3 Cruise travel myths from a gay perspective
Here are our three cruise travel myths from a gay perspective:
Myth #1: Cruising is only for straight people.
Wrong. Cruising is for everyone. The days of Ozzie and Harriet are over. Welcome to cruising in the era of Modern Family !
If you enjoy being on the high-seas, visiting unfamiliar destinations, creating new friendships, fine dining, a slew of entertainment options and being pampered, then cruising is for you. Like most modern families today, you’ll find lots of diversity once on board. And you may be able to start finding that diversity before the ship sails by listing your itinerary on your MeetMeOnBoard.com profile.
MSC Cruises offers The Yacht Club to give you a ‘ship within a ship’ experience that offer exclusive luxury amenities like private dining, lounge, pool, bar area and concierge service. Background photo © MSC Cruises
Myth #2: The cruise lines aren’t gay-friendly.
Wrong. Most are very welcoming. Unfortunately, there are a few “old guard” folks in some lines’ management who prefer to ignore us, but in general, cruise lines welcome LGBT passengers. The vast majority of gays and lesbians should never encounter a conflict between other passengers or feel unwelcome by the ship’s officers and crew.
Cruise lines have noticed the power of the gay traveler (MeetMeOnBoard is quickly becoming the LGBT “voice” to the industry). As they recognize the frequency with which we choose a cruise vacation we believe we will see them reach out directly to our community even more. After all, we are one of the fastest growing demographics (especially as we become progressively visible) in the travel industry and we as a community tend to spend our money only where we are welcome.
Many cruise lines, including MSC Cruises , Holland America , Celebrity , Royal Caribbean , Norwegian and Windstar have previously chartered, or will be chartering, their ships for all-gay cruises.
This means their staff and crew have become familiar with who we are and with our needs. In fact, our experience personally has been that many of the crew thoroughly enjoy being around LGBT passengers. Don’t be shy; be yourselfl with the staff and crew. They enjoy getting to know us and our presence can speak volumes to them.
Most large lines offer a LGBT gathering, sometimes called by its old-school name: “Friends of Dorothy.” These are great opportunities to meet your fellow gay passengers and to make some new cruising buddies. Think of it as Happy Hour with the boys after a rough day at the spa.
Having LGBT gatherings, and properly publicizing them in the dailiy printed program, doesn’t make a cruise line gay friendly but it does say that they recognize us as frequent passengers and want our continued loyalty. We consistently hear from our members that some cruise lines still have room for improvement in this department. When all cruise lines finally decide to address these issues, we believe the loyalty of their LGBT guests will grow.
Myth #3: I need peace, quiet and relaxation. There are too many families with uncontrolled children.
Wrong. There are plenty of ways to get away from the crowds when cruising. To escape crowds on a mega-ship, nobody wants to be locked in their cabin for seven days. Here’s a few things to consider when booking a cruise.
- Book a cabin in a private area of the ship . Some mega-ships today have created a ‘ship within a ship’ concept accessible to only those who have booked in this private area. MSC Cruises offers the ‘ Yacht Club ‘ and Norwegian the ‘ The Haven ‘. These private areas of the ship are usually located on an upper deck near the bow and offer exclusive luxury amenities like private dining, lounge, pool, bar area and concierge service. Even though there might be 4,000 passengers below, you will feel like you are on your own private yacht. Now that’s living.
- Travel off-season when there most likely will be fewer children on board. Avoid summer and the months when long school breaks take place. Prices tend to be the lowest during these times also.
- Choose a ship that holds around 2,000 passengers . These ships have never felt crowded to us. There is always space where you can unwind, relax and enjoy being surrounded by the sea.
- Book a small, luxury cruise. These should have fewer (if any) families, and a more urbane clientele.
If you’ve been thinking about booking a cruise, there’s no better time. October 20-27 is National Cruise Vacation Week and most cruise lines are offering great promotions and discounts. With so many gay couples planning weddings prior to the end of the year, why not honeymoon at sea?
Bon Voyage!
