Cruising as a 20-something gay guy

[CruisingJoe09]

I'm sailing on Odyssey of the Seas on Sunday. I'm wondering if I have any chances of meeting people at the LGBT gatherings, purely because I'm under 25. What age do these gatherings tend to attract?

[tompeter]

Where are you cruising, how long is the cruise? These factors influence the crowd on the ship and thus who may be attending.

[CruisingJoe09]

4 hours ago, tompeter said:

Where are you cruising, how long is the cruise? These factors influence the crowd on the ship and thus who may be attending.

7 night Eastern Med from Civitavecchia.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, CruisingJoe09 said:

7 night Eastern Med from Civitavecchia.

You will have plenty of offers.Just be careful,to not be taken advantage of.

[welshy74]

I'm 48 and often one of the younger members of the lgbt meet ups an I have never been to a meet up where there has been anyone under 30.  Not to say there are no under 30s on the ship, I just don't think they want to hang out with an older crowd.  I also find the majority of the attendees are couples, like myself. 

[Surfguyxxx]

Just know that not everyone goes to their planned meetups.  We never did but have found many "family" members aboard every cruise we've been on.  Go and have fun and I can promise you that you'll meet others, maybe a little older, but you'll be fine.  Enjoy. 

[CruiserLucas]

I've been cruising since I was your age, 25, and tried to attend the meetups the first few times. The problem we had was that there were no people at the meetups or there was no central organization to ensure people who came knew what was going on. We still could pick out other individuals or couples at other times on the ships, but never made friends with anyone, though we'd like to. 

Now that I'm "old" in gay years it feels like, since I'll be 31 on our next cruise, maybe it will be like the movie They Live, and when I go to the meetups - I'll be able to see all the gays. 😜 

Good luck on your cruise and have fun!!!

[Jasonsterling]

Mostly I've found the meet ups to be mostly unattended or held in a crowded place full of a wide variety of people and you just end up hit and missing by chance if they're gay or not just like any bar on any night, lol. Honestly, it feels like there aren't a lot of gay singles on board mass market ships(many gay couples- a few singles, lots of families) and ages will reflect the age range of the ship itself. Different times of the year and length of cruise on mass market lines will trend older, even much older or be swamped with families/kids. You can check your specific sailing on Facebook as well and get a feel of the crowd for that sailing by who has joined up there. Sometimes they might even have a sign up event for a LGBT+ meetup for people in that group during a quieter part of the day in a quieter place where you can actually meet and talk to someone. If there's not an event listed those groups will usually be fine with you starting one. I hope you have a great time!

[sbcs5390]

Joe, I am sure you had a fine time of it. How did it go?

 

I am 32 now, so a little older, but last year decided to spend a significant part of the winter on ships as I work remotely. Most of it was solo. I had a great time, and met many people on each cruise from all walks of life, including at the LGBT+ meetups.

 

Although not a social aspect, because they are at work, I found I also connected with many crewmembers, regardless whether they happened to be gay or straight. Many are our age also. Guest entertainers also, depending on the cruise line, sometimes enjoy the best of both worlds in so far as their accommodations on the ship and status as pseudo-guests.

 

I have stayed in touch with many people I met during my time on ships. Celebrity is very gay friendly, although may skew a little older, and currently running solo sales through end of March on many sailings. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by sbcs5390