Cruises - Classier or Trashier? Part III

So, we just skipped Part II?

I actually think this is part IV. But we won’t tell anyone.

How many threads do you bitches need to decide whether cruises are classy or trashy? Are you at least any closer to a consensus than you were in the first thread?

We'll keep them going as long as it takes to catalog all the Golden Girls inconsistencies.

Did the GG ever go on a cruise?

Yes.

That's why they had to buy condoms, Rose. Condoms, condoms!

I always assumed Dorothy was a bareback kinda girrrrrl.

R7, well she does have the back of a linebacker.

I know better than to feed the trolls. Really, I do. But...

"Sorry [R593], but someone who wants to spend their vacation eating buffet food, docking at tourist traps, and watching shitty shows does not know how to live life. I just drove through four Eastern European countries, visited historical sites and national parks, visited my great grandfather’s village in Poland and ate delicious Polish food made with locally grown ingredients, visited some beautiful Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, visited Baltic beaches, saw Belarus through the fence, saw Russia from across the river, sucked a Polish cock, ate traditional Estonian food at a tavern in the middle of nowhere. I could go on, but I can guarantee you I couldn’t have done all these things on a cruise ship. Enjoy your cold pizza and all the screaming from those loudmouths from New Jersey."

She doesn't know what she's talking about. While I haven't visited (to my knowledge) her grandfathers village in Poland, I have done all the rest -on cruises! She seems to think that every cruise is a Carnival or Royal Caribbean mega-ship. Cruises around the Baltic and Mediterranean often do overnight stays in port, and offer wonderful cultural opportunities for those who are interested. Most smaller ships go to out-of-the-way places that few tourists visit. No one is chained to the sun deck. No one is forced to eat buffet food or cold pizza. On my last cruise I had a six-course meal prepared by a Michelin-starred chef. And, in case you hadn't noticed, loudmouths from New Jersey can be found pretty much anywhere in the world. They are not confined to cruise ships.

If you don't like cruising, fine. But quit spreading misinformation about what they are like. You clearly are not an experienced cruiser, so why should your opinions be considered valid?

R9 - agreed. Everyone bitching about cruises have either never gone on one or have only done the 'fun', cheap or family lines - Carnival, Norwegian, etc.

Those really are just cheap booze and sun vacations for that type of clientele. Somehow they can't wrap their heads around that there are differences with cruise lines and experiences.

Also - there is an assumption that people on cruises have never done the 'in-depth' local travel described in R9. Many have - but it can be exhausting. Cruises are relaxing and easy - yes you're not going to live like a local for a week, but that's not the point. Some people want to mix relaxation with a cultural vacation.

Amen r9. This post was really annoying. No vacation venue is perfect but I prefer cruises to resorts. And a lot of posters who are critical of cruising haven’t even been on one. If you have made a cruise or two and you decide you don’t like it, I would respect your opinion a lot more.

I suppose it's never occurred to 593 that one can do both a driving and a cruise vacation combined. I often plan extended driving trips before and after cruises in remote destinations, like spending a week in England after my Norway cruise (which left from Southhampton).

Who are the other players in the LGBT cruise ship charters besides RSVP and Atlantis?

Can be either

The quote in R9 exposes that this person went on a personal 'visit my grandfather's roots' experience. Fine - but that's a unique experience and yes, of course, you want the local experience.

Being able to see another country through a fence isn't exactly a highlight to me - neither are churches/cathedrals, of which I've had my lifetime's limit.

It's so dumb to criticize all cruise lines - that's like saying you hate hotels because you don't like Motel 6. They have no idea that there are different levels of cruising and different experiences.

Truly misinformed AND it they come off as bitchy 'class' queens who are desperately trying to show how sophisticated and cosmopolitan they are - when we can all see they're just middle-class nobodies trying to impress people.

Vacaya is the newest one. There's a luxury brand called Brand G which primarily does river cruises and land tours, but also has some small-ship ocean cruises as well. Some of the European Atlantis gays also do The Cruise, from Le Demence, which is only one a year (or every other year), but it tends to be very wild. Wilder than Atlantis I mean.

Big Gay Cruise and Pied Piper do group bookings that aren't full ship charters.

Vacaya is actually advertising a Solar Eclipse cruise that's going to be sailing through the path of totality for the eclipse that's going to happen in August of 2026. And they've already announced they're going to have Bonnie Tyler perform during the actual eclipse.

And yes, I'm totally thinking about booking it.

Don’t forget Chumley’s Bear Cruises!

VOTH @ r16, have you sailed with Explora or Oceania yet? What are your thoughts on them?

I meant VOTN…

R16 - aren't many of those cruises (non-Atlantis) more of gay groups on a regular cruise?

I actually like that better than gay cruises - which are usually almost double the price and can be just exhausting.

[quote]I actually like that better than gay cruises - which are usually almost double the price and can be just exhausting.

The thing that gets to be exhausting about gay cruises is that people have the idea that they have to do absolutely everything. I think the first thing that people need to adjust is realizing they can't. Not everyone hits every party or dance. One of Atlantis' regular features is the Classics party, which is basically 80s-90s-early-00s dance music. For a lot of the eldergays and eldergay-adjacents (myself included), this can be a highlight, because it's like going out when we were in college. But for the younger guys, it's not as big a thing. Whereas the White Party is the highlight of the week.

I don't often hit all of the afternoon dances. The last full day, there's always a Disco themed dance in the afternoon. I'm usually so exhausted by that point that I only go briefly if at all. And the final night before we get off, there's a thing called the Last Dance (because it has a hard stop) that I almost never go to.

The freeing nature of being in a space where we're the majority, that's the draw. That's worth the price, honestly.

Anyway, in other news, after less than a year in service, Icon of the Seas' forthcoming 9/28 cruise was completely canceled due to unspecified need for repairs. That's not concerning.

If I haven't mentioned Ben and David:

[quote] Ben and David

Their video of the Norwegian Epic convinced me not to go on it.

[quote]Their video of the Norwegian Epic convinced me not to go on it.

You don't want to poop behind frosted glass and then wash your hands in the middle of the room? Can't imagine why.

At least NCL acknowledged that it was a massive misfire.

Definitely trashier

Adding on to r9, r10, and r11. I went on my second cruise two years ago, before that I was on a RC ship in 8th grade. I only went on the most recent cruise because my mom and I have winter birthdays a couple of days apart and I got tired of celebrating in the cold.

Note, I go on 1-3 international trips a year, usually to Europe. I’m used to the go-go-go atmosphere for my “vacations”.

I was apprehensive at first, but always loved ship open minded, once I got on quickly fell into the idea of just putting all of life’s stresses aside and focused on pleasures (entertainment, cocktails, getting dressed 2 times a day, bad shows, pool time, trivia, dancing, beach time, and food) for the next 3.5 days.

It finally made me realize that for all my travel abroad, I kept seeking adventure, but now that I’m in my mid-30s I prefer to do at least one pleasure vacation cruise or resort, mixed with 1-2 adventure vacations.

The cruise gave me a chance to relax. And I really loved having a brunch, a mimosa, and the view of the gorgeous Caribbean water with the island of the day within reach.

The gays and lesbians at the Friends of Dorthy meet up were all social and kind. I understand why cruises aren’t for everyone, but like most things in life, it’s about what you make of it.

I actually want to try to Atlantis cruise because it’s so controversial among gay men, at least my social circle looks down on them. But I sort of get a kick out of the idea of being surrounded in an all gay space at sea. I know the ships offer enough refuge that I don’t need to be in the mix of everything, every moment.

The only issue I have is the idea of buying all the outfits but you only live once so when in Rome.

[quote]you only live once so when in Rome

How many times do you live when in Paris?

One time I a smoking hot Danish couple do the Eiffel Tower on me, while in Paris. Was 3am when I got to their hotel room and had a fantastic time with a nice uncut cock in my ass and another in my mouth, while they made out!

I find J from The Shiplife to be very adorable. He’s straight but I love his reviews and news reports. His French partner is so pretty.

[quote]The only issue I have is the idea of buying all the outfits but you only live once so when in Rome.

You don't really have to go all out on the costumes for the dances. Mine don't tend to be elaborate. Honestly, some of the bottoms just do a different colored jockstrap each night.

The Halloween cruise is the only one where I'm trying to go all out, in part because of it being Halloween. Given where the dates fall, I was thinking they were going to combine Halloween and the White Party (the White Party is always the night before the last full day, which for us is 10/31), but when we got the list of the parties for this time, they're doing Halloween the previous night (so when 10/30 rolls over to 10/31) and then the White Party the night of Halloween. So now I don't know if I put on my Emma Frost outfit for the Halloween party or not. I have other white outfits, so I can make that work, but I was kind of proud of what I settled on.

What does anyone think about this dude, cruise vlogger Josh Corjay?

He's alright. I might have said in another thread, but I met up with The Weekend Cruiser, while on an MSC 3-day trip Last year. Connected with him via Grindr. Met up at the Friends of Dorthy event. Didn't have sex or anything, but once I saw he was a social media influencers for cruises, I geeked out and got to ask him some questions. He's super sweet and attractive.

No hookup but the conversation was very enjoyable. I just had to know how he stayed fit going on multiple cruises a month. He keeps to a strict healthy diet, no or minimal alcohol, lots of water, chicken breast, and workouts. I commend his ability to say know. I'm working out hard for my Feb cruise but accept that I'll waddle off that ship 10-12 lbs heavier.

I love JoJo's reviews! I thought he was gay or bi for the longest time until a girlfriend appeared in one of his videos. Oh well, I can still dream of him and Kyle (in this video) having a late-night encounter. JoJo is entertaining because he gets progressively wasted on his vlogs as the day goes on. He’s one of the few vloggers who shows us life on a ship from a younger perspective, sun up to sun down. Many cruise influencers don't touch on evening activities beyond dinner and the theater show, but for many of us, we want to know what's available (and the vibe) after dinner. JoJo covers that.

Kyle Pallo, featured in this video, is attractive. I think I watch his content because he’s so fuckable. His girlfriend is simply gorgeous; they’re a couple I don’t mind seeing on camera. Anyway, give JoJo’s page a chance!

[quote]I'm working out hard for my Feb cruise but accept that I'll waddle off that ship 10-12 lbs heavier.

Don't eat everything just because it's offered and take the stairs.

I mean, I know not every cruise has all-night dance parties, but I've actually lost weight on Atlantis before. My best-ever day for that was on my first cruise, where between dancing and everything else, I took over 50K steps. Even on the much-less intense Valiant Lady cruise this year, I was often doing in the neighborhood of 20K.

The walking tours are a great way to get steps in. And on a week long cruise I try to get at least four days of exercise. I bring my resistance bands with me and work out in my cabin. Gyms on ships are supposed to be breeding grounds for Covid and other maladies.

r35, I know what I should do, but honestly, I’m not going to stress about weight gain. I can burn it off in two months. It’s the cocktails that really get me—so much sugar! I can easily down three margaritas in a day, plus an espresso martini, a glass of wine at dinner, and whatever fun drink I see the bartender making for someone else. Since I have a drinks package, I’ll be buzzed most days and probably drunk by bedtime. I’ll probably take it easy on the Dominican Republic stop since that’s a new location for me!

But for five days, I’m not going to worry about the gym, my diet, or anything else. I currently hit the gym 4-5 days a week for lifting and stick to a lean diet—no fast food, rarely a soda, and alcohol only once every two weeks. So, I’m going to enjoy this little moment of indulgence!

r36 I told myself that when I was in Paris. Walked a ton, but decadent food is me weakness so I still gained 3 pounds in Paris.

[quote]So, I’m going to enjoy this little moment of indulgence!

That's the other thing about gay cruises. After about the mid-point, people start eating more thinking it won't show before the end of the week.

If I do end up doing an 11-night Asia cruise, I wonder about my willpower.

I've been on many Atlantis cruises. I bring a costume for the Halloween party (if there is one), but otherwise I pretty much ignore all the dress-up. As was pointed out above, the "costumes" are often just appropriately-colored jocks and underwear -with added harnesses and bling. I usually do a walk-thru of the afternoon parties. They are too loud for me, though the eye candy is incredible. Then I go back in to relax in the spa/sauna or play games, etc. If you do go on an Atlantis cruise, take advantage of the relaxed social scene and chat up people. Not just the ones you find hot. I once spent several hours in conversation with a gent in his upper 80s who had worked in the theatre and had marvelous stories to share.

I usually lose weight on a cruise, as I put in a lot of steps, and I don't snack between meals (that 24-hour pizza and ice cream will really add up). I've also learned to skip dessert if what's offered doesn't really appeal to me. Food portions tend to be quite reasonable -and smaller than most shoreside restaurants - but most of the calories are in the desserts. I do tend to make a pig of myself at the breakfast buffet, but overdoing the scrambled eggs isn't going to cause serious weight gain (and may actually keep you feeling full longer so that you don't overdo it at lunch). At home I love to cook (and I am really very good at it -no false modesty) but on a cruise I indulge in the things that are hardest to do when you're cooking for one: salads and a variety of fresh fruits. My last Carnival cruise failed both of those areas dismally. My last Celebrity cruise was food paradise, with lots of variety of fruits and salads. Of course, there's the issue of alcohol -empty calories that don't fill you up. Thank god I don't drink!

r39 how much action was going on in the Spa/Sauna on the Atlantis cruise? Did staff even bother going back there?

The first day or two the staff is usually visible, but pretty quickly the bathing suits are shed and there's a fair amount of intimate contact going on. It depends a lot on the layout of the ship. On my last Atlantis there was a small, four-man sauna off the men's dressing room at the spa. I went in after a mani/pedi and almost immediately got sucked off by a cute young Brit.

On Virgin, which has a huge spa with multiple different rooms in the thermal suite--mud room, salt room, dry sauna, steam room, and hot and cold plunge pools, we were given instructions to keep bathing suits on...but most people ignored that. It was odd, because they did have staff kind of patrolling, even mid-week, but they didn't seem to intervene.

The Royal Caribbean thermal suite, which is a lot smaller and kind of hidden in the bowels of the ship (no windows to the outside at all), I don't think I ever saw a single staff member there. I also don't remember a lot of action. The times I was there, there was a group of about five bears that were clearly together, but they mostly ignored me and behaved themselves.

[quote] I love JoJo's reviews!

Seeing your comments made me so confused. Right after I posted at r32, I was going to post a reply asking what people thought about JoJo, and I selected the very video you linked to as the video I was going to link to. I ended up not posting it. However, when I saw your reply, I thought, wait a minute, did I post what I was going to and that’s what this person is replying to? It freaked me out.

r43, I now expect us to end up on the same ship sometime in the future. great minds think alike.

[quote] I thought he was gay or bi for the longest time until a girlfriend appeared in one of his videos.

JoJo has had two steady girlfriends since moving to Florida. The first one was Mel, who he dated in 2021 until he cheated on her, and the current one, Krista. In both cases, he ridiculously refuses to use the G word, even when they are standing right next to him and are required to play along. Of course, neither one matters considering his one true love is Taya Miller. Taya sees JoJo only as a friend, so Krista is his substitute Taya.

The Kyle and JoJo cruises are okay, but I think I prefer the JoJo and Jete voyages. I especially liked the VV Resilient Lady Greek Island Glow series last year, which included Shiplife J also.

Damn, r45, you are really in their business, lol.

Jete and JoJo dress, act, and look like gay friends when the girls aren't with them. I agree, Kyle doesn't seem to always match his energy, on camera, but you can tell when they aren't filming, that he is much livelier. Kyle is too much of an aging bro, but his solo vids are fun.

R46, I remember the vlog the image is from, when JoJo was at Universal with Kyle and Jete and JoJo was pretending to persuade Jete to come to Europe with him (Jete had already decided to at that point). I mention that because sometimes JoJo is inauthentic like that in order to create a vlog, which I don’t like. The travel vlogs are more authentic though.

A current visitor at Cozumel posted on X that the beach where she is staying is “gone”. I wonder if Helene will have an effect on cruise ships scheduled to arrive there in the next few days, or even past that.

It finally happened. I watched a cruise video on YouTube this morning and saw myself in the background. I had noticed the guy filming, but didn't know he was a cruisetuber.

[quote] I might have said in another thread, but I met up with The Weekend Cruiser, while on an MSC 3-day trip Last year. Connected with him via Grindr. Met up at the Friends of Dorthy event. Didn't have sex or anything,

If you're not going to, can I?

You'll have to get in what I imagine to be a very long line, VOTN. ;)

So now the duo from JJ Cruise is moving onboard the VILLA VIE ODYSSEY too. They sometimes get on my nerves. But I am interested in hearing their POV of the ship.

You may be interested, R52, but I doubt you'll get it -at least not without many coats of varnish. The company's owners require a confidentiality agreement as part of the lease/ownership deal. That's how they expelled that woman who complained about the delays.

The whole thing seems fishy to me r53. They should be able to speak their minds about what the ship is really like. I would not have done this - the ship is 30+ years old and too small.

The ship's size is great for me -I like 'em small. But I'd never book a situation like this until the ship was actually in operation. Every attempt to do this before has failed, and this one has been terribly delayed. I'm skeptical.

When will the STORYLINES floating condo be ready?

[quote]When will the STORYLINES floating condo be ready?

I don't think they even have steel cut yet.

God help me, I took leave of my senses. They opened the Vacaya eclipse cruise up for public sale today. I booked it. It's expensive as hell, but I have a year and a half to pay it off. I feel bad cheating on Atlantis, but this is just too unique an opportunity for me to pass up.

VOTN you trollop. Stay faithful.

Aren’t Atlantis and RSVP basically the same?

What makes Vacaya so different?

Difference is that with their prices, everyone will be ancient, save for the occasional kept boy bored to tears.

So, VOTN, how long have you been a Kept Boy? Is it fun?

I’m just a Splenda daddy.

And it sold out within twelve hours of it going on sale to the general public, so I guess I'm glad I jumped on it.

[quote] I find J from The Shiplife to be very adorable

I find him irritating but his reports are pretty good.

Why irritatingly r63?

Haha, it’s nothing big, but there is something in his presentation style that reminds me of three separate, very bossy former co-workers who consistently interrupted. They just loved the sound of their own voices. They had a tendency to talk at people, to lecture and make listen to them perform.

And a couple of anecdotes showed me he is somewhat of the same cloth. (Though much better looking.)

So although his content is pretty good, I don’t watch it due to the unwanted memories of my pre-work from home days.

r64, I'm not r63 but he reminds me of CNN's Van Jones in the cadence of his speech. But his reviews are good as r63 pointed out.

Hopefully he's not a douchebag like Van Jones.

PS - Ritzy Travel Guide is coming out with their review of the QUEEN ANNE this weekend. Cannot wait.

An old resident of my apartment had a Cunard mailer arrive declaring "EXPLORE THE WORLD WITH YOUR NEW QUEEN."

It seemed DL approrpriate.

[quote] An old resident of my apartment had a Cunard mailer arrive declaring "EXPLORE THE WORLD WITH YOUR NEW QUEEN."

Does Cunard have a new ship called the Queen George?

Has anyone done a Fall cruise in the north east? It would be an interesting alternative to an Autumn leaves road trip.

R71 I did two Carnival cruises from NYC to the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The NY crowd is standoffish. Try to leave from Boston. And another cruise line. I’m going on Princess from Boston next August.

For whoever was asking about the Atlantis Tahiti cruise, it goes on sale starting October 1st. They’re staggering the rollout, so people who have done 10 or more cruises with Atlantis get first dibs. They open it to 5 or more on the 3rd, and then general alumni on the 5th. I’m assuming whatever’s left after that will go up by the first week.

The flight to Tahiti must cost more than the cruise.

And take just about as long.

[quote] Has anyone done a Fall cruise in the north east? It would be an interesting alternative to an Autumn leaves road trip.

[quote] [R71] I did two Carnival cruises from NYC to the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The NY crowd is standoffish. Try to leave from Boston. And another cruise line. I’m going on Princess from Boston next August.

I want to do that, and definitely out of Boston. I wouldn’t want to travel to the NYC area. I thought about 2025, but I’m using all my vacation time for 2025 on two long cruises already. I’ve been looking at September 2026, but I don’t see any cruises to Canada yet. At first, I was thinking doing round-trip to Boston, but a YouTube vlog convinced me to take the longer one-way journey to at least Quebec City.

Yeah the only thing that I don’t like about leaving from New York is the New Yorkers. I socialized with several people on my VENEZIA cruise, but the people all were from somewhere else and not New York. And it rained so bad the day I returned that I was drenched, bags and all because Carnival wouldn’t allow people to get taxis from the shelter on the pier.

[quote]The flight to Tahiti must cost more than the cruise.

Even basic economy isn't cheap. And it's a long, long flight from New York.

I'm trying to figure out how I'd work with the Asia cruise. I can fly nonstop to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, but I'd either have to make a stop coming back (meaning more than 24 of travel) to stay with them on the way home, or get a separate ticket on Singapore Airlines to do it nonstop.

Ben and David review MSC's new ship in their luxury cruise line Explora Journeys, and it looks really promising. Perhaps the most beautiful ship I've seen yet.

I dare you to try to count how many times they say "Absolutely...."

I would secretly like to do vile and disgusting things with David.

Does that make me a bad person?

Luxury cruising is too expensive.

R78 go to LA for a weekend. Air France flys non-stop LAX - PPT

flies

HI GUYS!!!!!!!!!!

[quote][R78] go to LA for a weekend. Air France flys non-stop LAX - PPT

Apparently, Atlantis is chartering a flight from LA. I’m not sure how they’re going to squeeze 1300 people onto one plane, but I assume there will be some high rollers that’ll do it on their own.

I love watching the reviews of luxury cruise ships but I totally accept the fact that I would be completely out of my depth if I were onboard one.

You’d be surprised how many stupid, wealthy people there are on Crystal and Regent. Not much depth to worry about.

Yes rr88 but stupid people can still be snobbish and bitchy.

You push right past them—that’s how stupid they are. I speak from experience—some nights they are the best entertainment on board.

Seriously, both provide an excellent product …overall.

R86 my issue with a lot of luxury cruise ships are this abysmal pool deck options. Usually the pool is too small or not ideal for a pool at sea.

Then you get to the boring entertainment and limited things to do.

So, it really feels like a retirement home or floating hotel. Works for some people, but I’d rather cruise next to normal people, playing bingo or trivia, over the boring sea day activities on luxury lines.

I obsess over their suites and restaurants…many of them have superb menus and beautiful accommodations. And I would love to have a butler who attends to my every need.

You might consider rewriting this sentence: I’d rather cruise next to normal people, playing bingo or trivia, over the boring sea day activities on luxury lines.

On sea days I veg out on my balcony reading and listening to music or playing board games like Rummikub or Mexican Train.

The only trivia I am interested in is 1990s Music Trivia.

I wonder if the old folks on the luxury cruise lines are old ravers?

Does playing Mexican Train involve more than one donkey?

Asking for a friend…

[quote]On sea days I veg out on my balcony reading and listening to music or playing board games like Rummikub or Mexican Train.

Virgin has an entire cabinet of games. They really know their demographic.

Pulling trains? Rumcumm?

Straight or gay demo?

For bawdy r95…

Virgin does a team jigsaw puzzle competition on a sea day. I'm sure to some of you it would be deadly, but those of us who enjoy doing puzzles have a rip-roaring time. With sea days, the thing to do is relax and do whatever you enjoy. I usually hit the spa, play games, read, or hang out in a jacuzzi. When I first started cruising, I looked for itineraries with the fewest sea days. Now, after 40+ cruises, I look for those with more sea days. Next up: an 8-night transatlantic.

I see. A name for a pai gow variation used to condescend to Mexican immigrants. I’ll stick with dominoes.

WTF R100?

The name is a put down of Mexican workers. WTF yourself.

How so?

What is the most overrated cruise line? I’m guessing Cunard.

[quote]What is the most overrated cruise line? I’m guessing Cunard.

Speaking of, I happen to see some interesting itineraries and fares on Cunard, but then I looked at their website and saw confirmation of how horrific the voyage would be. Regarding the dress code:

"If you do want to make an effort in the evening you won’t be alone. The majority of guests traveling with us embrace the chance to switch to smart attire by night. This doesn’t mean you’ll be expected to wear a gown or dinner jacket each evening. Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers, skirt and a top, or a cocktail dress. Essentially, choose something along the same vein as you’d wear to a stylish restaurant or the theater on a special occasion."

"At least once on every voyage of three nights or more, we’ll host a Gala Evening, where we ask that you observe an elevated dress code. Again, it’s your choice whether to participate in these evenings or not. Many of our guests choose to sail with us specifically because they look forward to these events."

If I'm on vacation, I don't want to dress up. Vacations should be the opposite of dressing up. Save the "elevated dress code" for weddings and funerals. Even where it's optional, people would still frown upon you. I want to be on a cruise line that is laid back.

The thing with Cunard is that for a lot of the passengers, they're going for that level of formality. As a whole, it doesn't appeal to me either, although I think I would like to do a Transatlantic with them once. I was actually looking at some holiday sailings with them from New York, but I don't think I could handle that level of stuff for more than week. And it's not even just from the line, the fellow passengers are worse. I mean, they feel compelled to tell you that you're wearing a dinner suit, not a tuxedo, and they hope you're grateful that they've shared that knowledge with you.

And as I've said, aside from the appeal to history (Cunard is almost 200 years old at this point, so assuming the world doesn't end in the next fifteen years, I suspect an aged-me likely will do a 200th anniversary cruise on them), Cunard doesn't really have a differentiating factor from the premium lines. I mean, the Grills are a luxury experience, but aside from some of the truly fancy touches (like being able to order off-menu), I don't know that they're that much more resplendent than the Retreat on Celebrity. Definitely more inclusions than the Neptune and Pinnacle suites on HAL, or the Reserve on Princess, but also quite a bit pricier. And the Britannia and Britannia Club level does not really have anything to it that's different from X, HAL, or Princess once you subtract out the ocean liner drag.

I actually agree that I don't know how I'd deal with a luxury line experience. I've read enough of those seemingly well-heeled travelers talking down to the rubes who think that getting Sevruga caviar is luxury, when everyone knows that the only caviar worth the eating Osetra.

Sevruga caviar. The nightmare. The nerve.

And also, that's Cunard having controversially relaxed its dress code a few years ago. They actually had three different types of evening dress codes, one where you were okay with a jacket and pants (I think it required a tie, but I don't remember), one up was a required dark suit, and the last was full black tie. One of the reasons that the lines have dispensed with the extreme formal nights is that tastes have changed as far as what most people want to do on vacation, but there's also the more practical side where you're not having to deal with checked bag fees.

VOTN @ r106, I thought beluga was the ultimate caviar? Although it’s near impossible to find nowadays.

It is, but it's banned in a lot of places because the Beluga sturgeon is critically endangered. You can't import either the caviar or the sturgeon themselves into the US. There's only one aquafarm in the world that has permits to breed them, and part of what they do is to attempt to restock their natural habitat in the Caspian Sea, not as much for providing the caviar to market.

So, of the ones that are more widely available, Osetra is rated more highly than Sevruga. And no, I don't make enough money to care about such things. I did do a caviar and Instagram-ready champagne cocktail combo in the Virgin champagne bar this year, but that was enough.

Closest I ever got was salmon roe.

I'm doing a transatlantic on the Queen Mary 2 in a couple of weeks. It's a bucket-list trip -a chance to do it the old-fashioned way. When I started cruising every line still had black tie formal nights. I survived it then, so I'll survive it one more time. Live VOTN said, there's a nod to history here. Not to mention there aren't ports and shore excursions and all that -getting dressed up a few times might add a little excitement to the evening. My last cruise was on Virgin -the polar opposite as far as onboard attire goes. Gotta say I loved not dealing with anything more than shorts, polos, sandals, and a swimsuit. Did the whole trip with a small carry-on. But it's a totally different kind of trip.

As for the snobs -you find them at every level of cruising. There's always someone going off about their Elite/Sapphire/Emerald/Savior status with the cruise line, and telling everyone how much things have gone down hill in the last few years. I ignore them. Or, if they are being rude to the crew, I look for ways to puncture their bubble a bit. Hell -it's their vacation, too. Maybe that's their way of dealing with their low self-esteem. It's easy enough to hang out with different people.

I’d rather go on a cruise with Daisy, Onslow, and Rose, and not Hyacinth.

Explora Journeys looks fascinating.

I think I'd rather be on a cruise with Sheridan and his... "friend" Tarquin.

The Ritzy Travel Guy and his intrepid wife have just finished their cruise on the QUEEN ANNE…mixed reviews.

Checked in last night for Atlantis.

I find HAL’s shore excursions underwhelming. There’s one specific one for Atlantis in PV at a gay resort, but otherwise…

What type of gays travel on HAL?

Is this the Halloween cruise VOTN?

VOTN, I always hit Acqua men's spa in PV for a vichy bath and massage. It's a legit place -not a rub-n-tug, and they have great prices and service. It's by appointment only -no walk-in.

That's a thought. There are also some Atlantis exclusive resort offering.

R115 what a disappointment the Queen Anne staircase is.

The QUEEN ANNE has a very blocky exterior. It is also Cunard’s attempt to reach younger customers. Maybe they should have designed her to be an ocean liner like her fleetmate QM2.

With the exception of the Queen Mary, all the Queens are based on HAL ships. Queen Vic and QE are Vista-class, slightly larger versions of HAL's Noordam, Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, and Westerdam with an extra deck and I believe thicker hulls for a higher polar rating. And the Vista-class itself is a modification of Carnival's Spirit-class, which despite being small, is probably their best one.

Queen Anne is Pinnacle-class, so the same thing, but with the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, and the current Rotterdam.

I agree that she looks blocky. The shape of the funnel doesn't help. It looks better in the HAL livery.

The Onion teases us.

And Royal Caribbean announced a new private resort, Perfect Day Mexico, in 2027.

It’ll be in Costa Maya.

This is confirming my theory they’re not trying to compete with Carnival and NCL, they’re competing with Disney World and Vegas.

How is Norwegian as a whole?

I am watching Stuart and Christina of The Posh Travel Blog on YouTube and they are unbearable. Exactly the kind of Brits one tries to avoid on holiday.

I haven't sailed on NCL yet, but their More at Sea thing, plus their solo cabins, seem hard to beat.

R126 Stuart pings to me.

"How is Norwegian as a whole?"

Let me fix it for you: Norwegian is a hole.

I have sailed them many times. They used to be great, but they have gone downhill terribly. My last Norwegian cruise the food was barely edible, and the service was indifferent, at best. I'm told that if you buy up to their suites-only level things can be great, but I've seen bad reviews of that as well. For me, it's like paying up to get to the level of service and food that used to be for everyone.

I hate to keep bringing up Ben and David, but they just did a scathing review of the Norwegian Epic and of Norwegian in general. Seems like it's not a good choice these days.

I almost posted that review, R130.

I’ll never forgive them for running the beautiful NORWAY into the ground. And the EPIC is so ugly to the point of being offensive.

I honestly think NCL is having an identity crisis. For some reason, it feels like they've had a harder time recovering from the COVID shutdown than the other lines. I mean, their current stock price is about half of what it was pre-pandemic. In fairness, Carnival's in a similar position (while Royal Caribbean has been well, well above their pre-COVID financials), but because Carnival Corp is so much bigger, they can redeploy resources a little easier, like shunting Costa and P&O Australia ships back to Carnival Proper. They don't seem like they've had the cutbacks that NCL has had, with the exception of all the upcharges on Sun Princess, but that's one ship on one line.

NCL though can't compete with Royal Caribbean with bells and whistles, and they're not competing with Carnival on price. The Freestyle Cruising thing was a bigger differentiator 20 years ago, but since all of the lines (even Cunard to a certain extent) have loosened up, and most have open seating options for meals, it's not unique. They were the first to really do the Ship-Within-A-Ship with the Haven, but Celebrity and arguably MSC do it better. The Prima-class ships are gorgeous and tasteful, and are clearly meant to compete with Celebrity and Virgin (with the design having a lot of influences from the Virgin Ladies), but then they plop a go-cart track atop it on the Prima and Viva, and a huge aquacoaster on the Aqua and Luna, and then whatever the final pair of sisters are going to be. It doesn't quite make sense for me.

What VOTN says is all true. I would also add that, prior to Covid, NCL prided itself on entertainment. It was the go-to line for Broadway shows like Hairspray, Six (and Cats...) and first-rate traditional Vegas-style entertainment. Now they've cut all that out to save money, so there are even fewer reasons to choose them. Not to mention on my last NCL cruise I waited 45 minutes for water and menus in the main dining room. It took more than a half-hour after that for appetizers to arrive, and they weren't worth the wait.

I truly despise the whole ship-within-a-ship thing -It's just a return to the old class system from the days of ocean liners. And NCL and RCCL are the absolute worst at nickel-and-diming you to death while you're on board. Everything has an up-charge, and a higher price tag. The only cruise lines that I have sailed both before and after Covid that have held up are Celebrity and Holland America. Virgin is great, but I only just did my first cruise with them. Sailing Cunard next week.

Based on my post-Covid sailings, you couldn't pay me to board another Carnival ship, and if you did pay me, I'd still think twice about Royal Caribbean or NCL.

[quote]What VOTN says is all true. I would also add that, prior to Covid, NCL prided itself on entertainment. It was the go-to line for Broadway shows like Hairspray, Six (and Cats...) and first-rate traditional Vegas-style entertainment. Now they've cut all that out to save money, so there are even fewer reasons to choose them.

I mean, entertainment is also getting hit by the other lines. Royal has a bunch of Broadway shows on its bigger ships (Oasis has Cats, Harmony ad Independence have Grease, Symphony has Hairspray, Allure has Mama Mia, Liberty has Saturday Night Fever, and Anthem has We Will Rock You), but they instead mounted an original version Wizard of Oz on Icon, and Wonder and Utopia don't have them at all. It's disappointing.

I will say, they more than make up for it with their Aquashows on the Oasis-class and Icon. The one on Oasis, which is called "Aqua80s," is incredible. It's a full production of 80s songs, and not all obvious choices.

Just in terms of the industry more broadly, I wouldn't do NCL or RC without Atlantis (and might not even do NCL WITH Atlantis, because the cruise they did in 2023 on the Prima did not go well, largely because NCL was being borderline homophobic). I can say I would do Celebrity or Virgin without (very glad that I'm doing both with next year), and I might be adding HAL to that list, depending on what I'm thinking in about two weeks.

I did my first Celebrity cruise a couple of months ago on the Eclipse. The staff and food were excellent, but the ship I found dated, strangely decorated, and oddly unsuited to a lot of the activities, such as trivia and game shows. Trivia was held in a bar where only half the seats could even see the "stage" and game shows were in a tiny atrium where they temporarily pulled up chairs. And the games were lame by even high-school camp standards (stacking plastic cups, for example). The production shows were well staged, but all original material, no Broadway shows. The rest of the entertainment was standard magician, musician, cruise director telling jokes, stuff.

I imagine their newer Edge class ships would be more impressive, but then you have their hated Infinite Verandas to deal with. I found Princess' ships to be much more pleasing aesthetically and with much more suitable venues for handling group activities. Princess' medallion technology and website were much better, but Celebrity had Starlink which rocks. Otherwise I found both lines pretty comparable.

Oh, forgot to mention the other major difference. Princess's entertainment systems on the cabin TV's has a really impressive list of movies and TV shows, and at no extra cost. The Celebrity Eclipse system frankly sucked eggs and very little was available without extra charges.

I haven't been on one of the Solstice-class ships in probably eight years, but I remember loving them. Granted, that was before I had the Virgin concept to compare it against, and without having the Edge-class experience. But I like that they have a forward observation lounge that's open to everyone (which is getting increasingly rare on contemporary ships) and I thought the Lawn was a great space. Granted, the Rooftop Garden on the Edge-class blows that way.

OTOH, while there are Retreat-only spaces, there are not huge chunks of the ship carved out for them.

Memory of having a Pimm's Cup in Michael's Club just unlocked.

‘Cause watching which free channel in your room is really important for an expensive vacation?

For anyone that care about or needs internet while on vacation, look for ships with Starlink. It really is excellent. I've been able to do Zoom meetings flawlessly.

R139, why yes, yes it is. Ever been on one?

Yes—over a dozen. We never watched the tv except to check ship info.

Perhaps you would have if there were good movies available for free.

I saw a Norwegian cruise that was within $1000 of a very similar Oceania cruise, but you all have scared me off.

[quote] Stuart pings to me

Same. And she is a young Hyacinth Bucket.

It was free.

Would you base your choice of airline, hotel, resort or AirBnB on the tv options. Of course not. Silly…

I watch the television on sea days and at night before I turn in.

Having memories of 2 weeks in a TV-free Club Med in my childhood (as well as the evenings of enforced games), sometimes you just need some downtime away from the crowds with something mildly stimulating to watch.

[quote]For anyone that care about or needs internet while on vacation, look for ships with Starlink. It really is excellent. I've been able to do Zoom meetings flawlessly.

All of the ships in all of the lines from Carnival Corp and Norwegian Holdings Group have Starlink. Royal Caribbean has it on all of the RC ships, and they've been rolling it out on Celebrity and Silversea. MSC I think has it on about 2/3rds of its fleet as well as the Explora ships.

Classy! Manny and I saved for YEARS to take this glamorous cruise of the Mediterranean!

[quote]Classy! Manny and I saved for YEARS to take this glamorous cruise of the Mediterranean!

You were retiring to Israel to be with your grandson, Belle.

And yes. You're a very skinny lady.

[quote]Would you base your choice of airline, hotel, resort or AirBnB on the tv options.

R147, I don't, but what if I did? People enjoy cruising for all kinds of reasons. What services are included in the fare (and their quality) is all part of the calculus. I assume you're not saying we all have to care about what you think is important.

"And yes. You're a very skinny lady."

In the WATER, Belle. In the WATER.

But there was no calculus in the post as to which the comment was made. The comment was in response to someone making a direct comparison of tv service on two different ships as if it were the key factor. But thanks for the pedantry.

R155, I made the comment about TV as an aside because I forgot to mention it in my previous post, not because it was central to anything. But thanks for nothing.

Girls, girls!

Let's just be happy we're not on the Villa Vie Odyssey.

Nor are you catching me dead, or alive, on Princess or Celebrity Eclipse! He can die on those tubs.

I don’t get in the hot tub on a ship EVER.

I don't get in any hot tub EVER.

Just for that, I'm going to get in all of them.

VOTN you gonna get cooties.

[quote] Cruises - Classier or Trashier?

Depends on that week's guest "stars". There's an ocean of difference between Anne Baxter and Charo.

[quote] Stubin

Oh, DEAR

I have my DoxyPEP and my Apretude shot is scheduled for next week.

I met a really sweet guy at the Eagle a few weeks ago, and we've gotten together a few times since. There are some complicating factors, but I really like him, and during our first encounter, we discovered we're both going to be on the Big One together. Fingers crossed.

I wish that MSC was going to Canada.

R165 so you’re the one who stirred the shit by writing to The Ethicist at the NYT?! Hornets’ nest!

Or the other one?!

[quote[Aren’t I Entitled to Know Why My Husband Is on a Drug for H.I.V. Risk?

...and why that spells trouble for Democrats.

I am not planning on doing this as crazy as the Big One, but probably a bit crazier than I did in March.

And I have a companion, so I'll at least be sleeping with him.

Even asking this question is trashy op

Those Cunard ships make me so mad. They should have gone for classic looks inside and out, instead they are basically standard looking ships. At least they should have gone for old world fashion in the dinning room with wood oak and such to make it seem like old world and classy. Would this have killed them?

Well, it's against international maritime law to use wood on cruise ships because of the fire hazard.

And not everybody wants to get dressed up to take a daguerrotype.

Nor like a reject from the priority line at the Eagle.

That can't be true or there are very good alternatives r173 because many cruise ships have rooms filled with wood. Unlike older ships, modern sprinkler systems and fire safety doors are a bigger deterrent to fires on ships than the nature of the material in the room. There are many ways to deal with wood or fake wood on ships. Please stop.

Also, here are rooms with wood paneling and flammable books currently floating at sea as I type.

To your final point, I think the QM crowd would be the type to get a kick out of true old world glamour on a ship. I'm talking about one room, not redecorating the bitch to look like the Titanic from keel to stern.

[quote]That can't be true or there are very good alternatives [R173] because many cruise ships have rooms filled with wood.

It's a veneer if the ship was built or outfitted after 1997.

okay, r176 then as I thought, alternatives are already in use that look like wood, which was my point because most of the ones I linked are well passed a 1997 outfit.

That aside, the Cunard is the one brand that should have leaned into that but they dropped the ball from the interior to the exterior it's all so basic. I also expected them to adopt the same design as Disney with their Disney Magic ship which is still the most beautiful active cruise ship, from the outside, with her classic 1950s inspired design. That's how you build a ship.

I’ll stick with Crystal and Regent—TIA

Correction, I need to stop. The Queen Mary 2 is a beaurty, though looks special needs from the front with the oversized bridge.

Her main dinning room is the type of fabulous I'd expect on Cunard. So, sorry to bash the QM2.

I’ve seen better dowager countesses.

I don’t understand why Cunard hasn’t built a running mate for the QM2. Or maybe another cruise line could build a proper ocean liner to compete against her. Supposedly the QM2 is booked up to a year in advance; obviously there’s a market for those who want transoceanic voyages.

Old farts and gays.

[quote]Supposedly the QM2 is booked up to a year in advance; obviously there’s a market for those who want transoceanic voyages.

I don't know how big that market is. I'm enough of a history nerd to want to experience that sort of thing once (we're still premature for me to start planning my 50tth birthday trip, but I have considered a QM2 Transatlantic for that), and I know there are plenty of people who like the Gilded Age cosplay aspect, but I don't think that's a reliable market/

I'm intrigued by repositing cruises across the Atlantic, but the ships not being ocean liners makes me hesitant.

Everyone I know who has been on a Cunard Atlantic crossing has met a celebrity on board. Proper A-List, like David Bowie or Whoopi Goldberg. My boss was on a crossing with Gregory Porter who was performing, and sounded as wonderful as you’d hope.

My bitch sister in law saw Tyson Fury and wife.

That’s more trash than class, FYI.

[quote]Whoopi Goldberg

Was it a crossing-crossing?

I read that as was she cross-dressing.

And doesn’t she always.

This could be fun.

Won’t be.

Sounds like the Sun Princess has ironed out all its kinks. The ship looks fantastic and if it weren't so expensive right now, I'd be interested in trying her out.

We've been on an Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary & it was lovely, we wanted smaller. So we've been on a few Seabourn cruises & they are wonderful. A totally different demographic of guests, service & luxury.

Still waiting on the cruise guide. We board in 8 days. Come on, y'all.

So I guess that crazy Australian guy is not going to build his TITANIC replica?

We were on QM2 this summer. The formal aspect is gone. If you don’t want to dress for dinner, you eat upstairs in the open seating section of the dining room or in another venue. Even Grill passengers are more relaxed - coat and tie, maybe, but not a tux or dinner jacket. No one we saw or spoke to was barred from any of the dining rooms or lounges because of their attire despite the explainer shown above.

Which is a 180 from when we started cruising - with RSVP - on the QE2 in the 1990’s. They had plainclothes security onboard the R-T-W cruises in the Grills because every formal night meant millions of dollars of jewelry on display.

As for why they haven’t built a running mate for QM2, they’re not convinced there’s that much demand for transatlantic travel. Her hull is built of heavier steel for the North Atlantic and so cost more to build than ships designed for cruising in calmer waters.

[quote] We were on QM2 this summer. The formal aspect is gone. If you don’t want to dress for dinner, you eat upstairs in the open seating section of the dining room or in another venue.

That’s interesting and would make me more likely to go on Cunard. I don’t like being around actual wealthy people, or less wealthy people cosplaying in formal wear.

I’m tempted to try QM2 on one of the Canadian Maritime cruises.

[quote] I’m tempted to try QM2 on one of the Canadian Maritime cruises.

#MeToo

I’m looking at a Holland America cruise to there, but not completely satisfied yet that I have what will work out best.

A friend of mine said he would never go on Crystal 'because there's too many Jews onboard" ... and he's Jewish.

R200, that’s similar to what I would say about gay men on an Atlantis cruise. Everything, including passengers’ demographics, in moderation.

[quote][R200], that’s similar to what I would say about gay men on an Atlantis cruise.

Don't knock it will you've tried it.

[quote] A friend of mine said he would never go on Crystal 'because there's too many Jews onboard" ... and he's Jewish.

What’s the issue? No bagels left at breakfast?

Too many people on a Friday night waylaying him in the corridor to drop broad hints about how the lights are still on their cabin?

DCL has released some details about Disney Adventure, their Disney-fied version of the uncompleted Global Dream that they bought from the bankrupt Dream Cruises and will be homeporting in Singapore.

It'll have a version of the Bolt that Carnival has one the Mardi Gras, Celebration, and Jubilee, but themed to Iron Man.

The artist renderings look nice enough, but from the exterior, it looks more like an apartment block.

Thoughts on silversea?

R204 it’s looking ungainly af. Everything that’s wrong with modern cruise ship design is evident here.

I can't really hold the hull against Disney, because they didn't design it. And in fact, they've probably made it a lot more comfortable that it would have been. Dream Cruises was planning a passenger capacity of 9000, and with additional crew to put more than 11K people onboard.

Disney cut that back by a third, so it'll be more like 6000 pax and the a slightly larger crew, so more in the realm of 8000. That's actually lower than Icon of the Seas at max capacity, but I have to wonder that with a layout that was designed primarily for Asia, if it will disperse crowds as well as RC. Say what you will about RC's big ships, aside from the buffet, they rarely feel that crowded.

I do wonder how big a market they'll have. They're planning on 3- and 4-night cruises from Singapore, and with no casino, there won't be a draw for childless adults who aren't enormous Disney obsessives. And I don't think they'll pick up a lot of Western Disney obsessives with itineraries that short. That's a long was to fly for a few days. That's a lot of cabins to fill twice a week.

I wonder if Virgin is having trouble. Their current sale is amazing, for voyages in 2024, hundreds of dollars off, up to a thousand off, for solo. If I didn’t already have plans for my remaining vacation days, I’d grab one of them.

True r207. They might, however, get some Aussie Disney fans.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... Part 1

I was on last week's westbound transatlantic sailing of the Queen Mary 2. The ship was everything I'd hoped for -and much better-looking than the photos suggest. All the woods (veneers or not) don't photograph well. There was a tremendous sense of spaciousness everywhere, and the crew were very polite and friendly. In my experience, the first dinner aboard a ship is usually the worst. My first dinner was absolutely delicious, and impeccably served. The asparagus soup in particular was a standout. Unfortunately, my first dinner aboard was also my last.

The next morning we docked in Le Havre, France. Le Havre is a place you go because it is convenient for visiting other places. I was feeling tired, so I just took the free shuttle into the city for a lite lunch and returned to the ship for an hour in the spa. The therapy pool was heavenly. Afterward, I took a nap, and I woke up in the evening feeling awful. A trip to the bathroom confirmed I was having a medical emergency. I made the long trip to the medical center, which had already closed for the day, but they sent someone for me. The diagnosis was a bleeding stomach ulcer (that I didn't know I had) and the ship's doctor said I would have to be evacuated as they don't carry blood products aboard and I would be needing blood. By this time we were too far from shore for the coast guard cutter, so I was airlifted off the ship by helicopter. My cabin steward packed up my suitcase (which had to remain aboard) and a small carry bag to go with me. I later found he had lovingly packed the cord for my electric razor -but not the razor, one pair of underwear (but no shirts or socks), some chocolate I'd bought in London, my flip-flops, and the wet bathing suit I had hung up to dry in the shower. No charger cables or plugs for my phone. No toiletries. He did include the bag of magnetic hooks I use to hang jackets and hats up in the cabin!

The helicopter ride was the worst half-hour of my life. I was in and out of consciousness, in pain, and because I am tall they couldn't close the door properly so it was like being in a hurricane. Upon landing, I was taken to hospital in Le Havre, where I stayed for six days. Did you know that the French don't use any anesthesia or sedation for endoscopy? I had two while I was there, as the bleeding wasn't stopping. Anyway, I'll gloss over all the gory details. Suffice to say, I had lost a serious amount of blood by the time I hit the hospital, and I was as close as I ever care to be to dying.

A tale... Part 2

I only got home last night. I really should have had a week to recuperate between the hospital and the airport, but insurance and my blown-to-hell budget wouldn't allow for it. So I was sent on my own to Paris to navigate Charles Degaulle airport. I had to stop and take breaks between ticketing and security, and two more times between security and the gate. The flight was to Chicago, with a three-hour layover until my flight home to California. In Chicago it was another long haul to US customs and immigration. God bless the customs officer, who took one look at me and ordered a wheelchair to take me the rest of the way. My connecting flight was in another terminal, and even on wheels it took half an hour to get me to my next gate. (How much are you supposed to tip wheelchair pushers at the airport anyway?) The gate agent was also a hero. The only seat available at check-in was a center seat in economy. He managed to get me moved to the exit row, where I would have a little more room. About half an hour later he came up to me and said that, if I liked, he could move me me to first class for a couple of hundred dollars. Needless to say, I jumped on it. I may be the reason I'm alive today to tell the tale!

When I got home I went straight to bed. I was awakened by a phone call from Cunard's customer care team checking in with me. They hadn't been informed I was traveling, and so they assume I was still in France. I have been sitting in a chair all day, too weak to do much more than catch up with mail and online stuff. The moral of my story is ALWAYS buy good travel insurance that includes medical care and repatriation and trip interruption. My little helicopter ride cost $90,000. The medical bill from the ship was a reasonable $1300. The hospital in France was $10,000. Plus, I lost a $9,000 vacation. Don't cheap out on the travel insurance!

Wow. Wow.

The doc on the ship is a cutie, though.

Further to R213, assuming it’s the same one.

I thought she was perfectly pleasant, but not really my type...

It was a he this summer.

Heal quickly. And peacefully. You’re so right about the insurance.

R210, what an experience. Glad you're still here.

R210, I had food poisoning in Portugal that required a trip to the ER, but nothing like what you went through! Welcome home!

BTW, you are a born storyteller. Feel free to share more!

R210 - WOW. You’re a damn hero for surviving that. Glad you’re home in one piece.

Poor r210. How are you feeling today?

Thanks for asking, R220. I'm doing better. Having my first solid food in two weeks really helps. It's amazing how quickly you lose muscle tone when you're in hospital. Today I walked out to the mailbox and back, and I was so winded I had to lie down -But yesterday I was too weak to even attempt it. The doctor says it will take me a few weeks, at least, to get back to normal. (Normal at last!)

A new twist to the story: I had to spend a few hours on the phone and internet this morning trying to sort out how my suitcase would be shipped to me. UPS wanted $500!

R221 did you get travel insurance?

R222 Did you read his whole story?

[quote] Having my first solid food in two weeks really helps. It's amazing how quickly you lose muscle tone when you're in hospital. Today I walked out to the mailbox and back, and I was so winded I had to lie down -But yesterday I was too weak to even attempt it. The doctor says it will take me a few weeks, at least, to get back to normal. (Normal at last!)

It’s true; I injured my knee and stopped working out my legs for 3 weeks. I lost 2 kilos and 1 inch off my thighs, all muscle.

[quote] Having my first solid food in two weeks really helps. It's amazing how quickly you lose muscle tone when you're in hospital

If you need any tips on how to navigate that both practically and psychologically, let me know. I went through the same after my colectomy.

And I’m so sorry for you going through that.

Hi from Atlantis, by the way. Koningsdam is a beautiful ship, albeit with some quirks. Having the dome over the pool helps with the temperature at the parties. I’m up early having some coffee before a massage. This ship does have the most gorgeous spa I’ve encountered.

Thanks, VOTN. I loved my time on the Konigsdam. It is a beautiful ship. Hope you're having a fabulous time!

Yes, R222, I bought a very good travel insurance policy. But I almost didn't. I almost cheated-out with a basic medical plan that didn't include repatriation. That would have been the end of me financially! ALWAYS buy good travel insurance, and read the fine print about what is and isn't included.

Next year, since I’m doing multiple cruises then, I’m thinking of getting annual travel insurance and getting separate medical travel insurance.

r195 the problem with a Titanic replica, is that the Titanic would be a rather small ship in this day and age.

R223 I misunderstood what he wrote. My bad.

R228, no atrium, no balconies, no dice!

There have been, as there always are, some bumps on the road, like the fact that it took them a while to switch the music in the public areas to something appropriately Atlantis-y.

But I’m really impressed by how HAL is handling everything. I thought they’d be scandalized, but this is actually the first cruise I can remember when they just blatantly identified where the Dick Deck was.

Also, Ben is such a good cruise director. Malcolm left some big shoes to fill, but Ben has just caught the ball and run with it.

If I recall correctly, after the infamous shut-down of the Dick Deck on the NCL Halloween cruise, Celebrity not only acknowledged it, but set up tables with hand towels, lube, and condoms (and hand sanitizer). I've done a couple of RSVP/Atlantis cruises on HAL, and they were very nice. Glad to hear it's going well, VOTN. Please get laid a few extra times for me!

Yeah, it seems like NCL is blatantly homophobic, so I’m thinking it might be a long time before Atlantis charters them again (although Vacaya was going with them for a while), and Royal is being a pain in the ass to deal with; so I’m assuming most of the charters will be between Virgin, HAL, and Celebrity. It also seems pretty clear that the Big One for 2026 is likely to be on MSC, which should be an experience.

I don’t know yet if I’d do HAL by itself; but I’m definitely impressed. The only thing I don’t like is that there isn’t a big interior public space, so the regular blacklight-heavy Neon party has been replaced by a generic EDM party on the pool deck.

I met a cute, younger (he’s in his 30s, so it’s not an enormous age difference) Latin guy. Not sure where we’re going, but I’m…enjoying things.

The DICK Deck? Really?

Yes, R233.

Just as you looked for random trade in the Ramble during the Nixon administration, there are some gay men that enjoy public sex. It’s not for me, but since people are doing anyway, might as well give them a public space that’s secluded and safe.

Greetings from Cabo.

I’m waiting on the tender to go back to the ship. The landscape is striking, I’m sure it’s nice further from the port, but the incredibly aggressive vendors make this one of the most unpleasant places I’ve ever been.

R234 that was way before my time. A came out in the late eighties when I was 25.

I came out…not A…

[quote] So I guess that crazy Australian guy is not going to build his TITANIC replica?

Rupes? Yahoo Serious? Austen Tayshus?

We had the Carnival Firenze with us in both PV and Mazatlan. Particularly in PV, it was easy to tell who was from which ship. PV has an open air mall with tourist trap stuff right as you come off the ship, and the heavyset woman who bent over and puked in the middle of the flood and just kept walking was clearly not from Atlantis.

I loved PV, though. We didn’t do anything but Uber to the Zona Romantica and wander around, but it was a fun wander.

Some interesting tidbits from the alumni reception. They’ve had a hard time getting a ship on the west coast for next year, so Halloween 2025 will be on the East Coast. Once Virgin is established in LA in 2026, that’ll be the new one for the foreseeable future, and will also probably include a west coast cruise in April 2026.

Great news about Virgin, VOTN -thanks for the update.

And at the end of the disco dance, someone unfurled a gigantic Harris/Walz banner to huge applause.

After a good cruise, disembarkation is a clusterfuck. This isn’t on HAL because the port of San Diego doesn’t use facial recognition like the ports in Florida, so they’re checking passports manually. I I was supposed to fly out at 12:30, but since they’re only starting getting people off as of about a half hour ago, I’m glad I changed my flight to tomorrow. And got a hotel room on points. So one last Americano from the Grand Dutch Cafe, and the last of their awesome pastries before I start eating normally again.

And then after like two hours of waiting, they DID have facial recognition. I’m so confused.

Yeah, disembarkation on my last Celebrity cruise in Boston was a total clusterfuck as well. They brought customs agents onboard and had to have everyone file past them in single file lines. The lines wrapped all around the atrium and through the dining rooms. It took well over and hour and the staff was thoroughly confused, pointing people in the wrong directions, reshuffling lines, etc. I'm sure people missed connections.

I had forgotten this until VOTN mentioned his experience.

For some reason, customs at the Port of San Diego is alway a clusterfuck. It's like they are totally surprised a cruise ship has come in! They do have facial recognition, but they either don't deploy it right away or they hold off all disembarkation until they have the FR set up. At least the cruise pier is 3 minutes from the airport and all the hotels.

Have a good night in the city, VOTN. Are you going to head over to Hillcrest and do some post-cruise cruising?

I know San Diego doesn’t have many, if any ships based here year-round, but what surprised me more than anything, the Uber driver who took me to my hotel said he’d never picked some up from a cruise before. And I had an extremely awkward conversation about him about what a gay cruise is.

I might go to Hillcreast, but I started to talking to a Mexican doctor who lives in TJ before I left last week, so he’s coming across the border for us to hang. This is perhaps my first transnational hookup.

One of the first nights at the parties, I went up to Rich and told him “Thank you” for everything, because I know he doesn’t hear it a lot. And at the white party, I spoke to another of the Atlantis guys, a tall twink named Josh, who somehow know my name and told him that know I lot of people bitch about the chaos, but they always bring it together, and it’s always amazing. He kissed me and said that he was always happy to see me because I’m always such a positive presence. That made the entire week for me.

Have fun with the Mexican doctor! I'm jealous!

I imagine cruises now are Karen and Chad disembarking from their McMansion in their monster SUV and arriving at the boat with their hellspawn in tow, ready to act like their cruise to the Caribbean is the height of sophistication as they treat all the staff like shit.

Only on NCL and RCCL, R249.

They are a bit more divers than that r249. What are you basing your information on? You say you "imagine" and that does not sound like first hand experience

You sound like a cunt, R251.

First hand.

Right now I am grateful for my husband’s life and trip insurance. So 3 weeks ago we were hiking in Zion National Park. He broke his left toe and hit his right shin. We flew home to Chicago (short flight from SLC.) A week later I came home from work and found him in a little ball with a 102.8 fever and hardly responsive. After 10 days in the hospital, his diagnoses are: DVT (deep vein thrombosis) from the 3 hour flight and cellulitis likely from DVT- but could be from hitting his shin. He has about another 6 weeks of healing for his cellulitis. Likely he was hypercoaguable from his prostate cancer and lymphoma.

But, in 5 days we were supposed to fly to Hong Kong and cruise to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and end in Singapore on HAL. I am so grateful that we had the first trip because if he developed the cellulitis in Vietnam after flying to Hong Kong, he likely wouldn’t have survived.

Just another reminder that every day is a blessing. We will continue to cruise! Might as well while we can. But hiking is out and have to think hard about rural third world country vacations. (Even rural first world countries.)

I'd say really old people should stay home, but that would kill the cruise industry.

Again, GET THAT TRAVEL INSURANCE, folks! My little helicopter trip off the Queen Mary 2 would have bankrupted me.

I'm 61, R254. Does that mean I should stay home from now on??

61 is only old, not really old.

R252 I am a cunt, thanks for acknowledging that. What ship did you sail on? How many cruises have you been on?

Waiting for the big MSC America’s debut next year. It’s as big as the Royal Caribbean ships. The bow is strange looking though.

The sale starting today for Virgin for solo travelers is crazy good. Prices slashed by hundreds of dollars. I rebooked a cruise I had for next year and saved $400 dollars. I have booked another cruise for 2026.

Example: 10 night Starry Nights 6/14/26 - 6/24/26 at $2400 for a Solo Insider cabin is a steal.

FINALLY! Let’s talk about sex with Brandon the Weekend Cruiser.

I can picture Our Very Own VOTN with Brandon. Two silver foxes together.

C’mon daddy, spill!

So, if you want sex with Brandon he says you should:

1. Get in line early and make your intentions known. You don't ask, you don't get.

2. Bring condoms and lube.

3. Don't expect to spend the night -unless you're really hot.

Got it.

[quote]I can picture Our Very Own VOTN with Brandon. Two silver foxes together.

I'm trying to edit a photo of myself to blur my face, but I don't know if I count as a silver fox. I look more like a shorter Mr. Clean.

But yes, Brandon, call me. I'll be on the Atlantis Big One in the beginning of February, and then the Southern Caribbean one two weeks later.

My brother and his three adult Disney daughters are doing the Christmas Cruise this year.

I’m not opposed to Disney per se but it will be horrible.

David Archuleta was on the two night Sam Feldt Virgin cruise.

You’d never catch me doing Disney. Frau Central. Plus they’re way too expensive for what they offer. The ships are beautiful but it’s geared towards families.

Now Royal Caribbean is making its bid to become the world’s most ratchet cruise line…

Booked my two Princess cruises for June on the ENCHANTED to the Caribbean and August on the MAJESTIC to Canada/New England for next year.

Trying to convince my friend to go on a Virgin Voyage because they're having amazing deals now- 2nd passenger is 80% off, + $400 in drinks (I don't really drink, but he does).

I love Virgin!

Alumni sale for Atlantis in Asia is up. I feel like I need to jump on it.

R210, I hope you are back to normal!

I went on a westbound transatlantic on the QM2 this summer and overall I loved it. At the risk of sounding pretentious, it was such a great way to travel back from spending time in England. Much more humane than a flight and coming home to Newark freaking airport.

I found the food to be so-so but I had such great affection for the ship. You could tell she was a bit of an older gal, but she was still beautiful and comfortable and never felt crowded despite being almost fully booked. No kids, no go-carts or water slides, just quiet enjoyment. I loved going to watch people dancing in the Queens Room every night.

Thanks for asking, R272. I'm almost back to normal now. Still taking medication for the ulcer, and having another endoscopy in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping to be able to book my next try on the QM2 in the new year.

Carafate, by any chance?

I remember that being nasty.

I’ve somehow gotten myself onto the email list for Vacaya’s big Caribbean cruise (which is the same week at the Southern Caribbean on Atlantis, so it’s not like I booked it and forgot), and they were listing the entertainment, notably DL Icon Cheyenne Jackson and Miss Jennifer Holiday. And Bianca del Rio for the drag queens. I think I’d read that Miss Vanessa Williams did the one that was this year.

I’m impressed.

Easily.

I saw Miss Vanessa Williams on an Atlantis cruise a few years back. She put on quite a show. She's one of those solid performers who are underrated/under-appreciated.

She knows how to play to that gay Atlantic City crowd

Atlantic City??

Bert would be the prime demographic for Atlantis ;)

Wait! Bert was gay?

If you are traveling abroad, always buy insurance, especially if a foreigner traveling to the U.S. Normally, I wouldn’t cut a person some slack, but I will in this case because the woman had always bought insurance before, and she had reason to travel but couldn’t afford the insurance on this trip. However, everyone else, don’t travel if you can’t afford the insurance.

So, in the last week, Allure of the Seas had a pipe break and flooded one of the decks, and then a few days lltter she was docked in Nassau and got hit by a yacht.

I guess that means the Atlantis gays can really trash her since we’re the last before she goes to Europe to be upgraded.

Virgin is selling a year-long pass where you can cruise for the entire year. Any ship, any itinerary. Includes a balcony cabin, premium internet, laundry, $100 bar credit per itinerary, and two specialty coffees. Man, if I win Powerball....

Those damned lesbians!!

[quote]...and two specialty coffees.

Now that's just silly. Why so picayune?

R284, Considering it is actually for 2 people (one can have different companions throughout the year), and it's for any VA cruise wherever, the $120,000 sounds like a deal!

So, Big Gay Cruise, which had been focused on group bookings on regular cruises announced its first-ever full ship charter...

On the Margaritaville at Sea Islander.

From what I can tell, their entertainment is 95% drag queens and they apparently also allow kids.

Hard pass.

We passed on this gay cruising BS a very long time ago. Peace be with you.

Drag queens are so boring to me anymore.

Drag queens are fine, but kiddies are a dealbreaker.

Drag queens at a max out at 25% for me.

I’m going on the Margaritaville at Sea Islander in May. It seems a bit of a hot mess but it was cheap enough that I was able to book one of their giant suites for the price of a normal balcony on another cruise line. I wonder if the Big Gay Cruise will be a little cheaper than usual since the ship tends to be, well…cheap.

[quote]I wonder if the Big Gay Cruise will be a little cheaper than usual since the ship tends to be, well…cheap.

A suite goes for less than I’m paying for any of the cruises I have booked. But sorry, I want more than just drag queens.

I don't go on a gay cruise for the entertainers. For me, it's about my fellow passengers.

Sex pest^

ROTFLMAO!

I go for the food, entertainment and amenities.

R295 Don't forget we expect a hear it all blow by blow upon your return.

R286 Best word choice of the week award for "picayune" in response to a 120K unlimited cruise package that allows a couple free specialty coffees per cruise. A little surprise and delight for them to discover onboard is fine but don't put it in the amenities.

Not the most hygenic trip you'd ever take. If that doesn't bother you, go wild!

R300, The "specialty coffees" supplier might have paid for the mention.

R302 I can see that. What next though, "luxe toilet tissue and hairdryers" ?

De-luxe douches

I would love to see Cunard launch a running mate to the QM2. She is usually booked a year in advance, so maybe another genuine ocean liner would be nice…

R303, In a Capitalist system? Naaaaah!

I’d like to see Cunard launch a casual ship, for commoners.

Do know that Cunard is a Carnival label. How common can you get?!

I don’t want a Carnival experience. I want a Cunard experience but all casual.

Same difference—

R305 A year in advance? If you want a specific cabin and are willing to pay $$$ for it, maybe.

Otherwise, it seems almost every voyage listed, cruises and crossings, has available cabins at pretty low rates, usually around $100 - $150 per-person, per night to start for an inside “guarantee.” Frinstance, two weeks in February ‘25 to the Canaries and Madeira starts at $1669: about $120 pp/nt. This summer and fall, a week to Canada started @$699, so $100/ pp/nt

If they are selling out a year in advance, why the rock-bottom prices?

If the bird flu becomes a thing this year, you'll get all the bargain cabins you want.

We’re about a month out from the Big One, and I am getting increasingly glad that this might be the last year for a while that we’re doing it on Royal.

There are usually a lot of bugs between Atlantis and RC, but they seem exceptionally bad this year. There’s some question about what our itinerary is going to be, because the only dock in San Juan that’s long enough to take one of the Oasis-class ships has been damaged for almost a year. That’s not RC’s fault, but if we’re not going to be going, they should let us know. The cruise planner is odd, because there are also excursions for Nassau available even though we’re officially not supposed to be going there.

Still excited.

Apropos of nothing, I just read that Norovirus is not really affected by alcohol based sanitisers, and races to this thread. Use hot soapy water before eating, cruisers.

Atlantis has put two new Virgin cruises up for sale for alumni. There's a five-night Memorial Day Weekend cruise on Valiant Lady which goes to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, and. then this year's Halloween cruise, which from Miami on Brilliant Lady hitting Grand Turk, DR, Key West, and the Virgin private resort in Bimini.

Virgin will be basing a ship in LA next year (I think it's going to be Resilient Lady, but don't remember 100%) which will also summer in Alaska. I'm betting there will be Alaska AND Halloween 2026 on her.

Nope, Brilliant Lady. I was wrong.

[quote]So, Big Gay Cruise, which had been focused on group bookings on regular cruises announced its first-ever full ship charter...

Plot twist:

They didn't have enough money for a full-ship charter, so they ended up converting it to a regular group booking.

The only thing I can imagine that's lower-rent than a drag queen cruise on Margaritaville at Sea is a drag queen cruise on Margaritaville at Sea when you're sharing space with the types of people who go on Margaritaville at Sea.

Has anyone ever cruised with Explora Journeys? Their ships look beautiful inside and out.

I'm very interested in them, R318. Looks expensive, but I hear they're really making an effort to win marketshare in the premium cruising space.

After a flyover GOP geriatric express experience on an otherwise lovely Viking cruise, I'd given up on cruising until Explora came up.

David from Cruising With Ben & David says he lost the weight with diet and exercise, but I think he had a little pharmaceutical help.

R321 he’s lost a substantial amount of weight…I do wish he would do something about those choppers. He’s hard to understand sometimes and they detract from his looks.

And yes I am a shallow Yank.

I'm sure that's next. Ben obviously had her teeth done.

You mean David r324. Ben is the former fluffy guy with dark hair.

I'd do David, but Ben (bless him) has horrific tattoos.

I like them better than JJ Cruise.

I'm booked on the NCL Prima for September for Iceland/Norway. Really looking forward to it.

I've watched a lot of Ben and David and get a kick out of them, but unfortunately their videos have for me the same flaws of the Smithsonian Channel's "Mighty Cruise Ships," to wit:

Too much ship, too little Terra Firma. How many times do we need to see a cruise ship stateroom or a buffet breakfast? I'd prefer to see somewhat more of the places they visit (and even when B&D do show us more, it always involves them eating!).

But I enjoy watching these videos/shows as escapist fare. I would definitely be unable to cope with endless empty vistas of deep dark water. No, thank you!

Bon voyage to the cruisers!

So, Disney announced a fleet expansion. I think they had always had an additional sister for the Wish, Treasure, and Destiny, but they have one more for them, and are building a second for The Oriental Land Company, the company that actually owns Tokyo Disneyland.

More interestingly, they're following that with three ships that are significantly smaller.

There’s that ship that is targeted at both westerners and Asians that sails Japan. Maybe Disney is trying something similar?

Ben seems to be a bit bossy too.

A little bit of Ben and David goes a long way. Although I did enjoy the episodes where they've taken his nephews and family along. They're clearly rolling in YouTube money, no more staying in inside cabins.

Absolutely, r333. They're worshipped for being a floor show for straight people, but they do run a good program and there's no shame in that.

Their experience on the MSC WORLD EUROPA was eye opening though. The Yacht Club staff sounded insufferable.

MSC sounds like such a systemic shitshow that they had to launch Explora to escape the rot.

I enjoyed the MSC SEASIDE very much. But they are known to be inconsistent in their product delivery.

Ben and David earned their internet fame by offering honest reviews that were relatable to most people. They also provide very good quality video and sound, which even today isn't always the case with some of their colleagues. I can only think of one of their reviews that I honestly disagreed with, which ain't bad.

There are a few more UK male couples who have YouTube cruising channels. I used to watch Cruise Monkeys even though they drink too much and Luke, the older one is very dominant and never lets Gavin talk. But they are charming and have never met a cocktail that they didn’t like.

Checked in for both of my February cruises.

At least that's lifting my mood somewhat.

I’m paying the final payment on my May cruise today and it also completes my $4000 spend to get the bonus on the new credit card I’m using. I paid for part of the cruise using my Chase Freedom card because the bonus this quarter on that card includes NCL purchases.

I'd hate to be a bottom on a gay cruise. All that tempting food, but you can't eat anything until late night (even after the midnight buffet).

So, while we still have no cruise guide, we did kinda get confirmation that we're going to St Thomas instead of San Juan.

I'm perfectly fine with it, but Royal Caribbean's IT stuff leaves a lot to be desired. The itinerary on my reservation shows Charlotte Amalie, but all the excursions are for Puerto Rico.

You'll manage to have fun, wherever you port, VOTN. :)

I at least have some entries on my dance card.

Dance through life, VOTN!

R343 VOTN I thought RCI was using Starlink…isn’t that supposed to be drama free?

Oh, not the shipboard stuff. The pre-cruise stuff. I was trying to buy an excursion to Magens Bay on St Thomas, and it was listed as discounted on the RC cruise planner. It failed on me multiple times, so I gave up. I tried again yesterday and it went through…but without the discount.

I’m excited because the incredibly hot guy I met at the CrossFit class on Valiant Lady last year has been texting me. We might be meeting up in Miami before the cruise.

Daddy’s still got it.

Holding pen at Terminal A.

Seated across from a guy I’ve had near misses with twice before. I’m trying hard not to stare at his arms.

Hope you get him this trip! :)

We’ll see. He’s a well-built Korean guy, and I’ve mostly been sampling the flavors of the Americas.

Can you still eat all the eggs you want on cruises these days?

^^^ Yes -Because unless you're on a higher-end cruise line, the eggs are powdered.

So far.

Also, I will surrender my DL card for this if required, but I should not have had so much fun in a cruise ship production of Mamma Mia!, but there’s something to be said for watching a cast who was clearly enjoying one of the most appreciative audiences they’ve probably ever had perform ABBA songs.

I don’t like jukebox musicals, but I’ll make an exception here.

Mamma Mia IS fun. I'm a total Sondheim theatre snob, but even I have to admit that Mamma Mia is a fun night out.

I mean, it seemed like of the magic of the theater moments where the cast and the audience were on the exact same wavelength. We loved what they were giving us. And they loved how much we loved it. I suspect they also bumped up the shirtlessness from the chorus boys for us, which lead to some catcalling. I saw the woman who plays Donna at the party afterward, so I think at least some of them attended.

I know I’m never going to be able to explain the appeal of cruises, Atlantis, or circuit parties to the DL, but despite some snafus, this has somehow been amazing. When the dog tags for the customary initial Dog Tag tea dance didn’t arrive, they brought the Think Pink (half Barbie, half Glinda this year) forward. Dan Slater usually spins at that one, and he’s always good, but just made it amazing. And the night party, which has two DJs that aren’t on Atlantis’ regular rotation, was one of the best I’ve attended.

Allure is my only experience with a non-amplified Oasis-class ship, since I’ve been on Harmony (which came out of the shipyard with most of the upgrades) and Oasis, which got them pre-COVID.

Weirdly, while I miss a few things, I might actually like Allure the most. Allure has some old school touches, like the card room and library that the amplified ships don’t have. I haven’t seen the aquashow on Allure yet (it’ll be hard to top Aqua80s on Oasis)( but best Broadway production by far. Their Central Park seems like the nicest of the bunch,

I like a ship that reminds me every now and then that I am on a ship. Does RCI offer that?

^^^ No.

I wish the cruise lines would start announcing that they are going to cancel their stops at Santorini for some period of time, and will reroute to somewhere else. I’m on a cruise in May that includes Santorini and I don’t want to be anywhere near it.

Shoutout to the eldergay who was lounging by the pool in a peacock feather patterned caftan.

As I sit on Magens Bay in St Thomas, I can ID who’s here from Atlantis and who is a normie pretty easily.

Last night was EDM night. It opened with 2024 Eurovision winner Nemo, and boy was that the wrong vibe. No hating, but that was not what a bunch of rave queens wanted to hear.

When our actual star DJ, R3hab, went on, it was great.

A gay miracle has occurred.

Atlantis was able to book Symphony of the Seas for next year. I guess this ended up making RC enough money.

Update. The caftan-wearing eldergay was on line for coffee wearing a purple paisley caftan. I think I love him.

I haven’t been crazy about the non-party entertainment, but while the DJs and the circuit music is probably not DL’s thing overall, the music at the parties and dances has been outstanding all week. Last night, they combined the Classics party (for the middle-aged queens to feel young again) at 11 and then the more EDM-heavy Neon Playground party into a single night, the first starting in one location at 11, and the other in a different one around 1AM. Without hyperbole, those may be the best two versions of those parties I’ve been lucky enough to attend. Neon Playground is held in the ship’s Studio B ice skating rink (with the ice covered so it can be used as a dancefloor, and it’s a small, cramped space. It can get claustrophobic. And the music was so damned good I didn’t care.

[quote]circuit music is probably not DL’s thing

It's certainly mine.

I’ll report back if the streak continued with the White Party. They’ve had two of their regular DJs, Abel Aguilera and Dan Slater, and two that I haven’t experienced before, Suri (who’s Spanish, and has at least never been on any of the Caribbean or Mexico sailings that I’ve done) and GSP (from Atlanta, same, but appears to do a lot of bear events). Dan is generally my favorite, but Abel has absolutely been on fire this week. He’s leading off the White Party, and while that would have ordinarily made me groan a bit (he started off the one I did on Virgin last year, and it wasn’t great, and then when Dan went on at 2, the energy went through the roof), but I think he’s earned it this time.

[quote] I’ll report back

You mean you’ll continue to blog about it on this thread.

That's what this thread is for r367. There are several of us here who enjoy VOTN's cruise posts.

VOTN, what type of stateroom do you have?

Oceanview balcony. I might downgrade to Central Park view next year. Haven’t decided.

Made my standard post about the history of the White Party in the group chat. Finally managed to catch the show in the Aquatheater. I’d watched the cast rehearing and they were dressed in rather skimpy Speedos. They had a bit more on during the actual performance.

Also, there was an earthquake in the Caribbean Sea and a resulting tsunami warning. If anything happens to me, of course you can have my stuff.

Could you provide an itemized list please?

R370 = Belle Rosen!

Manny! Manny!

I don’t know if it was just nerves or what, but I had been really anxious about the cruise. There had been a lot chaos (moreso than typical Atlantis) leading up, and with it seeming like the relationship with RC had soured, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this has been amazing. The music at the parties has been phenomenal all week, and the White Party was no exception. It’s been my custom on the night of to make a post in the group chat about the history of the White Party in relation to AIDS activism, and how I think we need to make sure the gaylings who weren’t there know the story, particularly when there’s such a concerted effort to erase us from the human story right. Two young guys came up to me at the party and hugged me, told me they had no idea, and that my post had made them cry.

And, look, I wasn’t crazy about the single version of “Abracadabra,” but give it a circuit beat and…holy shjt. Welcome back, Gaga. We missed you.

Did you make reservations at Wonderland VOTN R373 ?

I wish. Allure doesn’t have Wonderland. We did get an included speciality dining, but I (and apparently also everyone else) went with Chops. Thankfully, Symphony has Wonderland, and I’ll do that next year, comped or not.

The food, as one would expect, was kinda the low point. They did have a few interesting things. The Windjammer one night did like a whole Julia Child thing with different, palatable French dishes, but otherwise it’s been the regular shoe leather steaks. Definitely glad to get an upgrade on Virgin in two weeks.

When they set up the charter for the cruise, RCL gives them the opportunity to up- or down-grade the food. Guess which one Atlantis always does? The food has been so bad on RCL and NCL (and Carnival) that I just won't sail them anymore -even on a gay charter.

I’m not surprised. I mean, I’m not here for the food. I’m not even really here for the sexy times, although that’s a nice bonus. It’s just vibes, and not censoring myself for a week. But there’s also a nice validation in being at an afterparty and ended up cuddling with an OF star because he’s kind of worn out and he likes your caretaker vibes.

We seem to have been better behaved this year, at least in terms of medical stuff. I don’t think I’ve heard a single ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA the entire week, and didn’t even see anyone taken off the dancefloor in a wheelchair. I’ve seen the Care Team around, but aside from just monitoring the situation and occasionally having intense conversational huddles, I don’t think I’ve seen more intervention that helping a guy who cut his foot on a broken glass, and that wasn’t even at one of the parties, it was at the little bar in Central Park some random evening.

They were desperately paging a missing bottom earlier, with Ben coming on overhead to say “If a gorgeous man whose name you don’t know is sleeping next to you, wake him up and ask him if he’s ____.” He did turn up eventually, but they were apparently close to pulling the plug on the tea dance and making us muster.

Where was this man, r377

That I do not know. Only that it got around that he was found and unharmed. Given how the White Party often goes, I’m not surprised that it took a while to find him. I’m just glad he’s okay.

Is there a lot of sex happening onboard?

Of course. The Dick Deck is still going, it’s just a bit better lit this time. I ended up in what was eventually an orgy in one of the suites last night. I actually didn’t do much actual hanky-panky there, partly out of exhaustion and partly out of…well, it’s a circuit party. You can imagine how I got myself into the mood. I actually had a really nice time just cuddling with a few guys as the sun came up. That’s when the OF guy came up to me and asked if I’d hold him.

Porn stars. They’re just like us.

A true "hold me, David" moment! :)

Perhaps the most sobering moment during Brad Loekle’s closing comedy show was a vague mention of politics, where he implored the under-30s to learn how to throw bricks and to get behind the lesbians at the protests because they know how to take a punch.

Hey from San Juan in advance of Resilient Lady tomorrow.

Checked into my hotel. Explora II is in port. I had it in my mind that Explora was about in the range of the Viking ships or the newer Endeavor-class SilverSeas ships like Silver Nova. But they’re actually a bit bigger, around the same size as the R-class (the Volendam and the Zaandam) for HAL.

Apparently, Royal Caribbean is rerunning names, because the third Icon-class ship is to be named Legend of the Seas (the original Legend is with Marella), and they’re working on a line of smaller ships (the first one likely to be called Discovery of the Seas) to replace the remaining Vision and Radiance-classes.

This is Daryl and my other brother Daryl.

Hi from Tortola. We’re alongside Costa Fortuna, which may actually be the first time I’ve seen a Costa ship in person.

It was interesting boarding yesterday in San Juan, because the pier we were at had the Sea Dream II on the other side, and let’s just say it was real easy to spot the Atlantis boys from the Sea Dream crowd. As they were walking by, we were playing “Spot the Minority” and by the time we were into the terminal, our official count amongst Sea Dream was Zero.

At the other port, the newer Ritz Carlton ship, Ilma, was docked. Very nice sail away.

The weather in San Juan took a lot out of me, so we ended up calling it an early night. This isn’t about partying for me, just relaxing, but still.

Today is our only sea day of the cruise. Virgin Gorda was kind of amazing, I had no idea how rough the hike at the Baths was, so that closed my Exercise ring without me even doing much.

I know that someone (several someones) will be clutching their pearls at this, but after six cruises, I finally lost my Dick Deck cherry. I usually am not the type that just does it without any affection attached, so when this twink was intently staring at me at the party and I followed him, I wasn’t sure what would happen. But he kissed me. And that was nice.

Congratulations, VOTN! The Dick Deck is really no different than any other part of the ship. I don't know why people make a big fuss about it.

Oh, no fuss from me. More that I’m the kind of person who generally isn’t fond of the posts on Telegram that are like “Door unlocked, face down, ass up in room XXXX.” No hating on that at all, I just like having some kind of human connection, instead of just being treating the other person like a human Fleshlight, even if that’s what he wants. But this guy talked to me and kissed me, and got my info. He wants to meet up later in the week.

Would love to be able to put that hammock to good use.

Good morning from the extremely industrial port of Bridgetown, Barbados. We’re in port with Oceania Vista and Mein Scheiff 2, so competing with space with rich people and Germans. We’re here for a long time, but my excursion is on the short side. Which is fine., the hiking to the Baths at Virgin Gorda took a lot out of me.

Last nights party was fun. Theme was “Future-ish,” which I actually peaked out of early on the last one. I made it longer this time. And costumes were fun. I was wearing a TNG S1 skant, there were a bunch of other TNG uniforms, one guy from the Terran Empire, and the winner was the guy dressed as Rutherford from Lower Decks. There was also a group of Handmaidens, which I appreciated while it also seemed very uncomfortable.

I’d like personally relay my compliments to whichever Datalounger came as Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons.

My of my friends, who is an avid metal/goth head, just told me he went on a 5 day cruise with something like 50 metal bands playing on it. I think they went to Jamaca. This is hilarious to me.

[quote] a 5 day cruise with something like 50 metal bands playing on it

That and an Atlantis cruise would both be a never, never, never for me. What a nightmare.

We had Fortune Feimster as our headlining comic. I’ve seen her in things and her Netflix special, and she was hilarious. She brought her mom with her.

She closed her set with “See ya at the pizza parlor.”

Our headlining singer tomorrow night is a West End star named Kerry Ellis. I’ve never heard of her, but I hadn’t heard of Loren Allred before she was on the one last year, and she turned out to be phenomenal, so I’m hopeful.

Kerry Ellis is great. She was in the original cast of the Queen musical, We Will Rock You, and was also in Miss Saigon, Les Miz, Oliver, Cats, and Wicked (Elphaba). Definitely worth getting there early for a good seat!

Last night was the Neon party, which I decided to skip. It’s always very hit or miss for me. It’s indoors, which can get claustrophobic. On RC, it’s in the ice skating rink, so it’s not too bad )except at the absolute peak when people decide to start fucking in the middle of the dance floor), and there are several ways out, so you can take a break.

On Virgin, it’s in rhe Red Room multi-purpose space, with only one entrance and exit, and I had a hard time last year with how tight it was. I apparently made the right call, it started an hour late, and was DJ’d by Wayne G, who’s the only Atlantis DJ I actively dislike. As a bonus, I was up early to watch us sail into St Lucia from the deck. It was jaw-droppingly gorgeous, to the point I’m considering potentially doxxing myself and posting some pictures I took.

St. Lucia is the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. I envy your day in port!

Curaçao had been my favorite island in the Caribbean, which was eclipsed on Sunday by the combo of Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the BVI. St. Lucia blew them both out of the water.

Just got back from our excursion, a catamaran sail from Castries down to a photo stop at the Pitons with a brief swim-to-shore beach break and some scenic cruising of Marigot Bay. The water at the beach (which was black volcanic sand) was the most astonishingly clear blue I’ve ever seen. And while I would have liked to have hiked the Pitons, even seeing them from the water was awesome. I have to wonder what the yachts and restaurant patrons at Marigot Bay thought of three dozen Speedo-clad men twerking to Charli xcx, but I’d do it again.

And for an island where homosexuality is still technically illegal (although not enforced), the people were happy enough for our money that they showed us a good time and were really warm and accepting.

Kerry Ellis was indeed wonderful.

I figured we were in good hands when she had the balls to open with “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” Some more obscure stuff like “Anthem” from Chess and “Always Starting Over” from If/Then. Some pop stuff (“Your Song,” “Shallow,” and “Somebody to Love”), a full-throated “I Dreamed a Dream,” and then closed with the 1-2-3 punch of “Defying Gravity,” “Never Enough,” and had us sing along to “This is Me.” And I don’t like Greatest Showman as a movie, but I do think those two songs are killer.

She understood the assignment.

So happy that you loved St. Lucia and enjoyed Kerry Ellis, VOTN! I've been living vicariously through you this time around. Marigot Bay is where they filmed the Rex Harrison Dr. Dolittle movie and parts of Superman II. Absolutely gorgeous!

I can't wait til I'm cleared to go on another cruise!

I wasn’t sure if I’d be willing to do this next year or not, because going home from the Big One, working for ten days straight before flying out…and being diagnosed with the flu in the process…but if I can swing it, I think I’ll do both Caribbean sailings next year. This has just been great.

We’re betwixt Oceania Vista and MSC Virtuosa in Antigua. But there’s also a rainbow going across the sky at the mouth of the harbor. They know what’s up.

And Viking Sea just backed in on the other side of the Vista. Busy day.

And I noticed something for the first time. Cruise ships will fly the flag of their country of registry (so, Italy for Virtuosa, Norway for Viking, the Marshall Islands for Vista, and the Bahamas for us) either on the foremast or, more often aft. On their foremasts they fly the flag of the country they’re currently docked in (so all four are flying the Antiguan flag) and sometimes they’ll also fly a flag with the lines logo.

When I looked up as I was walking around the top deck taking pictures, I noticed for the first time that Virgin is also flying a Pride flag. Given everything that’s going on, I’ll take the small act of defiance.

The Vista either had an extremely short stop or they were here overnight, because they just sailed away. As they were leaving, I was scanning the decks to see if I could spot anyone who wasn’t white or was under the age of about 60.

My unofficial count was Zero and Zero.

Earlier, the crew of the Vista was doing their muster drill and were gathered out on their lifeboat deck, which was off our port side. While we were given strict instructions to keep our clothes on while in port (because there are some Atlantis gays that don’t have the greatest senses of discretion), I have a feeling that at the crew probably saw some stuff from at least one or two of our balconies.

Just wrapped this cruise’s edition of AirOtic Soirée. They’ve been on 4 of my 6 Atlantis cruises, and I swear, they change just enough each time that it’s better. The way they set it up on Virgin, where it’s more or less in the round, is ideal.

So, Rich announced cruises for the first half of 2026 tonight. In addition to Symphony, there will be three additional Virgin cruises. In January, a Miami round trip with Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia (I believe also Aruba and Cozumel were mentioned), I believe on Valiant Lady. In March, the exotic southern Caribbean (we were promised a new itinerary though he didn’t say what) from San Juan on Resilient Lady again and then in April an 8-night Mexico cruise in Brilliant Lady from LA with stops in Cabo, PV, Mazatlan and one TBD.

I’m going to do Symphony for sure, and I want to do one of the others. Guess I’ll see pricing.

On my way home, with great regret. I’ll have some thoughts about the entire experience, but for the moment, I just wanted to share something that happened on the last night.

Atlantis’ longest-serving comedian, an incredibly funny bear of a guy named Brad Loekle does a recap of the week on the final night called the “Last Laugh,” and then Rich Campbell and the rest of the Atlantis staff comes out and he thanks everyone and says a few words. But this time, before Rich spoke, cruise director Ben took the mike and proposed to his boyfriend. Who of course said yes, and got a huge, huge round of applause from everyone in the audience. Big MARY that I am, I teared up. And I wasn’t the only one.

Yeah, there are sex and drugs and stuff, but there’s also pure joy like that.

I would like feedback from anyone who has cruised the South Pacific - French Polynesia, Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji, even Hawaii?

And the public proposal story is adorable, VOTN. A lovely final night

They FINALLY sent us the discount code for the May cruise.

So, after all of that, six nights in an XL Sea Terrace.with all of the inclusions is significantly less than the other two, and even less than the short trip to Orlando I was going to take in June to go to the opening of Universal Epic Universe.

VOTN, I've been meaning to ask you. How are meals/reservations handled on an Atlantis-Virgin cruise? When I did Virgin before, you made reservations for all your meals in the various restaurants. Is it the same with Atlantis in charge? How do they handle the singles dinners and solo travelers?

You can do reservations in the app (which I did both times), but they also hold back a lot of tables for walk-ins. I didn't go to any of the singles dinners, but it looked like what they did was reserve a bunch of tables at one particular restaurant (I know they used Razzle Dazzle for one, and might have done Extra Virgin for the other), and basically treat it similar to the main dining room on a traditional ship.

They do solo stuff the same way. Just like on the traditional ship, they'll seat you with people if you want. On my first one, we were seated at Extra Virgin and the Wake with two other couples. This time, one of the brunches we did at Razzle Dazzle, we sat with another group, and then a solo traveler was seated with us as well.

It works.

Thanks! I hope to do one of the upcoming Virgin sailings.

R410- VOTN, did you know the 'frequent-cruising-guy' that would eat in the crew or officer mess more often than in one of the dining venues? Did he ever post on DL?

The Points Guy has some shipyard photos of the Allure. I'm curious about the rest of the Boardwalk. I know the Sabor restaurant was replaced by Playmakers, but they also had an ice cream shop on that side, and there was a donut stand that was never open.

What do you all think of ritz Carlton “yacht” cruise line?

R414 - It's owned by a family in the commercial tuna-fishing industry. It will have onboard management by a different company.

So prob won’t live up to its ritz name. Thanks @R415

Shipboard operations are managed by a company called V.ships. They actually provide services to a lot of different kinds of vessels, from cruise ships to oil tankers and cargo ships. I’m not sure if they’re still doing it, but I believe they took over management of Azamara when Royal Caribbean sold the line, and when Crystal went bankrupt, they managed the ships before the bankruptcy auction.

R417 There are a couple management companies (of which V.ships is one) out there, a work associate of mine is currently using Anglo-Eastern.

R416 Oops, I was thinking of someone else, R-C has decided to in-house everything. I'm getting too old to keep up with everyone. I don't go to SeaTrade (woo-hoo, South Beach!) or Posidonia like clockwork anymore, so that's that.

I am curious about river cruises, but they really strike me as aquatic versions of group bus tours with even more time squashed together with a fellow tourists.

A new residential cruise line has purchased two ships from two premium cruise lines, Regent and Oceania. The floating condominium industry is catching on.

I guess they’re trying to push some last-minute booking. Atlantis just announced that our headliner for Memorial Day is going to be Bianca Del Rio. Still rooms available, and at good prices.

I’m checked in, and I’m excited.

That sounds fun, VOTN. Will it be on a Virgin ship?

My previous dream cruise was to go from French Polynesia to Hawaii.

Given the state - and cost - of things Hawaii is off the list for me.

Yeah, it’s on Valiant Lady. So, between March’s cruise on Resilient Lady, the summer European cruises on Scarlet Lady, and the Halloween cruise on Brilliant Lady, they’re hitting the entire fleet. Rich is heavily invested in Virgin, and honestly, while they’re too small to work for the Big One, the vibe is really great for the less-intense ones. People complain about the pool being too small, which I get, but otherwise, I think it’s a great fit.

My only caveat would be the lack of an indoor space to do with weather. It’s probably less of a problem in the Caribbean, but when they’re back in California for Halloween next year, the fact that the pool deck isn’t covered makes the White Party potentially chilly.

Still waiting on dates and official confirmation of the itineraries for the spring. They’re close to officially opening the Tropical Americas cruise that’s going to be 1/15-1/26, but nothing on the other Caribbean ones or the surprise West Coast cruise that’s going to be in April.

Drew Barrymore is Godmother to MSC World America.

I found a video tour of World America. I’m not endorsing the guy hosting it, but visually,, and vibes wise, I’m getting “Snowpiercer of the Seas.”

I admire the technical skill, and yet…

MSC is notorious for lousy food and the worst service at sea -unless you can spring for the suites-only Yacht Club. And even then I've heard a lot of complaints...

Unfortunately Virgin pretty much pulled out of Australia - the market is too small - so I’m missing out.

Ginger bear Zach checks out the brand new Norwegian Aqua.

The removal of the go carts and expansion of the pool deck definitely give it a better vibe than Prima and Viva. They’re still chasing Celebrity and Virgin, and it’s not quite there, but their stride is better.

R426 I sailed on the MSC SEASIDE in 2023 and the food was quite decent. So was the service. I had problems with my internet and a James closet door. They took care of both issues. The food was quite good, the main dining room served osso bucco, my favorite Italian dish. The buffet did run out of the crispy hash brown patties that I love and they replaced them with canned fried potatoes - yuk! But the best meals I had were in Butchers Cut. Everything popped! Including my belt. I went with friends who were travel agents and they know everything and everyone, which may have helped. My point is that I read all of the negative reviews on this ship and my experiences were great. The entertainment was superb, with Ignacio from Argentina - great butt and he knew it.

For those of us into history, you might like this video. It’s a long interview with Stephen Payne, a naval architect who was responsible for both the Destiny- and Spirit-classes, and most significantly, the QM2. He talks a lot about the conversions of classic liners like the Normandie, France, and even some older stuff like the Andria Doria, as well as the history of Cunard from the QE2 onward.

He has a lot of interesting tidbits. The QE2 has its upper decks made from aluminum and not steel, so they were prone to cracking. It was also designed to have four boilers, so that three were in use at all times and the fourth could be undergoing maintenance, but for budget reasons, they cut it back to three, which had to run constantly.

I’ve seen this one. He’s a smart guy.

Carnival is also reaching back to its history. The next two ships (sisters to the current Mardi Gras) will be Festivale and Tropicale.

They’re also working on three as-yet unnamed ships that’ll be on Oasis- and Wold- class size range.

Also, if anyone wants a cheap, gay time to try Virgin, after we get back from the Memorial Day cruise, Atlantis is doing a special-three night charter, but not under Atlantis branding. This is drag queen focused, and isn’t being marketed a bit more broadly, including to the straights. But it’s got a single stop, in Bimini. They have Bianca Del Rio (I guess she’s just staying aboard from ours) and Bob the Drag Queen announced.

My boyfriend and I were joking about just staying onboard, but I’m somehow doubtful either of us would like the vibe of a drag cruise.

[quote] I’ve seen this one. He’s a smart guy.

And delighted to talk shit about Norwegian Epic.

I saw Bob the Drag Queen on an Atlantis cruise years ago. His was the best show aboard -best drag performer I'd ever seen.

As he should, r433. The ship is a floating monstrosity.

[quote]I saw Bob the Drag Queen on an Atlantis cruise years ago. His was the best show aboard -best drag performer I'd ever seen.

I can believe that. I've liked him in everything that I've seen. He was one of the brighter spots of the Netflix Tales of the City revival.

I can see the possibility of this being successful, although 72 straight hours of slay is a bit much for me. There's also talk that they're going to start doing other kind of special interest cruising that's not so gay-focused, although I'm assuming it also won't be under Atlantis branding. There was talk of music-themed and fitness-themed cruises. Actually, this drag cruise was originally supposed to be music-themed, but they pivoted.

There's another charter company called Sixthman that does a shitton of themed charters. Mostly music-related (amongst others EDSea for electronic music), but also a Hallmark Christmas Cruise (which was so popular in 2024, they did two) and Kevin Smith presenting Jay and Silent Bob's View Askew Cruise. I guess Atlantis wants in on that.

Eldergay Gary Bembridge breaks down who owns what, I think in service of people not wanting to give the US economy money under Trump.

Thanks for the link, VOTN.

It’s not so much that I don’t want to give the USA money, but I have definite misgivings about dealing with onward travel and customs bullshit.

Why on earth does Carnival use John Healy as their Brand Ambassador? He’s obese and has bad teeth.

Heald not Healy.

Carnival should use Steve Harvey as a spokesperson.

Steve is just as gross as John.

Atlantis opened the Big One for booking to those of us who were on it this year. The other Caribbean pax get it tomorrow, and general alumni next week, with the public thereafter.

I usually get an oceanview balcony, but for this one, because my boyfriend is a bit of exhibitionist, we went for a Central Park view one to…put on a show, I suppose.

Like I said, this is Michfest for me. Three weeks until I fly to Miami for Valiant Lady.

Carnival’s gonna Carnival.