First Time Cruisers

[btoy1984]

What would be a good cruise for a gay couple. Im 20, and my partner is 28. We are looking for a nice cruise to the Caribbean, that isnt too much money. Any suggestions anyone??

 

Thanks!

[mcboo]

btoy what is your budget for the cruise. do you both drink. an all iclusive cruise could be better for that situation.:o

[btoy1984]

we are trying to keep it below 800-900/person with air from Pittsburgh. We both drink socially...not a whole lot though. Maybe one or two a night.

Also looking for a cruise that has a nice, "lively" atmosphere, with a gay-friendly reputation.

[BostonBoys]

Hey guys, we are the smae age as you guys and we decided to go on our first gay cruise This Jan 29-Feb 5, on the Navigator through Atlantis Events. We got a cheap inside cabin little more then you guyes want to spend but I think it might be worth it from what I have read and seen on the web pages. We got our room for $1049 but you might be able to get somethign cheaper I am not sure. just look up there website and see....... its really only a few hundred more then your lookign to spend.. but we broke down also lol

[btoy1984]

thanks for the info. if anybody wants to maybe chat and make some arrangements, please IM me on AIM at the same SN. :D

[Butterfly_chick]

btoy,

 

My partner and I have found that taking cruises on the higher end cruise lines tend to put you in an environment with folks less likely to be either surprised or freaked out with the fact that they are onboard with a couple homos....people who spend more on a cruise tend to be better read, and have traveled more and been exposed to more of a diverse crowd. No offense to those taking Carnival or Royal cruises, but a Celebrity cruise really doesn't cost much more, yet the passengers are noticeably more open minded. We also find less children on these cruises. Oh, and the food.......oh my god... they have great food.

As far as how open minded the staff are.......not to worry. These people have been doing this for awhile, and nothing surprises them. I bet they've seen just about everything. I'm sure that goes for the staff of all cruise lines. It's not the staff we worried about getting nasty looks and comments from.....just our fellow passengers. We have no worries while onboard a Celebrity ship.

Look up some prices. I bet you'll find they aren't really that much more money, and the extra comfort is worth it anyway.

[Vibe]

My partner and I have been on 17 cruises. We sailed on Carnival, NCL, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Costa, Holland America and Princess. They were all regular cruises (not gay) we never had a problem. There were always other gay couples on board.

 

I suggest Princess for you. Princess has a nice mix of passengers (not the super loud party crowd and not the go to sleep right after dinner crowd)

Princess has FOD meetings available, so it is easy to meet other gay passengers. They offer anytime dining so if you prefer to eat at a table for 2 you could do so each night. If you meet nice people on board, you will be able to meet them for dinner and share the same table with them.

 

The lowest prices for the Caribbean sailings are available in September, October and in December (before Christmas)

 

Once you take your 1st cruise you will be hooked.

[flime2dc]

I would have to agree with Butterfly - stick to more upscale lines like Holland America or Celebrity. The people seem to be a bit higher caliber and the cruise prices are not that much more.

 

Since you live in Pittsburg you might also look for cruises leaving from NYC, Philly or even Baltimore. My partner and I live in DC and we drove up for a cruise out of NYC - it was very easy. We didn't feel like parking our car there so we rented a car (from Enterprise I think) for about $60 one-way. They had a drop off location in midtown Manhattan so we cabbed it about 15 blocks from the rental place to the pier. That way you could save $$ on airfare and invest in either a higher room catagory or spend more in ports of call.

 

We have been on a few cruises before and have easily found other couples on board. If you are on a relatively small ship, you'll find yourself passing the same folks in the hallways and lounges all the time - and the gaydar will go off! ;)

 

Boston boys do have a good point - an all-gay cruise does sound like fun in many ways, but sometimes they do seem more expensive. There is a whole thread elsewhere in this section debating the merits of all-gay cruising.

 

Have a great time!

[Treven]

Atlantis Events!!

[Markandrews]

The Norwegian Dawn may be the perfect cruise for you. The Dawn sails weekly out of NYC. We have sailed on NCL many times and have always been well accepted by all on board. Sometimes I feel we have a slight advantage in the service department because we are gay, (so many of the crew are gay too). I think you would like the Dawn because it is a large ship with a lot of variety. It has a great gym, nice pool deck and they offer freestyle cruising. With freestyle you can eat in a variety of restaurants by yourself or with a large group. There is no set dining time either. We have always met other gay couples on the ships of NCL and have enjoyed at least one FOD party on each cruise. Last year on the Wind there were well attended FOD partys on 6 of the 7 nights. What ever cruise you pick I hope you have a great time!

[scamper]

We've always enjoyed Holland-America cruises and find everyone very accepting. Generally, we've been upgraded far higher in our cabin category than we paid for on HAL. The Asian service staff is adorable and the dutch officers and administrative people are very open minded considering, I guess, where they're from. HAL cruises are a lot of fun and a bit more low key than Carnival or RCCL.

 

Oh yes, we've also almost always met many gay fellow passengers, and there are usually one or two (or more) gay men among the entertainment staff that hang out some nights in the Crow's Nest disco. We've had a blast and taken over the dance floor many times.

[HighRoller]

Why don't you try the Carribbean Princess, or Dawn Princess or Golden or Star Princess..there are some pretty good buys right now for Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec sailings even 10 days for $650.00...My experience on Princess is that most are very open minded and gay friendly!:cool: :eek: :cool:

[Brennivan]

Definitely go with Princess. My boyfriend and I just booked our third cruise on them and have had great times with absolutely no problems. I totally agree with BUTTERFLY CHICK and HIGH ROLLER. They know what they are talking about. We just found an excellent cruise for Dec. 12 2004 on the Golden Princess/Southern Caribbean out of San Juan. Wonderful price! We traveled on the Grand and Star and loved them so much, we decided to do the Golden. Best of luck!

 

P.S. The Norwegian Dawn out of New York is not a very good cruise for the money. We know a group of thirty that went on it and every person said it was not recommended.

[scamper]

Definitely go with Princess. My boyfriend and I just booked our third cruise on them and have had great times with absolutely no problems. I totally agree with BUTTERFLY CHICK and HIGH ROLLER. They know what they are talking about. We just found an excellent cruise for Dec. 12 2004 on the Golden Princess/Southern Caribbean out of San Juan. Wonderful price! We traveled on the Grand and Star and loved them so much, we decided to do the Golden. Best of luck!

 

P.S. The Norwegian Dawn out of New York is not a very good cruise for the money. We know a group of thirty that went on it and every person said it was not recommended.

 

I've heard this as well. I think the Dawn goes to Florida for anyone that wants to scoot over to the Magic Kingdom area, as well as a couple of days in the Bahamas. Yawn!

[dj4eyes]

I'd work Celebrity Century out of Ft. Lauderdale any time, or Celebrity Summit out of same in October.

 

We had such a great experience on the Century last year, augmented by the fact that no one cared (passengers or crew) that we were a Gay couple (except positively). I may be opening myself up to Cruise Critic blasting, but I feel that Celebrity embraces (provides) many things that might tend to be of interest to the GLBT traveler-- uber-spa, martini bar, cigar bar, gourmet food in the "Main" (no extra cost) dining room, and not so much a "Spring Break" atmosphere, but more a resort at sea.

 

I hear the childrens' program on Summit is so popular, "you'll never see the kids!"

 

We're doing their "Ultimate Caribbean" on Summit this October.

Hope this helps you guys!