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How gay friendly is Holland America?


diablob
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My wife and I are travelling on the Eurodam in October, and we've travelled on Carnival and Princess in the past without any problems. How friendly is Holland America?

 

Just got off The Noordam yesterday after 10 days in the Southern Caribbean. There were four GLBT gatherings. Everyone on the ship was very friendly.

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Hi D,

Neal & I have been on over ten Holland cruises over the years and are going on Oosterdam again this month...always found officers and crew to be very gay friendly...in fact, some of their cruise directors and their staff have been been family members (as well as many of the entertainers)...so please don't worry and be happy and gay!!!

HAL SAN DIEGO

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We found it to be about average in the gay-friendly realm. They will schedule FOD parties but they do not host them as Princess does. It's a much older crowd than the lines you've been on but they seem not to be old-fashioned for their age.

 

We found HAL to be neither friendly nor unfriendly on the gay front.

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My wife and I are traveling on the Eurodam in October, and we've traveled on Carnival and Princess in the past without any problems. How friendly is Holland America?

 

 

Not an issue at all. We have never had a problem with the HAL cruise staff in all of our cruises. :)

 

It's been rare (1 time, years ago), we had an issue with a fellow passenger, the cruise staff addressed the problem quickly and quietly. From that moment on, that person was not allowed in the area we were in for the remainder of the cruise. That was the turning point in selecting HAL as our first choice over other cruise lines.

 

From my experience, most, if not all, passengers could care less.

 

Just be yourself as you would at home and enjoy! Like some of the prior posts have said, they have done a number of gay cruises before. According to our sources the staff (especially the bartenders and cabin stewards) are more than eager to join ships in the fleet haveing gay group charters, just to be on-board to work and earn the extra tips that they can.

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I find the Indonesian crew very warm and friendly. As a single passenger......they have been very nice and in the bars go out of their way to chat......never any sign of being put off.

Staff and officers very nice to deal with.

Its getting better for LGBT passengers each year. On the Crown Princess in December I was wearing an Atlantis lanyard on my cabin key/ card.

I was amazed at how many bar staff and wait staff spotted it and made comments (positive in nature) that they worked on either an RSVP or Atlantis charter......and had fun.

I now make sure that these lanyards...either RSVP or Atlantis are worn around my neck.......a quick way to let the staff know....and the service gets even better.

So HAL and Princess get high marks in my book for welcoming LGBT passengers.

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Holland America is the only cruise line where I have experienced an uncomforatable interraction with both a crew member and fellow passengers. Having said that, it could easily have been any ship anywhere, so I haven't written them off because of it.

 

It does however, not feature as my first choice in comparison to other cruise lines that we have taken.

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As a straight person who has sailed HAL, I've never noticed a problem with GLBT being accepted. I noticed a bad vibe on Princess but the whole cruise was bad towards the passengers - really grumpy crew, all they did was complain.

 

We're taking my son and his partner on our next cruise with HAL so I hope I don't see any problems posted.

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  • 1 month later...

I have been told Holland America Line is the MOST gay friendly. It makes sense since they are a Netherlands brand ship.

 

When we went a good percent of the crew was 'family'. It was really nice not to feel out of place...

 

It was probably the most enjoyable cruise we ever did. It was aboard the Maasdam.

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HAL has been very welcoming to us as a gay couple.

Sailed on an RSVP on Ooster so that does not count. But HAL loves RSVP and opens their ship up to them anytime. Every new HAL ship hosts an RSVP cruise within the first year -- if not the first 6 months. That's an honor for a private booking to get that early of a sailing.

 

We did a Eurodam sailing in 2009 and we had a group of 12 guys. Needless to say, we had some of the staff falling at our feet. An openly gay member of the entertainment staff told us that the bar and wait staff has excellent gaydar and they WANT the gay passengers -- better tips from what he said. We never had a problem on the Eurodam.

 

I will reiterate what others have said... HAL is an older crowd. We found other passengers tended to treat us like their grandchildren... and we are 41 and 47.

 

We definitely liked the GLBT vibe on Celebrity much much more. In fact we had no problem dancing together and the crew, entertainers and guests seemed just fine (though it was late and the crowd was the yung uns.) FOD meetings were better attended and better scheduled on =X= than HAL.

 

As for HAL being a Netherlands company -- that's in name only. HAL is based in Seattle. And that's just about as gay as Amsterdam. Well, maybe not THAT gay, but open. :-)

 

Doug

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I'll also add that our dining partners ended up being two born-again Christian couples who could not have been nicer! We ended up doing quite a lot with them throughout the trip! (plus one of the husbands was a smokin' hot furry muscle bear, so an added perk as well...!)

:p

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On the RSVP charter on the Eurodam my partner and I got some behind the scenes tours with the Chief Cullinary Officer. In one of the kitchens I noticed an email from the Hotel manager to his staff about the upcoming gay cruise. It talked about the importance of the value of the contract and how HAL does not discrimante and that everyone was expected to be on their best behaviour. Below his signature was a picture of Tinky Winky. :)

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My wife and I have cruised twice on HAL. First with another lesbian couple, and the last with a straight couple. At no time did we feel uncomfortable as being "gay women" on either cruise. All staff were respectful, and in some cases I believe our service was above / beyond due to who we were as we had several staff indicate they too were family. We were not treated differently between either 2 HAL cruises.

 

We attended one FOD, as the other CC'r posted, it was unhosted. We did not require HAL representative at the mixer. I believe that having a "mandatory HAL rep" attend may hinder the experience (in my opinion).

 

We are in our late 40's/early 50s. Enjoyed the quiet, relaxed energy on HAL cruises and had a blast while in each port.:D Perfect vacation for us!

 

There will always be some passengers as there are in life, that may struggle with us being a couple. That is their problem, not mine. They are who they are, we are who we are :) With that being said, no blatant negative energy at all from any staff or passenger for the matter.

 

As you can see, we are now booked for our third (Niew Amsterdam in January) and would not hesitate to book more cruises with HAL (in fact, we'll be purchasing more Future Cruise Deposits on the next). WHOOHOO.

 

Enjoy yourselves on the Eurodam and with the HAL service. Will you post a quick review on this board upon your return?

SP

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I have to say the only time I had a problem was on a HAL ship, the Zuiderdam, out of FLL. Shoot me for stereotyping, but there was a big group of name-tagged SOutherners onboard, though who they were I have no idea. After we'd docked next to a gay cruise, the CD made a kinda snarky joke at the show that night, and then when the Elton John impersonator made a joke about "tonight all being happy and gay," there were actually audible shouts of "No!" Later in the cruise, the second FOD luncheon was moved to a less visible spot in the dining room supposedly because (this is just hearsay) other pax complained. And an older man traveling with his younger bf told me we was given a whole lot of attitude, and ostracized by other passengers. At no point did HAL attempt to smooth things over. Could just be the CD, or the luck of the passenger-manifest draw, but the whole experience left a bad taste. I was traveling with my elderly Mom, a PFLAG type, and she found it all pretty disturbing, as well.

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I will have the pleasure of meeting Sweet P in January on the new Nieuw Amsterdam.

I have no concerns about the treatment we will receive on HAL.....

I figure the cocktail hour will be fun regardless as to whether there is a FOD gathering or not.

I intend to wear my Atlantis or RSVP lanyard around my neck with my cabin key....the crew zoom in on these things and always react favorably.

Jan 9th on Nieuw Amsterdam....a post holiday cruise to celebrate 2011....it will be fun!

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Second thoughts here: After posting above regarding "the only time I had a problem," I remembered a comedian who'd been on a Princess cruise that me and my partner took. He did a number of gay-oriented jokes that would have been fine in a mostly queer crowd, but felt very alienating when surrounded by straights in the middle of the ocean. (And I'm not hyper-sensitive about these things, though you'll have to take my word on that.) I spoke with him later, and he seemed genuinely surprised. He told me he was bi himself, that he'd never gotten complaints before (understandable, since approaching him and his wife on deck was a bit intimidating), and that he'd rethink his act. FWIW.

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My partner and I have been on 8 HAL cruises and have never felt discriminated against or uncomfortable with other passengers or crew. They always have a FOD however, except for the shorter cruises (one to two weeks), the number of gay passengers is very small. On a recent 10 week Australia, New Zealand cruise there were about a dozen of us, a very high number for this length cruise. On a world cruise a couple of years ago there were only about 4 others gays. Also, because as mentioned by others on this thread, on the longer cruises the passengers are mostly 50-90 some of these gays (it is not very difficult to spot them) are very closeted and do not want to mix with other gays. As if no one is going to figure them out! I love the spaciousness of the newer HAL ships and the food, especially on Grand Voyages, is extremely good, though not truly gourmet. I would not worry about your treatment on HAL. BTW, we always request, in writing, a FOD gathering on the day we board and carry with us a copy of a letter from the President of the line affirming FOD gatherings; just in case we run into a homophobic CD. We never have on HAL. Bon voyage!

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I believe the crew including the CD try and avoid any conflict all together whatever the "subject" of conflict. I don't think its in their nature, but I may be sterotyping too!

 

I feel that if ever I needed their assistance to deal with a situation, I am confident I would receive it if I asked for it (in private perhaps).

 

Hi Tom, nice to cross ePaths again.

 

I love the lanyard idea. I'll be looking for a rainbow one over the next 7 months (sigh), as suggested, it is a nice signal to other family who may be either pax or crew.

 

Janet & I are looking forward to meeting you Tom on the Neiw... Cannot wait to check out the new ship, new colour scheme which is so fabulous (relaxing). We MUST meet in the Silk Den for a cocktail or two or....more! Show off our lanyards :p

 

SP

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just in case we run into a homophobic CD. We never have on HAL. Bon voyage!

 

 

Actually, our only homophobic Cd was on HAL. On the westerdam, the CD made a joke during the show asking for a kiss (one presumes, from a woman) and some man called out. The CD said "this is a cruise ship, not a fairy boat." Some people boo'd (including us) and he said "obviously I was kidding." That he did this when he knew there was a group of 150 gay men on the ship seemed weird.

 

We complained to HAL afterward and never heard anything. I'm sure they would have taken a racist joke with more seriousness.

 

Isolated incident? Probably, but unless we've time warped back to 1950, it's not acceptable to ignore a compaint about it.

Edited by Schplinky
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I'm sorry to hear Schplinky of your experience with a HAL CD with poor taste in jokes (if truly that was what it was). Some people's children, eh!

 

You did the correct thing by reporting it. They will never learn unless these errors are pointed out. I hope over time they will all learn...never quick enough though!

 

SP

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  • 7 years later...

I also heard a comedian on Princess who I thought had gay-themed jokes that weren't funny, were alienating, and that seemed like an easy way to get a laugh from older passengers and those from the less sophisticated regions of the country. One of the statements made -which I heard on more than one cruise in response to various situations that the comedians deemed to be 'gay-ish' was that 'This is the Love Boat and not a ferry (fairy) boat." It was offensive to me and to my partner at that time. My partner's family owned the highest producing travel agency for Princess. We were treated excessively well and never complained about anything except this situation.The response was patronizing and without empathy. i believe things might have changed for better in recent years as the bigoted 'greatest generation' have died off.

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