skipperanne

Yes not handled well at all.

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They were a bust on February 25 Anthem of the SEAS. Such a disappointment.

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Hello. About to embark on one of the gayest cruises out there that isn't specifically so. Melissa Etheridge and Friends a charter on Serenade of the Seas. Hope some of you will be aboard!!

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Note to self: Cover myself in glitter, wear Pride Day go go shorts, squeal “hey girl, HEY!” at every man that shows up.

 

Kidding. Truth be told, we’ve been told we look like two soccer Dads, waiting at the bar for our wives to get ready for dinner. And I do have ZERO gaydar. We do find a smile and hello are harmless intros, whether the person is there for the LGBT meet/greet. If they are, awesome. If they’re not, no biggie.

 

 

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I think i simply didn't find the people on my first several cruises. . . . most of the groups are men. I am often the only woman who attends, but one cruise there were three female couples. And about as many men. It was the first one I really enjoyed, and so I've taken more risks in approaching people since then, the men have always been very welcoming to me, so it continues to be fun.

Anne

Following

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Cruising on the Melissa Etheridge Charter. Serenade of the Seas. March 12 - 19. Can't wait. Any CC folks out there joining this trip???

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Sailing on Anthem of the Seas out of Cape Liberty on February 25 for an 11 night cruise. Anyone know how Royal handles the LGBTQ crowd. I've enjoyed the groups on NCL, so looking forward to a new venue.

Hey all. Sailing on the NCL Gem in December 2, I know there are going to be more lgbtq folks on this cruise. So speak up please.

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You ended up with a Southern Carribean itinerary which in my opinion is a bonus. Thus the 3 sea days to get there. It takes 2 sea days from Miami so its understandable 3 down and 3 back to/from NY. I've always wondered why the cruiselines stip at San Juan...Afternoon arrival and departure 5-6 hours later is a waste in my mind. Probably to pick up passengers!?

 

I can understand your upset....But the original islands on your itinerary were virtually destroyed and your substitute islands are awsome. Hope you can still enjoy your cruise....But other than a late notification....which I'm sure NCL was waiting until the last minute to see if the original ports of call would still be doable.... its within their rights to change the ports of call.

I was once told that PR does not charge for arrivals after 3 pm. So for awhile anyway ships were arriving at around 3:30 and leaving at 8 pm. But perhaps they do pick up passengers.

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i don't see anything generous about the industry, the proper thing to do would be to cancel the cruise and/or offer refunds so people get what they paid for and wanted. We went thru jose to get away from maria i didn't want to go and i did not feel safe at all but I couldn't take the financial hit even with trip insurance, thats why royal is in a class action lawsuit now. The cruise industry didn't choose a hurricane but they did know it was there and chose to go anyway to keep your money.

 

You should be outraged but have accepted bs policy to be appropriate, if you own a business you could put anything you want in a contract it doesn't mean it will hold up in court just ask anybody who has had a prenup. I would like to know any other industry where it is ok to take someones money for a product then send something else. You wouldn't order a mustang and be ok when a kia showed up.

Car Rental companies do that all the time. You contracted for a cruise. That is what you get. Destinations are rather interchangeable. Same type excursions at most islands.

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Waited 2 days after Final Payment for ncl to release the new 14 day itinerary and took away 3 ports!!!!

 

 

 

Who does 5 ports and 9 sea days on a 14 day cruise. Deff not on good terms with that

 

 

 

Originally was San Juan. St thomas st maarten tortola dominica barbados st lucia antigua

 

 

 

now we are

 

Fri New York, New York

 

Sat At Sea

 

Sun At Sea

 

Mon At Sea

 

Tue Oranjestad, Aruba8:00 Overnight

 

Wed Oranjestad, Aruba12:00 pm

 

Thu Willemstad, Curacao8:00 am5:00 Fri At Sea

 

Sat Bridgetown, Barbados8:00

 

Sun Castries, St. Lucia8:00 am5:00 Mon St. John's, Antigua8:00 am5:00 TueAt Sea

 

WedAt Sea

 

ThuAt Sea

 

FriNew York City, New York

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very dissapointed. They just want more sea days to re coupe thier loses

That is not a bad cruise. I think they are doing their best. I love sea days though.

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Where do you even find out about the FOD meetings? I'll be going on the NCL Epic with my partner in December. There's bound to be lots of gays going on a ship that big.

It will be listed in the freestyle daily. The first meeting is generally the first evening at a bar. On the Gem it is Bliss. But then can change. Check your freestyle daily.

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That's good. Can anyone change it from the hall?

They are too high for a child to switch but yes someone over five feet tall could switch it. That would be rude!! Not an accidental brush off. And incorrect replace. Is mischief turning truly an issue??

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Cool

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On NCL they have a dial outside the door. Welcome, please make up room, do not disturb, please turn down room. You cannot steal them. You just set them when you come and go. Works really well in my observation. Over time I am sure it cost less than hang tags.

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At this time Escape is the only NCL ship scheduled to visit the Eastern Caribbean.

 

 

This isn't true. I'm scheduled for Eastern Caribbean on 10/31 on the Gem.

 

And that is the first trip the Gem is making to the Eastern Caribbean, so it will be November by the time you get there. So you will be the first to know how things are going in November. (My Gem cruise is 12/2/ still a toss up as to where I will be going on that one.

Royal Caribbean cancelled me due to a charter. We got about ten months notice. And offered three substitute cruises and $200 OBC. But I lost the $100 I already had. I didn't think they were all that fair frankly.

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It would be great if all cruise lines created a solo cruise pass for solo cruisers. They could have a special coordinator like Norwegian and plan special events, etc. The pass could cost $50 for the entire cruise.

 

 

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What would the solo cruise pass give you? would it get you in places? would it give you reduced rates at something? I'm confused.

There are a lot of solo women I'm sailing with on Anthem December 2nd. 12 night Southern.

Ironically I am doing the 12 day Anthem Cruise to the Southern Caribbean February 25. Too bad i cannot just swap the cruises. :) Ah well.

I have been in NCL for the past two Saint Patrick's days. It wasn't really crazy. I will be in the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Sea this time.

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I always try to attend early on in the cruise and make the best of it. Sometimes I stroll into the bar with a few snaps a say "It's Friends of Dorothy time, let's get this party started" and that seems to help. :)

 

 

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That beats the sort of wandering around looking for anyone who might be gay and there for the Friends of Dorothy Meeting. The cruise lines need to make it a little easier to find one another.

We've been on Royal, NCL, and Carnival and have enjoyed all three thoroughly. We're a late 20's couple with no kids from Canada. Great food quality, plenty of entertainment, and pool time = awesome trip for us. We don't concern ourselves too much with the other details. Breakdown of the pros and cons of each from my perspective:

 

Carnival:

- Best for our taste in entertainment. We're not really into musicals and singing/dancing type shows nor do we find ourselves entertained sitting at a bar. Give us comedians and guest game shows (think Quest, Love and Marriage, etc.) and we're happy. You can expect hours upon hours of comedy acts every single night so we were always entertained.

- Worst for food. Food is so subjective and we've only been on one Carnival ship so take this as you will. In our experience sometimes they tried to make food really "fun" at the expense of quality. Think cereal-covered french toast that just turned into a soggy mess.

 

NCL:

- Best for food. The quality was amazing and tons of different options. I definitely recommend going on a ship with O'Sheehans (most do), it was our favourite place to hang out. I would say the MDR and buffet was about the same quality and offerings as RCCL but O'Sheehans really set it apart for those in-between-meals or late night snacks. Most lines will offer somewhat-lacking pizza, pastries, salads, and sandwiches as snacks whereas O'Sheehans offered wings, nachos, spinach dip, fajitas, etc. Anything you would expect from a good pub restaurant back home.

- As mentioned above, the Free at Sea promo is great. While you still end up paying a little, it's still a great deal

- Worst for entertainment. If you enjoy broadway style musicals you will love it. On Breakaway specifically they have a comedy club where they performed one or two improv shows per night. We didn't find it that funny and the shows were repeated throughout the week. We found ourselves walking through the ship aimlessly in the evenings on multiple occasions.

 

RCCL:

- Well rounded and somewhere in the middle when it comes to food and entertainment. Always something going on for every taste.

- The thing that really puts RCCL ahead of the rest for us is their indoor solariums. It's something that has really set RCCL apart from the rest for us as very few other ships offer this while combined with the rest of our interests. We're from Canada so all of our travel costs plus the weak dollar make it considerably more expensive for us than the average cruiser and limits us to one cruise per year (I know, first world problems lol). With that in mind we try to avoid too many risks and go with ships that we know will deliver great food, we will be entertained, and we'll be guaranteed plenty of pool time (indoor solarium). We're already spending thousands of dollars just to get to the port, what's a couple extra hundred dollars at that point then to go with RCCL which does well across the board. You may not be in that situation so take this as you will.

 

Hopefully that helps. I think sometimes people will throw out their opinions about things without specifying what "good" means to them. What we look for may be similar or completely opposite but you should be able to recognize that fairly quickly here.

this was a great analysis. I find that I prefer the midsize ships (smaller?) with around 1990 - 2200 passengers In this size Carnival only has their older ships, not dry dock updated. So I find NCL and RCI comparable in offerings. I too love the solarium pool, no sunburn, actually get to swim (on the larger ships the solarium pools are not really swimmable). I found the food and MDR service on RCI really lacking. . . and their specialty dining was rather expensive. I don't drink so the drinks perk on NCL is not an enticement. Which leaves entertainment as the tie breaker. . . I love musicals. . . not a fan of overly loud though.

With holding judgement until this season of cruises.

I think running out of Bloody Mary mix of first night on EN was the pits.....

I was on Carnival Paradise last October. . . i purchased the soft drink package, and they ran out of root beer by the end of day one, thankfully their package also included fruit juices as i don't drink colas, and those were my other options.

Also the only cruise line I have been on that carries Ginger Beer is NCL, and I like it, moreover, it works really well for a queasy stomach, it has enough Ginger to settle things down. (NCL, RCI, and CCL i know limited, but I am being honest about that).

I understand going for the lowest rate, but 1/2 with NCL, not going to happen.NCL and Royal are usually very close in price. I do agree about the "free" items, though you pay about $200.00 in grats for the drink pkg, and about $25.00 for the specialty dining. They sre still good perks. Royal very rarely gives anything other than price increases.

It is $14 per day in gratuities for the drink pkg. per person. You exaggerate a bit. Dining pkg gratuity spends upon number of nights. Prices are closer to each other out of NY. Don't know about southern cruises.

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I don't quite understand this because on Princess and NCL, the muster stations are all inside. Why can't Carnival do the same?

Actually. Outside in NCL Sun. It was a challenge.

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