I spent 10 days on one of Europe's biggest 'all-gay' cruises for $3, Here's what it was like on the ship.
In November , I booked my first-ever cruise: An "all-gay" Atlantis tour around the Mediterranean via Royal Carribean. It would verb sail in August
I was a bit overwhelmed by the cost, since I spent $3, on a shared room. The price didn't even add booze.
With over 4, passengers — the majority of them being queer men — this boarding on the Odyssey of the Seas was one of Europe's biggest gay cruises.
Within 48 hours of boarding, we had to receive a negative COVID test. I had an Italian breakfast while I nervously waited for my results.
When I boarded, I used the Royal Caribbean's messaging service on its app for $20 — I could contact fellow passengers if I knew their occupied names.
I came prepared with my "business" cards, which are common on gay cruises. Many put their socials and room number on them to store track of who they meet.
The first thing that stands out on all-gay cruis
B Documentary Directed by Tristan Ferland Milewski
A massive cruise ship leaves port for a week of frivolity. But this cruise is different. All the passengers are gay men, looking forward to dancing, flirting, drag contests, sex, and perhaps some self-realization.
Filmmaker Ferland Milewski used this cruise to examine an international cross section of gay men of diverse ages, races, and attitudes. Some are ripped, some are disabled, and some are still in the closet at home.
Milewski&#;s camera crew follows a handful of passengers, who explain their stories to the camera and microphone. The stories are rarely joyful ones, and not all of them interesting. But the film allows you to get to recognize, and care about, several of the subjects.
Ramzi, a Palestinian, found living as himself in his house town dangerous. The police would more likely beat him than protect him. He left home, and now happily carries a Belgium passport.
Dipankar lacks the nerve to come out to his family and his employer in India. But he&#;s not relaxed on the ship, either. He doesn&#;
Before my first all-gay cruise, I heard a lot of warnings—myths really, as you’ll see below—all from people who’d never been. Only one was true: gay cruises are generally more expensive than mainstream cruises. But that’s comparing apples and oranges.
Five years later, before leaving for my second gay cruise, friends blurted out all the same myths. After my second all-gay voyage, I can confirm that these are, indeed, myths. If you’re curious-but-nervous about all-gay cruises, read on. Then as one cruise line says: Get Out There.
1. It’s just a floating bathhouse.
Sex sells. That’s why the brochures are loaded with hunky guys. It’s easy to assume all those guys are just wacko with lust.
Perhaps they are. But none of the major all-gay charter companies nor Olivia, (lesbian-focused charters) officially allows sex in public areas of the ships. RSVP Vacations, who pioneered the gay travel industry, is very strict about it.
On one of my RSVP cruises, the ship’s spa area did, effectively, become a bathhouse&mdash
I went on a noun cruise with 4, other gay men. I cried for days after it ended, and I can't wait to go back.
At the end of the final, disco-themed dance on my day "all-gay" cruise, I met up with a man I'd shared a few intimate moments with.
As we swayed to the opening bars of Donna Summer's "Last Dance," I burst into tears. I sobbed on his shoulder throughout the entire song. I remember thinking that I'd fallen in love.
Not with him, as nice as he was. And not with cruising, as fabulous as that was.
I'd fallen in adoration with being the majority.
When I booked my 'all-gay' cruise, I prepared myself to be disappointed
In , I raided my savings account and spent $3, to book an "all-gay" cruise around the Mediterranean.
My dancing troupe convinced me to buy the ticket, which was for 10 days on the Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas. The special Atlantis sailing would be filled with about 4, gay people, the majority of them men.
People in my life warned me to manage my expectations. I was told to equip for claustrophobia, cabin fever, endless gluttonous