Where were the Dutch and other Euros on Atlantis's recent Amsterdam-Barcelona cruise?

[jimnbillnpa]

Culture wise for us there is also not such a big need to be for a fortnight on a boat in a bubble with 2000 gay guys as in general the gay population is far more accepted and integrated into society.

 

HAHAHAHA! Oh Honey! I did not see this stop you on RSVP-TWICE!

 

Love you and miss you! We are both well!

[Oslo Dutch]

HAHAHAHA! Oh Honey! I did not see this stop you on RSVP-TWICE!

 

Love you and miss you! We are both well!

 

:D:) Well we had a fab time in RSVP but I was trying to explain the opinion I mostly get friends in Western Europe.

[flag fan]

I enjoy both straight and gay cruises. Every year I go on a mainstream cruise with my straight brother and I've also been on several RSVP and Atlantis cruises. The experiences are completely different and enjoyable for different reasons.

I don't go on the gay charters because I "need" to be "trapped" on a ship with gay people. The sense of community on the gay cruises is amazing. I've maintained friendships with people I've met on the gay cruises and the specialized entertainment is more hit than miss. No I'm not a tweaked out party boy. That stereotype of the typical gay cruiser is really unfair. The premium you pay for a charter goes for the extras that aren't on regular cruises. We went on a Turner Classic Movies cruise and it was even more expensive than RSVP or Atlantis. (FYI, Tippi Hedren, Eva Marie Saint and Ernest Borgnine were the special guests and were amazing.)

On the straight cruises, we don't meet as many of the other cruisers. My brother and I learned the hard way to be careful when booking to avoid school holidays. We did an Easter cruise on an RCCL megaship and heard the following announcement, "we have a record 1200 kids and teens on board this week." And it felt like it. Lots of screaming and crying babies, sullen teens who actually formed rival "gangs", and just too many families and stroller traffic jams for my taste. That said, I love having the gym mostly to myself on the straight cruises and enjoy the corny theater productions. October through the first half of November are a real bargain and most of the kids are in school.

I agree with Absolutboy20. We shouldn't denigrate things we haven't experienced. There is room for both gay and straight cruises and cruisers and we all have our own preferences. We are on this forum because we love going on cruises in whatever form. Let's find out what we have in common rather than what sets us apart.

 

You hit on one of the big advantages of a gay cruise (in my humble opinion)--fewer children. I have sailed on a lot of regular cruises and have never had a problem with children on board, but I must admit I found those cruises with fewer children a lot more relaxing. I try to avoid school holidays and the summer, but ended up booking a cruise when New York City schools were closed for the week and even though the cruise left from Baltimore, there were noticeably more children on board than other cruises and I did notice the difference this made in the cruise experience--lines were longer, buffets more chaotic, etc. I had a great cruise, but it convinced me that I was right to avoid the "kids sail free" cruises. I booked a Caribbean cruise next year on RSVP when there was is holiday weekend and I would never have picked that time on a mainstream cruise.

 

I have sailed on one gay cruise--with Atlantis--and it was not a circuit party but the entertainment was at a higher level than a regular cruise. Next year will be only my second gay cruise and I am hoping the stereotype of it being filled with "hundreds of older, successful Americans" is more on point than the stereotype of it being a drunken party with everyone looking like a male model (the image from its marketing materials). Actually, a nice mix of passengers of all ages, including women, straight people (and even some families with children) would be the ideal. In any event, I think it is good every now and then to do something to keep in touch with the "gay community" as a true community--shared experiences as gay people, including a cruise.

 

Getting back to the Original Post, the cruise I have booked is with RSVP on the MSC Divina and one of the great things about MSC is the mixture of passengers from around the world (well, mostly European). Because RSVP markets mostly to North America, I think this MSC cruise will be less cosmopolitan, unfortunately. It would be nice if RSVP (or Atlantis) did break out more into the European and Asian markets so that the cruises had a more international make-up.

[Pewit]

As a Brit who now lives in Australia but has lived in Germany and worked in international marketing in Europe and the US for 20+ years, I think I'm qualified to provide some insight as to why few Europeans go on Atlantis cruises (I've been on two now).

 

1. Marketing

Atlantis marketing is always in English and their ads (both in print and online) target the US market. This also influences the type of entertainment and the length of the cruise (10 days) and dates to fit in with the average US vacation allowance.

That said, marketing to the Gay community is much harder nowdays due to the proliferation of online media and decline in print readership.

AFAIK there is no pan-European media agency for the gay market whereas there is in the US and you don't see advertising for Atlantis in European print.

 

2. Information

Atlantis stress the youthful passengers and parties (sex sells) even though the reality is that there is a much more diverse, and considerably older, demographic on the cruise and, according to Rick, only about 20% stay up all night for the parties (this is different to the Caribbean cruises). Without media coverage or word of mouth to spread the reality, most Europeans assume Atlantis is for Twinks and Muscle Marys.

 

3. Difference in attitudes and spending

Most Western European countries and cities are fairly tolerant of gays and thus the attraction of an all-gay event isn't so appealing. Whereas for may in provincial US cities, Atlantis provides the annual chance to let their hair down and travel overseas in a "safe" environment (all that strange food and funny money!).

 

That said, thousands of gay Europeans flock to gay resorts such as Ibiza, Mykonos, Torremolinos, Benidorm, and Sitges in the summer and Gran Canaria in the winter - the latter has over 50 gay bars in one shopping centre! But all are much cheaper destinations if you are going for a typical European 3-4 week vacation rather than going on a cruise for just 10 days.

 

4. Localisation

The Atlantis brochures, marketing, entertainment and other communications are all in English. The Atlantis website is partly translated into French, German and Spanish but the cruise details are all in English, whereas the "La Demence" gay cruise site is in 6 languages. While many Europeans do speak English they may not be fluent in written English and it doesn't help to dispel the idea that the event isn't for them.

 

Also although some Atlantis staff do speak other languages the entertainers generally don't and it's hard to follow comedy when someone is talking fast and not in your native language.

 

Hope this helps

 

Paul

[donnatello]

Maybe to.... in some European countries, especially the Dutch, gay folk are much more "mainstream" than in the US and they don't necessarily want to isolate themselves from everyone else whist on a vacation. I know everyone is different and everyone has different needs and expectations, but we have been on many, many cruises, one RSVP and won't do an RSVP or Atlantis ever again. It just didn't offer the "cruise experience" we've come to expect.