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any bear groups or guys taking a cruise in 2013?

REALgetaway

By REALgetaway,
in LGBTQIA+ Cruisers

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  • 2 weeks later...
N2Cruzin

N2Cruzin

Posted
Posted

hello all....

 

I'm an avid cruiser....34 in all, with the last aboard the Celebrity Solstice in Australia and New Zealand. BUT now, I'm looking to change things up a bit and try something new as I am a nearly new single guy.... to get out there again so to speak.... No, I'm not looking for hook-ups but interested in meeting new friends, make some memories and see how these cruises are.... What I'd like is some insight from you from your experiences on these group cruises....how is it for single guys as I think I'm hearing that its mainly partnered couples....or is it? What are the pluses and minuses from your experiences? I've booked one for this fall but unsure about it.... Thanks for your insight and advice...my email is below if you want to send me a note...thanks so much....

 

Steve

Srileywdw@aol.com

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bbenson

bbenson

Posted
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I'll drop you an email but I wanted to post a reply here as well since other people may have a similar question.

 

I've done three "bear" cruises and it's a mixed bag. roughly 50% couple 50% singles. It's friendly and welcoming and very much NOT a meat market. Yes people can and do hook up but mostly just guys looking to hang by the pool, enjoy some snorkeling/excursions, and dance the night away.

 

As with any situation it's what you choose to make of it. Being newly single again myself this is one of the things I missed most when I was partnered because my partner got horribly sea sick and refused to cruise.

 

The pluses are that you're with a group, size can vary but the ones I did were all 300+ guys. You had your own dinning time and tables with open seating. You didn't have to pay the premium fare that you'd pay on an all gay charter. The minuses, if you want to consider them that, were that it wasn't an all gay charter so you did at times have to share the ship with closed minded people. There were never any incidents but you are aware that the potential is there. Most of the cruisers were fantastically friendly, gay and straight. The group cruises sometimes have their own parties/events but they weren't all nighters every night like on a charter and they don't bring in special entertainment.

 

I was single for all three of my bear group cruises and an RSVP cruise and I never had a minute of regret(well,not about the cruise anyway) on any of them. Now that I'm single again, I know I'll be headed back to both in the future. Hope this helps.

 

Brian

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JonAlone

JonAlone

Posted
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As with any situation it's what you choose to make of it. Being newly single again myself this is one of the things I missed most when I was partnered because my partner got horribly sea sick and refused to cruise.

 

Brian

 

The only year you didn't cruise was 2007... did you go alone or did you bring him a bucket?

 

I love the TAs on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, usually a nice mix of bears and admirers to have a good time. It is very very rare that someone is homophobic.. I only had that once on Silhouette, Holyland tour 2011 - After a day at the holocaust museum and touring Israel, I had the misfortune to be short of tablemates for dinner and got seated with 2 born again christains. They didn't like my Jewish religion and then preached to me about the wrongs of choosing to be gay:- damnation etc etc... Laughably, they were both on their third marriages, and he could hardly breath due to lung problems... I noted his illness and discomfort, expressed my concern for his troubled breathing and oxygen cylinder and said "wow, that must be hell! "

I then left the table and dined somewhere else..

 

ps.. no spelling mistakes here that weren't intentional.

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REALgetaway

REALgetaway

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Hello

 

My friends and I will be on Carnival Miracle on the Mexican Riviera beginning Oct 6th 2013 for our friends 25th anniversary. My partner and I will also be in a small way celebrating our 23rd anniversary. :)

 

We are looking for other men to meet up with for dinner or drinks or just to chat and get to meet some other friendly guys.

 

 

 

 

I am part of a gay group that gets together at least once a year... we have done mostly the Mexican Riviera (and will do the MexRiv again) but we are looking at Alaska for September 2013.

 

We generally are about 40 guys, all types, but bears predominate ;) it seems. We put it together ourselves, look for bargains, and share the group benefits among the group members. We have been sticking with Carnival for the value and have not regretted it. Right now we are exploring the 7 day on the Miracle.

 

I will be checking out the Bear cruises mentioned....

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REALgetaway

REALgetaway

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Good insight Brian, thanks for sharing it. My partner of 23 yrs and I will be joining two other couples this Oct 6th 2013 to cruise to Mexico. we're all budget minded and can't often afford the more premium cruise lines.. but it's still an enjoyable time.

 

At some point we would like to take an all gay or bear cruise down the road.

 

thanks AL

 

 

I'll drop you an email but I wanted to post a reply here as well since other people may have a similar question.

 

I've done three "bear" cruises and it's a mixed bag. roughly 50% couple 50% singles. It's friendly and welcoming and very much NOT a meat market. Yes people can and do hook up but mostly just guys looking to hang by the pool, enjoy some snorkeling/excursions, and dance the night away.

 

As with any situation it's what you choose to make of it. Being newly single again myself this is one of the things I missed most when I was partnered because my partner got horribly sea sick and refused to cruise.

 

The pluses are that you're with a group, size can vary but the ones I did were all 300+ guys. You had your own dinning time and tables with open seating. You didn't have to pay the premium fare that you'd pay on an all gay charter. The minuses, if you want to consider them that, were that it wasn't an all gay charter so you did at times have to share the ship with closed minded people. There were never any incidents but you are aware that the potential is there. Most of the cruisers were fantastically friendly, gay and straight. The group cruises sometimes have their own parties/events but they weren't all nighters every night like on a charter and they don't bring in special entertainment.

 

I was single for all three of my bear group cruises and an RSVP cruise and I never had a minute of regret(well,not about the cruise anyway) on any of them. Now that I'm single again, I know I'll be headed back to both in the future. Hope this helps.

 

Brian

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  • 2 weeks later...
jnky

jnky

Posted
Posted
My partner and I will be booking a cruise via Chumley's BearCruises (November 3rd-10th, 2013). It's our first time booking with this group. Looking forward to sailing on the brand new Royal Princess and meeting new friends! We are also working on convincing some additional friends to join us.

 

I'm booked on that cruise as well and am so excited about it. My friends and I were on board last year for the first time, and it was a superb trip. This year, it's the inaugural 7-day Caribbean sailing on the brand new Royal Princess, which will be a fantastic ship. Princess treated us very well, and I anticipate no less this trip.

Cheers!

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DeadMenTellNo Tales

DeadMenTellNo Tales

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I'm booked on that cruise as well and am so excited about it. My friends and I were on board last year for the first time, and it was a superb trip. This year, it's the inaugural 7-day Caribbean sailing on the brand new Royal Princess, which will be a fantastic ship. Princess treated us very well, and I anticipate no less this trip.

 

Cheers!

 

That's great to hear! There is now a group of 6 in total that will be joining from the San Diego area. We are excited since it's our first time cruising with this group. Except for me, it's the rest of the group's first time cruising. :D With the post on Chumley's FB page it looks like a friendly group of guys. Can't wait!

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jnky

jnky

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That's great to hear! There is now a group of 6 in total that will be joining from the San Diego area. We are excited since it's our first time cruising with this group. Except for me, it's the rest of the group's first time cruising. :D With the post on Chumley's FB page it looks like a friendly group of guys. Can't wait!

 

It IS a very friendly fun group. No attitude, guys from all over the world coming together just for fun and relaxation. The Chumley FB page is a wealth of information. There is a yahoo group too, that you need an invite to from Chumley, unless they do away with it this year. That was where most of the vital information was posted last year.

Cruise virgins.... ahhhh....they are fun. Love to see the reaction of being on a cruise for the first time. Being on a bear cruise will be an even better bonus!

J Nathan

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rikig1969

rikig1969

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I am part of a gay group that gets together at least once a year... we have done mostly the Mexican Riviera (and will do the MexRiv again) but we are looking at Alaska for September 2013.

 

We generally are about 40 guys, all types, but bears predominate ;) it seems. We put it together ourselves, look for bargains, and share the group benefits among the group members. We have been sticking with Carnival for the value and have not regretted it. Right now we are exploring the 7 day on the Miracle.

 

I will be checking out the Bear cruises mentioned....

Kenito:

 

My Partner and I will be sailing aboard the Carnival Miracle 10/6/13 celebrating our 25th anniversary... you mentioned looking at the Miracle, if you've not booked yet, I hope you can book that one and join us! So far 2 other couples are joining us. :)

 

Let me know!

Richard

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rikig1969

rikig1969

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Hey, Al! I found your post!

 

We're the friends celebrating our 25th anniversary. So hopefully, others can join us on this trip!

We've got a roll call set up:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=37529744#post37529744

 

If you're joining us, post there!

Richard :D

 

Hello

 

My friends and I will be on Carnival Miracle on the Mexican Riviera beginning Oct 6th 2013 for our friends 25th anniversary. My partner and I will also be in a small way celebrating our 23rd anniversary. :)

 

We are looking for other men to meet up with for dinner or drinks or just to chat and get to meet some other friendly guys.

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rikig1969

rikig1969

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Posted
My Partner & I are doing our first ever cruise on the Celebrity Equinox Nov 1st this year from Barcelona, Must say I am a bit nervous ......

 

I wouldn't let what's recently been in the news with cruise ships affect you. Think about it this way, at any given moment, there are hundreds of ships out at sea, with no problems whatsoever. The news media likes to sensationalize when something happens, just like they do when anything happens with an airplane.

 

Don't be nervous, enjoy your cruise, and have fun!

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  • 2 weeks later...
dwgorg

dwgorg

Posted
Posted

Hello, Hello!

 

A group of us are going on OASIS OF THE SEAS November 9, 2013 departing from Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale). 7 day cruise. It's the world's largest cruise ship and this specific sailing is on sale as well!

 

we all book directly on their website http://www.rccl.com

 

We're a fun group of about 10 people all from St. Louis. So, join us.

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  • 3 months later...

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