Chances are you’ll love a gay group cruise. It’s a magic way of cruising, nestled between mainstream cruises and all-gay cruises like Atlantis. Here are five reasons we think you’ll love group cruises.

Many gay cruise travelers have expressed that an all-gay cruise sounds too gay in one way or another—that they actually enjoy meeting interesting straight folks as well as gays when they cruise. A gay group cruise allows for mixing with gays and straights.

One of the best things that happens on an all-gay cruise is unique onboard experiences. While a gay-group can’t produce the over-the-top white parties and high-end entertainers of an all-gay itinerary, it can still provide unique experiences beyond a cruise line’s LGBTQ gathering. Possibilities include a included group dining nights in speciality restaurants, cocktail parties in private locations, LGBTQ film screenings , and more.

Gay groups often organize special activities on shore. On a previous group cruise, one option was a dedicated train car on the Skagway Railway. On the upcoming Meet Me On Board cruise to Cuba, a gay-focused tour of Havana is planned. A group also can make it easier to find friends who might want to join you for your own shore excursion, perhaps sharing the cost of a taxi to a gay-popular beach or wandering the gay village together.

Any gay-group cruise worth your money will include at least one person from the organizing company. This may be a travel agent or other person from the organizers. For MeetMeOnBoard group cruises, we strive to always have someone from our team on the ship, as well as our cruise agent, Adam. These folks are there to help group members mix and mingle, as well as ensure that special onboard and shore experiences go as planned. Also, in the rare case when something goes wrong, a travel agent should be able to troubleshoot with the cruise line.

My husband and I are still in frequent contact with several people from our group cruise several years ago, and have seen many of these folks on land. We’ve even befriended friends of our cruise-mates when they’ve relocated nearby. We’ve said it countless times: the reason Meet Me On Board was created was because gay people are so social, and obviously love finding each other on cruise ships! With a group cruise, it’s generally easy to mingle with other gay travelers, without having to hope someone shows up for the LGBT happy hour organized by many ships.