Gay Frienly Cruise Lines - 2015 Survey Results

The husband and I enjoy cruising and have sailed on Celebrity, Royal Caribbeans, Norwegian, and Carnival among others (in October, 2015, we will be sailing on the Carnival Splendor -pictured above - to Bermuda from Norfolk).  It is important to us that a cruise line be gay friendly and inclusive.  To date, the only cruise line that we have sailed that has failed to have events for LGBT passengers has been Royal Caribbean.  While we loved the ships, there were no "Friends of Dorothy" events and the level of welcome could have been better.  In contrast, Celebrity, Norwegian, and Carnival all had such events and were far more welcoming.  A new survey by ManAboutWorld.com looks at some cruise lines and their level of LGBT acceptance.  Sadly, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian failed to even respond to the survey.  Here are highlights (read the entire piece):

[W]e’re reporting the responses we did receive, and the lines that failed to respond at all. We believe their answers should matter to all of us as gay consumers, and urge you to join the conversation. If you have comments or questions about our criteria or survey, please share them in the comments.

LGBT-Friendly criteria for Cruise Lines:

1. LGBT employees should be covered by a non-discrimination policy that explicitly mentions sexual orientation and gender expression.
2. Customer-facing employees should have diversity/inclusion training that specifically covers LGBT guests.
3. Cruise lines docking in ports where homosexuality or gender expression are criminalized should provide all passengers notice about such laws before disembarkation in those ports.

In addition to these minimum standards, we believe marketing and outreach to LGBT consumers, membership in the IGLTA and promotion of LGBT gatherings in daily cruise calendars to important indicators of a cruise line’s commitment to LGBT customers, not just commerce.

The following cruise lines did not respond to numerous requests over two months: NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE, ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL, SILVERSEA CRUISES, WINDSTAR CRUISES

CELEBRITY CRUISES

1. Do you promote LGBT social events on non-charter sailings?

Yes and I believe Celebrity Cruises is the only one with signage on embark day noting our welcome event? We do a meet/greet for LGBT gatherings on the 1st day of the cruise in a high profile lounge and some senior officers come as well. If well attended we plan others throughout the week. We put the information on a sign and it is included in our daily program guide put in the guest stateroom. We call it LGBT Gathering, and not “Friends of Dorothy” like other cruise lines. No hiding our affection for the LGBT market. As well: Guests will be made aware that all future LGBT events will be posted on the community board at the Guest Relations Desk.

2. Do you do any marketing or outreach to the LGBT community?  

We do a lot of LGBT marketing including digital advertising, magazines. Additionally we are active in numerous pride events and activities in large US cities such as LA, SF, Atlanta, DC and NYC.

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
Carnival really created the modern cruise business in the 1970s, and has earned its position as the world’s most popular cruise line by providing a fun, welcoming environment for the more than 4.5 million guests who sail with them each year. They answered our questions more generally.

1. Do you promote LGBT social events on non-charter sailings?

Each of our 1,500 cruises a year includes a meeting for members of the LGBT community.

2. Do you do any marketing or outreach to the LGBT community?

Not answered.

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE
As befitting their Dutch ancestry, Holland America Line met every one of our criteria, with a comprehensive response to each of our LGBT-specific criteria. Holland America Line is popular for gay charters, and has an innovative dining program, working with master chefs to create new menus that include a Le Cirque-inspired and 20-course Master Chef dinner each cruise, along with sustainably-sourced seafoods and a new alternative vegetarian menu in their main dining rooms. Dancing with The Stars program returns to Holland America Line in 2015 with a program on every sailing, and six full-experience theme cruises.

1. Do you promote LGBT social events on non-charter sailings?

Yes, we offer LGBT get-togethers on every cruise. The events are introduced by a cruise staff member at the first gathering and then open to guests to host at following events. The get-togethers are always listed in the ship’s daily program.

2. Do you do any marketing or outreach to the LGBT community?

We market to all demographics and communities. Some specifically targeted outreach takes place with various partnerships, but our general advertising and marketing addresses our brand experience, which appeals to many groups and demographics. We also support the LGBT community through sponsorships with various organizations and support and advocacy groups.

CUNARD
Celebrating its 175th anniversary Cunard is the queen of the seas offering classic ocean travel experiences such as transatlantic crossings aboard legendary ships including flagship Queen Mary 2. The onboard captain’s welcome is an invitation to join the most elite travelers (not tourists) aboard a sailing or crossing (not a cruise). Princess Grill and Queens Grill accommodations are luxurious and spacious, and the dining options are world class. The ships’ recent enrichment programs have included gay and gay-friendly icons from George Takei and Tilda Swinton to Desmond Tutu. The Friends of Dorothy gatherings are prominently advertised and popular, and gay solo travelers, couples and groups are comfortable and visible on board. This may be among the most effortlessly queer of the non-gay cruises.

1. Do you promote LGBT social events on non-charter sailings?

Yes, Cunard offers Friends of Dorothy gatherings on all sailings, which are listed in the Daily Programme, a daily activities schedule distributed to all guests.

2. Do you do any marketing or outreach to the LGBT community?

Cunard is a former National Gold Sponsor of the Human Rights Campaign donating cruises for live auction events which have raised more than $200,000 for the nation’s largest LGBT organization. Cunard is also partnered with travel agent retailers that focus on the LGBT community as clients for group cruises and charters. For example, RSVP Vacations chartered Queen Mary 2 in 2007.  Cunard does not currently do any targeted advertising to the LGBT community, although the line has hosted several journalists writing for various LGBT-focused magazines over the years.

We have not yet sailed Cunard, but it is on my wish list - it is one of the few lines that still has formal dress as in the "old days" of cruising.  Perhaps in 2016 (although we are toying with a 2016 trip to India in light of my many Indian clients).

Italian Cruise Ship Capsizes - At Least 3 Dead

In a bizarre mishap at sea that instills thoughts of both the Titanic and Andrea Doria sinkings, the Costa Liane's Concordia hit rocks off the Italian coast, immediately takes on a list that renders half of her lifeboats useless and ultimately capsizes as shown above. Reports of passengers paint a picture of chaotic mishandling of the evacuation of the vessel. In addition, the rapid heeling over of the vessel raises questions about the ship's design (a design defect doomed the Andrea Doria in 1956) and that of its sister ships. Costa is owned by Carnival Cruises which also owns P & O Lines and the famed Cunard Line. Having cruised through these very same waters on the cruise the Boyfriend and I took last October certainly makes the sinking take on a closer meaning. To me, it is baffling that now evacuation drill had been held. On the Liberty of the Seas, we had a drill the first day after boarding the ship and before leaving port. Here are highlights from the BBC:

The Costa Concordia had sailed earlier on Friday from Civitavecchia port near Rome for a Mediterranean cruise, due to dock in Marseille after calling at ports in Sicily, Sardinia and Spain. One thousand passengers were Italian, with 500 Germans and 160 French.

Some passengers told the Associated Press the crew had failed to give instructions on how to evacuate the ship. An evacuation drill was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. "It was so unorganised, our evacuation drill was scheduled for 17:00 (16:00 GMT)," Melissa Goduti, 28, from the US told AP. "We had joked what if something had happened today."

The 290-metre (950 ft) vessel ran aground, starting taking in water and listing by 20 degrees, the local coast guard said. Orders were given to abandon ship, Deodato Ordona, a cabin steward on the Costa Concordia, told the BBC. "We announced a general emergency and took passengers to muster stations," he said. "But it is hard to launch the lifeboats, so they moved to the right side of the ship, and they could launch."

Coast guard official Francesco Paolillo, a local coast guard official, told the AFP news agency there was a 30m hole in the ship but that it was too early to say what exactly had happened. "We think this happened as a result of sailing too close to an obstacle like a reef," he said. Costa Cruises, the company which owns the ship, said it could not yet say what had caused the accident.

Three are known to have died and a morning NBC News TV story indicated at least another 14 are missing.

Century-old Postcard Recalls Launch of "Titanic"

Yesterday was the centenary of the launch of the White Star Line's ill-fated and now almost mythical liner Titanic. The Irish Times has published a copy of a postcard that recalls the ships launch:
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“It glided beautifully into the water. The “Olympic” is going across to Liverpool today. The weather is beautiful here now. . .”
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The largest liner in the world when launched, the Titanic is dwarfed by current ships such as the Royal Caribbean vessels like the Liberty of the Seas which the boyfriend and I will travel on come fall.

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