Vacaya

[Guest]

They are cruising tomorrow on Celebrity.Hope it works out.2,000 gay men face to face.Dont want to read about it this week.If anything happens you are to blame.

[Jared2]

I'm going on a gay cruise myself in 3 weeks. I'm not really worried about it.

 

 

[SireDoime]

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

[Jared2]

8 hours ago, SireDoime said:

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

Considering Vacaya's outrageous prices I'd be surprised if they don't attract mostly the older, more wealthy crowd.

[Boytjie]

I am on the ship and it is day six. There is no drama to report. People are enjoying a great cruise (with adjustments while in a pandemic) and acting responsibly and in consideration of others. Sorry to disappoint you. Edited January 15, 2022 by Boytjie

[Cruisegoer]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:29 PM, SireDoime said:

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

Unless you are expecting them to pay for your cruise why would you care? You do you and pay them Behatches no mind as RuPaul says.

[SireDoime]

I do like they use Celebrity ships, but those ships don't tend to have a lot of fun activities. But, I hear *some* voyages reserve the top deck for hooking up on certain nights 😝.

 

[Boytjie]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:29 PM, SireDoime said:

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

 

I am not sure who told you that, but it isn't true. We have done 14 gay cruises (and 3 regular cruises) since 2007. I am now in my sixties and do not have anything like a gym body, and there are more people like me onboard than you have "heard".

[Boytjie]

13 hours ago, SireDoime said:

I do like they use Celebrity ships, but those ships don't tend to have a lot of fun activities. But, I hear *some* voyages reserve the top deck for hooking up on certain nights 😝.

 

 

Not sure what activities you are looking for but Vacaya has a boat load of entertainment they bring on board. It is impossible to attend every show, party or activity they have.

 

[Bloom9]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:29 PM, SireDoime said:

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

You heard wrong, Vacaya is very welcoming to everyone, it was a very diverse crowd and the cruise was awesome, great weather, awesome ports (Aruba and Curacao) and spectacular entertainment.

[SireDoime]

58 minutes ago, Bloom9 said:

You heard wrong, Vacaya is very welcoming to everyone, it was a very diverse crowd and the cruise was awesome, great weather, awesome ports (Aruba and Curacao) and spectacular entertainment.

No it was an actual fact. Wish I had the URL for the actual voyage.

But, oh well, who cares. Peace

[Boytjie]

51 minutes ago, SireDoime said:

No it was an actual fact. Wish I had the URL for the actual voyage.

But, oh well, who cares. Peace

 

You have a URL... @Bloom9 and I have actually been on Vacaya cruises! 😮

 

[SAEMike]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:29 PM, SireDoime said:

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

You heard incorrectly.

[Boytjie]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:29 PM, SireDoime said:

Wish I could have booked a gay cruise this year.

But I hear they aren't very welcoming to folk who are older and have more than 10% body fat. 😕

 

Here are the front covers of the Daily Programs from the cruise. Kinda proves what you hear wrong! 😄 

[BostonBud]

On 1/17/2022 at 9:38 PM, SireDoime said:

I do like they use Celebrity ships, but those ships don't tend to have a lot of fun activities. But, I hear *some* voyages reserve the top deck for hooking up on certain nights 😝.

 

This is true. The basketball court became the "red light" district every night, not just certain nights.  Additionally, there were 27 confirmed cases onboard, however, there were a lot more positive cases after disembarking.  

 

I tested positive for Covid a day after the cruise and I wore a mask everywhere except eating AND I didn't go to any of the parties.  My husband didn't test positive and we were in the stateroom without masks and spent most of the cruise together.

 

Unfortunately there was not much going on during the day for this cruise except for Bingo.   Vacaya seemed to scrap any the Celebrity activities and/or entertainment which was unfortunate because so many of the entertainment they booked canceled.

 

This was my first Vacaya trip and my last.  Didn't care for the much of the cruise.  Vacaya is great with upfront communication but appeared to be lost and confused once the cruise began.  The cruise director was horrendous too.

Edited February 8, 2022 by BostonBud

[Boytjie]

9 hours ago, BostonBud said:

This is true. The basketball court became the "red light" district every night, not just certain nights.  Additionally, there were 27 confirmed cases onboard, however, there were a lot more positive cases after disembarking.  

 

I tested positive for Covid a day after the cruise and I wore a mask everywhere except eating AND I didn't go to any of the parties.  My husband didn't test positive and we were in the stateroom without masks and spent most of the cruise together.

 

Unfortunately there was not much going on during the day for this cruise except for Bingo.   Vacaya seemed to scrap any the Celebrity activities and/or entertainment which was unfortunate because so many of the entertainment they booked canceled.

 

This was my first Vacaya trip and my last.  Didn't care for the much of the cruise.  Vacaya is great with upfront communication but appeared to be lost and confused once the cruise began.  The cruise director was horrendous too.

 

The entertainers did not cancel, they tested positive before the cruise and were unable to board, so that affected a lot of things. I give then a tip of the hat to be able to have standby DJ(s) and entertainers and to juggle shows.

 

I was never bored on this cruise, but after going on 14 gay charters, I enjoy having down time and not running from one event to another, 🙂

[Boytjie]

On 2/2/2022 at 9:49 AM, Boytjie said:

 

Here are the front covers of the Daily Programs from the cruise. Kinda proves what you hear wrong! 😄 

 

Unfortunately the picture seems to have been removed. 😞

[RICHARD@SEA]

"This was my first Vacaya trip and my last.  Didn't care for the much of the cruise.  Vacaya is great with upfront communication but appeared to be lost and confused once the cruise began.  The cruise director was horrendous"

Do you think the confusion was die in part to Covid - I didn't book any cruise the last 2 years because of covid - I never knew what the outcome would be - the worst getting sick.

 

I've never sailed on a gay charter in all y 40+ cruises - solo or as a couple I've always been able to meet interesting people(gay or straight) & even danced the nite away.....dancing a cross the oceans ....

I'm entering my mid 60's now ...so  I don't know if i will go on one but I am curious.

 

[BostonBud]

On 2/10/2022 at 2:35 PM, RICHARD@SEA said:

"This was my first Vacaya trip and my last.  Didn't care for the much of the cruise.  Vacaya is great with upfront communication but appeared to be lost and confused once the cruise began.  The cruise director was horrendous"

Do you think the confusion was die in part to Covid - I didn't book any cruise the last 2 years because of covid - I never knew what the outcome would be - the worst getting sick.

 

I've never sailed on a gay charter in all y 40+ cruises - solo or as a couple I've always been able to meet interesting people(gay or straight) & even danced the nite away.....dancing a cross the oceans ....

I'm entering my mid 60's now ...so  I don't know if i will go on one but I am curious.

 

No, I don't think they're issues were because of covid because they didn't offer anything during the day other than bingo.  Even the usual Celebrity activities like trivia etc... were missing from the daily program.  They had guests at night but each one of them was the same and again they scrapped all the Celebrity Entertainment and instead offered a singer each night who gave ballad after ballad and just stood there and sung.  It was monotonous.  

 

My biggest fear was being quarantined in the stateroom for the entirety of the cruise.  Some people who were "contact traced" were required to stay in their staterooms for 24 hours and be tested twice within those 24 hours for being negative.  Apparently Celebrity took good care of them however some have posted that Vacaya never bothered to check in on them.

[SakeDad]

On 2/8/2022 at 5:25 AM, BostonBud said:

This is true. The basketball court became the "red light" district every night, not just certain nights.  Additionally, there were 27 confirmed cases onboard, however, there were a lot more positive cases after disembarking.  

 

I tested positive for Covid a day after the cruise and I wore a mask everywhere except eating AND I didn't go to any of the parties.  My husband didn't test positive and we were in the stateroom without masks and spent most of the cruise together.

 

Unfortunately there was not much going on during the day for this cruise except for Bingo.   Vacaya seemed to scrap any the Celebrity activities and/or entertainment which was unfortunate because so many of the entertainment they booked canceled.

 

This was my first Vacaya trip and my last.  Didn't care for the much of the cruise.  Vacaya is great with upfront communication but appeared to be lost and confused once the cruise began.  The cruise director was horrendous too.

Hope you are fully recovered.

This is a shame about the entertainment, not just the ones not allowed to board due to Covid but the Celebrity production shows were canceled. These charters charge premium fees because they bring in their own entertainment, DJ's and cruise staff so I would feel completely cheated if all the things they "replaced" suddenly weren't there. Also, I would assume the normal production cast & Crew would be onboard but with a bad CD they wouldn't have thought to put on a "normal" show instead. Or maybe Vacaya didn't feel it was necessary to replace the lost entertainers. In either case, it doesn't make me want to spend lots of extra $$$ just to sail with the gays. I'll stick to regular cruises and make my own "gay nights".

[WonderMan3]

Vacaya needs to correct their marketing for their 2023 Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Reflection. They are promoting the Retreat sundeck for this ship featuring two hot tubs. Firstly, the ship has not added a Retreat sundeck yet (and it is presently unknown when it will be added) and even once it is added at some point in the future it will only have one hot tub not two. This is misleading.

[BostonBud]

They also try to claim the high road by putting various types of people on their daily cruise newsletter ON THE CRUISE.  However, if you see all their PR in major publications or online it's the same as all the other charter companies: buff, young and good looking people.  I'm not against marketing that way but to say that you're not like the "other" company because you are more inclusion in your marketing then only preach to the choir while the choir has already paid for their cruise fare?  Be honest.

[dugknight]

Doing Vacaya in Feb, 2023. Anybody else? Looking forward to it.

[speedoguy1]

Their trips look to be a lot of fun. I would love to go on her Greek Islands tour this summer. Would love to hear any feedback from people who have gone as solo travelers on Vacaya.

is it easy to meet other  solo travelers and to be able to enjoy some companionship with them