Celebrity From A Gay Point Of View

We're sailing on Celebrity's Zenith May 13th to Bermuda;our first Celebrity cruise and are asking all of you what to expect. We've sailed other lines and have found them to be anywhere from somewhat gay friendly to very gay friendly and would like to know where Celebrity falls. Any feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks!:)

we were treated with much respect on the Century this past October

My partner and I have cruised several times on Celebrity and have never had any problems. The service is extremely high and the staff has always been great. I'd be interested in knowing what you think of Zenith.

My partner and I just came back Thursday from a 5 day cruise on the Zenith.

You will have a great time. The service on this ship is outstanding.

I've traveled Celebrity many times, some with the Pied Piper group and some

just with my partner and or gay friends. Never had a bad experience.

!

Jeffs i see you have done the millie 3 times.....that was reasuring

Hi Joey & David,

Actually all 3 cruises on the Millennium were the Pied Piper post

Thanksgiving cruise. Beautiful ship. There's nothing quite like

the little Zenith for me, however.

oh ok ... we really loved the century...

Hi,

...given my screenname, you might sense a little bias. ;)

Seriously, if there is any bias, it comes from a genuine love for Celebrity. While there's much experience with other lines, we consistently return to Celebrity for all the positive reasons posted above. We've been sailing with them since 1998 and have NEVER had a poor experience, not related to travel, not related to gay life, nothing.

We wish you a truly delightful time aboard Zenith!

CM

We just cruised Constellation and although they may have had an "off" week, we did not find the experience to be either great or awful. There were Friends of Dorothy meetings, although my request to call them GLBT gatherings was summarily ignored (I'm 40 and had no idea what FOD meant until someone told me). Also, the gatherings were planned for the martini bar, which was really busy at the time, making the use of gaydar a necessity. Also, a lesbian couple who were celebrating 14 years together were rejected for the Newlyweds game and were told that Celebrity would not reconsider such a request.

I agree that Celebrity may be more welcoming than some lines but they do seem willing to take your money only if you're really discrete. We found the rumours of a really gay-positive atmosphere to be overblown and can say we were treated with no more or less respect than on RCCL, where the same number of GLBT gatherings were planned.

Not trying to be the devil's advocate here but am I the only one who thinks that maybe the Lesbians were rejected from the "Newlywed" game BECAUSE they were together for 14 years....Isn't that game supposed to be for people who have been together a relatively short time and don't really know each other very well? Or is there something I'm missing?

You're missing something, but I didn't explain it well. They always have three couples: one that has been married a brief time, one that has been married a medium time and one that was been married FOREVER.

I sailed on the Celebrity Millennium last April and I had cause to go to the ship's doctor (I got an eye infection in the steam room...) Later that week I saw him in the sauna/men's room and he was VERY friendly. =)

LibraGymJock...Haven't seen you on aol for a LONG time...how are you? Take care!

Schplinky - I don't question how you describe your experience on Constellation, but our experience has been that it can vary tremendously depending on the CD. We were on the Mercury in October 2003 as our Honeymoon, immediately after our Commitment Ceremony. On that cruise David Cole, the CD along with the Social Hostess (who's name I've forgotten) both made a point of insisting that we attend the "Newlywed and Anniversary" gathering. We weren't planning to go, not because we're not out, but just because we don't "do" hoaky shipboard activities. So we went, they introduced us around, and then they also awarded us a bottle of champagne for being the most recently married, with the spotlight and the music and all. We had total strangers stopping us and congratulating us all over the ship for the rest of the cruise.

I agree with you that for most of our cruises, Celebrity is no better or worse than other lines with regard to the "official" treatment: on some, we've had FOD parties listed in the daily every day, attended by the CD himself, on others there might be one listed FOD in a quiet bar. But like I said, we don't really pay much attention to ship activities and just have our own fun and relaxation on a cruise. We usually meet several gay couples early on and just meet up with them before dinner, whether or not it's an officially sanctioned event.

I think your experience with asking for the FOD party to be called GLBT no doubt mostly reflects a generational difference: most of the gay men, like the rest of the passengers, on Celebrity are of a generation that would "get" the FOD reference. Those born since TV was in color may not get it... :rolleyes: Does it reflect a certain squeamishness on the part of the cruise line with putting the word 'gay' or 'lesbian' in the daily? Perhaps, but I don't really care, it's not going to change how I behave in public.

For PFV: Beyond the official treatment, in our experience, the typical Celebrity passenger is perhaps a little more gay-friendly than on other mainstream lines. In our limited experience, we didn't feel quite as comfortable on NCL or RCCL as we have on Celebrity, or on Princess, for that matter. Not that we've ever had a bad experience, just a sense of not fitting in, which we never get on Celebrity or Princess. The service staff, from room stewards to servers to waiters are all perfectly comfortable with gay men and lesbians. I can only assume that the luxury lines would be better still with regard to the general attitude of the fellow passengers, if attitude correlates with levels of education and wordliness. But there are always bad apples, as is described in the ongoing thread about Seaborne.

We are about to take our third cruise on Celebrity in a month (Century, 4/2) and are booked on Connie for the holidays. To us, there is nothing like a Celebrity cruise. We have gone with family and alone and were treated wonderfully by crew and passengers alike. Don't think twice about this line...you won't be disappointed!

Bon voyage! :cool:

Just wanted to add another pro-Celebrity voice here. Can't add anything different to what has been already said. Celebrity is a wonderful cruise line for gay people to choose. Enjoyed "Connie" last summer; looking forward to "Milly" this summer.

Schplinky - I don't question how you describe your experience on Constellation, but our experience has been that it can vary tremendously depending on the CD. We were on the Mercury in October 2003 as our Honeymoon, immediately after our Commitment Ceremony. On that cruise David Cole, the CD along with the Social Hostess (who's name I've forgotten) both made a point of insisting that we attend the "Newlywed and Anniversary" gathering. We weren't planning to go, not because we're not out, but just because we don't "do" hoaky shipboard activities. So we went, they introduced us around, and then they also awarded us a bottle of champagne for being the most recently married, with the spotlight and the music and all. We had total strangers stopping us and congratulating us all over the ship for the rest of the cruise.

 

I agree with you that for most of our cruises, Celebrity is no better or worse than other lines with regard to the "official" treatment: on some, we've had FOD parties listed in the daily every day, attended by the CD himself, on others there might be one listed FOD in a quiet bar. But like I said, we don't really pay much attention to ship activities and just have our own fun and relaxation on a cruise. We usually meet several gay couples early on and just meet up with them before dinner, whether or not it's an officially sanctioned event.

 

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I think the CD is the key person in determining the temperature of the ship. Ours never stopped by the FOD parties or sent a ship's staff once but then again, he was generally invisible outside of the evening show anyway.

In fairness, I do think it was an off week for Connie. We had heard about how wonderful Celebrity was and there were times where we really were questioning why. A good example would be the time when we were leaving the dining room at lunch time. One of the headwaiters was yelling at someone on his phone, shreaking "I can hear you" in a way that said he just wanted the conversation to be over. I jokingly said, as we passed, "you know, we can hear you, too" and the glare I got could have frozen ice sculptures! At least the waiters nearby got a giggle out of it.

Based on everyone's raving about Celebrity, I really presume we either had an off week on Connie or a great week on RCCL. Time will tell. We will likely cruise Celebrity again one day but we're not rushing back; it'll depend on ships and itineraries.

We sailed them twice and never had any funny looks or stares same cna be said for Princess Norweigin and CCCl, were sailing Costa hope they are too. Venice 5/7/06 Hi Avon ,Manchester here

We have sailed Celebrity 6 times and have two more cruises booked with them. 4 of our cruises have been on Pied Piper group cruises. We obviously love Celebrity.

We have always been treated with acceptance and respect. Even on "straight" cruises we have met table mates (straight) that have become close friends after the cruise.

I would never hesitate to recommend Celebrity.

On our first Celebrity cruise, we were celebrating our anniversary and indicated so on our reservation. What a pleasant surprise when we received a personal, written invitation to attend the honeymoon/anniversary cocktail party with the Captain! Then, to top it off, on our actual anniversary dinner evening, our entire waitstaff, asst MD and the head MD along with several other waiters brought out a cake and sang "Happy Anniversary to You" at our table - very loudly I might add. We've been Celebrity advocates ever sense!

After reading all your responses, we're looking even more to our cruise on Zenith this coming May. NelsonCT, we're practically neighbors! :-)

Thanks again

Paul

My partner and I had no problems on Celebrity, but it wasn't a great experience either. The room steward was quite happy to put our beds together for us (we'd requested them together, but I guess word didn't get to her in time) and she was quite wonderful. I think the waiter thought we were sisters, but that's okay. The only minor thing we encountered was the photographer in the dining room suggested that she was taking pictures of individuals (when we'd heard her telling others she was taking pictures of couples) but when we told her we wanted a couples picture she was fine with that.

Didn't see any FOD meetings in the daily newsletter, which seemed odd because I'm certain the C.D. was family, but ah well.

Hi Gang,

My partner and I just returned from a week on the Century. Per the usual, Celebrity WOWed us in every department! Cabin stewards and butler were all very friendly and had no issue with us sharing a bed. We couldn't have received better treatment in the dining room as our request for a table for two was accommodated and we were given priority when we requested a change. There were two FOD meetings that were scheduled, I'm assuming by Celebrity. The cruise director was Alan King (?) -- nice guy!

Go Celebrity -- you won't be disappointed! We don't even consider other lines! We are booked on Connie for New Year's and on two back-to-back Century cruises next April. :)

Where exactly are you hiding in Bam? We live in Trussville. Love X (the cruise line that is, :) ). Going on the Mercury in Octobr. Come go with us.

I would not hesitate to recommend Celebrity. However, big however, the 'temperature,' as another poster put it, wholly depends on the Cruise Director as to whether, or not, you will be afforded a Friends of Dorothy party. Aside from that, I have found Celebrity to be a good fit for me and my partner. We have found some lovely people, both gay and straight, not only at our dinner table but also people whith whom we connnected on the CC boards prior to sailing. We have sailed on Celebrity, HAL, and Crystal. For the future, we we cannot 'afford' Crystal, we would book Celebrity in an instant. John and Bob in SF