first time cruise question

hello all: this will be my first cruise. I have two options that are basically the same price:

Carnival Valor out of San Juan for its 7 night in November, or the RCL Oasis of the Seas out of FLL for the same time.

Both are the same price for me as for the San Juan's version of the trip: I would have to pay for air and hotel in PR the night before, and I live in Fort Lauderdale.

What I am curious is is your opinions on both: obviously they are vastly different in the products that they offer, but even still would like some opinions.

I would like to also know what people's experience when it comes to how homo-friendly both the ships and even the customers are as we are very clearly a homo couple....

Thanks again for your help!

No Brainer: Oasis of the Seas. I've been on her sister, Allure, twice and it's an incredible ship. RCI is good about treating us well. Most of the staff love gay boys since they know we tip well! You may never be able to sail on a lessor ship after sailing on Oasis. So be prepared for that. :)

I've never sailed Carnival. And never will.

Not having cruised on either ship - or either line, for that matter - I can't answer your question directly. (Hey, I would try the Oasis before any Carnival ship, but on the other hand, I'd rather spend an extra night or two in San Juan than skate on the Oasis' rink. And since I already go to plenty of theme parks, it's fine if the ships I sail don't resemble 'em.)

At this point, any major line is going to be queer-friendly, though some go a little farther than others. (Princess, for example, automatically schedules LGBT meetings, sometimes hosted, and lists them in the daily newsletter, something I believe RCCL does not. We had our honeymoon on a Princess ship and the staff treated us like royalty. But maybe that would have happened on any line; I'm just not going to get married again so I can find out.)

The real question is the passengers. The only outright homophobia I've witnessed was on a HAL cruise some years back. The staff, at least most of them, were very gay-positive. Some of the passengers were not.

No telling. Season, specific cruise, and luck of the draw vary. Stereotypically, both Carnival and RCCL attract a less sophisticated, less worldly, more het-family-ish clientele than some other lines, and Caribbean sailings likewise. None of that necessarily means "more anti-gay." Sailing out of San Juan, you may end up with a sizable number of Puerto Rican families onboard. Sailing out of FLL, you may get what I did on that HAL cruise - a big contingent of badge-wearing Southern Baptists. And a lot of Oasis sailings - not sure about the Valor - stop in Jamaica, which is a huge order of magnitude more homophobic than anything you'd find onboard.

I have no idea who you are or what your tastes are, but if you're into something a tad less glitzy and a tad more sedate/sophisticated, Princess has some nice sailings out of FLL, including the new Royal class. But regardless, I wouldn't be too concerned. Cruise lines treat gay couples well.

We are sailing on the Divina next month, it stops in Jamaica. We are not getting off the ship. Would have preferred not to go on a sailing that went to Jamaica at all, but it couldn't be helped. :)

I'd go with Royal Caribbean over Carnival. Nevertheless, we still had a good time on our one Carnival cruise. It was with my mother-in-law along, so we did not do any socializing with other gay couples.

I think your focus should be on which ship and itinerary you prefer. Although a lot of cruisers on here can tell you their personal experiences on the ship for gay friendliness, none of us are going to be able to tell you who your tablemates, steward, or bartender may be for your particular cruise. If your tablemates aren't particularly gay friendly and its an uncomfortable situation, I would talk to the manager to explain your situation and asked to be placed at another table. If this were to happen to you, I also wouldn't feel guilty in any way. Not everyone "clicks" with everyone, and not just on the gay topic. The request to be seated at another table should not be that much of an inconvenience to the manager.

Your looking at two different size classes of ship as well as different itineraries. You also didn't mention if you have different categories in staterooms for the ships. If I were in your position, that would be my main focus rather than the gay friendliness.

Your first cruise is an exciting cruise and I hope you become an addict as the rest of us. I think the majority of cruisers are going to care less of who is gay or not. If you meet someone who is, either ship your thinking about is big enough to avoid them for the remainder of the cruise. =)

I have not been on either of these two ships but have been on both cruise line's ships. Carnival will post in their daily newsletter when and where a LBBT gathering will be held. RCL will not post the information but will allow pax to post FOD meetings on the small bulletin board by the pursar's desk. Both lines are gay friendly in my experience so far.

Oasis OTS carries 6000 pax and a crew of 2000 approximately. If you like lots of people with lots of options, this may be the cruise for you. Unless you are going Thanksgiving week, the crowd will tend to be older. Turkey week will have a lot of children and their younger parents. It is quite a spectacle of a ship but way too large for me.

The Carnival will have a younger group aboard and the ship will not offer as many options and have half the number of pax and crew. Ships sailing out of PR naturally have a large number of PR aboard and Spanish is used. Announcements on the ship will first be in English and then Spanish. The ship will have a more party mentality than the Oasis.

Jamaica is extremely homophobic and can be dangerous if they feel you are gay. I have been there twice so far due to scheduling and have stayed on the ship. Both times many of my fellow pax have felt the same and stayed on the ship. So beware if you do go there and keep your guard up.

hello all: this will be my first cruise. I have two options that are basically the same price:

 

Carnival Valor out of San Juan for its 7 night in November, or the RCL Oasis of the Seas out of FLL for the same time.

 

Both are the same price for me as for the San Juan's version of the trip: I would have to pay for air and hotel in PR the night before, and I live in Fort Lauderdale.

 

What I am curious is is your opinions on both: obviously they are vastly different in the products that they offer, but even still would like some opinions.

 

I would like to also know what people's experience when it comes to how homo-friendly both the ships and even the customers are as we are very clearly a homo couple....

 

 

 

Thanks again for your help!

I think you will enjoy either ship. Oasis is too big for my taste, but I like Royal's product. And Carnival Freedom, a clone of Valor, is one of my favorite ships.

I would not be intimidated by Jamaica. It isn't gay-friendly, but neither are the Bahamas or the Caymans or any number of other places in the Caribbean...or other places that it would be a shame to miss just because of fear or heterophobia (for example, St. Petersburg in Russia) Take a shore excursion so that you're with other people, and be on your usual big-city behavior, taking care to notice your surroundings and be aware of anything unusual. Jamaica is a beautiful place. I enjoyed it.

Whatever you choose, I'm guessing you'll have a great time! Enjoy!

It isn't gay-friendly, but neither are the Bahamas or the Caymans or any number of other places in the Caribbean...or other places that it would be a shame to miss just because of fear or heterophobia (for example, St. Petersburg in Russia)

I don't think that those of us who are choosing to boycott Russia or Jamaica are doing it out of fear, irrational dislike, or disdain for heterosexuals.