irishmangh Posted January 19, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Hi, I am taking my first MSC cruise later this year on MSC Divina out of Venice and really looking forward to it. But can anyone tell me if they are "gay friendly" and do they hold FOD's ? Gerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishmangh Posted January 22, 2012 Author #2 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Just looking for any info ? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlmini Posted January 22, 2012 #3 Share Posted January 22, 2012 My partner and I sailed on MSC 3 years ago in the Indian Ocean and we had no problem at all !!! There were other gay couples onboard but no FOD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishmangh Posted January 23, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Thanks for much for your reply. Gerry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishmangh Posted August 8, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Hi. Anyone know if MSC hold FOD's on European Cruises ? Sailing on Divina at end of Sept, so hope they do :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobar Posted August 9, 2012 #6 Share Posted August 9, 2012 they did on the magnifica out of venice...fantastic cruiseline,,have sailed them 5 times and they are definately my favorite..very GAY friendly!!:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotterdam Posted August 9, 2012 #7 Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) The line is typical European & never had a problem....we decided not to sail the anymore because the ships got too big for our taste.. Saying that teh ship were very clean, cabins small - definetly get a balcony...tons of entertainment - food is ok but you could always find something. Also check out the shops onboard - we bought italian driving shoes onboard.....great...wish they had more than the several pairs we bought. Mostly Europeans onboard....and no FOD that I recall....lots of very good gelato!!! Enjoy!!! Edited August 9, 2012 by Rotterdam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguinscott Posted August 17, 2012 #8 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I was on MSC a few years ago and I loved the ship and experience. I wonder if they don't have FOD meetings scheduled if requesting one to your CD would get them on the daily. Might be worth a try. I don't recall if they had them when I sailed the Caribbean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishmangh Posted August 18, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thanks everyone for your replies. I am sure I will enjoy it, FOD's or not. Gerry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaxs Posted April 13, 2013 #10 Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) I have sailed 4 times with MSC in different ships (including the newest MSC Preziosa), MSC does not have any FOD meetings, in fact MSC has the shortest list of scheduled daily activities I have seen comparing with other cruise companies like RCCL or NCL. So if your expectations are on what schedule Daily activities are on MSC be aware that day schedules are mostly limited to aerobic, dancing, quiz and bingo. Edited April 13, 2013 by snaxs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romtoon Posted September 6, 2013 #11 Share Posted September 6, 2013 am leaving in 2 weeks for 1 week cruise on Preziosa with 2 friends who never cruised before wonder how they will like it. Hope to meet other gays during the cruise. I make my cruise n° 20 on different lines and kept good friendships from the cruises I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loreley990 Posted September 7, 2013 #12 Share Posted September 7, 2013 (edited) Hi,I am taking my first MSC cruise later this year on MSC Divina out of Venice and really looking forward to it. But can anyone tell me if they are "gay friendly" and do they hold FOD's ? Gerry My partner and I have cruised on MSC Fantasia in the Med and found the environment and attitude amongst both staff and fellow passengers rather hostile towards two men travelling together. There is a lot of families (kids oftentimes travel free) and the staff is unlike most other cruise lines not Asian but mostly from Italy and Eastern Europe. We behave like normal people, we tip well, don't express in public and you could not tell we're gay by our looks or body movements:-) but still they made us feel rather unwelcome and definitely seemed uncomfortable with us being around them families and kids. We've been on HAL and Carnival many times and never had such experience with them. Would not cruise with MSC again (ship's interior and cabins were very nice though...) Chris P.S.: And no, no FODs on the one we took and to be fair I should add that their shows were the best I've ever seen at sea and would have been worth upwards of $60 each and every night. Good Vegas show quality. Edited September 7, 2013 by Loreley990 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFuncruiser Posted September 10, 2013 #13 Share Posted September 10, 2013 The Venice Trans Atlantic November 2ed will be my fourth cruise with MSC and I have found them to not be particularly gay friendly. Having said that we are a party of five men and we can have a daily happy hour party of our own.. Looking forward to meeting you. Dennis Jacksonville, fl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howdydostu01 Posted March 18, 2019 #14 Share Posted March 18, 2019 Just read that while Carnival and many of it's subsidiaries are pulling out of Antigua because of their unwelcoming attitudes towards LGBT travelers MSC cruises will not only continue to do business there but is going to be expanding there. I'd think twice now knowing what I know about MSC cruises. Actually, I wouldn't think twice, I simply would not cruise with them. I want to feel welcome not fearful when I travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnatello Posted March 20, 2019 #15 Share Posted March 20, 2019 We were on the Divina last month in the Caribbean. They did have an LBGTQ get together every other evening. The "every other, other" was for solo travelers. It was in the Golden Jazz Club at 5:15 PM, but if you want a drink, grab one elsewhere and bring it as the bar in that lounge opens at 6PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcoigna Posted March 22, 2019 #16 Share Posted March 22, 2019 On 3/17/2019 at 8:36 PM, howdydostu01 said: Just read that while Carnival and many of it's subsidiaries are pulling out of Antigua because of their unwelcoming attitudes towards LGBT travelers MSC cruises will not only continue to do business there but is going to be expanding there. I'd think twice now knowing what I know about MSC cruises. Actually, I wouldn't think twice, I simply would not cruise with them. I want to feel welcome not fearful when I travel. i kinda of get what you are saying, but not really - i dont understand why u would think twice about MSC over a port decision of Antigua - trust me there are much more homo-phobic islands out there (ie, Nassau, Jamaica), and ALL the cruise lines are continuing to travel there - i guess that you will never cruise again, knowing this fact now..!!!! We have always had a great time about MSC ships have long voyages booked with them this year and next - extremely gay friendly - no issue what-so-ever.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howdydostu01 Posted March 23, 2019 #17 Share Posted March 23, 2019 My reaction to stories like this can be knee jerk at times. And you're right to say that there are other islands in the Caribbean that are still frequented by other cruise lines. The Caribbean has been scratched off of our list for over a decade now. But we're certainly still loving the cruise life. New England's fall foliage tours, Alaska, and we're excited about our upcoming cruise to Asia which is becoming very LGBT friendly. I'm so sorry to have never been to Eastern Europe. St. Petersburg, Russia particularly. It was a bucket list trip and a part of our world we will probably never see. It saddens me. But I want to go where we're welcomed.. and safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithm Posted April 1, 2019 #18 Share Posted April 1, 2019 On 3/17/2019 at 8:36 PM, howdydostu01 said: Just read that while Carnival and many of it's subsidiaries are pulling out of Antigua because of their unwelcoming attitudes towards LGBT travelers MSC cruises will not only continue to do business there but is going to be expanding there. I'd think twice now knowing what I know about MSC cruises. Actually, I wouldn't think twice, I simply would not cruise with them. I want to feel welcome not fearful when I travel. Never had any issues at all on Antigua. Let's please see facts & not hearsay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cshim Posted August 8, 2019 #19 Share Posted August 8, 2019 On 4/1/2019 at 3:52 PM, keithm said: Never had any issues at all on Antigua. Let's please see facts & not hearsay! Same here! I have been loads of times and never had an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitri_of_London Posted August 9, 2019 #20 Share Posted August 9, 2019 I am really curious if MSC still does FOD meetings at their European cruises. I was on MSC Musica last year and they didn't have FOD. Going on Bellissima later this year and wondering if there will be one. Or should I request it in advance/on the first day? Does anyone know/have any experience with requesting/expressing interest in FOD meeting? 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinMaterial Posted September 2, 2019 #21 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I sailed on the MSC Seaside last October and the ship was LGBT friendly. Crew on the cruise staff were amazing and honed in and I had lots of fun at all the activities they had planned. I would hang out at the aft pool during the day to catch sun and participate if they needed a body and whatever the game or activity was sort of peaked my interest. There were a lot of other LGBT guests onboard as well. The ship did have one FOD meeting and it was during the middle of the cruise which I thought was odd. The first day they have so many meetings for other groups that the solos, LGBT and age group ones were all held on the same night! It made for a challenging time to go between all of them but not impossible! I talked to the Hotel Director on the ship at the time about the placement of those meet ups and moving them to the first sea day at least and he seemed receptive. Not sure if they ever did though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser Bruiser Posted October 3, 2019 #22 Share Posted October 3, 2019 I sailed Magnifica to Italy, Greece and Montengro with four other guy friends in August and we had no issues whatsoever. If anything, I found the crew on board to be indifferent to very friendly, but certainly never hostile. There was no listing of an LGBT gathering, but I did not miss it. I had so much fun that I am already booked on another MSC cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now