back in the day when we were much more closeted out of fear.

My partner and I have gone on three cruises with Carnival in the last couple of years. The cruises have been awesome. We went to the FOD meeting on the Triumph and was surprised to find about 20 folks every night. Met some great people that we still communicate with. The staff was great and did a great job breaking the ice for everyone. The meetings took place in the wine bar at about 9 or 10 each night. Way better than when we tried Carnival years ago....that was an awful experience with gay jokes and comments abound.....but luckily Carnival and people in general have evolved.

Carnival Paradise 4-day that left July 5th from Tampa had F.O.D---G.L.B.T meetings everyday listed in the daily 'FunTimes' at various times and bars. Crew was very friendly.

Unfortunatly my husband, our friends Steve & Frank and the pastor who married both couples (who is also gay) had a terrible experience on the Carnival Glory this past month.

The Cruise Director, Josh; Eddie Capone, the comedian; and Tim the narrator of the "Murder Mystery" all made homophobic jokes from that stage.

Being the person that I am, I spoke privately to Josh and low and behold I was persona non gratis the rest of the week, whenever I tried to speak to him, he was too busy or unavailable.

One night a group from Texas pelted me and Pastor Mike with Ice in the Superstar Karaoke Lounge and nothing was done when we complained. As a matter of fact I was told that since this issue was sensitive I would have to talk to Carnival in Miami when I got home.

I called the day after I got home and they had nothing in the computer, even though I made formal complaints with Guest Services and the Asst Ship Security Chief.

I was told that a supervisor or manager would get back to me within 24 hours since none was available ----- 7 days later I was still waiting.

I called back and I got a supervisor who was very matter of fact, told me that they are sorry for my disapointment, there was nothing that they could do and there would be no compensation for me.

I was extremely upset at that point because I NEVER asked for anything other then to be acknowledged that this was wrong on their part to have their staff make these kind of jokes.

I finally got her to agree to send me a written letter stating such. Two days later, I get an email that was obviously cut and pasted as the fonts and font sizes didnt match throughout.

I seriously doubt I will step foot on the deck of a Carnival "Fun Ship" anytime soon.

Will be on the glory Octuober 14 2012 hop:De to meet fun friendly open-minded people!

Unfortunatly my husband, our friends Steve & Frank and the pastor who married both couples (who is also gay) had a terrible experience on the Carnival Glory this past month.

 

The Cruise Director, Josh; Eddie Capone, the comedian; and Tim the narrator of the "Murder Mystery" all made homophobic jokes from that stage.

 

Being the person that I am, I spoke privately to Josh and low and behold I was persona non gratis the rest of the week, whenever I tried to speak to him, he was too busy or unavailable.

 

One night a group from Texas pelted me and Pastor Mike with Ice in the Superstar Karaoke Lounge and nothing was done when we complained. As a matter of fact I was told that since this issue was sensitive I would have to talk to Carnival in Miami when I got home.

 

I called the day after I got home and they had nothing in the computer, even though I made formal complaints with Guest Services and the Asst Ship Security Chief.

 

I was told that a supervisor or manager would get back to me within 24 hours since none was available ----- 7 days later I was still waiting.

 

I called back and I got a supervisor who was very matter of fact, told me that they are sorry for my disapointment, there was nothing that they could do and there would be no compensation for me.

 

I was extremely upset at that point because I NEVER asked for anything other then to be acknowledged that this was wrong on their part to have their staff make these kind of jokes.

 

I finally got her to agree to send me a written letter stating such. Two days later, I get an email that was obviously cut and pasted as the fonts and font sizes didnt match throughout.

 

I seriously doubt I will step foot on the deck of a Carnival "Fun Ship" anytime soon.

A lot depends on the type of cruise. The shorter "booze" cruises have had issues. This is usually a party type cruise with less affluent clientel. A group from "Texas"? Well that should tell you something.Though Carnival itself is not antigay at all, I pay close attention to the type of cruise & where it came from. Sorry, but I would never do a short cruise from Texas or similar ports.

We are fortunate to have 4 options for Galveston sailings; Princess, Disney, RCL and Carnival. Perhaps it is the deep discounting, but Carnival seems to generate all the 'horror' stories about homophobic pax on Carnival departing from Texas. We live smack dab in the middle of these folks- many are nice or consider 'gay' a non-issue. Sadly, a vocal minority of hate filled rednecks both intimidate their fellow straight pax into compliance and are openly hostile to LGBT folk. Ultimately, I think the departure port is best indicator of the demographic you will encounter. The 'redder' the State, the more likely you will encounter aggressive homophobia.

A lot depends on the type of cruise. The shorter "booze" cruises have had issues. This is usually a party type cruise with less affluent clientel. A group from "Texas"? Well that should tell you something.Though Carnival itself is not antigay at all, I pay close attention to the type of cruise & where it came from. Sorry, but I would never do a short cruise from Texas or similar ports.

I didn't sail from Texas. It was a group from Texas. And yes Carnival cannot control the actions of its guests. It sure can of its employees. It was the behavior/speech of the employees and the follow up that makes me think that they could care less.

I didn't sail from Texas. It was a group from Texas. And yes Carnival cannot control the actions of its guests. It sure can of its employees. It was the behavior/speech of the employees and the follow up that makes me think that they could care less.

Really? From the cruises I've seen Carnival has been pretty accepting of it's gay pax. I've head the Cruise director can set the pace for staff behavior. I guess we just have to research the type of cruise style. If I knew a large group from Texas weas on board(especially party revelers)I'd be cautious.

Carnival attracts a very mainstream, middle America crowd... not that there's anything wrong with that... but definitely a more "traditional values" crowd and I think more opportunity for potential unpleasantness. But on one of the megaships doing a 7 day or more itinerary, you are going to get a more diverse crowd these days.

 

But I would absolutely avoid any 3 or 4 day party cruise on any ship, as the Monarch incident from last year indicated.

What is the Monarch incident from last year?

Ultimately, I think the departure port is best indicator of the demographic you will encounter. The 'redder' the State, the more likely you will encounter aggressive homophobia.

Which is one of the reasons I'm jazzed that one of my favorite Princess ships will be home-ported here in San Francisco beginning in the Spring.

Just did my 2nd carnival cruise and was generally pleased (7 day Liberty W Carib). Still prefer a more upscale cruise like Celebrity but wouldn't hesitate to do Carnival again if the price & itinerary is right. For September it was either Carnival or a pricey RC megaship with 3 sea days (bad for new cruisers like my BF).

There were quite a few gay men on board but all were couples or groups. They had FOD parties most nights at the Alchemy bar -- which is a popular bar between the nightclub and comedy club -- and I didn't obviously see a group of FOD congregating except one night (but it was the same group of 5-6 guys who were obviously traveling together).

The demographics were fine, very few old people and a good mix of 20/30/40-somethings. The music in the nightclub was a bit hippity-hoppity for my taste, but they were playing to the crowd... and mixed it up eventually. SEveral guys were hanging all over each other one night on the dance floor and nobody freaked out.

But remember: 7 day cruise, fly-in port for most passengers, off-peak season for families/kids = much different atmosphere.

Carnival is largely different than other cruise because of the demographics, and demographics are not the same on every cruise!!!

On my one trip with Carnival, I had a drink thrown at my head and called queer, you be the judge.

 

John

I can't believe that someone, out of the clear blue, would just go ahead and do this. What occurred before that happened and afterward? What's the whole story? It seems to be unfair to just capture that one statement and "condemn" a line without detailing all the circumstances around the issue.:eek: