Crew members kindle gay shipboard romance
Gay travel writer Greg Shapiro met his husband Ricardo when they worked together as cruise ship crew members. The cruise ship portion of their love story spanned across 3 different ships and over 25 different countries. For Valentine’s Day, we present part one of a series tracing the course of their gay shipboard romance.
Part 1: Our First Kiss
2018: Key West trip brings back memories
As I tightened my seatbelt and returned the chair to its upright position, I felt a squeeze on my leg. I turned to my left and saw you looking out your window. From the airplane, I saw the sun begin its arc towards the horizon, its light shimmering on the turquoise water below. You snapped a photo of the cruise ship waiting in port. I knew from experience that in a few hours, the ship’s crew would be shaking the sand out of their towels, chugging their last beers, and racing back before the all aboard horn.
Like Cinderella with a sunset curfew, the last time I saw Key West was in 2015 from behind a porthole, sailing away without a drag queen in sight. Now would be our chance to spend the night since we were no longer crew members but regular tourists on our first “normal” vacation. Up until this year, vacation was the time on land where we’d meet somewhere in between our home countries to enjoy life without bunk beds, safety drills, and cafeteria meals. After a few weeks of jet setting, we’d go our separate ways, praying that our schedules didn’t transfer us to different ships.
After checking in at our hotel, we treated ourselves to all our favorite Key West experiences. Two lobster rolls, two ice cream sandwiches, and two glasses of wine later, we made our way to Mallory Square to catch the sunset. As our bikes clattered across the wooden slats of the dock, the lettering on the bow came into focus.
We saw the vessel we’d glimpsed from the plane, and realized this wasn’t just a random cruise ship. It was the Brilliance of the Seas , the same exact 2,501-passenger vessel where we first met and fell in love. We found an empty bench with a good view of the ship. As the sun set, we quizzed each other our memories of this setting of our first meeting. What was behind that wall of glass on Deck 6? What was the name of that lounge? As the late afternoon sun drenched only our faces, I closed my eyes and listened to the distant sounds of a Zumba class, slipping into a nap. As the music grew louder, I felt warm, salty air wrap around me.
May 2015: Gay shipboard romance begins aboard Brilliance of the Seas
I blinked and saw my reflection in the darkened glass of the Deck 12 fitness center. I wore my daytime uniform — a crisp white polo tucked into high-waisted khaki shorts, a nautical navy belt, and white Converse sneakers. With a big black remote sticking out of my back pocket and a laptop tucked under my arm, I looked like some mashup of Back to the Future and Baywatch. I felt excited about starting my first contract as a cruise ship crew member.
Each cruise, my twice-daily quality control check began at the sail-away party. I danced across the pool deck and made sure that the Pitbull music video was playing. The icy air of the buffet chilled my bones as I confirmed the different restaurant specials on the menu screens. Spiraling down the staircases, I double-clicked on each of the ship’s Wayfinders. I zig-zagged through the casino past the pub and peeked into the cinema. After eyeing the theater marquees, my final stop was the screen in the photo gallery where you worked as a photographer.
We spoke to each other for the first time in the crew mess, at the 11:30pm “last call” meal of the night. Most of the ship’s crew ended their nightly shifts here. If I arrived early enough, I’d get first pick of leftover food from the dining room. The first time you sat down across from me at the long table, I immediately noticed your smile. I tried desperately to impress you with my Spanish. (You later teased me about my opening line: “Mi espanol es perfecto.”) I was just a few months into my first contract, while this was your second.
During the ship’s seven-day Atlantic crossing, we slowly began to exchange longer glances. The cruise director asked me to teach dance classes in the Centrum. Everyday at the captain’s noon bell, I plugged in my iPhone to the ship’s sound system, secured a hands-free Britney-style microphone around my ear, and leaped onto the stage. Gyrating my hips while the Pussycat Dolls blasted through Deck 8, I hoped you were watching.
On the first overnight in St. Petersburg , a group of 20 crew members huddled outside of the port, waiting for the bus to the subway station. We got out at Nevsky Prospekt and walked along the canal. It was almost midnight , but the Scandinavian sun wasn’t ready to set. We arrived at the three-story club. After sipping on Vodka Redbulls and eventually getting pulled on stage, we found ourselves facing each other in the in the center of the dance floor, finally away from the group.
As the lights flashed and giant balloons deflated around us, we clasped hands. Standing face-to-face, we lifted our arms above our heads. The space between us narrowed as our hips moved in unison. When my lips found yours, I closed my eyes and surrendered.
The blast of a horn jolts me awake and back to the present. The low sun has just disappeared behind a cloud. We stood up from the bench and embraced, sharing our first kiss of the night. After snapping a picture together, we kicked up onto our bikes and pedaled back to our hotel.
Dating as cruise ship crew members adds a whole new set of challenges to gay romance. As Greg and Ricardo’s story unfolds, what questions do you have about love, dating, sex, and gay/LGBT relationships at sea? Let us know your (PG or R-rated) questions about this real-life gay romance story, and Greg will attempt to cover those topics in a future installment of this series.
