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Just off a two-week cruise on Celebrity. There was an LGBTQ meet-up every night, but after the first few nights no one attended. People just socialized together around the ship.

Heads up, fellow travelers! I came home with a little something extra - Covid 19. A passenger at my dining table was ill, and in quarantine for the final two days of the cruise. I started feeling bad last night, and tested positive when I got home today. Very mild case, but I encourage others to get tested if they feel ill. I thought it was just a head cold, and wouldn’t have thought to test if it weren’t for the known exposure. Hope all of you stay well!

Thank you for all the information and photos you shared, mahdnc! The disembarkation info was especially helpful, as my cabin steward seemed to take a dislike to me and never brought it to my cabin. (Along with a fair amount of other stuff - first time I’ve ever had to ask for things like soap and laundry…) It was a great cruise, and I met some really nice people!

The hot tubs are hot, but not super hot. The “jets” do put out a bit of current, but not enough to make bubbles. The original switches have been removed/capped.

Is anyone else having difficulty charging their devices in their cabins? I plugged my iPad in before dinner with 62% charge and left it overnight. In the morning it had 72%! Similar with my phone. Is this just a problem in my cabin, or are others noticing the same thing?

I definitely feel bad for both parties. 😢

I met some gentleman from Germany who said their friends who traveled with them from Germany were denied boarding because one had lost a passport. I wonder if they were the same??

I never did find it

Safe travels, everyone. I’m heading to the airport tomorrow morning. Dreading the long flight from San Diego, but I will have the cruise to recover from it!

What is the current status of the ship? Is the power restored? Is water back to normal?

When the Flag of the United States was first created, the plan was to have one star and one stripe for each former colony that became a state. As new states joined a star and stripe were added, but very quickly the shape of the flag became awkward, and then impossible. It was decided to go back to the original, 13 stripes, but keep adding stars as needed. Our community faces a similar dilemma, as we try to be ever more inclusive. The original “everybody is represented“ rainbow flag keeps getting new stripes added with different colors. There is also the new section with the angled stripes. And what is the result? Everybody now has to have their own flag! There are more than 30 different flags to represent all of the different ideas of gender and gender expression and sexuality. How can we possibly unite under such a fragmented system? I long for the good old days when the discussion centered around whether we should say “gay and lesbian,” or “lesbian and gay…”

Your husband is a lucky man indeed if he has always been 100% free to be his authentic self, never holding back a kiss or a touch, nor feeling unsafe because of other people or his surroundings. That definitely wasn’t the world in which I came of age. A gay cruise is, first and foremost, a cruise. But it is also a week or so of freedom from heteronormativity, its attitudes and constraints.

I just booked this one this morning -got a truly amazing deal from *****. Over on the straight roll call there are 15 pages of posts. Any other LGBTQ+ travelers going to be aboard?

Thanks for the rec for Pied Piper. Always good to find another option. 🙂

Hi Everyone, I'm joining a group of theatre lovers on a trip that includes the westbound crossing on the Queen Mary 2 on October 17. I hope there will be others aboard that week!