MishelleMcc

Thank you keithm! Another vote for Celebrity!!!! I am reading about Eclipse right now!!! Ha!!!!

Cruiser Bruiser! Thank you for your detailed insight regarding Norwegian! I had been considering Getaway and Epic since the prices of Epic were VERY reasonable! I Sailed NCL (1989 or 1990?) and they were awful then but things seem to have changed for the better. The most amazing thing about cruising back in the day, was the food and the water!! I truly felt like we "got away" So that's what I am after today!!! DW has only been on one cruise which was HAL but it was also Olivia (our honeymoon) which is a total different experience!

thank you zoncom and Turtles06 !!!!! I only was considering NCL with a mini suite and upgraded dining. Now that they don't allow Balcony smoking, they are eliminated completely! I know HAL attracts an older clientele but I know they have great food and well... we can make our own party! =)

But now I am going to immerse my self into everything Celebrity!!!!! MUST learn! Ha! I have just now signed up for special offers and will start the process of exploring!!! ...Starting with "S" class ships etc!!!!

Thank you again! I will post when we make a decision!!! :)

tpadul "We are both very friendly and personable people and we both like to talk when given the opportunity LOL!!! "

Yup! That would be us too!!!! Sounds like the Mexico resort was a bit chaotic!

So my DW and I are up in the air as to what to do: Start researching all the cruise lines from the beginning and find a ship with the amenities we love and a cabin with easy access to a designated smoking area? Or should we proceed to book HAL and hope they still allow balcony smoking by the time we sail. (Starboard aft) … DW even suggests we might be non-smokers by then! (we are always trying to quit…) Ha!!!!

Totally agree that the need to sail on lesbian/gay charters is hugely diminished, which is why we haven't cruised with Olivia since 1998.

 

We are quite comfortable traveling as a married lesbian couple on "regular" cruises (and I hope I didn't suggest otherwise in my comment above). Our "regular" cruise on the NCL Jade in the Med in 2010 remains one of our all time favorite trips, and we have (non-gay) friends to this day from that cruise.

Hi Turtles06! My young uncle loves the Med! I don't know if we will ever get the chance! We Won a trip to China which we took last winter (amazing experience) and I think we are cured of any immediate desire to travel long distances! Ha! We figured out that we spent 33 hrs in airplanes over a 9 day period! So this year, we want to avoid long distance flying!! We fly out of Boise ID so there are hardly any direct flights to anywhere! Btw, I read the blog of your Antarctica trip and it sounds amazing! Fantastic pics!

You know, even 5 or 10 years ago gays and lesbians had to be discrete and careful. It's amazed me how many more of us there are! So the need for exclusively gay/lesbian vacations is not as important as it once was...

You guys will be fine on a regular cruise!!!!!! AND WE WANT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT WHEN YOU GET HOME!!!!!! I loved CruisinMaterial's Norwegian Breakaway review! I hung on every word!!!!! So please share!!!!!!

Morning all! I am not an expert but I think NDA's means: "Non-Discountable Amounts" Usually for port charges and fuel cost increase charges. Personally, I think they are just a pad to the fee they want to charge and is misleading/false advertising. Just my uneducated opinion=D

Darn it! Rude smokers (like rude drinkers) should just be banned all together!!! We don't like smoking indoors so we wouldn't even smoke in the casinos. If we went to a bar (before they became non-smoking) we would strip in the garage before going into the house! I hate the smell as much as the next person.... *sigh*

Hi again tpadul! What wiped us out was the cost! We came home dead broke and it took over a year to recover! We were married on 1-21-06 and took our honeymoon 1-28-06. So the wedding... and the trip were just too much for us.

Don't get me wrong, WE LOVE Olivia but we can do a straight cruise for 1/3 of the cost. In addition to the cruise fare is the Olivia "NDA" fees of $400 pp. Add airfare, on-board bar bill, excursions, etc and what I thought would be about $3000 ended up being double!

However, If you can reasonably afford it, the experience is amazing! The entire ship (and even some of the crew) were lesbian (and gay!) I remember, on the first night, sitting out by the aft pool - holding hands - when we heard footsteps coming. We quickly withdrew our hands only to realize that it was another lesbian couple! We laughed at our naiveté and gradually came out of our “shell”. At the end of the cruise, we were so “out” that once back at the airport, seeing “hetero” couples just didn’t “look” right!!!!

We love cruising so of course I think everyone else will too! Ha! I can remember the day when the rocking ship would lull me to sleep! Today, the ships have stabilizers so you hardly feel the ship move. No need for seasickness patches and what-not. Bring something with you if you are concerned but don’t take/use anything until you have symptoms. I took my mother on a cruise once and she got the “patch” and was sick as a dog! She went to the ship doctor and he pulled the patch off and told her she’d feel better in 6-10 hrs! - Said he pulls more patches off than he puts on!

Upgrade to a balcony if you can. In the old days, before balconies, I used to leave my porthole open just so I could hear the waves on the side of the ship. With a balcony, you can sit outside and have your own slice of heaven (and Sea!)

Comradery… There is something about being on a ship that makes everyone feel connected in a way. I usually start to notice it on the day after sail-away. We are all on this big adventure together! Before you know it, you are swapping stories with people at the pool or MDR about what you did that day!

My son is 30 now and although I truly love children, I agree: I would rather vacation with adults and not a lot of kids. So things to consider: Are there adult only areas? I am a bit leery of cruise lines that advertise “kids sail free”. The time of year can affect the kid population. Cruise ships that don’t have the “latest and greatest” of kid entertainment will probably have fewer children.

So tell us more about your cruise plans and hopefully others will offer advice and hints! It’s just so fun to plan a cruise!!!

My wife and I went to China last year (we won the trip!!) and we had no issues! LGBT is illegal there as well, but using caution and being respectful, you should be fine! We registered with the Federal State Department/Embassy before leaving so that gave me added comfort. They also send out alerts to your email if there are any issues US citizens should be aware of. Enjoy your trip!!!! what a great adventure!!!

Hi tpadul !!!! Congratulations on your marriage and winning the cruise!!!! I started Cruising in '89 and loved it! I've been on 5 cruises and My wife of 8.7 yrs has been on 1! we are 55 & 50. We both love cruises but haven't been able to take one since 2006! (Olivia - and it cleaned us out!!!) I am a bit of a vacation research freak (it's part of the trip! - planning and dreaming!!)

I've been on Royal Caribbean 2 times - back in the day and thought they were wonderful! I took a Norwegian cruise around the same time and thought the food was sub-parr. Then I sailed HAL twice and Loved cruising again!!!!

The reason that we are planning on HAL or Norwegian is because we want to be able to smoke on our balcony (Yes, we are two of 'them') In the past on HAL, they would designate a side of the ship for outdoor smoking and we would pick a balcony on that side, Aft, so as to be around other smokers and not to offend others....

Hal is more subdued with big staterooms but Norwegian is busier with smaller staterooms. Hal appears to still have better food so if we did choose Norwegian, we would need to factor in a mini suite cost and up-charge dinning venues....

Maybe all of us that are currently booked or booking can share with each other experiences and inside information :)

For instance, I just read somewhere that you may inquire about upgrading your stateroom for a reasonable fee once aboard ship!

Anyone else have any suggestions? I know there are lurkers out there!!!! Chime in!!!

My wife and I are planning to cruise this winter for our yearly vacation. We haven't cruised since 2006 and from what I have gleaned, a lot of things have changed.

We are only able to travel from December through February. What We love about Cruising are Great food, shows, staterooms (balcony) and exploring! Another couple may be joining us and we would love to make friends along the way!

Are there other folks considering the above lines and time-frame? Lets see if we can get a little unofficial group going!

also any advise would be wonderful too!

My wife and I are planning to cruise this winter for our yearly vacation. We haven't cruised since 2006 and from what I have gleaned, a lot of things have changed.

We are only able to travel from December through February. What We love about Cruising are Great food, shows, staterooms (balcony) and exploring! Another couple may be joining us and we would love to make friends along the way!

Are there other folks considering the above lines and time-frame? Lets see if we can get a little unofficial group going!

also any advise would be wonderful too!

Morning to all! I have been agonizing (well - not agonizing cuz I enjoy the research and dreaming...) over which Holland cruise to pick. We can only travel Dec, Jan & Feb (we run a County campground) and live in the northwest. Has anyone had specific experience with the Lanai Cabins on MS Veendam? I've cruised 5 times since the late '80's but the last time (Olivia/Westerdam 2006) was my wife's first cruise. It seems Cruising has changed a lot so any advice is appreciated.

We are 55 & 50.

On Food quality if you have a recent experience to share! We haven't Cruised since 2006 so trying to get educated!

We haven't cruised since 2006 (vacationed with friends to Cabo San Lucus twice, and this year, just finished a trip to China that I had won!)

So are committed to a cruise winter of 2014 (only time we can travel). I stumbled on your review while researching Carnival.... THOROUGHLY enjoyed your writing! Forgot I was evaluating cruise lines and was totally caught up by your details of the ports!

Well done and thank you!!!!

Mishelle

Thanks for the scoop about Sweet! I think I "assumed" some things and I should know better! Ha!

about straight cruises, I agree that the majority of folks would not blink an eye but Sue grew up in the Morman Bible belt of Idaho and still thinks the rest of the world beieves the same way! But I'm still working on her! After all, I managed to switch her from Republican to Democrat!! ;-}

There is a new lesbian cruise group called "Sweet" one of the founders is Flavia who used to be with Olivia. Also, Suzanne Westenhoefer left Olivia for Sweet. Still expensive but they are partnering with southwest for fare discounts and declare that there are no "hidden fees" The Olivia 2 for 1 still came out to $3,059 for a balcony after all the other fees were factored in. with airfare - it'd about $4000 + Our cabo trip is costing about $1500 with airfare. The choice was easy!

This is a very old thread but I thought I would give it a try. My wife and I agree with the rest of you. Although we had our honeymoon on Olivia Caribian January 2006, we have not been able to afford another one since. It was an experience of a lifetime - no dobt - but who can afford it? So we discussed a straight cruise but my wife is worried that she wouldn't feel comfortable enough to be herself on a straight cruise. I agree with you all that if we could get an informal group of like minded lesbians together and pick a few cruises a year to "shoot for" that we could get the best of both worlds - great price of a straight cruise with companionship of other lesbians! If anyone is interested in "putting our heads together" about this, I would love to participate! By the way, my name is Mishelle and my wife's name is Sue. We are 49 and 45 with no children in the nest. We live in Nampa Idaho.

Currently are going to Cabo san Lucas 3-6-09 for 9 days. We rented a time share off Redweek for 7 days for $400. Couple cheap motels before & after, airfare and we're good to go! We are meeting up with another lesbian couple who have been married for 10 years and have a time share there. It's a little late but if anyone else wants to tag along, contact me and I can give you more details! mishellemccormick@hotmail.com