Gay-friendly cruise recommendations needed (Feb/March 2012)
Oct 30, 2011, 2:53 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: Alaska Airlines, BMI Gold, United 1K
Posts: 112
Gay-friendly cruise recommendations needed (Feb/March 2012)
My partner and I are looking at booking a cruise (7 to 10 nights) for late February/early March 2012 . Having not been on a cruise, I'm seeking some advice.
*How about Celebrity Cruises? A number of friends recommend Celebrity.
*Other gay-friendly cruise lines we should look into?
*How do we get the best prices? (Book through the cruise line directly or via a third party? Discount codes?
*Good idea to book a beverage package?
Thanks in advance for the tips!
*How about Celebrity Cruises? A number of friends recommend Celebrity.
*Other gay-friendly cruise lines we should look into?
*How do we get the best prices? (Book through the cruise line directly or via a third party? Discount codes?
*Good idea to book a beverage package?
Thanks in advance for the tips!
Oct 30, 2011, 6:49 pm
#4
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Portland, ME
Posts: 344
Most cruises are gay friendly. I have been on probably 8 cruises & have never really felt incomfortable. Have cruised Celebrity twice & they are a much more upscale line, than say, Carnival. I did cruise Carnival once & it is a younger party straight drinking crowd. The last cruise we took was on Holland America to Alaska. I chose that line because they cater to an older crowd and I figured there would be less families with alot of children and I was correct. It was a more refined atmosphere but not alot of late night nightlife. I highly reccomend either Celebrity or Holland America. You can get some good deals on vacationstogo.com or thru alot of the cruise websites. I have had the best luck pricewise with a website called cruisecompete.com. If you know the cruise you would like to do, yougo to this site and enter the info for that particular cruise Then you will receive bids or offers from various online travel sites for that specific cruise. The prices vary greatly from bid to bid. I just give it a day or so & then book the lowest price offered as it is all for the same cruise. If you need any more info feel free to message me directly.
http://vacationstogo.com/
http://www.cruisecompete.com/
http://vacationstogo.com/
http://www.cruisecompete.com/
Oct 30, 2011, 6:52 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Portland, ME
Posts: 344
Oct 30, 2011, 7:05 pm
#6
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA Gold. UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt (Lifetime Diamond downgraded to Explorist)
Posts: 6,776
Outsiders view. Myself and three of my friends went on a NCL cruise out of NYC for 10 days through the Caribbean. As this was during Spring Break & Madris Gras we had a great time. Three cabins down from us was a gay couple. They were awesome. We met in the hallway and got a look that would enrage any homophobic idiot but for 3 guys in our early 20s that could care less we felt pretty damn good about ourselves to get the compliment. Later, as NCL is "Freestyle" we'd run into them at the Pub, club, dinner and such. The final night of Mardi Gras on our cruise it was 4 staff members, my group, the gay couple, a group of 6 super senior citizens and maybe 4 others partying until 5 A.M. Needless to say I think it is more about the people you interact with and how you interact with them. I'd say as a cruise line NCL seemed very accommodating.
Oct 31, 2011, 11:25 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 243
My partner and I went on a NCL 7-day cruise from NYC to the Bahamas last February and had an amazing time.
We're used to spending a lot of time together so we didn't have any expectations about meeting too many new friends on the ship, but we ended up going to a "Friends of Dorothy" meeting the first night and met a good group of gays that we would see around the ship and ports. It's good to have familiar faces to talk to and have breakfast with.
We were far from uncomfortable at any point.
Also, look for Black Friday deals on cruises, last year is when I scored great prices on our cruise. I bought a soda package, and we ended up sharing most of the time, but my boyfriend doesn't drink soda much, so he didn't find it necessary.
We're used to spending a lot of time together so we didn't have any expectations about meeting too many new friends on the ship, but we ended up going to a "Friends of Dorothy" meeting the first night and met a good group of gays that we would see around the ship and ports. It's good to have familiar faces to talk to and have breakfast with.
We were far from uncomfortable at any point.
Also, look for Black Friday deals on cruises, last year is when I scored great prices on our cruise. I bought a soda package, and we ended up sharing most of the time, but my boyfriend doesn't drink soda much, so he didn't find it necessary.
Oct 31, 2011, 7:05 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Redondo Beach, CA USA
Programs: UA 1KMM, Bonvoy LTE+A, HH D, Nat'l EE, Hertz Plat, Avis PC
Posts: 3,712
This may seem like a strange suggestion, but have you considered Disney? Disney is one of the gay-friendliest companies out there, both for employees and customers. I recently took a Disney cruise and there was quite an active gay contingent (actually, many of them were Disney employees from resorts who were taking the cruise and partying with their friends who worked on the ship).
Oct 31, 2011, 8:47 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Tampa
Programs: Delta Gold, Hilton Honors Gold, All on my own dime.
Posts: 5,182
Check out cruisecritic.com. On their discussion boards there is a gay and lesbian section and its mostly all roll calls (who is going and when). Plus, the site itself is a gold mine of information for just about everything cruise related. Have fun!
Nov 1, 2011, 8:49 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Home: East Mids UK - Work (Base): Accra, Ghana.
Programs: BAEC: Silver - Marriott: Titanium
Posts: 12,086
If you want a gay only cruise... Which would be my idea of a worst nightmare.
I think most cruise lines are "gay friendly" these days. They can not afford not to be.
There was a recent question asked on one of the curisecritc forums, asking about two men dancing together... And the general consensus was that no one would bat an eyelid...
I think most cruise lines are "gay friendly" these days. They can not afford not to be.
There was a recent question asked on one of the curisecritc forums, asking about two men dancing together... And the general consensus was that no one would bat an eyelid...
Nov 1, 2011, 9:01 am
#12
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 243
If you want a gay only cruise... Which would be my idea of a worst nightmare.
I think most cruise lines are "gay friendly" these days. They can not afford not to be.
There was a recent question asked on one of the curisecritc forums, asking about two men dancing together... And the general consensus was that no one would bat an eyelid...
I think most cruise lines are "gay friendly" these days. They can not afford not to be.
There was a recent question asked on one of the curisecritc forums, asking about two men dancing together... And the general consensus was that no one would bat an eyelid...
I can tell you from personal experience that on NCL it was no big deal. The people who are generally out later and going to the dance parties are generally a younger crowd anyway, so it's a pretty accepting environment.
Nov 1, 2011, 9:02 pm
#13
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 13
I like Pied Piper Gay Group Cruises
"My partner and I are looking at booking a cruise (7 to 10 nights) for late February/early March 2012 . Having not been on a cruise, I'm seeking some advice.
*How about Celebrity Cruises? A number of friends recommend Celebrity.
*Other gay-friendly cruise lines we should look into?
*How do we get the best prices? (Book through the cruise line directly or via a third party? Discount codes?
*Good idea to book a beverage package?
Thanks in advance for the tips"
I like the Pied Piper escorted gay group cruises. Usually get a group from about 30-80 onboard, unlike RSVP or Alantis, price is much more resonable, and never had a bad experience. Usually cheaperthan booking direct with cruise line.
Heading to New Zealand/Australia on one in January 2012 onboard the Celebrity Century
I've tried the all gay cruises as well, and just too much for me. It was like being trapped in a gay bar for a week, too much concentration on club scene/drinking/partying rather than relaxing and just having fun.
*How about Celebrity Cruises? A number of friends recommend Celebrity.
*Other gay-friendly cruise lines we should look into?
*How do we get the best prices? (Book through the cruise line directly or via a third party? Discount codes?
*Good idea to book a beverage package?
Thanks in advance for the tips"
I like the Pied Piper escorted gay group cruises. Usually get a group from about 30-80 onboard, unlike RSVP or Alantis, price is much more resonable, and never had a bad experience. Usually cheaperthan booking direct with cruise line.
Heading to New Zealand/Australia on one in January 2012 onboard the Celebrity Century
I've tried the all gay cruises as well, and just too much for me. It was like being trapped in a gay bar for a week, too much concentration on club scene/drinking/partying rather than relaxing and just having fun.
Nov 5, 2011, 11:30 pm
#14
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Idaho
Programs: US Airways, Silver United, Gold Hilton, Platinum Marriott, Gold SPG
Posts: 749
Most cruises are gay friendly. I have been on probably 8 cruises & have never really felt incomfortable. Have cruised Celebrity twice & they are a much more upscale line, than say, Carnival. I did cruise Carnival once & it is a younger party straight drinking crowd. The last cruise we took was on Holland America to Alaska. I chose that line because they cater to an older crowd and I figured there would be less families with alot of children and I was correct. It was a more refined atmosphere but not alot of late night nightlife. I highly reccomend either Celebrity or Holland America. You can get some good deals on vacationstogo.com or thru alot of the cruise websites. I have had the best luck pricewise with a website called cruisecompete.com. If you know the cruise you would like to do, yougo to this site and enter the info for that particular cruise Then you will receive bids or offers from various online travel sites for that specific cruise. The prices vary greatly from bid to bid. I just give it a day or so & then book the lowest price offered as it is all for the same cruise. If you need any more info feel free to message me directly.
Thank you for great info, especially about finding cruises! ^
http://vacationstogo.com/
http://www.cruisecompete.com/
Thank you for great info, especially about finding cruises! ^
http://vacationstogo.com/
http://www.cruisecompete.com/
Nov 6, 2011, 4:05 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: Alaska Airlines, BMI Gold, United 1K
Posts: 112
Crystal Cruises?
I am also looking into a ten-day cruise (Miami to Lisbon) on Crystal. We are a gay couple in our early thirties. While Crystal gets fantastic reviews, my concern is that perhaps there isn't much of an age mix on Crystal.
Also, it appears that the dress code is VERY STRICT, meaning on "formal' or "informal" nights (re: tuxedos or suits) this dress code is enforced in ALL public spaces. (My partners is cringing at having to dress up almost every night with no options on the ship for casual wear in the evening.) Maybe I should just go w/ Celebrity and be done w/ it? (But I'm tempted to go Crystal b/c I found a very reasonable fare.)
If you have been on Crystal, please advise.
Thanks for all the helpful tips!
Also, it appears that the dress code is VERY STRICT, meaning on "formal' or "informal" nights (re: tuxedos or suits) this dress code is enforced in ALL public spaces. (My partners is cringing at having to dress up almost every night with no options on the ship for casual wear in the evening.) Maybe I should just go w/ Celebrity and be done w/ it? (But I'm tempted to go Crystal b/c I found a very reasonable fare.)
If you have been on Crystal, please advise.
Thanks for all the helpful tips!