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Unfriendly gays on cruises


tennboy1981
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I don't want this to sound like a rant, but it kinda sorta is. Has anyone noticed the influx of unfriendly gay couples on cruises? I mean I can sort of understand why a lot of gay couples are unfriendly or maybe dismissive. Maybe they are on a honeymoon, or just want a vacation together without any other men in the way, but it just sucks when you try to interact with other gay men on a "straight" cruise, and they just put their nose in the air at you.

 

Maybe it has to do with the cruise line? I was on a Carnival cruise about 2 weeks a go out of Jacksonville, FL. I saw very few gay couples, but the ones I did see, they were just all snobbish and dismissive. I just thought to myself "Umm guys this is a Carnival cruise, don't know where the snobbish attitude is coming from". Who knows, maybe I booked the cruise for insecure gay couples? Maybe Carnival specializes in a different type of gay? It was a shame. The LGBT get together, NO ONE showed up except me and one other gay man. Of course we were both single and we chatted for a while, but he turned out to be a weirdo....Im guessing there just isnt a lot of gay men who travel with Carnival....and of course its easy to figure out why.....

 

I went on a Norwegian cruise in 2015 and I met the coolest group of gay people. We had a group of us who got together every night, a couple times for dinner, it was the coolest thing ever. No one felt insecure or stuck up....it was awesome....but idk, this last cruise, just was bad.

 

So I'm probably going to be told its Carnival...and Im sure thats a big reason why.

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We cruise several times a year on Carnival's Elation (the redneck special) if fact we were on last week. We saw several gay couples who seemed to have no interest in meeting other gays. Carnival doesn't encourage gay get togethers. If they would schedule meetings during happy hours it would make a difference.

Also there are so many Southerner Rednecks that is just easier keeping a low profile..

 

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

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Next time, book your cruises with Cruising with Pride, Aqua Fest or Pied Piper. These are excellent companies that cater to the gay community. You will find diversity on their group cruises. I've done a total of 8 cruises with these companies. All positive experiences. Happy Cruising and best of luck.

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My partner and I are getting ready for our 7th Royal Caribbean cruise and our 9th cruise, overall. We have never failed to find outgoing gay couples (and some singles) on our cruises. Between the FOD gatherings and just wandering around the ship, meeting people and striking up quick chats, we're always surprised by how many other gay couples are on-board at the same time as us. On the last 2 cruises we took, we found more gays/lesbians participating in the various daily trivia type games, than were at the FOD gatherings. We've made a few friendships over the years on our various cruises and we keep in touch with all of these people on Facebook. There are many Canadians and Americans from the Midwest and Northeast who escape the winter back home for a week's vacation and relaxation. I can't speak too much about cruise lines other than Royal Caribbean, but on Royal, it would be damn hard to swing a dead cat by the tail and not hit a bunch of gay crew members.....they are everywhere! Aside from 1 or 2 staff persons that I can really remember for their lousy attitude, that seems to be the exception and not the rule. That is one of the reasons that we continue to take our cruises with Royal Caribbean. We've never sailed on Carnival and I don't see that happening. Between the first hand accounts from friends of bad experiences with staff, fellow passengers, food, entertainment, cabins, etc... who've sailed on Carnival ships and what I read on Cruise Critic, we're totally put off by the idea. I've heard the same comment made about Carnival not really bothering to do anything to either encourage or promote gay-centric social events, on their ships. If you haven't already done so, give Royal Caribbean a try the next time you decide to do a cruise.

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I have found it is either hit or miss when meeting fellow gay travelers. In the past six years I have done 5 Repositioning Cruises on Celebrity. There have always been a good amount of gay people represented on these trips. On my last cruise there must have been at least 50 gay men. At FOD there were two groups of German and English men in there 30's & 40's. They did not mingle. I am in my late 50's. It could be an age thing? In most of the cruises I find fellow gay travelers friendly. We often make friends with straight people onboard. My word of advice "birds of a feather." This holds true with gay people too!

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Next time, book your cruises with Cruising with Pride, Aqua Fest or Pied Piper. These are excellent companies that cater to the gay community. You will find diversity on their group cruises. I've done a total of 8 cruises with these companies. All positive experiences. Happy Cruising and best of luck.

 

All gay cruises have their drawbacks.. I don't go cruising to meet gay people. If I do that is nice but not necessary. Personally I feel a gay tension every time I walk out of the cabin on a gay cruise.

 

I have found Trans Atlantic cruises to be a good venue for meeting gay ladies and gentlemen.

 

I am not fond of paying a queer tax to watch a drag show every night.

 

To each his own.. I am glad we all do not like the same thing.

 

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

655 days at sea

74 cruises

14 cruise lines

T/P, T/A, Hawaii,Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific, Rio/ Amazon,Alaska

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My partner and I are getting ready for our 7th Royal Caribbean cruise and our 9th cruise, overall. We have never failed to find outgoing gay couples (and some singles) on our cruises. Between the FOD gatherings and just wandering around the ship, meeting people and striking up quick chats, we're always surprised by how many other gay couples are on-board at the same time as us. On the last 2 cruises we took, we found more gays/lesbians participating in the various daily trivia type games, than were at the FOD gatherings. We've made a few friendships over the years on our various cruises and we keep in touch with all of these people on Facebook. There are many Canadians and Americans from the Midwest and Northeast who escape the winter back home for a week's vacation and relaxation. I can't speak too much about cruise lines other than Royal Caribbean, but on Royal, it would be damn hard to swing a dead cat by the tail and not hit a bunch of gay crew members.....they are everywhere! Aside from 1 or 2 staff persons that I can really remember for their lousy attitude, that seems to be the exception and not the rule. That is one of the reasons that we continue to take our cruises with Royal Caribbean. We've never sailed on Carnival and I don't see that happening. Between the first hand accounts from friends of bad experiences with staff, fellow passengers, food, entertainment, cabins, etc... who've sailed on Carnival ships and what I read on Cruise Critic, we're totally put off by the idea. I've heard the same comment made about Carnival not really bothering to do anything to either encourage or promote gay-centric social events, on their ships. If you haven't already done so, give Royal Caribbean a try the next time you decide to do a cruise.

 

We are very fond of Royal Caribbean..

Dennis

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Hmmm...here’s my perspective.

I talk to strangers for a living...I have no interest in doing that on vacation too. Not snobby...just trying to unwind and have fun. I also don’t seek out gay-centric activities....I enjoy the things I’m interested in, which has no relevance on my (or anyone else’s) sexual orientation.

 

 

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I am a very social person and could talk to anyone -gay or not- but the thing is that my BF doesn't speak English pretty well so while I'm chatting and having fun he really is having a hard time, so most times I feel bad for him and kinda guilty as I'm having a good time but he really isn't. Its not that he doesn't want to talk to people but he just struggles with it.

 

On a Norwegian Epic TA in 2014 we met a pretty cool gay group that gets together every other year to do the same voyage on the same ship, we still keep in touch via Facebook. The next year we did another TA but on the Allure and there was a guy who saw us in the Epic last year. We didn't talk then but on the Allure he approached us and talked for a bit. We haven't done another transatlantic since 2015 but I'm sure I would run into them again.

 

So if you see us on a cruise, it's not that we are stuck up or anything lol.

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We are very fond of Royal Caribbean..

Dennis

We've enjoyed all of our previous RCI cruises and our upcoming one should be no different. This will be our 3rd sailing on the Adventure of the Seas. Before we started accumulating our Crown & Anchor points, we did one sailing each on Princess and Celebrity, out of San Juan. Those were fine cruises, but the itineraries for each cruise was not as nice, compared with RCI's. My one minor complaint with Celebrity is that the Celebrity Summit is a very boring ship in terms of amenities on-board and it's the only ship based in San Juan. RCI has the Adventure, Serenade and Jewel to pick from. Our last cruise in Dec. 2016 was on the Jewel of the Seas, shortly after her renovation and it was like sailing on a brand new ship! We lucked out with getting one of the new deluxe balcony suites, added as part of the renovation on deck 11. We'll definitely go back for another sailing on the Jewel, in the future.

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No matter what one's reasons for wanton to be alone and not mingle (and these are perfectly valid feelings that shouldn't beed to be explained) there is no excuse for not returning a greeting or a smile.

Exactly so! That's just being a decent human being.

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We've only been on two cruises - we have 2 more planned over the next 18 months. We have seen couples who we think are gay but never approached them. We are not snobbish, elitist, or anything like that but we are a quiet couple. I am chatty and will talk to anyone at anytime -much to the chagrin of my partner who is more shy than me.

 

We enjoy socializing with straights or gays and like humour, interesting stories, conversation - all the good stuff. We are very liberal people, union supporters, left leaning, animal lovers (4 cats), and we avoid topics like gun culture, bans on immigrants, and American politics (although I don;t mind if you talk your head off with my partner about US politics so that I can have a reprieve). I think that we both value animals more than people - at least our pets we do. We had euthanize one of cats the day before we left on a cruise 2 years ago and we both cried so heavily. I was more upset with Lila's death than that of my parents (even my mom!).

 

Anyway, we are on two Princess cruises next - in October 2018 we are on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii from Vancouver and February 2019 we are celebrating my partner's 60th birthday by going through the Panama Canal (San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale). Always welcoming.

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I don't want this to sound like a rant, but it kinda sorta is. Has anyone noticed the influx of unfriendly gay couples on cruises? I mean I can sort of understand why a lot of gay couples are unfriendly or maybe dismissive. Maybe they are on a honeymoon, or just want a vacation together without any other men in the way, but it just sucks when you try to interact with other gay men on a "straight" cruise, and they just put their nose in the air at you.

 

Maybe it has to do with the cruise line? I was on a Carnival cruise about 2 weeks a go out of Jacksonville, FL. I saw very few gay couples, but the ones I did see, they were just all snobbish and dismissive. I just thought to myself "Umm guys this is a Carnival cruise, don't know where the snobbish attitude is coming from". Who knows, maybe I booked the cruise for insecure gay couples? Maybe Carnival specializes in a different type of gay? It was a shame. The LGBT get together, NO ONE showed up except me and one other gay man. Of course we were both single and we chatted for a while, but he turned out to be a weirdo....Im guessing there just isnt a lot of gay men who travel with Carnival....and of course its easy to figure out why.....

 

I went on a Norwegian cruise in 2015 and I met the coolest group of gay people. We had a group of us who got together every night, a couple times for dinner, it was the coolest thing ever. No one felt insecure or stuck up....it was awesome....but idk, this last cruise, just was bad.

 

So I'm probably going to be told its Carnival...and Im sure thats a big reason why.

 

Well, I've been on all gay cruises, cruises with gay groups, and standard cruises. I do think gays tend to be friendlier on all gay cruises because the whole ship is gay and activities are highly geared to gays. Gay groups can be fun since there are social activities geared towards the gay group so that offers the opportunity to meet gays. Standard cruises are a bit tougher to meet gays since whatever social tends to be a bar event and late at night and you can't just assume that two guys or gals together are gay and want to speak with you. I still have found both friendly and unfriendly guys on all cruises, from all gay to standard. I have had an easier time meeting gays on gay or gay group cruises, but I am more of a group person... I noticed that you decided that the one other gay person that you happen to meet was a "weirdo". Are you perhaps being too dismissive and judgmental, and perhaps projecting the 'unfriendliness' or 'snobbishness' that you complain about?

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Our experience has been positive on NCL in terms of meeting other gay couples and solo travelers, but this was facilitated by the posted LGBT (FOD) get togethers, occasionally hosted unofficially by someone from the CD staff. We had some fun impromptu events and dinners grow out of it.

 

On Azamara, we’ve met and talked to other gay couples... but on a smaller ship, it was more like, “hey, there’s another gay couple in the neighborhood.” However, friendly hellos were the norm.

 

On Crystal, most everybody was snooty, the other gay couples seemed especially standoffish when we would smile or nod.

 

On Avalon, there were no other gay couples were on our cruise, but we quickly became the sought after table mates for several straight couples, maybe for our brilliant and witty table conversation. It was so funny, even the entertainment they brought on seemed to gravitate toward us for drinks after their act... one singer even called us out in her act saying, “hey, my boys are here!” LOL.

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We've done quite a few cruises on several different lines, and I will say it does seem hardest to meet other gay couples on Carnival. NCL is by far the best. We've had one Carnival that had a great crowd at the LGBT gathering every night, but I think because it left out of Puerto Rico instead of the states, it drew a different clientele.

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Maybe I'm spoiled because I live a 15-minute walk from the Castro, but I'm surrounded by queers every day and just the fact that someone shares my sexual orientation no longer makes me automatically think he and I share much of anything else. I usually stop into at least the first couple LGBT meetings and I've met some good folks that way, including people we hung out with throughout a cruise. But after a couple dozen cruises, I've somewhat tired of cocktail-hour group conversations about past cruises and social life in Palm Springs.

 

It's not like I go up to every queer guy I see on the street and introduce myself, thinking we'll have so much in common. Sure, they're not gonna be homophobic. But then, the most appalling anti-trans rant I've heard onboard came from a gay guy at an LGBT meeting.

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Partner and I (20 years together) have cruised many times and find it is a hit or miss on any ship. FOD meetings are great, but not always, but we always go to the first one and meet who is there. Sometimes a group clicks, other times not. We mostly enjoy meeting people, chatting, having fun no matter the gender or sexual orientation. We find it is much like going out to a bar...hit or miss. You can tell the veteran cruisers that know it is about meeting people and enjoying the time away. We have never been on a gay cruise, don't want to pay the extra money to stand around and model and be judged. We have found that we click much more with transatlantic/repo cruises as we are stuck on the ship longer. Long lasting friends, only a couple. Overall, we go to enjoy and hopefully meet people.

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But after a couple dozen cruises, I've somewhat tired of cocktail-hour group conversations about past cruises and social life in Palm Springs. ( Ft Lauderdale)

quote]

 

How true gave me a giggle...

Dennis

Jacksonville, fl

655 days at sea

74 cruises

14 cruise lines

T/P, T/A, Hawaii,Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific, Rio/ Amazon,Alaska

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I don't want this to sound like a rant, but it kinda sorta is. Has anyone noticed the influx of unfriendly gay couples on cruises? I mean I can sort of understand why a lot of gay couples are unfriendly or maybe dismissive. Maybe they are on a honeymoon, or just want a vacation together without any other men in the way, but it just sucks when you try to interact with other gay men on a "straight" cruise, and they just put their nose in the air at you.

 

Maybe it has to do with the cruise line? I was on a Carnival cruise about 2 weeks a go out of Jacksonville, FL. I saw very few gay couples, but the ones I did see, they were just all snobbish and dismissive. I just thought to myself "Umm guys this is a Carnival cruise, don't know where the snobbish attitude is coming from". Who knows, maybe I booked the cruise for insecure gay couples? Maybe Carnival specializes in a different type of gay? It was a shame. The LGBT get together, NO ONE showed up except me and one other gay man. Of course we were both single and we chatted for a while, but he turned out to be a weirdo....Im guessing there just isnt a lot of gay men who travel with Carnival....and of course its easy to figure out why.....

 

I went on a Norwegian cruise in 2015 and I met the coolest group of gay people. We had a group of us who got together every night, a couple times for dinner, it was the coolest thing ever. No one felt insecure or stuck up....it was awesome....but idk, this last cruise, just was bad.

 

So I'm probably going to be told its Carnival...and Im sure thats a big reason why.

 

Define "snobbish and dismissive?"

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I've only done two cruises with Viking (river) and one coming up in Dec 2018 on NCL. We met a few couples on our first Viking cruise but didn't talk to them very much because we were hanging out with some straight couples we met.

 

I'm looking at the roll call for NCL. I'm not sure how to find FOD meetings unless maybe in the roll call in this forum. Maybe I need to organize things myself.

 

I wouldn't do a gay cruise, ads always show shirtless hunks and I am not like that. Maybe people are standoffish because they feel threatened having a stranger talk to their spouse/partner.

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I'm looking at the roll call for NCL. I'm not sure how to find FOD meetings unless maybe in the roll call in this forum. Maybe I need to organize things myself.

 

The FOD meetings are posted on the dailies. Below is a sample from ncl escape (thanks to POA1). 94c1f3375baef3133a32df9e44a08238.jpg

 

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The main problem with attending the FOD gatherings is that they are typically in a very popular venue and so the area is soon overwhelmed with straight passengers. The times are typically not workable, a much better time, in my view anyway, would be after dinner, say 11 o’clock.

 

I agree NCL have been the best for us so far and with Avalon we had a super time and where is demand with the straight guests.

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