Volunton

I totally agree with a number of things.

For example, just because you work with someone else who might be gay or lesbian, does NOT mean they will be your BFF nor will you want to be THEIR BFF.

We have two kids (boy and girl) who are 13 y.o.  We were in P'town in August 2019 and definitely felt the vibe that other gays and lesbians did not want to come near us.  It was as if we were kryptonite.  We saw a few other couples (both gay and lesbian) with kids but none of us approached each other to 'bond'.  It was probably more a matter of every family having their own issues or doing their own thing.

However, having said all that, my partner and I had just boarded a cruise ship for a trip down the Nile (sorry about the boast) and started spontaneously chatting with a M/F Spanish couple from the UK.  We hit it off, spent the rest of the Egypt trip hanging out with them and have met them at their house in the UK and in BC on a mutual vacation and still chat virtually and hope to meet up post-pandemic.  Oh, btw, we met them in about 2006!

So, there is no rhyme or reason as to what to expect on a trip or cruise.  Every cruise is different.  Every all-inclusive is different.  The dynamics are always such that, if you had gone the week before or a week later, your experience - good or bad - may have been altered forever.  I'm fortunate that, as per my example, we met "The Spaniards" on our trip in 2006.  They call us "The Canadians".

Anyway, we have a cruise booked for March 12, 2022 on the Norwegian Escape and are certainly open to meeting NICE people, whether they are gay, straight, bi, orange or turqouise.

Just my .02. 🙂

According to ads, it appears it's free to activate now. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not but it may be a good way for us all to connect.

In any event, we'll be at the POM around 1045 am, Terminal C.

I believe that's about 25.5 hours or so from now ... but who's counting?! :D

Scott

We are on the Getaway this Saturday. We are staying down the hall from the Splash Academy. My kids - both 7 y.o. - have been on about 4-5 cruises already. They've been on the RCL Allure and Freedom of the Seas and weren't crazy about the kids korner. They've been on the Norwegian Sun (12-day cruise) and RAN to the kids club every morning.

They are excited about Splash Academy and the fact there seem to be a lot of activities for them to be engaged in. I'm excited about the fact they're excited. It means I get time to relax! :D

They just seem to prefer NCL over RCCL.

When it comes to Celebrity babysitting, personally, I would totally avoid ANY of the Kardashians. :D

My best experience was on the Caribbean Princess in February 2006. Hung out with the gay cruise staff and other passengers every day/night.

On my last three NCL cruises, I would go to/near the meeting place and nobody showed up - any night. On the NCL Sun in March 2013, I even looked around to see if anyone else was 'lurking' in the area to see who showed up. There was nobody, at least that I could tell.

I'm hoping that the Getaway Oct. 24-31 will be a quite different experience. Been going back and forth with posts with a guy or two but at this point, only 7 'confirmed' guys on that sailing. And they have taken away the pictures on the wall thing instead going for photo books so you can't look to see the guys together or with families, etc. :(

Mine has never worked we'll and/or I'm very/too cautious about walking up to people and starting a conversation. My partner and friends don't believe me when I say I'm shy. I tell them it's about over-compensating to make up for being shy.

Hopefully Jose will fine tune HIS gaydar since we won't have the photo library to rely on.

You'll be on the other side of the ship but close to where I think I drop the kids off. And you may have a bigger room and/or bigger balcony.

How come no one else is leaving messages here?

Has everyone else booked a different sailing! :)

7.5 days to go ... and with areas north of me expecting a possible 6" of snow, I'm ready to go next Saturday!

That's great!

About the only advantage is the regular-sized tub. The balconies are about 3x10 sq ft. I suspect this will be the narrowest/smallest balcony I've had when I've had balconies. But it is still nice to have it. If you get an aft suite it will be nice. :). I'll be jealous. :)

Keep me update re: your cabin number.

9 days and counting!

Sorry about the Rangers btw.

Scott

... Before your vacation. Nice!

We fly out early Sat. 24th. Have to clear customs here in T.O. so we will be up at 3:30 am. You guys will just be getting to bed ... or at least not asleep. ;)

I always read too much about everything about the ships before I cruise. All the negative reviews make me laugh - They only had 6 entrees. Part of the carpeting was ripped in the hallway. I didn't get a towel animal. The room steward wasn't friendly. I like to have a connection. (That's because they're cleaning 20 rooms a day!)

Hopefully we won't find stupid things to b**** about too. :)

I'm looking forward to tanning and sleeping and playing trivia games, people watching, good food. Nothing fancy.

What about you guys?

... don't go on a cruise! :p

Well, at least we know where everyone is staying so we'll find each other.

As for calling and saying I'm a Dolphins fan, UNFORTUNATELY, I'm a Lions fan.

0-5 as of now and maybe 0-6 by the time we all meet up.

I keep looking at price drops but it seems all the mini-suites are sold out anyway so that won't matter.

And I didn't know you were doing the name tags for the Meet and Mingle.

Cool!

BTW, how come there only appear to be 7 gay guys on this cruise?

Slumming it with a balcony eh? :)

Ours was a guarantee cabin. I was hoping for a bigger balcony, not 32 sq. ft. where you can barely turn a chair. But at least both our cabins are port side so you can see everyone getting on/off the ship. :)

We booked 4 speciality dining dinners at 5:30 pm since most everyone is used to eating early.

At least the kids will be in bed by 8:30 pm or so. During the day they're in the Splash Academy (just down the hall). They usually go for the morning and afternoon so I get free time during the day.

You're 19 cabins behind me.

Mini-suite as well I guess?

Take ALL (including my) replies with a grain of salt.

Each cruise line/ship brings it's own positives and negatives. You have to balance everything based on the amenities you want (need) vs. the ports o' call vs. the typical (and I say "TYPICAL") demographics you seek on a ship. Having said that, each cruise varies by week as different people embark and disembark so you may have a great experience one week or negative experience one week and someone else will have just the opposite one.

As for NCL vs. Celebrity vs. Princess vs. ..., it all depends on what you want.

NCL does tend to be more of a loosey goosey type atmosphere as it comes to dinner. Unless things changed since my last cruise on the NCL Sun, there is just one server in the MDR so service is a bit slower than other cruise lines. The food - across the board generally speaking - is relatively similar. Of course, you may pay more on a cruise ship/line and get a higher standard of food but for my own personal taste, I don't tend to give myself a choice of seven entrees, 10 appetizers, soups and salads and a selection of desserts when I eat at home.

If you are that type of person who wants the higher echelon type of cruise then you will have to be prepared and willing to pay for it.

I personally would love to do a suite but for my own personal purposes, I don't require it. I don't need a concierge or butler or room service. I don't need a 500 sq. ft. cabin as I prefer to spend the day with the peons, I mean public, I mean rest of the cruise ship pax.

But, if that's your taste, then I say, "Go for it!" The Dawn is an older ship. A lot of long-time cruisers prefer the ships they sailed on for many years because of the memories they evoke as well as the fact they don't require all the bells and whistles of the new ships which, for their own intent and purposes are classified as "destination ships". That is, the people on them don't care where the ships go. And the cruise lines tend to do the same old ports as they know passengers just want the "experience" of being on the newest and biggest vessel on the seas - until the next newest and biggest vessel on the seas comes along.

As for the crew and how they treat passengers. It's a two-way street. If a passenger goes out of their way to make 'demands' and does not smile or treat a crew member with respect then it would only be human to not get the level of service you might have expected.

Generally speaking, crew members are very pleasant as are the other passengers. There are always exceptions and it doesn't matter if you are sailing on NCL, Carnival, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity, etc.

Yes, I posted a long-winded response which may not even have fully answered your question but it made me feel good! :)

I'm not sure if it's me or the link.

As for excursions, I've been to St. Thomas a fair amount. I've heard a lot about the tour you describe. I think the ship one would be the 'safest' in terms of getting there and back, given the fact Tortola appears to be a relatively new destination.

As for Nassau, been there once or twice and not very impressed by it.

I'll probably look for an Internet cafe there rather than pay $20-30 to Pay-as-you-go on the ship.

As for meeting up, I don't use my phone on cruises as Canadian cell phone plans suck big time!

We're in 12230. I'll probably be putting the kids to bed around 8:30 pm unless mom is able to handle them - which she should be able to do by now.

And you'll notice an older lady, myself and two kids (7 y.o. boy and girl) and you'll figure out that it's me. :)

There have to be more people than us on this sailing!

BTW, I noticed that the ship no longer posts photos for all to look at, which is too bad. Now you look in a book assigned to you that has photos based on facial recognition.

Too bad.

Three weeks to go!

Every port has an Internet place where ship employees get a better deal than us average public types.

I typically "SPLURGE" and pay $5-$8/hour to check e-mail and surf the Internet.

If you get a coffee or drink with free wifi, that's a pretty good deal, unless the drink costs $10-12.

Well the kids will be busy for the mornings and afternoons. They like NCL. Mom will be reading by the pool. So I'll have my own time considering all the activities on the ship.

29 days .....

I only booked the cruise on September 22.

Unfortunately, my partner is busy studying for a certification exam in early November. So, I thought what better than to go on a cruise to give him his space to study. Oh, and I like cruises. :)

My mother, two young kids and I (yes, I'm gay and have always been gay, never married, our kids are 7 y.o. twins) will be on the cruise as well.

My partner and I have been on about 11 of cruises - 3 on NCL, 2 on RCCL, etc. Every time I'd walk by a FOD meeting venue, there'd be no one there, yet, when you look at the photos, you'd see guys and 'couples' who were probably on our team.

Anyway, I'm from Toronto. I've been to Royal Oak a few times (Detroit Zoo), a friend who lives at 10 Mile and Woodward, etc.

Looking forward to chatting with you guys. Will you be at the cruise critic thing or just the FOD?

Scott

I've been doing the math (as I have on other occasions pre-cruise).

Speaking strictly about soda/pop, I can't even imagine being able to drink 5-6 16 - 20 oz. cups a day to justify the expense. I'm assuming drinking more than what would cost per purchase in order to not just break even.

I figure ... with the cost for a seven-day cruise being $120 U.S. (plus tax?) for the Royal replenish (not taking into account alcohol), I'm much better off buying 2-3 sodas/day at a cost of +/- $14 and saving $42 for a tour/casino/gift shop, etc.

When I was in St. Maarten in May 2013, there was a candy store run by a middle-aged ex-Torontonian. He gave you the password for wifi access if you made a purchase. There were about 8 chairs outside for people to use to check e-mail.

You will see it if you do a Google search.

After going on a cruise this summer on the Carnival Paradise we have now become huge fans of cruising. We are looking at a cruise during Thanksgiving 2014. I have it narrowed down to two options RC Vision of the Seas or Norwegian Sun. Both itineraries are for a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise with some port differences. Our boys will be 5 and 9 and this will be their first cruise. Advice on which kids club is better for this age group and which ship has better activities for this age group. We only have 2 sea days but I want to make sure there is plenty for them to do especially since both of these ships are a bit older.

 

Thanks for any advice.

My partner and I were on the NCL Sun pre kids and I took them on the Sun with my mother in March 2013 for an 11-day cruise. My boy/girl twins (4 y.o. at the time) LOVED the Sun's kids korner. My daughter had been scared of the RCCL Kids Club we were on in December 2012 on the Allure of the Seas. So she stopped going 1/2 way through the cruise even though her brother and our friends with their three girls were on the cruise with us. On the NCL Sun, my daughter could not wait to go to kids korner. She RAN to it and it was hard getting her (and him) out, even to go in the kids hot tub (hot pool as they called it) or to have ice cream in the mid-afternoon.

The Sun is a great little ship. The lunch and the bbq by the pool were awesome. The crew was probably the best crew I've had in my 11 cruises (on NCL, RCL, Princess and Carnival) although we may book the Carnival Liberty in March 2014.

Hope this helps!

Myself and partner have been on carnival twice we always see the meetings in the fun times n occasionally pop by to see who was about. We find the times carnival put these at are never great it was always around 7ish In ocean plaza which means early seating dinner aren't there and late seating are most likely getting ready for dinner. We did see a few guys when we passed through and met them later in another bar then all arranged to meet and do our own thing which worked well. We are going on RCI in April and hopefully the FOD meetings will be a bit more successful.

We have been on RCL, NCL and Princess (myself). I've rarely, if ever, seen anyone at the FODs. I've walked past and 'cruised' the area trying to see if anyone else was hanging out waiting to see who would show up.

When I was solo on the Caribbean Princess, I hung out with a number of crew and a few passengers in the bar at the top of the ship. That was about eight years ago. Otherwise, the FODs are poorly attended.

While there may not be a listing in the daily activities sheet there is always a card by guest services no matter which ship we've been on (NCL Pearl/Jewel/Sun), Caribbean Princess or RCL Oasis/Allure.

Definitely hit or miss!

As I've said in previous postings, one just has to look at the photos of the people on embarkation day and you will see who is 'family' or should be 'family" (I know, wishful thinking! :)

Scott

Going on RCCL Freedom of the Seas in September 2014 and curious as how friendly is it onboard? Also do they have the Friends of Dorothy meetings still on board?

My partner, myself (gay males) and our then four-year-old twins travelled along with our friends (gay males) and their three young girls. FOTS had FOD meetings but when we walked past we never saw anybody.

You can always tell by looking at the ship photos (especially when people embark on day one) who the "FODs" are! :)

In fact, we may be going on the Carnival Liberty during March break (in Ontario) and hope/wonder if there will be any issues with Carnival as opposed to RCL or NCL, so there ya go!

Hope this helped.

My partner and I dropped off our 4 y.o. twins (boy and girl) and our friends dropped off their three girls (6 y.o. and 4 y.o. twins) at the AO area on Labadee during our cruise on the Freedom of the Seas the week of Dec. 9.

The kids were in a fenced-in area. The security was the same (good) as on the ship's AO facility. There was a hose so the kids could cool off. You have to supply water as actual drinking water was not included.

There was a canopy so they could stay out of the sun. The counselors kept them all busy.

They stayed for about three hours and had a great time. We collected them so they could play on the beach before the buffet lunch.

There is a water bucket tower that tips water onto everyone. I played with the kids under the buckets (standing there waiting for the buckets to pour water on us) for about 45 minutes. It was a great way to get 'clean' before getting back onto the ship.