Some lines are considered more ‘gay friendly’ than others, partly because they’ve positively welcomed the upsurge of gay travellers and party because many lines have accidentally adopted systems that are naturally gay friendly. If you’re at all nervous, shy or in the closet, aim for the lines that actively welcome gay cruisers.
Of course, not everything suits everybody, and not everybody is welcome everywhere – if you want a relaxed, gay-friendly cruise holiday there are some lines that you might feel it better to avoid, unless you want to act as a militant front for gay lib. Foremost amongst these is the Disney Cruise Line, which isn’t so much unwelcoming as just not designed to cater for the gay community, having as it does a totally traditional ‘nuclear family’ focus. There have been reports of gay nuclear families being asked to explain their relationship by crew members, who clearly expected to hear men or women travelling together were siblings rather than partners. Some small European cruise lines also struggle to cater to the gay community and this is in part because they don’t offer so much variety of entertainment as the larger seagoing lines and partly because their customer base tends to be older (and in cruise terms that means more like 70 plus) and more conservative than the ocean liner passenger.
Celebrity Cruises – is generally viewed as being very positive in its treatment of gay and lesbian passengers: in particular gay man enjoy the fourteen night Celebrity cruise that visits Rio during Carnival time.
Crystal Cruises – this line scores highly as a holiday choice for same-sex couple holidays from the ‘gay’ films in the ship’s library through to the superb customer service which is clearly designed to make all guests feel at home. Nothing very overt here, but gay couples find themselves being fitted into wider social events with impeccable tact and style.
Cunard – this is the line for those who want a luxury cruise with added prestige – travelling on Cunard always gives you something to talk about! And the line is very gay and lesbian friendly, to the extent that a bar on the Queen Mary 2, the Commodore Lounge, has been familiarly renamed Commodorothy because it is the favourite haunt of a host of gay passengers who’ve made it their spot on ship. Other Cunard liners don’t have the same reputation, and formal dining can be an issue.
Holland America – this line with its high passenger to staff ratio is popular with gay travellers and the friendliness of the staff means it is highly rated as a gay-friendly cruise line. Private veranda staterooms are a popular choice, offering the chance to relax as a couple out of the public gaze, and it’s considered quite acceptable for gay couples to dance together in HAL nightclubs.
Regent Seven Seas – as a luxury cruise line this company offers a superb level of customer service, which naturally means that LGBT travellers feel at home. It also means that RSS’s customer base tends to be older, retired, professional people meaning they are a liberal group who don’t have problems with other lifestyles. There is an ‘open seating’ system that allows you to choose your dining companions and sit together, and you can ask for a double bed instead of singles for two men sharing. In particular, the sailings on Paul Gauguin, to highly liberal and gay friendly Polynesia, are a natural place to find kindred spirits.