walester

Hi, we're Bill & Gary from the Big Island of Hawaii. We're booked on this Best of Southern Japan cruise, but we're wondering if it will really happen given the escalating Covid situation in both the US and Japan. We're traveling with a group from the Pied Pipers, and have always enjoyed their trips in the past. If anyone is interested, we're exploring private tour options in most of the ports. Let us know if you're interested in joining us.

FYI, the stop at the port of Nagasaki has been cancelled due to "congestion" and has been replaced with Kagoshima.

We just returned from a 14 day cruise of Southeast Asia on the Celebrity Millennium, and no one showed up for the scheduled LGBT gathering at 8PM at the loud Martini Bar. During the 2 weeks, we met several gay couples, but none seemed to know about, or care about the gatherings. Many were not native english speakers, which might have explained their reluctance.

Our next two cruises are with a gay travel group, so hopefully less of a problem.

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We’re a group of 8 who often vacation together: one straight married couple and three gay male couples. We usually share a table, and enjoy dressing well and making the dining experience special.

On one vacation, a gentleman got up from the adjoining group table and said “we’ve been watching you since the beginning of the cruise, and I was voted to be the one to ask ‘what’s the story here?’”

We all sort of smiled, not quite sure how or how much to answer. But Fatima, the one female at our table chimed in with “Well, this is my current husband, Jeff, and this was my first husband, Bernard, and this was my second husband, Gary, and this was my third husband...”. She continued around the table introducing us, and with a cheery “Thanks for asking!”

After that, there were no more questions! And we all had a good laugh.

We are Bill & Gary from Hawaii. Traveling with us are Phil & Jim, our good friends from Brooklyn, NY. It’s their first cruise, and so we’re trying to do everything possible to make the event as good as they way we’ve hyped these Celebrity cruises :).

We’re looking forward to meeting everyone, and hoping that we aren’t the only gay people on the cruise.

We’ve started to think about tours in ports, and I’ve reached out to two different companies, recommended by others on Cruise Critic, to see about arranging tours in all three ports in Vietnam. I’m waiting to hear back from them, and I’ll share any of the information I receive.

We’d love to hear from others who will be on the cruise. Have you thought about doing any interesting tours in any of the ports?

Hi Markus & Andrew and John & Kevin,

We are Bill & Gary from Hawaii, and we are booked on a similar cruise on February 4, 2018 from Hong Kong to Singapore.

We’ve started to think about tours in ports, and I’ve reached out to two different companies, recommended by others on Cruise Critic, to see about arranging tours in all three ports in Vietnam. I’m waiting to hear back from them, and I’ll share any of the information I receive.

Have you thought about doing any interesting tours in any of the ports?

We're booked for a trip on the Millenium from Hong Kong to Singapore in February, 2018. Would love to hear how your trip goes.

FWIW, we just finished a 14 day Mediterranean cruise on the Silhouette, and we were the ONLY gay couple on the ship ( at least who identified themselves)! Not one person showed up for any of the LGBT gatherings, and the two times my gaydar went off, were false alarms. Hard to believe with almost 3000 cruisers. Good news is that we had a great time and met quite a few fun straight couples, including a former Miss Kansas and her husband who were terrific. She was a finalist in the Karaoke Competition singing "The Wind Beneath My Wings". <g>

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Just returned from a 14-day cruise on the Silhouette in Room 6294, and I can confirm what was stated above: "...the noises in this cabin (to me) were NOT good at night!"

It took me a while to identify where the noises were coming from. They were random, late at night or early morning, and not the normal noise/vibrations from the ship's engine. On the first night, I awoke to what sounded like a train going down the hallway. That began a two-week saga of loud, banging, clanking, and rattling noises that lasted from a few seconds to several minutes. I'm a light sleeper, and these interruptions were a nuisance.

The source of the noises was from the specialty restaurants located on the deck below the room. Apparently, they clean, repair, and restock the dining rooms and the adjoining kitchens at night/early morning, and the noises I was hearing are the typical ones you'd hear in a restaurant kitchen. The noises that were obvious were the sounds of plates/glasses being stacked.

I did complain to Guest Relations and "Henry" attempted to help us find a new room, but the ship was full, and the only other accommodation he could offer was in a room a few doors away from us. I guessed that we would experience the same noise there, so opted to stay where we were. While Henry was helpful, he made no effort to help us identify where the noises were coming from, or the rectify the situation. He did acknowledge that we were not the first folks to complain about noise in that room.

Bottom line: if you're a heavy sleeper, this is a great room with a large balcony and no obstructions. If you're a light sleeper, find a room on a deck above this one, or more towards the center of the ship.

Hope this info helps.

Just checking in again. Surprised that there's not one response. I hope we're not the only gay folks on this cruise. That would be a first <g>.

Hello Fellow Cruisers!

Bill & Gary from NYC/Hawaii here. We'll be sailing on the Silhouette Western Mediterranean. It will be our third Celebrity cruise, and we're cautiously excited. If it goes as well as our first cruise (Eastern Mediterranean/Celebrity Constellation in September 2015), it should be a terrific trip. Looking forward to meeting others as well.

Cheers!

Hi Thom & Adrian,

SouthEast Asia, wow, that sounds terrific!

We met fellow gay cruisers who had done this itinerary before and they recommended using one of the independent tour companies (like SBP Tours or Alla Tours) to arrange a tour. You can get a private customized tour or join an existing small group (up to 16 people or so), and they handle the responsibility of getting a visa as well as the logistics of getting into some of the sites that usually have long waiting lines. A private tour with one of those agencies is what we were considering. Given the current environment in Russia, I don’t think we’re up to do a truly independent excursion, but we don’t want to do the ones offered by Celebrity either. Your thoughts?

As for Moscow, I’ve been there twice (for work), and Gary would rather spend the three days in St. Petersburg. FYI, apparently the Kremlin is closed on Thursdays, so none of the local tours are offering Day 2 in Russia as a day to Moscow.

If you want to talk off line, we can reached at walester at wal.net. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Cheers!

Bill & Gary

Hello Fellow Cruisers!

Bill & Gary from NYC/Hawaii here. We'll be sailing on the Silhouette Baltic Cruise as well. It's our second Celebrity cruise, and we're cautiously excited. If it goes as well as our first cruise (Eastern Mediterranean/Celebrity Constellation in September 2015), it should be a terrific trip. Looking forward to meeting others as well.

Thomas & Adrian, we'd be interested in joining you/others for some private excursions, especially St. Petersburg. Let us know.

Cheers!

Greetings!

My partner Gary & I are newbies taking our first cruise. We're really excited, but a bit apprehensive, given the economic problems in Greece, and now the political problems in Istanbul. This trip is a test for us to see if we want to try other cruises.

I know that there's a Pied Piper group on this trip. Hoping to meet some of those folks and others who will be on board.

Just a month away!

Cheers,

Bill

I'm disappointed to hear that the LGBT gatherings are often poorly attended. We will be doing our first cruise in September, on the Celebrity Constellation, and we were hoping that by meeting other gay couples (and singles too), that we could quickly learn the ropes.

Any other advice for gay newbies trying to figure out what will work for us?

Thanks