Arnos Cruises

We are on the Jewel of the Seas out of Rome Sept. 10, 2017 with a large group. Any other cruisers from the LGBT community on that sailing?

Hey Chris.

One of the things that distinguishes Arno's Cruises from the other bear cruise groups is that I keep my groups to a maximum of 250 people, give or take. That size gives us a nice diversity of types and ages but stays small enough that everyone gets to know each other. Larger groups tend to get cliquish. My group doesn't. Of course you make new friends and many you only meet once a year on my cruises. Those guys hang out more together, which is normal. Call it cliquish, or just a reunion party.

While we have a lot of repeat customers who look forward to meeting up with their friends from previous cruises, newcomers report that the group always makes them feel welcome, and I also make a strong effort to spend time with all of our newcomers to welcome them on board. Another distinction is that my big cruises every year are in high season, which means the best weather. I try to organize private shore excursions for our group in every port, or else work with Royal Caribbean to make arrangements for our group on one of their shore excursions. I also organize a lot of private parties on board.

I usually do two cruises a year. The Caribbean Cruise in winter and a specialty cruise in summer/fall to other places in the world. We have done Alaska, Canary Islands, Canada, I started the Bear Cruise after Bear Week in Sitges out of Barcelona. And in 2017 we do Bear Week in Sitges again, then fly to Rome for a cruise to Turkey and Greece. In the following years you will see cruises somewhere else in the world. Trust me, it will be absolutely great.

But what really makes Arno's Cruises different is the people who go on the cruises. They are an amazing group of fun, kind, and warm guys (and some great gals). So I recommend that you just ask them on our Facebook page why they prefer Arno's Cruises. You will get an honest answer and critics. Just check it out. Look on facebook for Arno's Bear Cruises. Anything else? Feel free to contact me any time. Thanks. Arno

WOW, what happened? Should I even comment on this?. Yeah, why not.

First off, trust me, it's not easy to have 250 people in your group and make everyone happy. We have, like mentioned before, different opinions and needs. That specific cruise in Alaska was one of the best, I thought. We did get into port an hour late and I thought the excursion company did their best to accommodate to the fact that we were late and that the helicopters had to leave on time. We spent some quite time at the airport getting dressed into the overalls and also the spike boots. We also got weighted so they could level out the helicopters. Better safe than sorry.

I am sorry that I couldn't tell them before hand to do a better job and that the captain got us an hour late into port. Act of God? It was out of my hands, really.

As for dining on the ships. Royal has early and late seating, My Time Dining, the buffet and specialty restaurants. I organize group dining because it's a social event where we all sit together. I try to encourage everyone to change tables each night so you get to meet others in the group. I do the same every night. The buffet is always open and you can walk into the specialty restaurants if they are not booked. But fixed seating is by reservation only. My Time Dining you can walk in, but if there is no space or if it is late, after the kitchen closes, you may get no food or only what is available.

I don't think I have an inner circle to hang out with all the time, but maybe I am guilty off talking to some more often than others.

We do stuff together, the disco parties, pool parties, excursions, and I try to say hi to everyone. Just come up to me an talk to me. I am an open book and I like to socialize with others.

While on board there is a lot to organize, things changes all the time, the cruise line changes venues and so on. So if you don't see me, I am doing something to keep everything going. The Lumber Jack party looked so cool and other guests on the ship asked us if we were all real lumberjacks or power lifters LOL. So I don't understand what was not too like since everyone did it.

I am sorry you guys had a bad experience while most or even all others enjoyed the trip to Alaska. Trust me I am trying hard to make everyone happy, have an awesome vacation, get the most out of your money and save a lot of hard earned $$$. If you want, join my facebook page and talk to others about it their experiences.

There are many other bear cruises out there and I think each has their own flair and clientele. Some are party groups, some are more upscale and relaxing, some are both. What someone likes on my cruise, someone else may doesn't. I keep the group open for everyone, any age, any gender, any sexual orientation. It works for us and the group and we do have a great time on Royal's ships. Royal is a proud sponsor of my cruises and I want to keep it that way.

Again, I am sorry if something did not go the way it should have been. The one hour late in port messed up some things but at the end, we all got to do the excursions. Some things I can control, many I can't but I can assure you I do my best to make things happen.

If you have any questions or concerns, just email or call me any time.

Happy Sailing guys.

Arno

ArnosCruises.com