Celebrity Constellation

[1male]

Hi RMS Olympic- I would love to find out from you about Regent pricing that beats a mass marketer like Princess or Celebrity. I think their 700 passsenger ships would be a good size for me, and am I correct that they are all inclusive? It sounds like you travel as a single also. I would like to know how you felt with that crowd also.

Thanks in advance.......Carl

[teleskier]

I’ve come to think of any given cruise as being along the lines of dinner parties. Each event is highly variable. One party goes well and is a fun blast, while another is a total bore and completely flops, despite both events having the same exact people, food, location, time, weather (etc) identical to each other. There are so many variables that come into play. Chemistry (as you said) being one of them.

 

I know that (for me) creating a social event is not a 100% controllable linear process. So when I throw my own parties, I simply try to control as many of the party elements as I can (good cocktails, good food, good music, people who will likely gel together, a plan B for when it rains, etc), to help influence all those unfathomable random elements into producing a likely positive outcome. But it’s never guaranteed. And like many chefs, I’m in a continual never-ending search of the ‘perfect’ event that goes 100% easily and well.

 

So I grade my cruises like parties on an easier sliding scale. Did the host do as many of the basic things they possibly could to try to influence a good outcome? I felt that RSVP and Pied Piper did enough things right to produce likely positive outcomes. That doesn’t guarantee that some terrible guests or weather (etc) couldn’t ruin the event despite their efforts. Likewise, I felt that Atlantis tweaked the variables in such a way (from their brochures to green dots to pool dynamics etc) that I felt it would likely produce the same (runaway elitism and attitudes) probable outcomes over and over again. And likewise, that doesn’t mean that a band of nice personable guys couldn’t conquer all those overall Atlantis dynamics and turn it into a fun friendly welcoming cruise instead. It depends on that exact cruise and the exact people who happen to be on the ship. Admittedly, Atlantis Alumni called our cruise “one from hell.” However given all their engineered circuit dynamics (from the perfect-body-only brochures on down), I don’t see how anyone from Atlantis could have been totally surprised by the outcome and event they created (nor did I see anyone try to make any last-minute course changes).

 

Funny enough, just last weekend, a twenty year old neighbor in Ptown asked me about my Atlantis cruise last fall. As I described to him the overwhelming unfriendliness and hyper-competitiveness (“gay high school”) aspects of the cruise where no one ever said hello to each other - “EVER” – he brought up a point I hadn’t thought of. He said,

 

“The Atlantis environment sounds just like a bath house. Where no one ever says hello to anyone else, because in the bath house environment, any hello suddenly means (and is interpreted as) a deliberated loaded sexual advance.”

 

Kudos to him for thinking of something that eluded me. Whereas our cabin door had cutesy ‘couple’ items such as pictures of us and magnetic cuddly animals (did I just admit that in public?), most the other decorated doors around us featured porn pictures instead. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that). Perhaps I’ve been in couplehood so much that I missed any possible bath house connections. So this perhaps let’s those Atlantis passengers off the hook. It might NOT have been a supreme “who are you to talk me?” arrogance but simply bath house rules in effect.

 

However, I do not think any of my hellos anywhere on the ship (even the tight corridors) or at dinner would have been interpreted by ANYONE as advances. But perhaps the overriding group dynamic had already been established by then. I’d like to think that elements of our community have not become as elitist and unfriendly as that cruise suggested. Perhaps everyone was simply operating under Atlantis bath house rules instead, and not simply being elitist rude. So I thought I’d share this neighbor’s reaction in fairness as a counterpoint to my original interpretation of my Atlantis cruise being unfriendly to the extreme. It was a plausible explanation (even if I don’t totally buy it).

[LVMediaboy]

So, not every Atlantis cruiser is a gym bunny poser looking to party all night (and yet they can have a great time as well).

It would seem fair to say some have different experiences with different cruise lines and different operators.

What's unfair are gross generalizations of the character of 2,000 gay men to the point that a 20 year old fears a gay cruise to be like a bathhouse represents indocrination of homophobia usually reserved for the likes of Pat Robertson.

On RSVP and Atlantis I have met friends from their 20s to 83 year old Bob from Detroit (Atlantis regular). I've met sweethearts and jerks. 70 somethings Lenny and Marty (probably 30 RSVP and Atlantis) have retired in Las Vegas because of our friendship. FYI, I'm 47. And believe it of not, my partner and I have met some sweet, wonderful gym bunnies and circuit boys. GASP! Some are weasels - most are not.

Like any other gay demographic.

Now that RSVP has been purchased by planetout.com it looks like they are focusing on dance entertainment more - which is not exclusive of a midnight buffet. At any given dance party, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the passengers attend -- where are the others? Cabaret? Art auction? Show? One of umpteen other bars? Take a walk around during a big dance and you'll see 'em.and you'll see 'body beautiful is hardly a requirement.

For the uninitiated - take a look at some passenger pics. If you see a dance party pic, look at deck above to see those simply enjoying the music and at sea excitement.

Bottom line - these trips sell out for a reason. They are fun for the vast majority that sail - or they would not be in business.

[ORDPLATAA]

LVM-

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. We weren't at the Tea Dances or late night parties - we were in the showroom, meeting people for a glass (or 3!) of wine, hanging out on our verandah chatting with the people around us....and we still had a tremendous time. We met great guys of all ages and walks of life. Did we meet some people we didn't care for - yes. But that is bound to happen when you get 1800 people together, not everyone is gonna click.

[1male]

Hi Teleskier-

Thanks for taking the time to give so much data. I will certainly keep it mind (and a copy in my cruise folder if I can figure out how to print it-:)

Your neighbor's bathhouse comment sounds quite accurate in light of what an Atlantis employee told me about working the "pecker patrol" at night, which urged guys to stop having sex all over the open decks of the ship and take it to their cabins. And thus hardly an "indoctrination of homophobia".

Thanks again for being so generous with your time and opinions.

[1male]

Hello Ernie-

I have also noticed charges on all ships where once there were none. I will be sailing on the Crown next month, and am STUNNED that in the new "Sanctuary" area on a top deck, which is for adults only as a refuge from the music, noise, children, etc. they are charging $15 for a HALF day! That is not "nickel and dime" - that is real money! I doubt that I will avail myself of that venue for $100+ for the cruise........

[hobbycruiser]

Hi,

Have you done Pied Piper in the past or other agencies that charter part of a ship? How are they? Fred

[hobbycruiser]

Hi, I also retired in las Vegas Would you pass thi on to the people you met who moved here. Thanks mir4two@yahoo.com