Can't even to tell you how upset I am with our Inspiration cruise.....

[cusyl]

If they want to do this they should charter the entire ship to the group like Olivia does. It is ridiculous to sell cabins to the general public in this situation. Shame on Carnival. :eek:

[derf5585]

If they want to do this they should charter the entire ship to the group like Olivia does.

 

A time to play, a chance to relax and a vacation to remember. Kids, moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends are invited to share in these dream vacations for lesbian and gay families.

from

http://www.olivia.com/family/

[derf5585]

Hmmmm...highly suspicious that we suddenly have multiple new members who claim first hand knowledge of and / or experience with this group. If any one of the posts is legitimate, my response is directed to the author.

 

I sent an email to the their websits directing them to this thread.

 

isosexy.com

[emmysmommy]

If my kids were with me I would really be bothered by any public displays of indecency. If it is me and my husband - who cares. But the reality is there are children on these ships.....

[vacation101]

Yes...I am a swinger, however, like most swingers I am a discrete professional who perfers to not tell all about what we do behind closed doors. We chose NOT to wear our purple armbands for discretion reasons. I am here to voice MY opinion and to tell the facts. I am a fair person who is honest and does not take sides in any situation...I was there... now let's be honest. Do you really think Carnival's security would have allowed the accusations listed above? Please... NO WAY! These are rumors and we all know what happens with rumors. I can not address every RUMOR that was spread but I will try to address a few. But remember how a RUMOR grows… people usually make more out of a situation just to sound good. I know that some of the things mentioned were lies… people who just want to get attention or a free cruise out of the experience. For those of you who were a bit more honest I would like to thank you. Was this a normal cruise experience? No, by all means no. We have been on 6 cruises and this one was the best experience for us and not your typical Normal cruise. You are saying that was because we were around like minded people… well you are right! People on this cruise were friendly, open minded, fun to be around people. Were there a few more than usual thong bikini’s running around??? Yes. Was there sex in Public or in the hallways on upper deck? NO!!! There were families on our deck, with children! We were aware of this fact and policed ourselves accordingly. We were aware of where we were when we did things. THERE WAS NO illegal drugs….however there was a lot of drinking (just being honest here). However, the last cruise we went on where there was illegal drug use onboard (marijuana) and those involved (a 60 year old couple from Alabama) were arrested over the incident when we returned to Florida. If there was illegal drug use, Carnival would not have allowed that and took the necessary steps to handle that problem immediately (as I have seen them do in the past). Lets see….naked bottoms on bar stools in public…What are you saying? Do you really believe that people walked around with naked bottoms and that security didn’t say anything. HELLO! Do you mean perhaps that they were not wearing panties under there clothing? If that’s the case…. That could happen on any where… not just a swinger’s cruise! Hello. People do go without panties from time to time…NOT JUST SWINGER’S! And you should be aware of this fact at all times. The next time you sit down in a booth at Chili’s think about it. Sex in the pool...nudity in public:confused: ? You have got to be kidding me! Does anyone believe this could happen? No way! Yes the topless deck was standing room only...that was the only place where nudity took place. So, yes there was a bit of nudity up there. It's a topless deck... on any given cruise you can go up there any time and see the same stuff (only on a much smaller scale). Yes, we did book the candlelight lounge after midnight for our private parties. And they were just that, PRIVATE! ;)

 

Please remember swinging is just a lifestyle that some open minded people participate in. Anyone can be a swinger. Your neighbor, a family member or even your friends from church could be swingers... you never know.

Look I am a mother of 3. My family, including my children do not know about the lifestyle my husband and I are involved in. We are private, discrete people who for the most part appear NORMAL. Hence, we chose not to wear our purple armbands in public. Those that did chose to for their own reason. Just like any walks of life, there are a few that give us a bad reputation. For those few people who did not practice good judgement I would like to apologize. I did not see anything naughty happen in public places around children. What happen behind closed doors later is our business (whether it be in our stateroom cabin or the candlelight lounge after midnight)! Not everyone is open minded enough to see that our lifestyle is acceptable. For those close minded individual who were offended I apologize. Still, I would have not been ashamed to bring my children on such a cruise. There was nothing going on that they haven’t been exposed to on public tv. The doors on the upper deck did not EVER show nudity. The pictures were often times pictures taken by Carnival Cruise Lines during the stay. Show me a picture PLEASE of these accusations you display on this forum! RUMORS are just that RUMORS! I don’t believe anyone should get a free cruise out of the deal. These are all just RUMORS from people trying to get something for nothing! Thank you for taking the time for reading this (for those of you that did). :)

 

[LSUtraveler]

josie1968,

 

surely you jest. Carnival is out to make $$$$$ and most complaints hit a brick wall. I've never had any incident bad enough to complain to Carnival about but reading the boards many do.

If you sail Carnival you pay your money and take your chances. In all honesty I've seen complaints with other lines also and never had any real complaints on sailing with them either. Lucky so far I guess. But I can understand your issues.

 

And realistically I don't see anything changing until passenger cruising falls off and that's not likely soon.

[DarkJedi]

First off I'm speaking only for ourselves and not for the group, or any other part of the group.

 

 

To the OP:

As a group of 500+ we had reserved the Candlelight Lounge at night (12-2am) for our group's private use. The security was there to prevent a private paid party from being interfered with by others. Most of the rooms on board ship can be rented out for times that they are not normally in use. This would be why you saw the group “take over” the lounge, we paid additional fees in order to rent it out, just like renting out a ballroom at a hotel.

 

 

The topless deck was indeed standing room area, although most of the women standing were wearing tops or wraps when close to the front railing except for the first day when some were standing close to the front until the were told by others in the group they could be seen from below. I fault Carnival for this in may ways since over half of this deck was roped off and not available for use. The biggest problem up there however was the number of children that kept coming up ignoring the “Adults Only” sign, including the one woman who brought her two children to the top deck and was offended that there were exposed breasts on the topless deck.

 

 

Since we didn't hang out in any of the nightclubs I have no idea what went on in them. I did hear about one female taking her top off, but she was not with our group and Carnival Security apparently got her dressed and back to her room to sleep off the alcohol. As far as what else happened in the rock & roll club I doubt it was any different than what you would see in any other adult nightclub at 2am, and keep in mind, that club IS adults only from 11pm until closing at 3am.

 

 

As for the signs, yes a couple of them were a bit questionable since they used screen names that aren't very family oriented. But none of them had offensive pictures that I saw.

 

 

Everyone on the Upper deck was aware in advance of what our group was and that we were going to be there. They were contacted and asked if they would like a cabin change well in advance, we had several people on other decks because those people wouldn't switch. If someone was walking that deck that didn't know, they shouldn't be walking around on that deck anyway.

 

 

The G-string and thong bikinis are fairly common, I saw a group of at least 15-20 wearing them that weren't with our group, and the 4 girls who kept going into the poolside bistro were on the cruise with their parents, not with us.

 

 

To Gjules:

No one had sex in the pools or hot tubs that I ever saw or heard about. Had someone done so they would have been stopped by other people in our group.

 

 

I didn't see anything wrong going on in the dining room, but then again there were NO CHILDREN on our ENTIRE side of the dining hall, don't know about the other side, didn't venture over there.

 

 

Graphic signs have already been addressed. Again, if you don't want to see the signs, don't go on other people's decks. It's not like there was anything but cabins on that deck.

 

 

Dirty dancing and groping going on in an adult nightclub? Say it isn't so! You haven't been out to a normal nightclub in a long time have you?

 

 

To Pegsue:

Thank you. And most of us agree, adult stuff in adult areas.

 

 

To Cruzinagain13:

The purple wrist bands were so we could identify each other and so we could get into our private parties. Except for the parties no one was required to wear them, they were issued within our group and had nothing to do with Carnival.

 

 

350lbs women in bikinis aren't too bad, now put them in spandex walking around Walmart in flip-flops

 

 

To Nrdsb4:

I agree completely, sex in the public pools should have had anyone thrown off. Although personally I would have liked a copy of the pictures :P

 

 

To Leo Jay:

I'd like to see any pictures of these supposed acts as well. But not pictures of the elevators.

 

 

To Rvrgirl:

Carnival was made fully aware of what our group was, as well as what the themes for our private parties were going to be.

 

 

As for putting cabins on hold, they are actually purchased up front and then resold to group members. If not enough people book to fill all the rooms the group still pays for them. In some cases they can be returned with no loss if the cruise/hotel can fill them, in others there is only a partial loss, but most cases the contract ends up paying for them used or not.

 

 

To Mamaskittles:

**Responding to something seen on a different cruise**

When you saw people having sex in the pools and hot tub did you take pictures? Did you confront the people directly? Did you call security right then? A picture is worth way more than a thousand words in something like this, and in today's day and age of digital cameras almost everyone has one near at hand when on vacation. Taking a picture and reporting the people involved is the surest way to curtail that type of activity. No one should be performing sexual acts in public places, especially around children.

 

 

As mentioned above you can rent out rooms for private events. In our case we rented the back lounge during non-normal (12-2am) hours so it would not have been available in any case.

 

 

And yes, I agree regular cruiser should not have to witness sex in the common areas. And to my knowledge none on this cruise did.

 

 

To Sharecruises:

Are you seriously going to call Carnival and complain about activities that someone told you on an internet chat forum that they heard about that took place on a cruise you weren't on? While you are at it would you mind calling Avis for me and complaining about the lousy service I got renting a vehicle in Mexico? At least my story is first hand info.

 

 

 

 

To Salty Dingo:

“I think the majority of posts here have been the sort of "I don't want to cruise with swingers", and that misses the point. The issue is "did Carnival not enforce its rules on behavior." I know they do kick people off for getting too drunk, etc. So I wonder if these swingers were really doing anything wrong, or if the *true* problem lies with the passengers who are upset they had to spend a week with swingers. Those passengers, in my mind, are very small people. “

 

 

Well said.

 

 

To VoyagerFL:

Having lived in San Fransisco for a time I can tell you that the gay/lesbian population has it's fair share of “in your face” couples and groups, but you are right that the majority of them are not that way, just judged by the actions of a few extremists. Personally I like Disney's gay days, tends to keep closed minded people away. But again, everything someone has said about THIS cruise and THIS group has been “I heard” accounts, with nothing to back up supposedly common events. As part of this group and on this ship I never saw these events take place.

 

 

To LHP:

Once again, no one has come forward saying that they personally saw this supposed activity in front of anyone, let alone in front of children. If people were having sex in the common areas they should have been dealt with, our group or not. And if they were having sex in front of children they should have been hung by a rope off the back of the ship until the next port and then sent to jail.

 

 

To Cncatsea:

Reminds me of the grandmother who sued the makers of the game Grand Theft Auto because there was a code that let you see nudity in the game and she was offended that she bought a game for her grandson that showed nudity. Apparently she was OK with the fact that in the game her grandson was pretending to be a drug dealer who stole cars, killed people, and killed police, but the nudity thing was just too far!

 

 

To We R Cruisin:

Come cruise with us anytime, we like open minded people :)

 

 

To GottaLuvCruising:

There were 3 church groups on this cruise with us. One of these groups was exceptionally demanding, rude, and forceful in the way they acted towards everyone else. I suspect that as Christians they are probably going to Hell since the way they act is in total opposition to the way the Bible says they should. But I also believe they, and every other religious group regardless of religion has the right to believe as they want. And if they believe that drinking blood and eating flesh of someone who died 2000 years ago is healthy, wholesome, and moral, then that's their choice.

 

 

Now as to our own experience on board, we had a great time. Ran up an $800 bill in photos alone from the Carnival photographers and took about 3500 pictures ourselves, although most of those were taken in Tulum and on a private excursion in GC.

We did experience some rude staff members, but we also noticed these people weren't rude to our group, they were just rude employees in general, overall the staff was a great group of very friendly people.

There was one large rude religious group who kept shoving people out of lines and pushing into the elevators way too full IMHO. Just because those things say they fit 18 people doesn't mean they have to! But considering how long the wait for some of the elevators was I can relate :)

We did hear about the sexual assault that took place on board, although that wasn't by anyone in our group, and I do know the police were waiting when we got back to Tampa.

We never did see anything illegal (excluding smuggling alcohol and Cuban cigars if you want to call it that) going on, but we don't deny that we weren't everywhere on board. But in general we tend to stop things long before they get out of hand since we don't drink, and can remind those that do that there are things you don't do in public.

Was there probably more general affection going on than normal? Sure. Girls kissing several guys, guys kissing several girls, girls kissing several girls, lot more hugging and playful swats on the butt than seen on a normal vacation most likely.

Risque clothing was definitely in abundance, but since my other half was probably one of the most risque dressers and what she wore was stuff she would wear out to a regular nightclub I don't think it's anything someone wouldn't see in downtown Orlando or Ybor city in Tampa. As it was we took pictures every night but the last with Carnival's photographers without any complaints.

If someone on this cruise personally saw inappropriate behaviour then hopefully you took pictures, please send those pictures to Carnival. The can get them to the people who can address this issue with those specific people and ensure that they are not on another cruise with our group. We police ourselves and each other for the most part.

Now what happens at 3am in the nightclub, I have no idea, except for one night we were in bed by that time.

Now the thing that most offended me was the same thing that offends me everyplace we seem to go; what are parents thinking letting their kids dress like some of those kids? And don't get me started on kids on the Promenade in the middle of the night.

[Fancy_Goods]

Just go to Google and type in the word "swingers". Sorry but this is a lifestyle where folks have no regard for one another or themselves. Sad that one enjoys passing their partners around from one person to another. Glorified orgy is all it is.

 

Who are you pass judgement on anyone?

You have offended me. You should apologize!

[DarkJedi]

Okay this is uncalled for! How dare you pass judgement on anyone? The Lifestyle may not be your cup of tea but who are you to judge? You have offended me. You should apologize!

 

LOL

 

Fancy, people will always regard swingers as immoral while forgiving those who cheat behind their spouses backs. Just a way of life and double standards.

[SailAways]

Yes...I am a swinger,

Look I am a mother of 3. My family, including my children do not know about the lifestyle my husband and I are involved in.

 

...It seems your defense just slipped slightly here.....

 

We pass no judgement at all - If you are happy, we are happy for you.

 

However, we would have been less than thrilled to have been on this cruise.

 

Am I wrong, or are there an inordinate number of first and second time posters on this thread?? What's Up??

[cusyl]

A time to play, a chance to relax and a vacation to remember. Kids, moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends are invited to share in these dream vacations for lesbian and gay families.

from

http://www.olivia.com/family/

 

Yes, Olivia is just that, and even though I have never been on one of their cruises I do have a family member who has this lifestyle and enjoys being able to take part in a vacation with others in the same situation and with their children.