Lesbian Couples who love cruising

[Mo-n-CJ]

Hey there,

 

We are just in from the NCL Pearl in Alaska. and beautiful blue skies most of the way. Check out our pics if you'd like.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/560768480CodnYw?vhost=travel&start=108

 

quote]

 

 

Hi Mo and CJ,

Wow, you had great weather on your cruise. We went Inside passage on the Infinity August 19th and did not see nearly the sun you did. Your pics are great and it looks like you got some really nice shots of the clouds too with the sun peaking through. I could tell it was a pretty sight but it never seems to be the same in pics as in real life.

 

Good Luck on your next cruise!

 

Toni

 

 

Thanks Toni,

 

We had a BLAST...the weather was truly awesome. And yes...you are sooo right. We had this thing going on one morning for like an hour with the sunrise. It was a waterfall of clouds coming over this mountain. Kept getting more and more intense. I took about 40 shots of it. I try to share it...even had an 8x10 done. Just doesn't capture the affect so well.

 

 

Has anyone done the Mexican Riviera and have any good suggestions?

[Pussycat]

Hey has anyone been keeping up with the troubled waters of Olivia? Looks like the folks Judy hired to help handle the business and then fired are going after her, and potnetially the company. Hopefully everything will be resolved outside of court...but there is the possibility that the company could be required to disband to satisfy the lawsuit.

Any thoughts?

Anyone heard any updates about this?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everyone that has already booked a future cruise with Olivia, as well as for the company as a whole. I'd hate to see this ICON of our community go down in smoke.

Maybe we all need to band together and buy it out!

 

 

Well now you've got me worried!! We have 2 cruises booked with Olivia in 2008.

 

Where did you get this info so that I can keep track of it. Thanks!

Julie

> ^..^ <

[Pussycat]

It's OK Mithryl, I found some info in a SF paper dated Sept 28th.

:eek:

[waunabcruizin]

Mithryl - Yep, cruise time coming up fast. And yes, I have heard about Olivia's problems but I haven't seen anything further on the situation. There's not much news about it other than the newspaper article in the SF paper Bay Area Reporter. I guess there's a case management conference scheduled for October 12. Hopefully this will all be settled out of court before it ever comes to any kind of trial. It does sound rather messy. Linda and I thought it sounded like a lovers' revenge feud, but it probably isn't.

 

We're looking forward to seeing you at sailaway aboard Mercury a week from this coming Monday.

 

Cheers,

Carol (and Linda)

[Pussycat]

"Linda and I thought it sounded like a lovers' revenge feud, but it probably isn't."

 

No, probably not. Sounds like disgruntled ex employee (s), but who knows what went on!

It really is messy. Let's hope it gets settled soon & fairly so that they can move on.

Cheers

[drmusic]

The link to the story was elsewhere on this forum, but this is it:

http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2206

 

My partner and I have been on two Olivia cruises and were looking forward to more. There is nothing like the feeling you get on an Olivia cruise and I would hate to lose that. Olivia is such a great experience and company of us. They are even adding retirement places.

It's too bad that Amy and the other former employees feel it necessary to demand the dissolution of the company. Olivia is the only company out there for lesbians, and they know that.

[Pussycat]

Hi Drmusic. Thanks for the link.

 

I have trouble understanding why anyone would want to go as far as attempting to dissolve the company!!

 

She sure is going to upset the many thousands of women that have/are relying on Olivia for the unique vacations that they enjoy!!!!!

 

We keep our fingers crossed that sanity wins out on this one. If it is proved that these ex employees deserve some kind of monetary settlement, let's hope they just accept that & let Olivia move on with their very successful & much appreciated business of providing high class travel for us!

[mithryl]

We keep our fingers crossed that sanity wins out on this one. If it is proved that these ex employees deserve some kind of monetary settlement, let's hope they just accept that & let Olivia move on with their very successful & much appreciated business of providing high class travel for us!

 

If anyone hears anything new on this, please be sure and let us know. I don't think it will make it into the newspapers here in Idaho!

Has anyone looked into the gay/lesbian retirement communities? I haven't seen much from Olivia on this, but it sounds interesting. I'm not sure you could pry me away from the magic on the mountains in Northern Idaho, but I'm always opening to looking!:)

[Pussycat]

Mithryl. I guess there wont be any more news until after the Management Conference next week.

Meanwhile, here's a couple of letters that were posted in the Bay Area Reporter On-Line. The first one is absolutely "right on" as far as I'm concerned!!

 

http://www.ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=letters

[waunabcruizin]

Vicki - If you Google Olivia Retirement Communities you'll get some info on what they're thinking about. I'm not sure where they are in the process at this point, though.

 

See you next week.

 

Julie - See you guys in January at the Alhambra! (Always assuming Olivia doesn't sink by then....heaven forbid. I really can't see that happening.)

 

Carol (and Linda).

[rain_bowbrite]

The link to the story was elsewhere on this forum, but this is it:

http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2206

 

My partner and I have been on two Olivia cruises and were looking forward to more. There is nothing like the feeling you get on an Olivia cruise and I would hate to lose that. Olivia is such a great experience and company of us. They are even adding retirement places.

It's too bad that Amy and the other former employees feel it necessary to demand the dissolution of the company. Olivia is the only company out there for lesbians, and they know that.

 

Wow..I am really surprised by this. In a way though was beginning to think that maybe they need some competition looking at their fares for next year. Quite a few river cruises in the 2k to 3kpp range...yikes, before airfare!

 

Guess we will have to wait and see what happens...had hoped to do one eventually.

[Gator83]

Thank you for posting the links to the Olivia articles. Hard to tell who is right, who is wrong, who is lying, etc.

[mithryl]

Rain bowbrite,

 

Love your tickers, where'd you get them? Also, I see you've toured several ships that you haven't sailed on...are you a TA or is there another way to get tours of different ships? Thanks for all the pics.

[rain_bowbrite]

Rain bowbrite,

 

Love your tickers, where'd you get them? Also, I see you've toured several ships that you haven't sailed on...are you a TA or is there another way to get tours of different ships? Thanks for all the pics.

 

Wow you are cruising so soon...I am jealous! Thanks for the compliments on the pics, I love taking them. Yes I am a TA part time (teacher full time) and the ships I have toured have been during cruise tradeshows. It's very exciting to tour the ships but soooo depressing when they make you get off ...lol!

 

I LOVE my new tickers and I just put them in my signature today, will not even tell you how long it took me to figure them out, then to figure out how to make them work on CC:o

 

They are from http://www.pyzam.com/toys/view/customcountdown. In case you want to give them a try you have to go to edit option in the user cp and change it from the wisiwig thing to standard editing or something like that. I played around with it and deleted part of the html code to get it to not have all the advertising stuff with it, etc.

 

Feel free to email at seaittogether@yahoo.com if you would like more detailed instructions. Took forever but I think they are very nice looking:D

Enjoy the Mercury!

 

Jodie:)

[Pussycat]

"Julie - See you guys in January at the Alhambra! (Always assuming Olivia doesn't sink by then....heaven forbid. I really can't see that happening.)

 

Carol (and Linda)"

 

You bet! We are really looking forward to staying there again. It aint the Ritz but it's pretty nice, comfortable, clean, reasonable price AND close to the beach.:)

 

No, Olivia isn't going to sink. You will probably meet Judy on the January cruise & then you will realize why many of us have great confidence that she will be able to keep her company "afloat". ;)

On the large cruises Judy is always there to welcome every one of us aboard & then to say farewell before we disembark. You will also see her often through the week. She frequently wanders at lunch time & will sit at a few tables as she eaats her way through her meal courses!

 

Enjoy your day. It's Thanksgiving here in Canada. It's also 90 degrees & very humid. Odd weather everywhere!

[RKW]

http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2206

 

Yes, Olivia cruises are out of control expensive and no matter how you spin it, unjustifiably so. RSVP manages to do exactly the same thing without doubling the rates. Amy is right, however, it does reflect poorly on her that she waited until she was gone before mentioning her concerns when she could have corrected the pricing issues from within. As long as people continue to put up with Olivia's substandard phone service (major complaint "I call but can never get through and no will return my call"...hmmmmm screams either understaffed or minimum wage to me) and the exorbitant pricing, Judy will continue to charge what she wants. I highly doubt that the company will dissolve, but I do think that, hopefully, those that refuse to believe they are being overcharged will think twice before their next booking. And yes, I have sailed with Olivia, 2x and had an incredible time, just will not continue to feel "ripped off".

 

Ok, Olivia-ites - you know who you are, you are the same ones that give tongue lashings on the Olivia Message Boards to anyone that dare speak the truth about Olivia and have now found your way over to the cruisecritic message board. It's in black and white now, still think Olivia is justified for charging what they charge?

[drmusic]

"still think Olivia is justified for charging what they charge?"

Actually, yes I do. Olivia cruises offer my partner and I many things an ordinary cruise does not. First, the entertainment...on our first cruise, the special entertainment was Whoopi Goldberg. Martina Navratilova sailed with us, and all the comics were lesbian, as were all the musical entertainments. On our second cruise, the special entertainment was Melissa Etheridge. We got to see ME in a small venue and sit on the second row. I live in a small town, and I'd never get to see that here. It's not only the entertainment, but also the Olivia crew. They take over the Cruise Director job, and they are always there. If you go to the lobby area where the ship's service desk is, there is always an Olivia person there and they are always quick to solve your problem. And those of us who have been on the Olivia cruises can tell you about the feeling of an Olivia cruise - there is nothing like it anywhere. We do not have to worry about anything. Not having to worry about straight passengers making comments or even threatening us is wonderful.

[etoile]

I haven't been on Olivia, only RSVP, but the markup is for the same reason. Personally, I think the charter companies charge more than what the added benefit is worth. Believe me, I know what the benefits are...I had a great time on RSVP! The special entertainment, the customer care, the atmosphere, everything was worth paying extra. My only issue is that I don't think it's worth AS MUCH extra as they charge.

 

That said, if Olivia is still around in 15 years, I will be dragging my wife on a cruise with them for our 25th anniversary. :)

[Oliver33]

I agree that the pricing is out of line and not entirely justified. I feel that that they do an excellent job in many ways, but they are obviously much higher than other companies offering a similar service. When I say similar service I mean a charter, with marketing being posed to our community. I realize there presently is no other fully lesbian marketed company out there.

 

I have gone on two trips and no lie, we spent $8k on each cruise and that was for a standard balcony room. Between the $375/room host hotel, airfare, excursions, our room which we spent nearly $5,000 on, etc. I liked the experience but I did not feel it was worth $8k and the bulk of that money came from our inflated cabin price.

 

I also do not like their cancellation policies, and fortunately we never cancel vacations. They still concern me. There needs to be just a bit more lee way there. I looked at the policies of R Family, RSVP, Atlantis, who all book a ship way in advance, they are much more lenient calendar date wise. As in, you can book 1.5 years in advance but if you have to cancel 30 days later you dont lose $1k or more of your money. I believe they also have more flexibility on when your final payment is due, as in you have more time. I know our two trips the balance of thousands of dollars was due 45 days or so after we booked? Something to that effect, and the vacation was over a year away. I know there is the payment plan but that adds hundreds to the cost. We rather pay cash and while they get to make even more money off of our $5k in that 1.5 years at least I am not paying administrative fees.

 

I COMPLETELY agree with the above phone call comment. I do not think I have ever called and immediately received a live person on the phone. I then had to wait days to get a return call. Many times I did not get a call back, one time up to two weeks when I had a large issue. I only heard from someone by calling again and again. This is far from the service I expect in everyday life, let alone a company who is charging me big bucks for a special experience. Bottom line is had they been a straight company, I would have never purchased from them again.

 

I know they have alot to offer and I think its great they exist. There are obviously thousands of devoted customers. However, it is not everyone's cup of tea. I believe 07 prices went up about $100/pp from 06 if I recall correctly when I was looking at the brochures back in the day. From the marketing material I received the other day it appears the 08 cruises went up about $300/pp? If anything HAL is probably giving them better and better pricing with all of these bookings. I think $300 is pretty steep for a one year increase.

 

Bottom line, I do not know how anyone can say they don't overcharge even beyond what they need to to cover their expenses. It is just a matter of personally whether you feel you are getting gouged or not. We feel we are. That will factor in our future decisions on whether to travel.

 

PS- Everyone always cites that they send 40 staff onboard. While I find so many of the staff great, Paula etc. I have had TWO experiences total, on both my cruises, where I was treated in a not so professional fashion by a staff member. I am not saying I went there with an issue I am saying as in we were innocently standing at the premium restaurant and she kind of bumped into us and pushed her way past the host desk and stuck her nose in the air and said "We have reservations". Well you know what, so do we and our presence secures you a job so you would think you would have sense not to behave like a stuck up 15 year old. This very same person was snotty to me on my first cruise.

 

The moral of the story is, not everyone has perfect experiences and not everyone is willing to say Olivia is without fault and worth the money.

[paddy Anne]

Aside from what Olivia offers it also depends on who you are and where you are from. If I had tons of disposable income and maybe lived somewhere wherer I never got to see the performers Olivia offers then Yes it would be worth it.

I live in a big city where I can be out, I have seem Mellissa twice here and pretty much all the comedians. For me I would rather cruise 2 times on mainstream cruising.

Oh and I have have always had lovely experiences on maintream cruises but if anyone ever did threaten me I would treat it like anywhere else and have the ships police involved. Nobody wants bad publicity.:p Seriously I straight poeple can holds hands and dance on the dance floor then so can I.

 

I hope Olivia is around for thoses who love it. We all need choices.

 

cheers,

Paddy Anne

[Oliver33]

PS- Thank you RKW for acknowledging the "atmosphere" on the former community boards on the O website. I had to stop reading them, they started to nauseate me. It seemed that any person who posted something anywhere near negative or contradictory to what the "regulars" felt, that person was personally attacked right there on the forum. It was if free speech did not exist. I say this while realizing there are a TON of nice people reading and posting to that thread. But a few seemed to monopolize it and have a burning desire to correct and amend others postings. I couldnt take it any more. And of course this does not pertain to all persons who were in the habit of regularly posting there either.

 

Your use of tongue lashing is right on.

[Pussycat]

Ok, Olivia-ites - you know who you are, you are the same ones that give tongue lashings on the Olivia Message Boards to anyone that dare speak the truth about Olivia and have now found your way over to the cruisecritic message board. It's in black and white now, still think Olivia is justified for charging what they charge?Yesterday 12:51 PM

 

I am quite happy to be referred to as an Olivia-ite! Although I personally don't feel I or many fit the description you you give of the Olivia Forum folks.

 

I respect other peoples opinions if they feel it is an expensive prospect to take an Olivia trip. Especially those who have already experienced one & can decide for themselves whether or not it's worth it. We all have the freedom to spend our money the way we see fit.

 

It's a matter of choice if we feel one vacation a year fills our personal needs more than affording two. As Oliver33 says it is not everyone's cup of tea, I agree totally.

 

Having said that I would continue to offer my opinions of Olivia just as everyone else does of their crusies/ ports of call etc. That's what this forum is for isn't it?

I'm glad I "found my way" here because I find it very informative &, generally, friendly.

[waunabcruizin]

We have booked our first Olivia cruise for this coming January. I gasped at the pricing before booking it. Twice the price as a normal straight cruise for the same cabin and meals. Assuming your cabin is $750 for the week on a normal straight cruise, then is the lesbian entertainment worth the additional $750 for an Olivia cabin? I don't know the answer to that yet. I know we are looking forward to our upcoming cruise with much excitement. And although we had to pay full price for the cruise waaayyy ahead of time there is some smugness at the moment because it's completely already paid for. Our jury is still out on the Olivia pricing issue. Anything is only worth what you're willing to pay for it. When it gets so expensive we aren't willing to pay for it then it will be overpriced. That said, some of us don't have the kind of income that can support these pricing levels as a norm, us included. This may well be our one and only Olivia cruise. But, we're still very excited that we talked ourselves into springing for it. Okay, now I'm rambling.

 

We get married in four days! Aarrghh. I'm a nervous wreck!

 

Carol (and Linda)

[mithryl]

 

I would continue to offer my opinions of Olivia just as everyone else does of their crusies/ ports of call etc. That's what this forum is for isn't it?

I'm glad I "found my way" here because I find it very informative &, generally, friendly.

 

Right On Pussycat!

I think this thread, and CC in general is a wonderful venue to learn about others experiences and to share our own. Having a personal opinion to share is terrific (positive or negative). Bashing the choices and opinions of others is not at all neccesary. It makes me feel sad when anyone is attacted for the choices they make.:(

Reminds me of how I feel when I'm being put down by someone just for being a lesbian.:eek:

[Pussycat]

Right On Pussycat!

Reminds me of how I feel when I'm being put down by someone just for being a lesbian.:eek:

 

(Hope I've got the quote thing right, didn't on last posting!!!!)

 

Right on too Mithryl.

Today I am feeling quite chastisized because I express my opinions about vacations with Olivia & because I personally feel it's worth the money TO ME. Not for all though.

I don't knock anyone that enjoys other trips or that doesn't want to go with Olivia. I thought that this thread was about sharing views & experiences. A place to get helpful info & enjoy friendly interaction with everyone.

 

Bowing out on this subject now.