If You Had to Go on a Cruise...

You sound like Celebrity or Princess people, OP. Fewer families, better food and entertainment than the "fun" ships.

Based on what you describe as the low points of your last cruise, I would suggest Holland America. The average age of passengers is higher and the food is much better. The price isn't too much higher than Royal, and much lower than the next-level cruise lines (like Azamara or Oceania).

Anyone been on a European river cruise? I see the commercials for them — Viking Cruises I think — and they look so luxurious and slower paced. Perfect for an eldergay couple.

Too expensive and not fun if you don't like to gamble or overeat.

Silver Seas

NOT CARNIVAL and NOT ROYAL CARIBBEAN. Too many children and blimps.

I've been on both Princess and Celebrity cruises. The Princess cruise seemed to have a lot of children and elderlies, and the design of the ship was at least 15 years old with worn carpets, tacky furnishings. Celebrity felt genuinely upscale and young-ish (I don't think I saw any children), and the ship was designed like a modern luxury hotel.

Late 40's couple here. We loved Windstar (French Polynesia). We really liked Azamara (SE Asia) and Seabourn (SE Asia). We hated Variety Cruises (though loved the Greek Isles).

I've been on Celebrity, Holland America, and Disney.

Celebrity and Holland America both had excellent food (former was Italian-based, and the latter, French). Disney's food was good but just not up to the level of the other two.

The entertainment (shows and all) were just okay in the first two and much better in Disney, but you really have to be a Disney fan. Disney is kid-focused.

Will I find Julie, Doc, and the CAPT when I book a Princess cruise?

[quote] Celebrity ships look so chic, anyone have experiences with them?

I've been on celebrity. Not any chic-er than any other. Look more for the age of the actual ship if you want chic

Everyone says the Italian cruises are the best overall

^ I mean the Italian cruise brand. Can't recall the name but one of them crashed into a dock a few years back

The foods neither bad nor great but smaller Star Clipper (partial sailing) ships are worthwhile. Attracts a diverse adult crowd.

We took one from Venice to Rome, stopping in Hvar, Montenegro and Capri among other places. Low keyed and enjoyable.

I had the same thought as R3, river cruise through Europe. I think there are gay ones....I'm not cruise people either but I would do that, I think.

A friend of mine went on a cruise to Antarctica and there were no children at all. His photos from the trip were amazing.

Look into an Alaska Cruise. Less children and poor people trying to be glamorous. Poor people go to the Caribbean.

Do a European river cruise. We did a Danube cruise (plus 3 days in Prague) that was terrific. AMA Waterways, a German company. Really excellent food (really), about 200 guests, first rate land tours with choices at no additional cost, no tour started before 9 a.m. (Viking is always at 8 a.m.!). Highly recommended. There is some entertainment at night, but you don't get the gambling or big shows, etc., like the large cruise liners have. There seemed to be 3 gay couples on our ship. We got to know one of them (Canadian) slightly.

OK. High end: Viking. Viking has no provisions for children. Crystal Cruises. Oceania. Regent. And if you're turning 50, for chrissakes, do something interesting. Take a cruise to see the Northern Lights. Go on a cruise of Asia, or some cruise with great itineraries.

Are there really elegant cruise lines, like the historic White Star line at its best? I might get over my fear of sinking at sea if it were a themed event like that (though the Titanic vibe might be disconcerting) It would also be cool to go on an old Orient Express type train.

No interest in modern cruise lines, as I've seen them pictured.

^^ of course, would have to secure a few of these in various colors, first - -

Viking is low end river cruise.

Regardless, if you go while school is still in session and not during spring break time, you will avoid most of the families with children.

Crystal Cruises

Rapacious killers stalk cruise lines. And their passengers.

I had a friend who took a lot of cruises. He talked my partner and me into a semi-gay cruise through Pied Piper travel to the eastern Caribbean. It was a Celebrity ship and a lot of fun. Semi-gay meant one half of the cruisers weren’t gay. We had our own ‘special venues’ and there were no issues whatsoever. Well except for some straight travelers wanting to be part of our group. Those gay men know how to put on a good party. We then went on another Celebrity transatlantic cruise. Different ship but really nice and not boring as I anticipated it would be. Did Royal Caribbean to the Baltic last year cause it spent two days in St. Petersburg Russia. Figured that was our only chance to see Russia. Didn’t care for Royal Caribbean. Felt like every deck was a different bar scene and the food just wasn’t that good. Doing a Princess cruise this month through the Panama Canal. Basically going to travel through the canal and not have to worry about meals. Ports of call are okay but honestly I’ve visited most of the Mexican western coast beach cities and the same with Costa Rica. My point being you need to figure out want you want from the cruise before committing to it. Want food and being waited on? Looking for ports of call? Want to hang with other gays? Cruising is a mindset. I prefer traveling to an area an exploring it. I’ve cruised as a means to an end...to see places I probably wouldn’t spend a lot of time visiting. However as others have suggested, Celebrity and Princess are moderately priced options that deliver a good value.

I've done a number of cruises with Princess, Holland America, and one each with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival. Most of the companies have three tiers of cruise lines (or more). Royal Caribbean-Celebrity-Azamara are all one company, and those are in order from lowest to highest. Carnival owns Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, Cunard, P&O, etc. Carnival itself is the low end; the rest are varying degrees of better, with Princess and Holland America in the middle.

I've done the Caribbean and frankly don't ever need to go back there. I'm not a beach person, and I live near beaches myself, so it's not my idea of fun. I prefer seeing things. That said, the Panama Canal cruise was great, and the Alaska one is the only one I'd probably do again. I'm going on Celebrity for the first time in December -- a round-the-horn trip from Buenos Aires to Santiago (covering both Christmas and New Year's.)

To avoid children, choose longer cruises when school is in session.

Thanks for all the tips, very helpful.

I think there’s also an option to take the Queen Mary (or whatever she’s called) from NY to England for cheap during that time (February). But I don’t know if I want to be stuck inside the whole time, one of the things I hate about my birthday is the weather is always shit. Hence considering the Caribbean.

r27 Personally, I don't like repositioning cruises, or any cruise with a lot of consecutive sea days. I need to get to a port at least every two or three days. That's why I've never done the Hawaii cruise -- five consecutive sea days in each direction. To me, it's like being locked inside a hotel.

Viking offers ocean cruises on ships. Big ones. THey are definitely not "low end river cruises."

Agree with R14 about Star Clipper. I did one around Corsica, Genoa and Monte Carlo a few summers ago. Only 150 passengers on a three-masted clipper ship. Small cabins, but, eh, we didn't do much more than sleep in them. Good food, only a few families.

[quote]Viking offers ocean cruises on ships. Big ones.

Yes, new ones, with engines that fail off the coast of Norway in the middle of a gale, requiring helicopter rescues.

A Windstar cruise of the Cote d’Azur, Corsica, and the Amalfi Coast was sweet and low key. And a Lindblad/National Geographic Cruise to the Galapagos was fantastic.

I'd bring along Immodium.

Do you need to dress up for the high end cruises?

I like the idea of a higher end cruise, but hate the idea of being seated at a table with others. So unless we can request a table for two or they have “freestyle” dining options, I wouldn’t go.

I've done 2 on Celebrity (all-gay Atlantis cruises) and 1 on Carnival. Celebrity was very spa-like, clean and modern with good food choices. Much of what made the cruises enjoyable were all thanks to Atlantis, not so much due to Celebrity.

Carnival was definitely a lower grade cruise all together, with dated decor, generally lower quality food, and poorer entertainment. Carnival did have a nicer room, with a larger bathroom, and I loved the breakfast burritos at the Blue Iguana. Sadly, that should tell you something about the quality of Carnival - the thing I remember most was a frickin' breakfast burrito.

Well when I went on a Royal Caribbean 20 years ago, we were seated at a table for 8. It was the same people for the whole voyage. But you didn't have to dine in the dining room. They had a grille which was very casual with outdoor seating, and a bar that served pub food. But if you did go to the formal dining room you were expected to dress. Now all that meant was men wore jackets, and women wore dresses, like cocktail dresses, and I saw many women who simply wore something one might see at a house party during the holidays, dressy but not really. And if you brought one or two dressy outfits you were fine. No one cared if you wore the same shit every night.

Go to cruises.com, or Avoya cruises, or cruisecritic . com and do some research. Google is your friend.

More or less in order depending on where you want to go: Celebrity, Cunard, Holland-America

Never again: Norwegian

I like the look of those too R3, also perfect for this elderfrau and her man. Right up my alley (said the actress to the bishop).

[quote] I like the idea of a higher end cruise, but hate the idea of being seated at a table with others.

Actually that's part of the fun. You get to meet new people and realize that, deep down, most people are the same (particularly those who can afford to cruise).

Depends on the cruise line, R34. On some cruises they have formal nights, but you're not required to participate unless you want to eat in the dining room.

R40 I have to agree: we've met everyone seated at our table from a Spanish film director, Dr. Ruth, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen (and her Battle of Britain air-ace husband) we met because she asked about my husband's Hong Kong tattoo at the pool), Mrs. Senior Colorado, a Stampede Queen, an Australian Rear Admiral and his hilarious trophy wife, to the guy who created Coronation Street (RIP, Tony), Esther Rantzen, and Wayne Fontana. Along with hundreds of less perhaps well-known (but terrific) people, many of whom we've stayed in touch with, and I can count on one hand the number I didn't like.

Earlier this year, I did the Viking Danube cruise from Budapest to Bavaria with my mom. The local excursions in Budapest were pretty good, although neither of us is a fan of being in any type of cathedral for more than a few minutes. Guides for the Jewish Budapest excursions are absolutely terrific!

On the day of departure, the bus to the boat was late leaving the hotel. Just as we were approaching the cruise ship zone where the other Viking ships were docked, the driver mysteriously swerved away and went swooping through town before coming back nearly an hour later. Turns out this was likely on purpose getting a message that the boat wasn't ready yet. Annoyed me greatly as I had had nothing to eat since breakfast, counting on the fact that lunch was supposed to be provided on the ship, not so.

Staff did a decent job, and most of the shore excursions were interesting. Food was decent, but not outstanding. All seating is at large tables, no option for solo couple dining.

The last day, they made us stay on the boat far longer than I thought we should before putting us on the shuttle to Munich Airport. There was one funny gay scene that I witnessed that morning while waiting to leave: a pair of middle-aged guys with wedding rings arrived, waiting for their room to be ready. The young Eastern European lad who was handling the situation was rather flummoxed, asking: "Where are your wives? What is the other room number?"

As far as cruise lines go, I really liked a week circumnavigating Iceland via Windstar.

Would be happy to flow up on any Viking, Windstar or Iceland questions.

Some cruise lines, like Norwegian, only have anytime dining, and there are no formal nights. Most other still maintain the tradition, although you no longer have to get into a tux, or even a suit and tie in some cases. Usually there's one formal night on shorter cruises, and two or three on longer ones. And as stated above -- there is almost always another dining option--like the buffet or room service--if you prefer not to dress up to eat in the main dining room.

I've only been on the lower end (Carnival, Norwegian, RC) and mid-level (Princess, HAL) cruise lines. The most annoying thing about them, and the one that's making me consider switching to something like Oceania (no formal nights, but upscale) is the constant shilling for crap and services they want you to buy. Nonstop announcements and advertising for photos, spa services, duty-free stuff, "art," tooth-whitening, questionable quasi-medical procedures, jewelry, etc. My understanding is that this is a lot less prevalent on the higher-end lines.

Go on one with all the sluts and meth.

Holland is for old farts. Middle class old farts. Not high end old farts. Their ships are old too. That's why I gave you suggestions as to web sites. You want to look at how old the ships are and how big they are, how many passengers they'll hold. And you want to know when was the last time they were renovated. YOu can find that on the cruise line's web site or on the ones I suggested. Just click on the proper link. Now There's no problem if your on a ship with 1000 or less. But I would try to avoid that. And I would absolutely avoid the large ships. Here's why. Shore excursions. If you only have a few hours in a port, you want to spend your time in port. Not waiting on the ship in a line to disembark to go sightseeing. It's a pain in the ass. Also on the larger ships the service can be spotty, the food is not as good, and the potential for running into a lot of assholes is higher. And all the amenities are more difficult to enjoy. YOU might not be able to get into the gym, or the restaurants may be crowded with lines at certain times of day. And you are likely to just be on a floating Mall. Not fun.

Is it better in general to go on the gay cruise lines?

There are no gay cruise lines. The gay cruises just charter ships (or portions of ships) from regular cruise lines.

I would only trust Disney Cruise Line.

One thing is for sure. If you want to go on a decent cruise line you'll have to book a year to 18 months in advance. And plan on spending as much as 3500.

for the same price, get a business class ticket to Milan (Italy) and stay in nearby Bellagio... who wants to spend a couple of weeks with 5000 other travelers, with kids, diarrhea, etc...?

I'm a veteran of over 35 cruises. Yes, I'm a cruise-a-holic. Anyway...

How "classy" a cruise is is a function of the cruise line, the age of the ship, the length and destination of the cruise, and the departure port. Most lines put their newest ships in their premium markets, doing 7-10 day cruises. Those 3 and 4 night "getaway" cruises are generally the worst, as they are the oldest ships, the poorest passengers, and the least-desirable ports. Most ships have last-minute space available, which usually goes to locals who live near the ship's home port, and can do a last-minute getaway that doesn't involve air travel. When I sailed out of New Orleans, most of my fellow passengers were from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. When I sailed out of Galveston, most everyone was from Texas and Oklahoma (and smoked like chimneys). Cruises from European ports tend to have the most international and cosmopolitan mix of passengers.

Over the years I've done a number of all-gay cruises, and I heartily recommend them to gay and lesbian travelers. As a rule, they have a happier, friendlier atmosphere and a sense of camaraderie that I haven't seen since the good-old-days of smaller (300-500 passenger) ships. Don't go by he photos in the ads -Atlantis and RSVP cruises are very mixed. All ages, races, and body types. Yes, the spa sometimes turns into a floating bathhouse, but I've seen men in the steam room on straight cruises going at it too... For me, a cruise is about doing what you want, totally letting your hair down and being yourself. On a gay cruise when a hot guy walks by you don't have to pretend not to notice. You and your significant other can hold hands, kiss on a moonlit deck, and just blend in with everyone else.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, you can have a great cruise with minimal child contact on Disney Cruise Lines. It's not that the kids aren't there -It's that the ships have entire decks and activities reserved just for kids. They even have their own shore excursions. In their dining rooms, Disney divides passengers up by children, so people with babies are together, and people traveling without kids are someplace else. The only time I even saw a child on my last Disney cruise was when they were all in a long line on deck for pictures with Mickey and Minnie (and a lot of adults were in that line, too). Disney costs more, but their standard cabins are comparable to suites on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Holland America.

So, here's my two cents: Best Cruise: The one you're on right now. After that, my favorite was the Baltic. Best Cruise Liv]ne: Overall, Holland America. High marks for Carnival because they have excellent service and Indian food every day. I avoid NCL at all costs. Best Cruise Advice: Don't waste money on balconies. No one spends time in their cabin other than sleeping and... By all means get a view, but spend the cost of the balcony on a great meal on shore, some souvenirs, and your bar/spa tab.

I'm sailing on the Atlantis cruise to Mexico in two weeks (Celebrity). Anyone else going to be on board?

We are not cruise-oriented travelers but we do go some destination cruises. One we really liked was the Paul Gauguin cruise in the Society Islands. Based in Tahiti, the ship is not gigantic - more like a nice midsize. We docked at Moorea, Bora Bora and a couple of other islands. It was really enjoyable with lots f nice scenery. Not a strong gay presence on board but we were comfortable as a gay couple.

[quote]And a Lindblad/National Geographic Cruise to the Galapagos was fantastic.

Their cruises do look amazing.

After 9/11, you couldn't pay me to board an airplane.

That goes ditto for cruise ships. They've become floating airliners.

I did NCL to Alaska. Ship was quite worn out and the food was quite unremarkable, except for some seafood chowder they served on deck. Alaska, however, made it all worthwhile. Extremely beautiful, although the obvious melting in Glacier Bay made my stomach hurt. I sat outside on deck most of the time, only saw one 'show' a presentation on Alaska.

I once cruised the Nile on an Egyptian Princess Raft. It was heavenly. They even served boxed lunches with real meat. It was manna from heaven.

I still can't believe it ........... me on a [italic] Princess Cruise !

^^^ In my excitement of reliving the dream, I can't believe that I forgot to sign my post !

It's me of course, 🚶 your favorite orphan ....... And now, Seasoned International Traveler !

[quote] Never again: Norwegian

Totally agree. Norwegian is the worse. Unfortunately they're one of the few that leave from NYC and are usually cheap prices. Viking and Holland-America are both good. Crystal is the best.

Participating in the exploitation of disadvantaged and enslaved human beings isn't my idea of a good time.

[quote]Holland is for old farts. Middle class old farts. Not high end old farts

OK, what line is for high-end old farts? Which line offers an experience most akin to sailing first class on the [italic]Queen Mary[/italic] in 1938?

Crystal Cruise, R61.

Watch out for Goofy, you don't want to end up like BILL TAYLOR

[quote]... most akin to sailing first class on the Queen Mary in 1938?

Why not sail on the Queen Mary 2 then? It's got the heritage and the luxury. And you can tour Britain while you're at it.

Anyone here ever cruise with Oceania? OR Regent? I've heard they're right up there with Crystal and Viking. Seabourne has high end old farts.

Celebrity is my favorite line, with Princess as an acceptable second choice. What I like about Celebrity is the clientele seems to be mostly couples in their 30s, 40s and 50s with very few children on board.

Norwegian and Carnival (and Royal Caribbean to an extent) are the Greyhound Busses of the cruise lines. On a Carnival cruise once, I witnessed a family of hillbillies get into a fight in the main dining room. There were turned-over chairs and broken bottles involved.

I'm looking forward to my first Celebrity cruise in December. I am Platinum status on Princess, and enjoy the perks, but I'll be starting from scratch with Celebrity.

R65, oh that's a good idea. As modern, top-heavy cruise ships go, the QM2 is attractive, although the original is much sleeker and more stylish.

^^^ because the QM II is an ocean liner, not a cruise ship.

Norovirus, ecoli, salmonella. Those are the names of some of the friends you'll make on the lower end cruise lines. It's Crystal or nothing for me.

I would love to go on one of those transatlantic cruises or one that lasts for a month. I read an article a while ago about people who actually live on cruise ships. That's their home.

love it r64! i had forgotten about that.

also... 73 replies and no mention of Chumley’s?

R72 The transatlantic cruise/crossings (usually Europe to Florida or vice verse with stops in Madeira or the Balearics or Azores on one side and the Caribbean on the other) always carry a relatively large gay contingent. For these, I’ve always found Celebrity the best combination of accommodations, ports, people, and price. It’s often an international and inter-generational mix and it’s definitely not a White Party or Parliament House crowd if that’s what you’re looking for.

The great majority of passengers on any non-Atlantis or gay charter cruise are obviously straight but I’ve never encountered any who made us feel uncomfortable because of our orientation and the staff is always welcoming, knowing as someone mentioned above that we drink more and tip more. If anything, the other passengers we’ve encountered seemed genuinely interested in meeting us. Celebrity does not attract a lot of unsophisticated travelers unless the ship sails to or from Texas. On those trips a lot of the passengers are from more rural parts of the US and less well-travelled.

We’ve also been on a couple of the longer cruises (around South America, through the South Pacific) and a couple of segments of Cunard’s annual R-T-W cruise on the old QE2 and the QM II and it’s a completely different mix of passengers: much older and richer. Understandably as not many of us can take the winter off. Nor afford the fare all the way around. It is pretty glammy though, if you like that sort of thing: gowns and jewels and tuxes at night and some interesting if eccentric passengers.

R75, are the transatlantic repo cruises in Oct/Nov just as good?

[quote]Norovirus, ecoli, salmonella. Those are the names of some of the friends you'll make on the lower end cruise lines. It's Crystal or nothing for me.

R71, you'll eat those words.

I’ve been on many cruise lines. I like Norwegian’s 7 day cruises. I like to go early spring in Caribbean. Less kids and less fear of storms as water is still cool.

I believe Windstar has a minimum passenger age of 18?

R76, they're better because the seas in the Mediterranean, South Atlantic and Caribbean are almost always smoother (hurricane season is over), it's still summer-like in the European departure ports like Civitavecchia (for Rome) and Barcelona, and for whatever reason, I always feel more rested westbound (back to the States) because you gain an hour through each time zone versus losing one five times eastbound. It's not the jet-lag you get going to Europe on a plane, but I find the lost time noticeable nonetheless. The segments of the R-T-W cruises we've been on all went westbound: Southampton, NYC, Florida, the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal (on the old QE 2: QM II exceeds Panamax, the size needed to get through the canal) to California, then Hawaii, the South Pacific and on to New Zealand and Australia.

A non-stop crossing (like those on the Queen Mary II) from New York to Southampton or the reverse travels a more northerly route, whereas most of the cruise/crossings travel a more southerly route, although some leaving Europe in September take a more northerly route through Scotland, Iceland, Atlantic Canada, and New England for NYC.

Short notice, and you likely won't get to choose your cabin in advance, but, for instance, Celebrity's Edge, their newest ship which isn't a year old yet, an inside cabin is less than $100 a day ($1199 plus $122 tax) for a 14 day cruise from Rome to Florida leaving Civitavecchia on November 1st. If you drink and party a lot, you won't be looking out the window, but if you want to look outside it's $300 more for an outside cabin and $400 more for a balcony cabin. If you have your passport and can get cheap airfare, there's no resort on earth where you can enjoy the kind of food, service, itinerary and accommodations you get on a repositioning cruise/crossing for less than $100 a day. And on the Celebrity cruises, anyway, you'll always find plenty of gay men.

r20's mention of White Star should have closed this thread. Luxury ships and an immpeccable safety record.

^^^White Star was merged into Cunard in 1934, which made me think them all the more ballsy to show "Titanic" onboard the QE2 at Christmas in 1997 before it went into wide release.

Isn't the *Queen Mary* the obvious *Cruise* Ship of choice for the Adventurous & Sophisticated *Gay* Man ?

If you like art, beautiful decor, and dislike children...Celebrity.

Thanks R80, I may actually take that.

R61 Cunard, but most so if you're booked into what are called the "Grill Classes." Cunard, to the dismay of some and delight of others maintains a semblance of the old shipboard class system. While most areas of their ships are open to everyone, some spots (lounges, dining rooms, pools) are limited to access only by passengers paying for the most expensive accommodations in what are called "Queens Grill" and "Princess Grill" classes. It's more relaxed than it was, but as a rule dinner on sea nights, with a few exceptions, means dressing up in a jacket and tie for men and cocktail dresses for women or tuxes and dinner jackets for men, and long gowns for women. That's when the jewels (and the plainclothes security) are out in force at dinner. There are casual options, but for many of the people there, dressed up is what they want.

The accommodations in the two topmost classes are larger (some of the suites are spectacular; two on the QM II with their own elevator), the service is better, but the biggest draw is the food - as good as anything you'll find on land, all of it cooked to order, and with the option to order off the menu. If you don't see something you like, they'll prepare anything you want if they have the ingredients. Or they can prepare theme nights - on one cruise when we sat on what's called "The shelf" in the Queens Grill - a raised platform near the entrance with five tables for two (privacy if you want it, camaraderie if you want it) - we managed three regional dinners in a week: the Australians arranged a dinner for the ten of us with prawns, lamb and a pavlova, the Germans with an amazing array of sausage and wurst, we (and the couple from Rhode Island) a clambake, and the New Yorkers just ate everything that was put in front of them. The Grills are single-seating: dine anytime they're open as opposed to early and late sittings in the other dining rooms and also have lounges open only to Grill passengers as well as a pool deck on the stern.

The rest of the ship isn't steerage by any means, but Cunard's Grill class is the closest thing to sailing on the original Queen Mary in the 1930's.

Excellent summary, R86. Thanks.

I have avoided cruises like the plague ever since age 22, when someone knowledgeable (a famous singer who played a lot of cruises) told me "everyone on a cruise is either newlywed, overfed, or nearly dead". But I suffer with jet lag, so maybe sometime I'll bite the bullet for a transatlantic cruise.

I was dragged, screaming, onto a Carnival Fun Cruise. I had a great time!

I would like to do this 15 night Icelandic crossing on Regent Seven Seas. NYC, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, Boston, Bar Harbor, Nova Scotia, Greenland, Iceland.

R86, thank you. That sounds amazing. And how logical that 80+ years later, it would be Cunard ... still.

[quote]If You Had to Go on a Cruise...

Alex, I believe the correct answer is Tom Cruise

Oceania is gorgeous. But as for transatlantic crossings I don't think I could handle it. Being out there in the middle of the ocean so far from land, looking out and seeing nothing but a vast sea for days on end. I would go insane.

R93 not to mention the icebergs!

[quote]And how logical that 80+ years later, it would be Cunard ... still.

Except that Cunard is now owned by Carnival, so ...

[quote]not to mention the icebergs!

Icebergs? I thought this ship was RESTRICTED!

I could never do a transatlantic cruise. The mere thought of it makes me nervous. Something around Italy or Greece would be ideal.

One night I'll never forget was spent onboard the Cunard ship Caronia during a three week transatlantic - Caribbean cruise. After dinner one evening at sea in the mid-Atlantic, one of the shipboard lecturers, a professor of astronomy, led us up to the top deck and identified what seemed like every star in the dark, cloudless sky. The captain had ordered the lights on the deck dimmed so we could see more of them.

Standing there with a drink in my hand with nothing but the ship and the sea and the stars around me felt like seeing a bit of infinity and reminding me that we're such a tiny bit of an endless universe.

My partner and I have gone on numerous Royal Caribbean cruises and have found it very enjoyable. A few people above have mentioned “too many kids” on RC ships, but we’ve found that to be the exact opposite. Unless you’re cruising during the summer or school holidays, we’ve seen VERY few kids on the ships. Overall, it’s a enjoyable but unspectacular affair. The food is palatable (there really is something for everyone), the entertainment is fun, the service is stellar and the ships themselves are gorgeous and impeccably maintained. If you’re looking to drink, relax and unwind I would recommend Royal Caribbean.

AVOID Norwegian (NCL) at all cost. I wen for the first time last month.

The food was disgusting prepackaged frozen food, using the cheapest fillers like corn flour/syrup/sugar in everything.

The staff are prepaid in your cruise price, and they are awake working every hour you’re awake. During a sit down meal, try and get a cup of coffee or ice water to your table. It’ll show up at the end of the meal, or not at all.

We had a drinks included in our packages. They’d bring one, after a little wait, and fuck off never to be seen again in your section. The sit down meals we ordered above the ordinary cafeteria food were $40 a meal each. They served barely warm steak, cool vegetables, and two choices in each appetizer, main course etc.. Breakfast and lunch had near zero choices for protein. They’d offer lots of carbs instead. The salad bar was green lettuce, and a few garnish items. Salad dressings were not a chefs offering. We’re talking Target style bottles of three dressings.

The passengers were miserable as fuck for people supposedly on holiday. I don’t think they were keen on leaving their trailers for a week. They barged past me, take the last spot in an elevator and say fuck you when called on their rudeness.

They cater to poor white trash with swill you’d find at any fast food outlet. Loaded with salt and sugar.

Ive been on 3 and I will never go on one again. If you arent an alcoholic or a glutton,you will get bored very quickly. The last I went on was a 7 nighter on Royal Carribean ,and after the 2nd day I was so bored I could have screamed. I did enjoy the views (love a balcony ! ) but my god,there were no cute guys to look at out of 5000 people! How is that even possible ??? By 8 pm the whole damn ship was a ghost town. I spent the majority of my time in our cabin,reading and watching old movies. I told my friend to please not ask me again.

Celebrity for sure, the best!

Just home today from a week aboard the Celebrity Eclipse (all-gay Atlantis cruise). Food and service were outstanding, and the ship was beautiful. As for eye candy, there was so much I needed insulin! I think the ship went somewhere during the week...

I'm not a cruise person, but I always wanted to see Alaska from a ship and took a 7-day Celebrity Solstice cruise through the Inner Passage, and I had a ball.

VERY few kids — there was a tiny arcade in a high-up corner of the ship. That was all there was for them to do. The shows were a bit cheesy but lots of fun, and the performers were young and talented. They had an onboard naturalist and I went to a couple of his lectures, which were educational and entertaining. The glaciers and wilderness were indeed beautiful.

And I was really impressed with the food — high-quality fish and meats, great vegetables, and very decent wines. Even the buffet was good if you stuck with the international stuff (Indian, Italian) and didn't stand in line for bad pizza.

Norovirus also worried me, but there were smiling attendants everywhere carrying wineskins of hand sanitizer. I probably got hand-sanitized 25 times a day.

OP, did you go?

R105 As stated in the original post, this is planned for February