Living the good life on board Atlantis. Nice guys are just the beginning…
“I am from Turkey. This is my 22nd Atlantis cruise and second aboard the Solstice. I love these cruises.” This enthusiastic quotation isn’t from a fellow passenger. It’s from one of the heterosexual crew (the man on the right in the accompanying picture of two crewmembers.) When gay cruising started approximately 25 years ago by Atlantis’ sister company, tour and cruse operator RSVP, it was a very different world. Many crewmembers, especially men, opted not to work aboard the gay cruises. Now, most crew clamors to work these cruises.
I always interview a cross-section of crew when I’m aboard a gay cruise. They tell me they love the friendly, relaxed vibe on the cruise, the younger age-range than the typical cruise, and for some the lack of children on board. It probably doesn’t hurt that gay men drink more and therefore the tip pool is significantly enlarged compared to the average cruise.
There’s a lot to love on this cruise and it’s only my second full day. On Sunday evening we sailed away from Ft. Lauderdale, arriving in CocoCay, Bahamas — the private beach reserved for the cruise — Monday for a day of beach going, swimming, nature trail walking, and birding.
Today we are at sea all day. My friend and paying customer Chris gamely joined me for a week. That’s him in the picture on the balcony (below). We explored the ship from stem to stern and in my experience on a dozen cruises (gay and straight) on at least 10 different ships, the Solstice is far and away the most beautiful ship I’ve ever been on and crammed full of cool features.
The author’s friend Chris takes in the balcony view.
From its pleasing décor, more reminiscent of a W Hotel than a Holiday Inn, to its stunning 15-story atrium and buffed out gym, it’s kept us pretty entertained. Check out the giant globe in the Team Earth room on deck 7 and enjoy the interactive feature describing Celebrity’s ecological and environmental efforts, which is extremely well done. Glass art aficionados will enjoy the Hot Glass Workshop and Show.
As usual, while you can tell a lot of guys spent a lot of time preparing for the cruise at their home gym, this Atlantis cruise has a wide diversity of ages and body types, as you can see in the accompanying pictures. Malcolm, Atlantis’ cruise director announced that on this ship as on most of their cruises, the average age is 41.
Each year I take an Atlantis cruise it seems like the international factor increases. So far on this trip we met Australian, Dutch, German, Austrian, Italian, Spanish, and French passengers. That hunky couple in the blue bathing suits hails from Italy (left) and the Netherlands.
Europa, Europa! Hunky travelers from Italy and Holland.
The entertainment and event programming are also diverse. For example, here are the options from 5pm to 9pm on Monday: Spa seminar; bocce tournament (on the gorgeous real lawn on deck 15); abs work out at the gym; singles cocktails; hot glass show; Friends of Bill W; singles dinner; gay comedy showcase. Sometimes it’s kind of hard to choose this embarrassment of riches. Tomorrow we land in the French-speaking isle of St. Barts (975 nautical miles from CocoCay) for a very long day, with sail away scheduled for 11pm.
Two of the Atlantis’ friendly crew members.
I’ve been on a dozen cruises, including six Atlantis sailings, two on RSVP [LINK TO ], a pair with R Family, and a couple of straight voyages. I really enjoy Atlantis trips for a variety of reasons. I love the ships they charter, including the gorgeous Solstice, the vessel I’m now on and the Royal Caribbean ships, like the Freedom of the Seas with all their innovative features (ice skating, anyone?). I also enjoy the parties, events, and other programming. Though also incredibly friendly with lots of great activities, RSVP cruises are usually a little smaller than Atlantis charters and there are fewer of them per year.
R Family, a tour and cruise company catering to gay families, is perhaps best known for its topnotch entertainment, luring Broadway belters through the owners’ many entertainment-industry connections. With children running around and the presence of doting grandparents, you may forget that those triplets over there have two dads. Still, beyond the shows and straight presence, the vibe, humor, and atmosphere is unmistakably, unapologetically, and proudly gay.
The second you step foot on a gay cruise you are on holiday, starting with a hug by one of the many attractive, engaging Atlantis team members at the ship’s gangway. Then, a glass of champagne and endless smiles and greetings from crew, Atlantis staff, and fellow passengers. This open spirit of friendliness continues and grows during the course of the trip, with warm hellos in the hallways and humorous banter in the elevators.
Ready for the 80′s party? Yes, honey.
One cultural observation I’ve made is that when two gay men meet once at a bar or an event it is almost guaranteed that the next time they see each other, they will exchange a big hug and a kiss, like two dear and long-parted friends.
On straight cruises, not so much. Folks are on holiday and perfectly polite but absent are the constant warm greetings and friendly banter. You may never actually interact with any representative of the cruise. The biggest difference is that on straight sailings, the culture seems ruled by clans of family members, often including grandma (who perhaps financed everyone’s trip), parents, their children and their spouses. Most socializing occurs uniquely among the members of the clan. Clans may swap warm pleasantries but they are not joining one another at dinner or at the disco.
These guys made these costumes from bits of glass they painstakingly glued onto their boots, shorts and glasses. All that effort for a 2-hour party. Now that’s devotion!
On gay cruises, gay men meet, entourages grow, groups meet groups and at a certain point it seems that everyone is connected through an organically formed network. And it all just starts with an attitude-free hello in a corridor or at lunch.
New best friends are totes easily made onboard. And the fashions? Honey…
Since my last post, we danced like crazy people at the ‘80s party, a light-hearted, high-energy, outdoor celebration of that crazy decade. On Wednesday, we visited the lovely, exclusive island of St. Barts, a French territory which feels more like a little piece of the Côte d’Azur chipped off and floated to the Caribbean. If you want a Movado watch, some Bulgari or a bottle of fine Champs, this is the place. It’s also where you can do a little bathing au naturel in any one of nearly a dozen pristine beaches, including gay-popular Anse des Salines or Gouverneurs.
A little Episcopalian Church from late 1800s on St. Barts.
St. Barts is very popular with upscale gay and lesbian travelers (it’s known to be very expensive). There is a yearly LGBT tour organized by New York-based, lesbian-run company Islanders Travel during Thanksgiving, which offers good value for the travel dollar.
Today we stopped at Charlotte Amalie (pronounced “amal-ya”), St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the U.S., meaning the residents are not protected by the U.S. Constitution, do not vote in presidential elections, and have no vote in Congress. They are subject to U.S. taxes and have an elected governor, lieutenant governor and legislature. It belonged to Denmark till 1917, when the U.S. purchased the Virgin Islands at a cost of $25 million. The U.S. Virgin Islands still enjoys a warm relationship with Denmark.
Though there is not a huge, visible, vibrant community, gays and lesbians live and visit throughout St. Thomas and the other two primary islands of the U.S.V.I. According to one business official, the community seems to be returning to the strength and visibility it had over 15 years ago when there were numerous gay guesthouses, restaurants, bars and clubs in St. Thomas, which he described as “similar to Key West.” That was all unfortunately wiped out during a terrible hurricane in ’95 (Marilyn) when power and water were knocked out for many residents for months and many businesses, including gay ones, left.
Just across the street from one of Charlotte Amalie’s dock is Barefoot Buddha, a fab new café run by a gorgeous gay woman (seen in the picture on the left, below). Bring your laptop for the free wireless, but for goodness sake buy some food. Ask for a kale smoothie. It’s not on the menu but it’ll cure that hangover.
The friendly staff at Barefoot Buddha on Charlotte Amalie.
I am back ashore, my weeklong Caribbean cruise with Atlantis events over, the reality beginning to settle in. Over 2,400 gay men (along with some lesbians and straight family and friends) came together on the most beautiful cruise ship on the high seas (according to Conde Nast Traveler and other authorities) in a surge of the positive, creative energy unique to the gay community.
For one week this rainbow tidal wave buoyed the passengers and crew of the solstice and swept up thousands of locals, tourists, and service employees in St. Barts, St. Thomas, and the Dominican Republic in its irresistible wake.
Singers and dancers welcome you to the Dominican Republic.
La Playita beach in Las Galeras in the Dominican Republic. It’s a gay beach for the day!
I interviewed many passengers and crew during the cruise. There were several common themes that arose.
• Gay cruise passengers are the friendliest and most engaging on the seas. (During disembarkation there seemed to be as many tears and hugs between staff and passengers as between fellow cruisers.)
• Gay cruise passengers have the ability to consume prodigious amounts of alcohol, which may of course fuel the friendliness to a certain extent.
• Finally, and most importantly, gay cruises can provide a nearly transformative experience.
A number of people told me that they felt more out and proud after their cruise, and that was a motivator for repeat cruises. A couple from Arkansas, who had never before held hands in public, almost choked up telling me how good they felt doing that in the public areas of the ship. How many other vacations can provide reaffirmation of yourself as a human while serving up all that sun and fun?
To paraphrase the parting words of Atlantis founder and president, Rich Campbell, for one week a small community (in the grand scheme of things) becomes a large community, with an energy that is friendly, inviting, caring, and joyful. This contrasts jarringly with mainstream cruises, which Campbell said they are starting to refer to “as standard instead of straight.”
Gay gondoliers float on at one of the Atlantis parties on board.
Here are a few of the stories that I was privileged to hear during my cruise.
• Brian, a 28-year-old New Yorker dreaded his first cruise, which his friends persuaded him to try. He had many of the familiar litany of concerns: it’s just one big gay bar; you can’t escape the ship; what if he doesn’t meet anyone. He told me he was blown away by how friendly his fellow passengers were. “Everyone leaves their bullshit at the dock,” he said. “I said hi to people in the hallways and on the elevators and it was fantastic. I decided to bring this new attitude back to New York, which didn’t work out too well, but this is my third cruise and it’s my favorite aspect of the vacation.”
• Doug, a handsome 30-year-old southerner is in the Marines (name and location changed to protect his identity). He defuses bombs. Yep, like Hurt Locker and he has the scars to prove it. This straight-talking stunner was quick to laugh and to drink. He had three weeks off and decided to get his gay on in the U.S., so he attended Winter Party from March 5-7, the Atlantis cruise March 7-14, and is off to Mammoth Mountain, California for Elevation 2010 Gay Ski Week March 17-21.
• Joe and Louis, 77 and 78, from New York City met over 70 years ago at the age of 6 in the Lower East Side of New York, where they both grew up. “In those days, everyone knew everyone. We became friends for life then and lovers later,” said Louis, who continued, “we moved to the West Village, the better side of the tracks later.” This is their 16th cruise and they love meeting fellow passengers.
• There were at least two counter-terrorism officials on board, one French living in Paris, the other American who resides in D.C. I could extract no publishable information about their day-to-day lives or even the nature of their jobs beyond the most superficial descriptions. However both expressed very strongly one of the most compelling reasons to cruise was lack of cell phone contact with the office. “I catch bad guys for a living. Someone else can do it for one week while I’m away,” said the American.
• For David and Steven, 38 and 39 from San Francisco, this was the first vacation since their baby, Joshua, was born two years ago. “Grandma flew in from Cleveland to care for him while we get to have a little fun on board.” They’ve been together for 18 years and are planning on having another and possible up to four children total.
Travel editor Ed Salvato got to float around the Caribbean on the Atlantis Exotic Caribbean cruise aboard the Celebrity Solstice (March 7-14) with 2,400 other gay men (and a handful of fabulous lesbians).
