LGBT meet ups on NCL

[quercus alba]

Just popping on as a dad and ally (after unfortunately subjecting myself to a really nasty twitter thread about goings-on in certain states here) to say that I'm grateful for all of you "guys, gals, and non-binary pals" as a friend of mine would say, and it felt good to read the positive vibes here. That's all.

 

(Same goes for all of you brave souls in recovery on cruise ships--you're the True Rebellious Fish swimming against the current!)

 

Peace.

 

[trivimp]

18 hours ago, jrimmer94 said:

Sailing in August, might pop along see what its all about. First solo cruise and first cruise with NCL

 

If you're sailing solo, you might want to check out the solo meetup as well.  They are not het meat markets, but just a chill place to possibly find some hangout pals.  On many ships, the solo & the lgbtq meetups follow one right after the other, so you can double your chances of meeting some cool folks. 

[jrimmer94]

8 minutes ago, trivimp said:

 

If you're sailing solo, you might want to check out the solo meetup as well.  They are not het meat markets, but just a chill place to possibly find some hangout pals.  On many ships, the solo & the lgbtq meetups follow one right after the other, so you can double your chances of meeting some cool folks. 

Great advice, thanks! Yeah, I'm in one of the solo studios so will be popping along to the solo lounge for the meet up!

Edited April 6, 2023 by jrimmer94

[bortman23]

Side question to this discussion, but has anyone every participated in any of the "couple" or Newlywed themed games/shows?

 

They seem very hetero-focused games "husbands do this" "wives do that" etc. Not sure how well it would go over with the crowd if not all the couples were straight.

[Sydneyberlin]

2 hours ago, bortman23 said:

They seem very hetero-focused games "husbands do this" "wives do that" etc. Not sure how well it would go over with the crowd if not all the couples were straight.

We tried several times (on a couple of different cruise lines) to get on the not-so newly wed one because I’m a total extrovert (while my partner would be red in the face, no doubt) but no success. Whether that’s on purpose or not is anyone’s guess.

 

Disclaimer: At 17 years and counting, we’d probably be not that different to many hetero couples. Maybe. Not sure. Hopefully we’ll see one day.

[ziggyuk]

7 hours ago, bortman23 said:

Side question to this discussion, but has anyone every participated in any of the "couple" or Newlywed themed games/shows?

 

They seem very hetero-focused games "husbands do this" "wives do that" etc. Not sure how well it would go over with the crowd if not all the couples were straight.

 

I have seen M-M & F-F couples many times on the Newlywed show, they adjust the questions accordingly and do a great job of it. As they often pull the names from a hat it's random anyway.

[trivimp]

33 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

I have seen M-M & F-F couples many times on the Newlywed show, they adjust the questions accordingly and do a great job of it. As they often pull the names from a hat it's random anyway.

 

Interesting; I have always avoided those kind of shows because I think they are ridiculously heteronormative.  Do they play the same-sex couple for giggles, or is it relatively the same content as the straight couples?  (I mean, everything about those type of shows is for giggles anyway, based on the shocking idea that sometimes couples in a committed relationship like to have sex.  It's a dumb & dated schtick, but, there you go) 

[ziggyuk]

13 minutes ago, trivimp said:

 

Interesting; I have always avoided those kind of shows because I think they are ridiculously heteronormative.  Do they play the same-sex couple for giggles, or is it relatively the same content as the straight couples?  (I mean, everything about those type of shows is for giggles anyway, based on the shocking idea that sometimes couples in a committed relationship like to have sex.  It's a dumb & dated schtick, but, there you go) 

 

All the ones I have seen & there have been many, everyone has been treated the exactly the same. They have the same set questions anyway like "Where is the most unusual place you have made whoopie". It's all about getting the most shocking personal information anyway, as you say, for giggles.

[cruiseny4life]

6 hours ago, Sydneyberlin said:

We tried several times (on a couple of different cruise lines) to get on the not-so newly wed one because I’m a total extrovert (while my partner would be red in the face, no doubt) but no success. Whether that’s on purpose or not is anyone’s guess.

 

Disclaimer: At 17 years and counting, we’d probably be not that different to many hetero couples. Maybe. Not sure. Hopefully we’ll see one day.

Maybe we could swap husbands for this one! My husband would love to participate. Me? Well, I'd be horrified. I'm not a prude, but lordie, I'd be embarrassed to discuss myself in the way they do on these shows! 

 

We went to a comedy show on Getaway back on New Year's Eve. He demanded we sit up front, so guess who the comedian picked on? Yep...us. The gay jokes were 🔥 that night thanks to my husband demanding we sit up front. Later on in the cruise, passengers identified us as the "HR Guys," not the husbands. I was kind of surprised by that.

 

Anyway....I'll gladly watch the show from the TV while you and my guy pretend to be newlyweds (or not)! 

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, trivimp said:

Do they play the same-sex couple for giggles, or is it relatively the same content as the straight couples?

 

they play it, you'll pardon the expression, straight. (that is to say, not for laughs... well, they play the game for laughs, but do not exploit or mock the gay couple.)

 

it may be important to note that - typically - the "hosts" of these shows are filipino. the philippines, while a very catholic and quite religious country, has a strong record of support for LGBT folks in the workplace and in the hospitality industry. also, many of the hosts of these shows are members of the community themselves. so they lean into this quite professionally whenever it happens. and even embrace it. but the couple selection is usually, as noted, a random draw.

 

that being said, filipinos in the workplace are not very good with improvising. they strictly follow the book, play by the rules, and do what they've been told and what they've rehearsed  if the card or powerpoint slide they're reading says "she" or "he" or "husband" or "wife," they will likely stumble... read it as written, then giggle at themselves and their error and correct it on the fly.

 

(these observations of filipino culture are based on my 48 business trips to the philippines in the past nine years.)

[cruiseny4life]

24 minutes ago, UKstages said:

(these observations of filipino culture are based on my 48 business trips to the philippines in the past nine years.)

I'm so glad you are back on Cruise Critic with your well-thought out posts! Thank you!

[UKstages]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm so glad you are back on Cruise Critic with your well-thought out posts!

 

aw, shucks, thanks. i come and go on CC, based on when i'm cruising. i hadn't cruised since september, 2022. but last week, i booked three cruises, so i'll be here for a bit.

[Nostromo-Mother]

My Husband and I will be on the NCL Prima April 27th Transatlantic to London.  I was wondering if any others will be aboard and if so will they show up for the friends of Dorothy? 

[UKstages]

this is a generic thread about LGBT meetups.

 

if you're looking to ascertain whether there will FOD on your particular cruise prior to the cruise and prior to attending one of the meetups, check out the roll call for your itinerary:

 

 

spoiler alert!

 

i'm pretty sure there will be.

 

mathematically, you get 3000 people together, there will be members of nearly every imaginable community onboard.

[cruiseny4life]

31 minutes ago, Nostromo-Mother said:

My Husband and I will be on the NCL Prima April 27th Transatlantic to London.  I was wondering if any others will be aboard and if so will they show up for the friends of Dorothy? 

Pr1ma did offer an alphabet soup gathering over Thanksgiving. Every NCL cruise I have been on has offered the lgbtqia+ gathering, typically in one of the bars. On Pr1ma it was in Improv. We chose not to attend as we don't generally attend these type of gatherings. We walked by one evening and noticed at least 20 folx in there enjoying each other's company. 

[steevj]

Sailing solo on the Encore, July 21, 2024. Hope to meet up with some people. 

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, steevj said:

Sailing solo on the Encore, July 21, 2024. Hope to meet up with some people. 

Go to the roll call. That's where you'll find folks (looks like very few) on this cruise. This ain't that. Enjoy Alaska.

[CTPrima]

Taking my first “non-gay” cruise on the NCL Prima from Southampton to Reykjavik on July 14th with 3 friends……hoping to meet up with some other gay travelers on the ship…..itinerary looks great and the ship looks beautiful…..

[Marwinguys]

Hi, my husband and I are booked on the Joy for the Jan 20th cruise out of Miami.  Looking forward to sail thru the Panama Canal.  Who else is joining us?

[Turtles06]

17 minutes ago, Marwinguys said:

Hi, my husband and I are booked on the Joy for the Jan 20th cruise out of Miami.  Looking forward to sail thru the Panama Canal.  Who else is joining us?

Welcome to Cruise Critic!  
 

The place for your inquiry is over in the NCL Roll Call for your cruise, which is here:

 

You could also post over in the forum for LGBTQIA Roll Calls (link below).  It doesn’t get much traffic, but there’s no downside. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/547-lgbtqia-roll-calls/

 

I also want to flag the Panama Canal forum for you, it’s a great resource:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

 

Is this your first transit of the Canal? If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend reading David McCullough’s masterful “The Path Between the Seas.”  You’ll appreciate the Canal even more. 
 

Have a great cruise! 

 

[Manchester is blue]

On 12/20/2023 at 4:54 PM, Nostromo-Mother said:

My Husband and I will be on the NCL Prima April 27th Transatlantic to London.  I was wondering if any others will be aboard and if so will they show up for the friends of Dorothy? 

I don’t think you’ll be cruising to London. London is inland and cruise ships tend not to sail up the Thames…..😂. perhaps you are sailing to Southampton? That’s about 90 miles from London.
Enjoy in any case 👍🏼

 

Edited September 7 by Manchester is blue

[ColeThornton]

12 minutes ago, Manchester is blue said:

I don’t think you’ll be cruising to London. London is inland and cruise ships tend not to sail up the Thames…..😂. perhaps you are sailing to Southampton? That’s about 90 miles from London.
Enjoy in any case 👍🏼

 

 

 

Old thread.  They sailed last April.  😉

[Manchester is blue]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Old thread.  They sailed last April.  😉

Oh,… lol, well trust he enjoyed “London”

[RickinNYC]

On 4/7/2023 at 2:04 AM, Sydneyberlin said:

We tried several times (on a couple of different cruise lines) to get on the not-so newly wed one because I’m a total extrovert (while my partner would be red in the face, no doubt) but no success. Whether that’s on purpose or not is anyone’s guess.

 

Disclaimer: At 17 years and counting, we’d probably be not that different to many hetero couples. Maybe. Not sure. Hopefully we’ll see one day.

Not on NCL, but on RCCL, 17 years ago, we participated in the Not So Newlywed Game.  My partner (now husband) wanted to throw our names in to see if we would be selected to play.  I had serious doubts, particularly when they selected a couple who had been married the shortest amount of time, followed by a couple that had been married the longest.  When it was time to pick the "mid-range" couple, it was by audience selection.  About 20 couples stood up and the cruise director had the audience choose by a show of applause.  First several couples got some good feedback, and when it was our turn, I thought we'd hear "boos" or crickets.  I was wrong.  The audience went out of their freakin' minds!  All the other couples saw that result and they all immediately sat down.  

To top it off, we won!  Prize wasn't too shabby either. Bottle of champagne, t-shirts, bunch of RCCL swag, and a DVD of the game itself.  When we were announced as the winners, we immediately told the cruise director to give the prize to the couple that had been together for 50+ years.  They deserved it.  

The subsequent feedback from other cruisers and the ship crew was so amazingly positive and supportive the remainder of the cruise.  Total strangers kept coming up to us the several days after telling us how much they enjoyed the game.

[jsbultimar]

On 9/7/2024 at 5:31 PM, Manchester is blue said:

Oh,… lol, well trust he enjoyed “London”

I am on the Encore sailing Nov 3 Miami to Southampton (London).  When speaking with friends we use London as the destination because we are spending 10 extra days in London after debarkation.  People that are familiar with cruising are aware the Port Destination is Southampton, I rarely have to explain.  Also, I certainly hope my friends are aware a cruise ship cannot navigate the Thames. 😂