First time cruisers...desperately seeking info, tips..

[QCNash09]

We're a fortysomething couple going on our first cruise this November on HAL Eurodam. Honestly don't know what to expect.

 

We're a pretty private couple and one of us is in the closet due to occupation, but we're hoping to feel at ease about being a "couple".

 

How bout clothes to take (eastern carribbean), travel agent said formal nights aren't as formal and can get by with a shirt and tie, no coat. We don't want to be out of place if every one else wears coats...LOTS of unknown for us!

 

Thanks for any info, tips, help!

[DFWGUYZ]

Welcome to CC. We are 62 and 51 GWMs (couple of 35 years). While we have sailed with the upper stiff lip of Cunard back in ’93 then Carnival twice in the early 00’s then NCL in 2010 and most recently with Holland America in 2012 we have to say that Holland is now our first choice when looking at booking a new cruise. However, itinerary, and dates of travel do have an influence on line. We have found Holland America to be pretty much what is advertised, Signature of Excellence. We had very attentive service for the most parts but not obtrusive from cabin service to dining service.

As a gay couple we were treated with professionalism, courtesy and basic respect that was expected. No mention or mentions were made to bring to attention that we were clearly “together”. In fact our cabin stewards appeared to be a couple themselves. While seeing them in port in San Juan together getting basic essentials and then walking back to the ship with them made for a validating conversation.

As far as your inquiry about Formal attire…us old guys have our tuxes and white dinner jackets so we continue to bring them along but a darker suite and or sport coat with khakis and perhaps a sporty bow tie are most acceptable for the “formal nights”. One solution should one at least want to wear a white dinner jacket perhaps on the last formal night is …Cruise Line Formal Wear…rates really aren’t too aggressive and it sure makes for some good photos! Check them out @ criuselineformalwear.com and no packing! Feel free to contact us should you have any other questions @ DFWGUYZ@gmail dot com.

Calm seas and following winds

[bobnjeff]

First thing to remember is that odds are no one on board will know you and you will never run into them again unless you choose to. So do not feel up-

tight be free to be a couple and relax.

 

We have sailed on NCL, RCCL, Carnival (ugh!), a couple of other lines but most recently on Celebrity and HAL. We have been cruising since our honeymoon over 25 years ago. I was terrified to go on the first one feeling that we would stick out and not be able to enjoy ourselves but I was so wrong. We have had so many wonderful cruises and met so many great people. We always ask for a table of eight or more at dinner and we have always had great times. I am usually very shy and quiet at home but on a cruise it is so easy to relax and enjoy.

 

I know it can be a pain to deal with the dress up part of dinner but we now love it. We have the tuxes and all starting with our 2nd cruise 25 years ago. I would at least bring a sports jacket. If packing is a problem wear it as your jacket on the plane. There is often a place for guys to hang jackets as you board the plane and often the stewards will offer to hang it for you. If not use it it as a blanket over your legs or carefully fold it liner side out and put it on top of your carry on in the overhead.

 

HAL is perhaps my favorite line but we usually sail on Celebrity since they seem to have better prices. The service, food and setting on HAL are great. Look for the FOD meetings that will be noted in the daily news letter on board. If you haven't put up a thread here to see if anyone else is on the same cruise. Also go to the regular thread and read thru the posts to see what others are doing in the ports such as private excursions which are usually better and much less expensive then the ones offered but HAL. Do not be affraid to join in the regular thread, ask questions, ask to join a private tour etc. We have done so many times and have never had a bad experience only great ones. We once shared a car rental with a straight couple from Dallas that we found on the straight treads in Iceland and Scotland. We arranged the rental then posted to share it. They asked to join us. I was a bit nervous but when we got together on the ship we hit it off and had two of the most memorable days of all our cruising I still think about all the laughs we had. It was so much fun.

 

Well enough from me. Have a great cruise. We are going on the Celebrity Constelation end of Nov. For her trans Atlantic this year. We love the days at sea. Nothing to do but relax and enjoy!

[COMBOY]

We're a fortysomething couple going on our first cruise this November on HAL Eurodam. Honestly don't know what to expect.

 

We're a pretty private couple and one of us is in the closet due to occupation, but we're hoping to feel at ease about being a "couple".

 

How bout clothes to take (eastern carribbean), travel agent said formal nights aren't as formal and can get by with a shirt and tie, no coat. We don't want to be out of place if every one else wears coats...LOTS of unknown for us!

 

Thanks for any info, tips, help!

 

First of all....relax. Don't worry. Remember it's a vacation; not surgery. LOL You will be fine. Cruisecritic has a ton on information for the first time cruises. There is so much information about cruising that it would be impossible to list everything so I will give you links to various section that should help you plan your cruise. If you have additions questions, please post them and we will try to answer them for you.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ftc/

 

This next section give you all the basis with gay cruising (mainstream & all gay charters) including information on FOD/GLBT on board gatherings.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/area.cfm?area=24

 

Go to the roll call section of the G&L board and see if someone has started a roll call for your sailing. If not...go ahead and start a new thread. This is a great way to connect with GLBT people going on your sailing.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=686

 

Next...see if there is a regular (non-gay) roll call for your cruise. There is no reason you can't connect with others on your ship. You can post questions for your cruise and get feed back directly from those sailing with you. Straight folks aren't all that bad. LOL

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=446

 

Lastly....read as many reviews for your ship. You can learn a lot from those you just sailed on your ship. What to do and what to avoid. However, try to focus on those object reviews and throw out the best and worst reviews. Remember, people can be very subjective and sometimes their reviews are a tad overgeneralized & dramatized. But some of them are still fun to read.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=405

 

I hope this helps. Happy cruising.

[Kenito]

Hi... welcome to cruising... you are going to enjoy it.

I would not worry about anyone noticing you are a couple... there are so many people aboard, it may only be obvious to your dinner companions in the main dining room. That said, I have never experienced anything uncomfortable or unpleasant. It will be a great opportunity to enjoy yourself.

Unless you hate to put a jacket and tie for dinner, I'd recommend that, but above all, be comfortable. I do think you will find most will be in blazers or suits for dinner on HAL.

I'd expect to see meeting notices of "Friends of Dorothy" or some other GLBT nomenclature for a meeting or cocktail reception every evening where you will have a chance to meet and say hello to other gay passengers, and often a gay crew member will attend. They are usually pretty small and discreet, so go and have a good time. No one notices or cares... everyone has their own schedule and goals... they are not looking to point fingers at the "gays" and I find cruisers are broad-minded and expect to see gay couples sailing.

Unless you have travel restrictions related to packing, take as much as you want... unpack as soon as you get in the room to let the wrinkles fall out. Dry cleaning is available, and you usually can request an iron. I'm a clothes horse and always take way more than I need!

Keep asking questions, but relax and enjoy. It's going to be great. :)

[Boytjie]

Unless you have travel restrictions related to packing, take as much as you want... unpack as soon as you get in the room to let the wrinkles fall out. Dry cleaning is available, and you usually can request an iron.

 

Are there cruise lines that will give you an iron to use in your cabin? :confused: I have not heard of that onboard HAL. The smaller HAL ships have self-service laundries, but larger ones like the Eurodam do not. One can always request pressing service or just hang it in the bathroom when taking a steamy shower to get most of the wrinkles out.

[QCNash09]

Thanks everyone for the good info so far.

 

We are a pretty casual couple, but it sounds like the consensus is to take along our sportcoats. A good tip to maybe wear it on our flight to save luggage space! On the nights other than formal, I assume that a nice sport shirt with khaki's or the like is acceptable.

 

You all mentioned there are LGBT meeting/get togethers on the Eurodam. My partner asked "what would we do or say, just introduce ourselves?" I was wondering if its like a happy hour where you come and go as you please or more structured with games or speeches, etc.

 

Pardon my repetition if I can find some of these answers elsewhere on this site, but I've had good luck posting here.

 

Once again, thanks for the info. I'm sure you will be hearing from me again! :)

[Kenito]

Are there cruise lines that will give you an iron to use in your cabin? :confused: I have not heard of that onboard HAL. The smaller HAL ships have self-service laundries, but larger ones like the Eurodam do not. One can always request pressing service or just hang it in the bathroom when taking a steamy shower to get most of the wrinkles out.

 

You may (probably) are correct about irons because of fire issues.

[Kenito]

Thanks everyone for the good info so far.

 

On the nights other than formal, I assume that a nice sport shirt with khaki's or the like is acceptable.

 

You all mentioned there are LGBT meeting/get togethers on the Eurodam. My partner asked "what would we do or say, just introduce ourselves?" I was wondering if its like a happy hour where you come and go as you please or more structured with games or speeches, etc.

 

Pardon my repetition if I can find some of these answers elsewhere on this site, but I've had good luck posting here.

 

Once again, thanks for the info. I'm sure you will be hearing from me again! :)

 

Yes... sport shirt, polo, etc., are fine the rest of the time in the main dining room. The buffet can be even more casual of course.

At the "Friends of Dorothy" or whatever they are calling it on HAL it is usually just a "mixer" sort of thing... they will anounce the time and place and it is usually at a bar where you can order something and stand around to say hello and meet a new friend. If you see a ship's name tag, then you know there is a crew or staff member present... introduce yourselves to them and anyone else who looks interesting!

Once they find out this is your first cruise, everyone will want to ask questions and tell you everything you need to know. Very informal... you don't have to do or say much. Only that which you are comfortable doing or saying! ;)

[bdpnatl]

I cannot speak to HAL since we have not sailed on that line, but our experience as a 40 something couple on Celebrity has been great. We have never been made to feel awkward by any of our dinner companions, the ships crew or any of the other passengers. It has never been a problem with any room attendants that two men are sleeping on one bed and any and all requests we have made were always accomodated. We have friends the do cruise on HAL and their experience has matched ours. I do not think you will have any issues.

 

I think the HAL FOD or LGBT meet ups are better organized than at Celebrity. However, we have yet to be on a cruise where we did not meet other couples and singles at the evening meet up. It has always provided us with others to chat with about their experiences and advice on ports and traveling as well as introducing us to people we still keep in contact with and have sailed with again. It is very much a Happy Hour with people coming and going based on dinner plans. We have found that it does take the initial push to actually go up and introduce yourselves, but after that, you meet more and more people.

 

Overall I think you will have a great time on the cruise and might even get hooked, like we have.

[Kenito]

Ah! The beds!

Often when the room stewards see two males in the room they will set the beds as two twins. Some of the online reservations will ask... but either way if your room is set for two twins and you prefer one queen... uh, "queen size" bed... by all means mention it to the room steward right away!

As mentioned... any requests in this regard will be accomodated to your satisfaction without note.

I organize group cruises, and one year I had to go speak to the maitre 'd about changing some tables in our area, and she just came with me for a look. She saw us and said "what are you guys, a men's ski team?" and with that decided to make the motion of "swishing" down the slopes... arms moving as if moving the poles. Well, it looked silly and somehow erotic... she recognized how it looked about the same time as we did, and we started teasing her... she started blushing... we had the whole area of the dining room laughing and joking about it.

She even sent over some wine and visited with us several times during our cruise.

The point is that we all were matter of fact about it... everyone had a good sense of humor... and not a single person had anything but approving comments and gestures of friendship.

Enjoy your cruise... cruisers are generally very gay friendly!

[Doonan]

Hal is great to travel on and sure you will meet lots of nice people.

 

As we travel a long way from Australia the Tux is out due packing and airlines baggage weight ... But suggest you make sure you have a jacket and tie and suitable shirt for the formal nights. (We always take a suit and a blazer).

 

We like the late seating for dinner as it gives more time early evening for a coctail and FOD meets without a rush. Also if in the Carib, with stops when you get back aboard from a day on an island you have time to relax before dinner.

 

Table ... we always go for a table for 8 ... this way we meet other people. As someone else said many of these have become friends over the years.

 

As a couple we have never had any problems with the crew or other passengers from the Captain down.

 

Sure you will have a great time

 

Neil

[CtheW0rld]

hal is pretty open-minded. they even have nude charters :eek:

 

i've sailed with hal a couple times and never felt 'odd'

[MiamiSpartan]

We sailed on HAL a few years back, and had a great time! Met up with approx 25 other gays, but also spent some great time with our table mates who were born again Christians from Idaho and the Central Valley, CA....

[Denpetter]

Join us on the Allure of the Seas on Nov 25th, 2012

[BellBoys]

We sailed the Eastern Caribbean on Eurodam in February of this year and had a great time. We never felt out of place or uncomfortable in any way.

 

Cabin: our travel agent or an agent at Holland America can care for your bed preference prior to departure. We had requested one bed and as we were in a suite our bed was a king sized bed. Our cabin stewards were fantastic and referred to us as Master John and Master Mark even though we insisted they call us just by our first names. We did have breakfast in the room and again the attendant that delivered the food didn't even notice the one bed nor do I think really cared.

 

Dress Code/Dining: definitely bring a sport coat. We wore dark suits the first formal night and felt fine. On our cruise maybe 20 men wore black tie and the rest in suits. Non formal nights a pair of khakis and collared shirt were appropriate. If you eat in the Lido the standards are very casual and saw many fellow passengers in shorts and t-shirts for dinner. Of the two formal nights we just didn't care or see the need to dress up for the second one. Its the Caribbean and we wanted to be casual so we had dinner delivered on that night and after dinner we ventured out in business casual attire and felt fine. We dined once in the MDR as open seating so we had a table for two, but some of the other LGBT passengers had set dining with other couples who they said were extremely accepting of them as couples.

 

FOD: the venue was primarily at the Silk Den which is private and tucked away. By far the best bar on board as the views are wonderful and was mostly empty each night. There were about 15 fellow LGBT passengers who we met each night and had a great time. We actually stay in contact with a few of them. Look for your FOD event in the daily program delivered to your room.

 

Overall the staff make the ship. They are warm, cordial and extremely service oriented. Everyone says hello and after the second time they know your name which is amazing. Our fellow passengers did skew towards a over 55 crowd but that was not an issue as we both are in our early 40's and wanted a low-key cruise. We were so impressed and comfortable with the ship that we booked Nieuw Amsterdam for a sailing next month.

 

Enjoy!

[GaNavy]

12 cruises and counting...never had any problems feeling comfortable, there will be plenty of family onboard, and I agree with others you'll have a great time.

 

I suggest that behaviorally you should be at least as comfortable with your partner as you would be at home. Why hide anything, you'll never see any of those people again anyway except any that you may choose. Public displays of affection are up to you - suggest you keep it tasteful but otherwise, see the preceding sentence. :)

 

Hope to see you on the high seas someday!

[QCNash09]

Thanks again guys for all the good info. Its only one month away now! A few of you have brought to my attention the bed situation. I am sure we are reserved for a room with two twin beds right now...I was hoping the first day on board I could just ask our room stewards to reconfigure the beds.

 

Glad to hear of someone who has gone on our same ship...have to check out the Silk Den...

 

The "roll call" for our ship appears to have above average families with teenagers and twentysomethings along. Hope all are polite and respectful.

 

Thanks again guys! :)

[Boytjie]

If the beds are apart when you board, just ask your cabin stewards to make it up as a queen size bed.

[HALFans]

I hope your cruise goes great - and that you love HAL as much as we do afterwards.

 

Here's a few tips:

 

Room Service: for breakfast write in anything you want. I generally get Eggs Benedict, and they've always come through with it. The complete dinner menu is also available for room service - but only during the hours the Main Dining Room is open. Other times you're pretty much limited to the room service menu, but the steak sandwich gets very good reviews (I like the club sandwich) and anyway, on HAL it's included with the cruise fare.

 

Others have said this, but it's worth noting again - the MDR will/may turn you away on formal night without a jacket. This may also happen every night in the Pinnacle Grille if you choose that dining venue. (And you should at least once! It's well worth the up-charge.)

 

Cruise ships are a little like Vegas - 'What happens onboard stays onboard.' ;) Unless you happen to be extremely unlucky with some obnoxious passengers, which is thankfully very rare, you should have absolutely no trouble with being a couple.

 

Sometimes people ask if we're brothers traveling together. I normally just tell them we're a couple and it's like "How nice, I have a gay (insert family/friend/etc. here) at home. Are you enjoying your cruise so far?"

 

Don't worry about a delay if your beds aren't put together immediately. Especially with the continued staffing cuts, the steward may not get to it until turndown time. If it's not done by then, feel free to raise some heck! LOL.

 

Happy sails!

 

Oh! The first 48 hours of the cruise is 'hands-off' policy for the general ship's staff, no shaking hands, no getting your own drinks, etc. For the duration of the cruise, the ships Officer class is forbidden to shake hands these days due to illness transmission... at least on HAL.

[QCNash09]

Thanks HAL fans, can never hear enough tips and info about our cruise. I have read rave reviews about the Pinnacle Grill, but not sure if we'll go. My partner is not the "gourmet" type and have read that you should make reservations early. We are taking sportcoats for the formal dining nights to alleviate any questions. I hadn't thought about breakfast in the room but that might be fun at least a couple times!

Thanks again guys!

[Boytjie]

Thanks HAL fans, can never hear enough tips and info about our cruise. I have read rave reviews about the Pinnacle Grill, but not sure if we'll go. My partner is not the "gourmet" type and have read that you should make reservations early. We are taking sportcoats for the formal dining nights to alleviate any questions. I hadn't thought about breakfast in the room but that might be fun at least a couple times!

Thanks again guys!

 

You don't have to be a "gourmet" type to enjoy a nice steak! :D

 

Breakfast via room service is great! We often use it as a wake-up call and it is especially good to have when you have early excursions in a port and you don't have to deal with a crowded Lido.

[HALFans]

...I have read rave reviews about the Pinnacle Grill, but not sure if we'll go. My partner is not the "gourmet" type and have read that you should make reservations early....

 

You don't have to be a "gourmet" type to enjoy a nice steak!

 

A comment goes here about the 'best piece of meat on the ship'... I'll let you imagine the exact wording. :p

 

The Pinnacle Grill is also open for lunch at 1/2 charge, and I'm going to try the Halibut Sandwich this cruise - it also gets rave reviews.

 

Be careful though... we did a PG lunch one time and let the waiter suggest the Chardonnay. When we got the bill it was $16 a glass. :eek: We should have asked first I guess, but in all honesty it was worth every penny.

 

We've since added that label (Argyle) to our shopping list, and even at the local 'super wine warehouse' there's rarely more than 1 or 2 bottles left by the time we see it on the shelf.

[QCNash09]

A comment goes here about the 'best piece of meat on the ship'... I'll let you imagine the exact wording. :p

 

The Pinnacle Grill is also open for lunch at 1/2 charge, and I'm going to try the Halibut Sandwich this cruise - it also gets rave reviews.

 

Be careful though... we did a PG lunch one time and let the waiter suggest the Chardonnay. When we got the bill it was $16 a glass. :eek: We should have asked first I guess, but in all honesty it was worth every penny.

 

We've since added that label (Argyle) to our shopping list, and even at the local 'super wine warehouse' there's rarely more than 1 or 2 bottles left by the time we see it on the shelf.

 

Since I've entered us on the "gay roll call" for this cruise with no replies, I guess a good piece of meat might be hard to find :)

 

I'm glad to know the PG is open for lunch, sounds like a good idea. Does the formal dress code still in effect at lunch? Do we need to make reservations for lunch?

 

Happy cruisin HAL fans as well as everyone else that's helped make this thread fun.

[Boytjie]

I'm glad to know the PG is open for lunch, sounds like a good idea. Does the formal dress code still in effect at lunch? Do we need to make reservations for lunch?

 

Formal dress codes are in place after 6 pm on formal nights.