Veteran gay cruise ship employee interview
Was he your Food & Beverage Director?
Adam Martindale served as Food & Beverage Director on three different cruise lines – Carnival, Norwegian, and Oceania–during a career spanning some 30 years. (He worked for Carnival back when they had only had three ships!) Today he works as a luxury cruise specialist with Cruise Planners* in San Diego, specializing in organizing unique food & wine cruise experiences. We caught up with Adam for his unique insights gleaned from decades as a gay cruise ship employee.
Scroll down for Adam’s tips on the best onboard foods & drink package values, his best shipboard meal ever, and a time when most of the ship’s senior leadership team were gay !
MeetMeOnBoard:
At what point during your cruise ship career did you come out of the closet? How did that go amongst your colleagues both on your ship and within the industry?
Adam Martindale:
It was a transitional period. I started on the ships when I was 19 years old. I was Food and Beverage Director with Carnival when the transition happened. All my friends and colleagues were supportive. Management and crew that worked for me generally had no issues. A cruise ship is a very welcoming place to be yourself.
Adam Martindale, second from left,** with colleagues aboard one of his early Carnival ships,the Festivale.
MMOB:
You’ve been around cruise lines long enough to see the average LGBT passenger go from fairly closeted to very open. Do you have any unusual or interesting memories from experiences with LGBT passengers, whether recent or way back when?
Adam:
We definitely started to notice more openly LGBT guests during the past 20 years. It seems that more LGBT travelers now have no issue cruising with mixed guests. LGBT people are definitely welcomed by other guests much more, probably because the LGBT’s are usually the life of the party! Not long ago in my cruise work days, there was a gay couple that brought a doll with them for dinner each night. The doll was dressed the same way they were each night. That was very entertaining to say the least!
MMOB:
True confessions: what was shipboard life like as a gay cruise ship employee? Perhaps it was different through the years? Memories?
Adam:
There was one period when I worked for Norwegian Cruise Line that we had a gay chief engineer, gay hotel director, gay F&B director, gay cruise director, and gay HR manager all at the same time! The Captain was very open and accommodating to all, which was nice to see being in a senior management position.
MMOB:
Other than NCL Pride of America,
which you’ve worked on, most cruise ship employees are not Americans; how did you manage to break in, and thrive, working on cruise ships?
Adam:
I am British, so that’s how I got my start. A recruiting company was in London back in 1985, “looking for food and beverage management trainees for a US based cruise line” – Carnival! At that time, had just three ships! I have a U.S. Green Card now and am working toward obtaining U.S. citizenship.
MMOB:
You’ve worked on a variety of ship “types,” from the very mass-market Carnival to middle-of-the-road NCL to the upscale Oceania. Is there a difference, behind the scenes, in how gay passengers were/are perceived at those different types of lines?
Adam:
No difference at all. Everyone is treated the same way at all cruise lines.
MMOB:
Having worked in such a variety of cruise lines, what is your recommendation on how to make the most of each of these cruise lines: Carnival, NCL, and Oceania.
Adam:
The most important thing is to have realistic expectations when you are booking on a particular cruise line.
- Carnival – Expect to have FUN! Expect great food and service, expect great value for your money, expect a party, expect to see many demographics of guests on board and relax. Try different foods on the menus that you may have never tried before.
- Norwegian Cruise Line – Expect great entertainment, great food and service with more dining options, expect to pay a little more than Carnival, expect to interact with many different types of guests, expect a party and join in the activities as much as you can.
- Oceania
– Expect a luxury experience, expect superior food and service with many dining options that you do not have to pay for. Take advantage of this. Expect a more mature and well-traveled clientele, expect to pay more for a luxury experience.
Adam Martindale in a more recent shot during his time as F&B director onboard Oceania Regatta.
MMOB:
Like a lot of LGBT travelers, you have a love for fine food and wine; what are a couple of suggestions on making the most of the onboard food experience when cruising?
Adam:
If you like to eat in the specialty restaurants, book your reservations online before you cruise, if you can, and consider trying them on port days when they may not be as busy.
- Utilize the restaurant packages offered by many cruise lines. They are usually a good deal. Make reservations for all specialty restaurants as soon as you get on board if you did not do it before the cruise. You can always try to change the reservations if you already have them. If you don’t have them. It can sometimes be hard to get them once onboard.
- Don’t go to the main dining room right when it opens , especially on the first night. Relax, have a cocktail then show up when the lines have gone.
- Eat in all the venues. Try everything! Why not? It is so much more fun and variety is the spice of life. Eat in the main dining room for breakfast on the last morning of the cruise. Avoid the buffet as it’s usually packed and not an enjoyable experience.
MMOB:
You’ve now developed a niche for pairing cruise passengers with onboard wine experiences. How have you navigated the shift from someone controlling the F&B experience to being away from the control, and trying to help a group of travelers have an exquisite F&B experience?
Adam:
Not being “in control” is not an option. I know how to get things done onboard. I make sure everything has been taken care of don’t take anything for granted. I make friends with restaurant managers and chefs as soon as I get onboard, go over the schedule for my group and make sure that all details are provided to the shipboard management. I usually know someone who knows someone onboard which always helps!
MMOB:
Many gay cruisers love their booze. What tips do you have for making the most of the onboard liquor and wine options?
Adam:
I used to always recommend the drink packages, b
ut I have found that if there are a lot of port days, and you plan to go ashore and take advantage of shore excursions, then it is not always a good move. Depending upon the cruise line, take advantage of the complimentary beverage package promotions before you book. Celebrity has the “GO best” promotion and Oceania has the “OLife” promotion that includes a beverage package. Wine packages can be a good option if you plan on drinking wine each night in the restaurants. Get to know the sommeliers on board. They often have bottles that are “dead stock”, meaning that they only have a few left and take them off the wine list. They want to move those bottles for the right price.
MMOB:
The best meal you ever had on a cruise ship was: ship/venue?
Adam:
It was on Oceania Regatta
during an Alaska cruise, sitting on the Terrace Café Verandah with the Executive Chef eating fresh crab we had just purchased.
MMOB:
If you had to choose one ethnic food to always order on a ship it would be…?
Adam:
Indian as most of the galley cooks are Indian. They make killer curries and all types of regional Indian cuisine. Ask if they have any Indian special food available (they usually make some for vegetarian and Indian guests and usually have extra available.)
*At the request of the subject, this article was edited to clarify his work description.
**Since original publication, this photo caption has been corrected to properly identify the subject.
Note: all photos courtesy of Adam Martindale.
