Gay Married Couple - Viking Star - Will we encounter any adversity?

[PolarPanda]

Hello,

 

We are a Gay married couple thinking about travelling on the Viking Star in 2017 and cruising one of the Mediterranean routes.

 

Is there anyone in the forum that has advice or direct experience with this?

 

We are a very quiet couple that just wants a great experience that wraps around good food, good experiences, and great destinations.

 

We would probably like to eat alone most nights, but would not be opposed to joining others.

 

Any advice on the Viking ships and how they do or do not cater to Gay couples?

 

Thank you.

[roothy123]

I'm not gay, so can't really answer your questions. However, I'll give you my two cents' worth in case it helps. My experience is based on traveling on Star with my husband this past September in the Med.

 

I don't think Viking really caters to any particular group like singles, gays, Europeans, etc. like Celebrity appeared to do when I cruised on them. For example, I think Celebrity Summit had a get together for singles, and a get together for gays. In fact, they seemed to cater to a lot of different groups. I was amazed that they printed some of their daily materials in various languages. Of course, their ships are bigger and carry many more passengers than Viking Oceans so I really shouldn't compare the two.

 

I'm a quiet person (except when I start yakking on Cruise Critic!) and prefer to eat alone (the two of us) maybe 2/3rds of the time. My husband is a little more social, but pretty much feels the same way I do. With that said, we both do still enjoy sharing a table, as the people on Viking and our other favorite cruise line (Oceania) are great, and we have enjoyed talking to at least 95% of the people we've met and dined with.

 

For dinner, I think you can usually get a table for two in the main dining room, but a lot of the tables are pretty close together, so it's kind of like sitting with others without feeling you have to start and/or keep up a conversation. I would guess that eating late would provide more opportunities for more quiet dining (which we like), as most of the Viking crowd, at least the North Americans, tended to eat pretty early on our cruise.

 

If you'd prefer to eat alone in the specialty restaurants, you should book them early when your booking window opens up, especially if you're in one of the lower cabin categories. I think the tables for two get reserved before the shared ones, although we still got a table for 2 in Chef's Table without any problem. (We had a deluxe veranda, so were able to book online before boarding, but after those in the cabin categories above us booked. I booked a couple days after our window opened up.) We like dining alone in specialty restaurants as we aren't crazy about long, drawn out dinners, and dining alone seems to keep things moving better than if you're at a big table, especially if everyone orders lots of food and drink.

 

If you just want a little bit more casual, quicker dinner, the buffet/grill area is perfect for sitting alone inside or outside, and the food is quite good.

 

I doubt very seriously you'll experience anything uncomfortable as a result of being gay. It's a great line with great passengers and staff.

[dln929]

Like Roothy, not gay, but I can't see why you'd be treated any differently than any other people traveling together, to tell you the truth. The cruise industry itself is known to be gay friendly. When we were on the Star this past January, we saw a crew that was uniformly courteous and kind. I don't know if they'd make more or less fuss over you just because you're gay. I don't think it would matter to them.

 

As to eating--oh my my! the food on the Star was the best we've ever had at sea. You are in for such a treat. You don't say what cabin class you're booking, but if you book at the lowest level (as we did), you won't have the benefit of making reservations for the two speciality restaurants until you board. Don't miss out. Book as soon as you can or you run the risk of being shut out. We dawdled until mid-week and could get reservations for only one. We won't make that mistake again! You can eat by yourselves or with other people; just tell the host or hostess which kind of table you prefer and they will accommodate you. Sometimes we wanted to eat just by ourselves and it was never any trouble.

 

As to the destinations--you will have shore excursions at every port. Sometimes we opted for the morning; other times not. Maybe it was our particular cruise, but the morning tours were always better. Our morning guides were brighter and more energetic, as were our fellow passengers. Our afternoon tours were meh. Slow moving and dull. One afternoon we thought we'd do a face plant on the sidewalk if the guide went any slower. But, maybe this was just our cruise, ymmv.

 

Finally, as to your desire for good experiences--yes! I think you will. The Viking ocean ships are lovely. The lectures we attended were interesting and we liked the shows. Of course they're not the big production numbers as on the mega ships, but with limited resources and space, we thought Viking did a bang-up job on entertaining us. The band is particularly talented.

 

By the way, there's a sub forum on Cruise Critic for gay and lesbian cruisers so maybe you'd get more information there too. It's worth a look.

[id4elizabeth]

We were on the inaugural whole 50 day cruise this past spring, along with several gay couples that we got to know who were also onboard for the whole trip. Although we are not gay, they however did not express any concerns. We got to know them through sitting with them at various meals and sharing shore excursions. I don't think you'll have any trouble at all - anymore than you'd have at home. Most passengers are American, Canadian, British, or Austrailian so your experience is going to be pretty much what you'd expect. The staff are very nice and friendly. The Mediterranean is beautiful and the ship is lovely. My advice - go for it and have a great time!

[PROCRUISE]

You won't experience any difficulties at all. Viking does tend to have a slightly older clientele but they are also well educated, traveled and diverse. Enjoy your cruise!!

[Colo Cruiser]

I'm not gay, so can't really answer your questions. However, I'll give you my two cents' worth in case it helps. My experience is based on traveling on Star with my husband this past September in the Med.

 

I don't think Viking really caters to any particular group like singles, gays, Europeans, etc. like Celebrity appeared to do when I cruised on them. For example, I think Celebrity Summit had a get together for singles, and a get together for gays. In fact, they seemed to cater to a lot of different groups. I was amazed that they printed some of their daily materials in various languages. Of course, their ships are bigger and carry many more passengers than Viking Oceans so I really shouldn't compare the two.

 

I'm a quiet person (except when I start yakking on Cruise Critic!) and prefer to eat alone (the two of us) maybe 2/3rds of the time. My husband is a little more social, but pretty much feels the same way I do. With that said, we both do still enjoy sharing a table, as the people on Viking and our other favorite cruise line (Oceania) are great, and we have enjoyed talking to at least 95% of the people we've met and dined with.

 

For dinner, I think you can usually get a table for two in the main dining room, but a lot of the tables are pretty close together, so it's kind of like sitting with others without feeling you have to start and/or keep up a conversation. I would guess that eating late would provide more opportunities for more quiet dining (which we like), as most of the Viking crowd, at least the North Americans, tended to eat pretty early on our cruise.

 

If you'd prefer to eat alone in the specialty restaurants, you should book them early when your booking window opens up, especially if you're in one of the lower cabin categories. I think the tables for two get reserved before the shared ones, although we still got a table for 2 in Chef's Table without any problem. (We had a deluxe veranda, so were able to book online before boarding, but after those in the cabin categories above us booked. I booked a couple days after our window opened up.) We like dining alone in specialty restaurants as we aren't crazy about long, drawn out dinners, and dining alone seems to keep things moving better than if you're at a big table, especially if everyone orders lots of food and drink.

 

If you just want a little bit more casual, quicker dinner, the buffet/grill area is perfect for sitting alone inside or outside, and the food is quite good.

 

I doubt very seriously you'll experience anything uncomfortable as a result of being gay. It's a great line with great passengers and staff.

 

 

I agree........ OP you should have an excellent time!

Edited March 6, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[CrankySailor]

Hello,

 

We are a Gay married couple thinking about travelling on the Viking Star in 2017 and cruising one of the Mediterranean routes.

 

Is there anyone in the forum that has advice or direct experience with this?

 

We are a very quiet couple that just wants a great experience that wraps around good food, good experiences, and great destinations.

 

We would probably like to eat alone most nights, but would not be opposed to joining others.

 

Any advice on the Viking ships and how they do or do not cater to Gay couples?

 

Thank you.

 

Partner and I just back from the Med Getaway in Feb. we never felt the least bit uncomfortable (though at 48 and 55, we were towards the younger end of the age spectrum). There were a few other gay couples on the ship. We ate alone, but at dinner, the couples at neighboring tables for two were always pleasant. I am way behind at posting a review...but I can tell you the food was fantastic. Not one bad morsel, honestly. We were very, very impressed. Big step up from what we were accustomed to with Celebrity. Quiet, elegant, classy, beautiful ship.

[PROCRUISE]

Partner and I just back from the Med Getaway in Feb. we never felt the least bit uncomfortable (though at 48 and 55, we were towards the younger end of the age spectrum). There were a few other gay couples on the ship. We ate alone, but at dinner, the couples at neighboring tables for two were always pleasant. I am way behind at posting a review...but I can tell you the food was fantastic. Not one bad morsel, honestly. We were very, very impressed. Big step up from what we were accustomed to with Celebrity. Quiet, elegant, classy, beautiful ship.

 

Good to hear. We were very impressed with our two wks aboard the Viking Bragi, Budapest to Amsterdam, so really looking forward to our first ocean cruise with Viking. We also like Celebrity too! :)

[Dauntless]

Judging for your posted history, you're quiet the cruiser! (Every pun intended) Just got off the Homeland cruise in 9/18. The Star is a class act all the way. It is not Atlantis or RSVP, if that's what you're thinking about. There are 'Friends of Dorthy' but no gatherings. They do an ABBA show but no drag or costume events. You will be treated like everyone else and it seems that your situation is only forefront if you choose to make it a problem. I didn't see anyone being treated differently by fellow passengers or crew. There might be some Negative Nancys on board but if you spend much time around them you will find they pretty much complain about everything. Those types are usually not confrontational and only combative with the people they feel should be serving them. I'm sure you'll have a great experience and maybe find a new favorite line in the mix.

[Fpacifico]

We went to China last year on viking River and one of the couples at our table were an older married gay couple. Well we all sat together at dinner for the entire time. Even met for breakfast and sometimes lunch. They never complained and honestly they were great fun.

[Canadian Sunset]

We were on a Viking River cruise in France last year and sat with a married gay couple. We couldn't have cared less. They were very concerned, but once we told them that we were parents of a married gay son everyone relaxed and we had a great time. They were treated in a friendly manner by everyone on the ship.

 

 

 

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