Does anyone do the FOD/LGBT gatherings?

I'm sailing on P&O for the first time in December, and I have the clear impression that the line doesn't offer LGBT gatherings. I was surprised to read that you've seen a mention at all. With four formal nights, I guess I will have to invest in some colorful pocket squares. Since British guys don't seem to be quite as hung up as Americans, it's going to be an adventure in "European or gay?" I'm sure I'll manage to have fun, regardless.

We've sailed with P&O quite a few times. The event more often than not will take place in the Crows Nest bar, or equivalent. Keep scanning the daily Horizon.

P&O aren't as technologically advanced as some of the other lines re their cruise photography, so you will see all the prints displayed for all to see on large display boards. It makes it easier to spot the family members. Depending on what ship you are on (some are adults only) you will notice the average age of the typical P&O cruiser to be higher than you may have experienced in the past.

Pack your hankies and bone up on some Polari ;-)

"Varda the basket on the omi polone"

We went to lots of the LGBT meet-ups on the Azamara Journey on our April transatlantic crossing. Two of them were hosted by the Guest Relations Director and the Cruise Director, very classy. There was one every night. Nice group of lesbians and gay men, very friendly, really added to the cruise experience.

Next month I'll be taking my first non-gay cruise in 15 years.

I would imagine apps are used on board for gay men to find each other. Has that been your experience? If so, is there an app that is less hook up oriented?

Other than Roll Call on this site (where I have already posted) is there anywhere else on the internet to meet fellow gay passengers before the cruise? Do the cruise lines themselves facilitate this on their web sites?

Thanks.

I'll be on the June 25 - July 2, 2016 Holland America cruise from Boston to Montreal on the Veendam. Given how close we will be to land and major cities most of the time, should I expect to be able to use my cell for texting and apps throughout the cruise?

Do ships charge now for WiFi?

Next month I'll be taking my first non-gay cruise in 15 years.

 

I would imagine apps are used on board for gay men to find each other. Has that been your experience? If so, is there an app that is less hook up oriented?

 

Other than Roll Call on this site (where I have already posted) is there anywhere else on the internet to meet fellow gay passengers before the cruise? Do the cruise lines themselves facilitate this on their web sites?

 

Thanks.

 

I'll be on the June 25 - July 2, 2016 Holland America cruise from Boston to Montreal on the Veendam. Given how close we will be to land and major cities most of the time, should I expect to be able to use my cell for texting and apps throughout the cruise?

 

Do ships charge now for WiFi?

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Ships charge a fortune for Wi-Fi, and the Internet service on HAL has a reputation for being slow. HAL does sell packages, though, so it wouldn't hurt to try. There is no facilitation of patron interaction on cruise line websites. You've come to the best place for that, and as you are participating in the roll call for your cruise, you're doing as much as possible, I think. Do go to the LGBT Gathering that will be listed in the On Location, and you are likely to meet other LGBT passengers. As an aside, last June I sailed the same itinerary you will be sailing on Veendam's sister ship Maasdam. It was one of my favorite cruises ever. Happy sailing.

Thanks, Bruiser!

I would love to get tips from you on shore excursions, etc. Is there a way to private message you or should we start a new thread?

 

There is no facilitation of patron interaction on cruise line websites. You've come to the best place for that, and as you are participating in the roll call for your cruise, you're doing as much as possible, I think.

 

 

I just discovered that Holland America has a "Roll Call" on their Facebook page.

 

The roll call on CC for my cruise, both here and in the general population of this website, has not received any replies.

Thanks, Bruiser!

 

I would love to get tips from you on shore excursions, etc. Is there a way to private message you or should we start a new thread?

I would recommend you check the specific forums for Canada ports. That's where I got a lot of my information. Here are my thoughts:

Boston: DIY (do it yourself) and focus on the Freedom Trail. There's also a HOHO (hop-on hop-off bus) that covers roughly the same route.

Bar Harbor: DIY. The ship docks right in the heart of the central city. If you're a woods guy, take a tour of the Arcadia National Park.

Halifax: DIY. The ship docks right in the heart of the central city. Check out the Citadel and the nautical museum.

Sydney: Fortress Louisbourg is like Colonial Williamsburg and is very French. Worth a visit, I think.

Charlottetown, PEI. We did a showing of one of the Anne of Green Gables theatrical productions, which included a short walking tour. Afterwards, we had a late afternoon snack and drink in a local pub and walked back to the ship.

Quebec City: DIY. Again, the Old City is right outside the ship. Lots to see and do.

I hope you have an awesome time. Cheers.

Bruiser:

Those are great suggestions.

Thanks so much!

If your daily cruise newsletter doesn't list a FOD meeting (most lines have actually evolved and simply list it as LGBT gathering), simply call the cruise director and ask them to please arrange and post a LGBT gathering- they will do it without question the next day.

WQe always found the meetings on Cunard well attended, frequently with a staff member providing snacks & such. The recent ones on Celebrity are pretty lame. They were at the Molecular bar(which few pax go to)I always felt they should be in a section of Skybar.

This IS an old thread, but I'll respond again. We did a 14 day B2B on the Regal Princess. Feb.7-21. With the exception of some(actually lots!) of classless pax, we found Princess to have a very well organized LGBT grouping. It's LGBT & not FOD. We hung out with a lot of great LGBT pax on board. Princess does a good(arguably the best)job of hosting & setting up get togethers.

My spouse and I are sailing NCL Escape in May 2017. My husband/wife's first cruise. It will be our 20th Wedding Annv. I have sailed on several cruises and often attend at least one FOD/LGBT meet ups. I have met and made some really great people, but I have never seen another T girl on a ship. Having been in this environment, I can usually tell. Hehe.. I cant believe we are the only ones out there. We have many straight and LGBT friends in our day to day life. I sail NCL primarily.

I’m putting this out there because on our last several cruises, they have turned out to be a bust. Either no one goes or the few that do seem to want to keep the conversation within their own group. We were on the Brilliance of the Seas several years ago, and the gathering was quite popular. We even had several groups of straight people would join in. But since then, they’ve been pretty dead. Is this just not the thing to do anymore, or am I missing something?

No, this is now being done in the sauna/steam---the new meeting place for LGBT. :D

We do the same thing with the picture boards! LOL and here I was thinking we were the only ones doing this! :P

I've tried to go on many of my cruises but GF doesn't want anything to do with the meetings. So I end up going by myself and most of the time sit there all by myself, feeling out of place since I'm surrounded by men... It seems to be not so popular with the women. :(

Will I be going to one on the MSC, good question! Depends on if she lets me go! LOL

We enjoy the LGBT/FOD gatherings and consider them one of the gems of the cruise. The people you meet and the friends they become are wonderful.

We are not concerned that some days there are few people and others plenty, we will still show up and have a cocktail or two before supper. On Cunard the group was large, and on HAL not as large. Regardless, the crew are always happy to see us.

We have to agree-can't understand why no one ever shows up and if they do, everyone sticks with their own group. Had a nice FOD on Princess Regal in April , 2016-even had one of the Ship's personnel chat with us. But same thing-no one seems interested in chatting with other people-just their own group or they stay by themselves. :(

We have to agree-can't understand why no one ever shows up and if they do, everyone sticks with their own group. Had a nice FOD on Princess Regal in April , 2016-even had one of the Ship's personnel chatted with us. But same thing-no one seems interested in chatting with other people-just their own group or they stay by themselves. Next cruise-be sure to attend.

i'll be going to the lgbt meetups on Anthem of the Seas cruise on 9/8. It's awkward sometimes to go up to a group and start talking, especially if you're not 100% sure they are the lgbt meet up. Plus if it's all guys, they may not be that interested in chatting with a queer girl :)

But I'll be there. And I bought a Golden Girls T-shirt with a picture of that Dorothy on it that says "friends of dorothy" so i'll be easy to identify as being there for the meetup!

Would love to hear how the meetings on Anthem will be like.

Your T shirt is great!

i'll be going to the lgbt meetups on Anthem of the Seas cruise on 9/8. It's awkward sometimes to go up to a group and start talking, especially if you're not 100% sure they are the lgbt meet up. Plus if it's all guys, they may not be that interested in chatting with a queer girl :)

 

But I'll be there. And I bought a Golden Girls T-shirt with a picture of that Dorothy on it that says "friends of dorothy" so i'll be easy to identify as being there for the meetup!

:p Ha! I love it!! My GF and I are cruising in October and we've only gone to the lgbt meetups a handful of times. This shirt would be a great ice breaker. Where'd you get it???

:p Ha! I love it!! My GF and I are cruising in October and we've only gone to the lgbt meetups a handful of times. This shirt would be a great ice breaker. Where'd you get it???

I got it from Huntees dot com. they have lots of cool t shirts. (and lots of very queer focused shirts if you want a leather daddy t shirt, or one of your fave drag queen - they've got it!)

As you can see from our signature line below we have been on many cruises and the FOD meetings are always a bust. I guess that's one of the problems with gays becoming mainstream. :eek:

As you can see from our signature line below we have been on many cruises and the FOD meetings are always a bust. I guess that's one of the problems with gays becoming mainstream. :eek:

Well i'll still check out the FOD meetings (and the solo meetups since i'll qualify for both), Hopefully there will be someone at one of them. if not, my kindle will be fully loaded.

I have been cruising since I was in my mid twenties. We are talking about the 1980's forward. Back then there were no organized get togethers but always managed to meet a nice crowd in the bars and lounges. In recent years even with the posted gatherings it is really hit or miss. It is all a age and/or personality issue. I have never turned away from any friendly person. When I was younger and pretty it seemed everyone flocked to me like glue. Things change I am sorry to say. Now almost 63 it seems when you do have a nice group of people show up the younger stay away from the older like you have a contagious disease. Many in my own age group seem not to be all that interested in being friends. My partner and myself are very friendly people in my opinion. We actually meet more straight people who are attracted to us as wanting to be friends. We still always make attempts every time we cruise but I think many in the gay community have issues. Of course there are many around in our community that are friendly. We just have not been lucky enough to meet them on a cruise. And we cruise a lot.

My partner & I are about to go on our first cruise together (RCCL OTS 15 Dec 2016) and are looking forward to meeting new & interesting people over the 15 days. I think it's a shame when others are agists old or young! Hope to meet people such as yourselves.

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My partner & I are about to go on our first cruise together (RCCL OTS 15 Dec 2016) and are looking forward to meeting new & interesting people over the 15 days. I think it's a shame when others are agists old or young! Hope to meet people such as yourselves.

 

 

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Yeah, unfortunately many LGBT people have their own twisted bigoted agendas. Discrimination, on any front, is probably worse and most concentrated within the LGBT community. Just think, for every one agist, there are probably 20 racists that exist within the community. You would think that a group of people that are discriminated against, would not do the discriminating themselves. A very sad and oxymoronic irony, but very true.

Just have to make the best of it, and hopefully come across openminded and loving people.