Which transatlantic most popular with gays?

[JimCo]

I really want to do a transatlantic but people keep telling me that most of them are primarily for straight retired/senior folks.

Now I don't mind being on a ship full of people my parents age or older, I just don't want us to be the only 40 year old gay guys on the ship (excluding the crew/staff).

 

I know that people will say that "there are always gay people on every cruise" but I want to know which cruises are most likely to have a higher concentration of GLBT folks.

 

For instance, from living in Texas and reading these boards, I get the impression that the RCI Voyager seems to get a lot of GLBT folks during it's fall cruise from Barcelona to Galveston.

But is this every fall or only certain years?

And are fall westbound cruises more GLBT popular than eastbound spring ones?

 

There are so many to choose from so I'm trying to narrow it down and this would be a helpful deciding factor.

[LtDang]

Well on the transatlantic on the Royal Caribbean's Independance, which leaves on Monday (you still have time!), we are 10 couples - 20 people who are going. Age range from 33 to 79.

 

Thats just the folks who know and participate on cruise critic, who knows how many more there will be.

 

There are still some balcony staterooms available! Southhampton to Fort Lauderdale.

[YHZcruiser]

We are sailing on the Century from Miami to Barcelona, May 20 (chech the roll call for more info (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1090260).

 

I think the number of gays depends on many factors -- timing, availability of cabins, vacation time, among other factors. Unless a cruise is specifically for gays or has a gay contingent (such as with Pied Piper), you never know how many FODs you'll get. My TA tells me the Spring TAs are better weatherwise. Who knew!

 

There are a number of possibilities out there, were you looking at one in particular? We'd love to have you onboard! :)

[flag fan]

I think the Queen Mary 2 gets a good contingent of gay people for its Transatlantics.

[Blue Peter]

Transatlantic crossings are the best. ... I have done several sailings across the pond, mainly on Celebrity Cruises and twice on Cunard. .... The contigency of the gay community on those sailings is rather high and also of a certain caliber. .... Reminiscing of the golden age of ocean travel. ... Sea days are wonderful and the few ports of call are pleasant.

Joyful Friends of Dorothy gatherings occur almost on a daily basis. ... The whole thing is so civilized and fun.

I would recommend any transatlantic crossing. ... The next passage for me across the Atlantic will be next October for the inaugural crossing of the Celebrity Eclipse from Southampton to Miami.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationItinerary.do;jsessionid=0000TqZ6TFu0JPEpNUkIENN9XST:12hdebebp?packageCode=EC13T021&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

[Blue Peter]

Halifax Cruiser you shall go to www.cruisecentury.com. She is just a beautiful ship.

[sjbdtz]

On June 24th 2010, the Norwegian EPIC makes her debut Transatlantic crossing.

 

We'll be there.....as will a couple of others that we've heard of, so far. Should be a great ship with a bit of a South Beach vibe.

[Schplinky]

We're on Jewel of the Seas' TA next spring and are considering a Disney one in the fall of 2011. It seems like a way of trying a Disney ship without beeing inundated with kids, since they "should" be in school...

[Calliope]

Give me a proper liner to cross the North Atlantic; you never know what Neptune has up his sleeves for the North Atlantic, anytime. That's why all seven of my crossings have been on Cunarders!

[kwokpot]

Give me a proper liner to cross the North Atlantic; you never know what Neptune has up his sleeves for the North Atlantic, anytime. That's why all seven of my crossings have been on Cunarders!

 

The only issue with QM2 crossings is that they are STRICTLY crossings-IOW, there are no other port stops besides embarkation and debarkation. The cruises theerfore are only 6 night affairs.

 

On the other cruiselines, TA's are considered repositioning cruises, so for the same price as a QM2 6 night cruise, you can get up to a 14 night cruise on other cruiselines.

[Calliope]

The only issue with QM2 crossings is that they are STRICTLY crossings-IOW, there are no other port stops besides embarkation and debarkation. The cruises theerfore are only 6 night affairs.

 

On the other cruiselines, TA's are considered repositioning cruises, so for the same price as a QM2 6 night cruise, you can get up to a 14 night cruise on other cruiselines.

 

Yes, I know. I was talking about crossings and not a cruise. During 2010 east-bound New York to Southampton crossings on the QM2 will be seven nights. Also there are some eight and nine night options available from New York to either Cherbourg or Hamburg and vice versa on the QM2. The maiden crossing for the QUEEN ELIZABETH in January 2011 will be an eight night affair from England to the States. She will travel across Cunard's Pond with her sister QUEEN VICTORIA at her side. Rumors are that the new QE is already sold out for this historic event.

[Schplinky]

The only issue with QM2 crossings is that they are STRICTLY crossings-IOW, there are no other port stops besides embarkation and debarkation. The cruises theerfore are only 6 night affairs.

 

On the other cruiselines, TA's are considered repositioning cruises, so for the same price as a QM2 6 night cruise, you can get up to a 14 night cruise on other cruiselines.

 

I have the same feeling. I would, in general, rather my money took me further than a point-to-point crossing.

 

Rumors are that the new QE is already sold out for this historic event.

 

Historic? That seems a bit of hubris that travel agents might use to justify the high price of an inaugural. Really, unless the ship comes to some tragic end, there is not much history in a maiden TA.

[Calliope]

Historic? That seems a bit of hubris that travel agents might use to justify the high price of an inaugural. Really, unless the ship comes to some tragic end, there is not much history in a maiden TA.

 

I beg to differ; hubris, never...hyperbole, maybe! As Mark Twain said, "It's a differance of opinion that makes a horse race!" Two Cunarders cutting across the North Atlantic together is the stuff that maritime history is made of. History is not just the sensational events of the day; it is life as lived by the most grandiose of us and the poorest.

 

I was on the maiden east-bound transatlantic of the R.M.S. QUEEN MARY 2, and it was a historic event. Yes, it was certainly a marketing event with the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 running a parallel course. Even there marketing history was made along with maritime history, as that had never been done before. As stated, the QE2 at our side supposedly making her "last trasatlantic crossing." only to actually do her final transatlantic last year is fodder for any serious maritime historian's mill. We arrived in Southampton to begin the QM2's official roll as Cunard's flagship when the Boston Cup was transferred that May Day 2004. A quick check of the QM2's published passenger list from that maiden crossing reveals that like in the golden years of ocean travel there is royalty listed as being passengers onboard. Last year the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2's final crossing was another historic event. The end of an era was being written each mile we sailed. The ship that successfully bridged the gap between cruising and crossing was nearing its end. No more can the sound of wooden bulkheads be heard creaking as one lies in their room at night on a Clyde built Cunarder as she races across the Atlantic. Sadly, that it is now history, and a history I am very proud of having experienced when I could.

[Schplinky]

life as lived by the most grandiose of us and the poorest.

 

 

Not too many of the poorest on Cunard! :)

 

I'm glad you're happy with your choice of crossings. It sounds like you have a great love of Cunard's product.

[Calliope]

It sounds like you have a great love of Cunard's product.

 

Guilty as charged, Your Honor, but it pales in comparison to the flame that I hold for the DELTA QUEEN. It's that sense of tradition and history that both companies represent, or atleast use to represent.

[RMS Olympic]

Shoot...I am still head over heels for Sitmar.

Taking a TA...I have booked three times and cancelled three times. Always was some itinerary that took precendence.

Although I love my sea days, the people and atmosphere onboard would either make or break a TA for me.

Service, food, would be paramount.

But the ship...remains an open issue.

Have not sailed Crystal...but not sure of the atmosphere. Disney....are adult spaces adequate for a 14 day crossing?

Mass market HAL, RCI, Celebrity,Princess......very little difference.....but Celebrity might nudge the others out.

So I look forward to reading more opinions........as I think a fall 2011 TA is on the to do list.

Tom

[Schplinky]

Of the ships we've sailed on regular itineraries so far, the Celebrity Solstice class would be easy choices for a TA and might even overcome a mediocre itinerary. They are very comfortable ships with lots to love. The Disney thought we were having was that on a 14 day crossing while school was in session, the whole ship would be relatively barrren of children. Come to think of it, I wonder who their target is for repositioning? Childless couples? Seniors? People willing to have their kids miss two weeks of school in September?

[RMS Olympic]

I would agree that this class is wonderful. The maiden voyage let me down, but the ship itself did not. The only design aspect I thought was needless....was the lawn.

Disney TA.....I am going to look into the Sept 2011 TA......perhaps ask the line directly what to expect, demographics and how it works......if few kids, what is the shipboard environment.

[Schplinky]

I fully agree about the lawn. They could have had bragging rights without taking up so much space.

 

Please report back on your Disney exploration. I'll be keen to know.

[kwokpot]

Please report back on your Disney exploration. don't yoI'll be keen to know.[/quotedi

Don't you have concerns about a 14 nt TA on Disney being TOO MUCH Disney? My sister took her family on a 4 nt Disney cruise & land tour, and while they enjoyed the cruise, she felt it was TOO much Disney, and this was only 4 nights!

[Sirwinston]

While QM2 is cool I could not imagine plunking down Cunard's Prices for either the Q.V. or the New Q.E.3. (my bad).

I really wish I could have swung the Trans At repo/delivery of Carnival Dream.

I did have a blast on the two day out of N.Y. The Carnival Magic will likely be doing a Trans Atlantic in 2011.

But to get back to the O.P. Cunard does seem to attrack us gay folk.

 

I have cross the Atlantic 3 times. Twice were repos or parts of a World Cruise. Once was a "pure" crossing. Six day crossing on QE2 in winter of 06.

 

Tom in Long Beach

(poor gay guy that likes to cruise).

[RMS Olympic]

Kwokpot...too much Disney is a concern. However if the TA is not full of children, the question then becomes whether the product is modified to fit the passenger mix.

Are the adult only spaces adequate for the greater number of adult passengers.....is 14 days too long?

Cunard.....I think their pricing is somewhat high. I compared an 11 day partial Panama Canal cruise on the Elizabeth in 2011....$3800 (single occupancy)against a similar Princess sailing.....$2800.

Thats a big difference in my book.

Crystal....a concern that formality and stuffyness may be overly abundant.

HAL......perhaps too quiet

that leavesPrincess, Celebrity and RCI.

The QM2.......if pricing is good....perhaps, but6 daysseems toshort for a cruise....even ifitsa TA.

I will bewatching the boards for comments and recommendations...keep them coming.

[mistereks]

My husband and I just completed a trans-Atlantic cruise on Princess this fall, leaving from Copenhagen with stops in Oslo, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Iceland and Greenland, ending in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I was surprised at how many folks showed up to the GLBT gatherings -- and how many other gay couples were on board who DIDN'T come to the gatherings.

[RMS Olympic]

PrincessTA...how wasthe food and service?

Which ship...and how was the crossing...smooth,rough, roller coaster?

Which lounge was most popular.....pianobar, Wheelhouse....?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

[mistereks]

Princess TA on the Emerald was lovely. Service was solid, but it took a few nights to find a waiter we really liked. (We were anytime dining.) Food is mixed. I live in the Bay Area, so I'm spoiled about good food, but the Princess cuisine was mostly fine, occasionally very good, occasionally below average. Meats and main dishes and salads were best, baked goods were worst.

 

Crossing was very rough at times -- two days we had 75 mph winds and they closed the decks. Swells got as high as 25 feet one day. But I had no trouble with motion sickness (and I get motion sick VERY easily) because I took meclizine. Excellent remedy. Had the patch with me, too, but never needed it.

 

As far as lounges go, I didn't frequent them, so I can't really say.