'All-Gay' Cise Helped Me Realize Thgs About My Life and I Loved It

Contents:

• THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023
• ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GAY CIS
• 12 TOP GAY CIS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS 2023 AND 2024
• I WENT ON MY FIRST GAY CISE — HERE'S WHAT IT WAS LIKE
• 11 THGS I LEARNED ON MY 1ST GAY CISE
• MY ATLANTIS GAY CISE TRIP – WHAT IT WAS LIKE
• GAY CIS: EVERYTHG YOU WANT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU SAIL
• WHAT ARE GAY CIS LIKE?
• I WENT ON A 10-DAY CISE WH 4,000 OTHER GAY MEN. I CRIED FOR DAYS AFTER END, AND I N'T WA TO GO BACK.
• CAN A GAY CISE KEEP 4,700 PEOPLE SAFE AMID COVID?

THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023

The term – a phemism that dat back to the 1950s – was once ed to dite gay social events on daily cise le programs, whout explicly llg out members of the muny on board. As travel on the high seas ntu to bounce back om the COVID-19 panmic, gay and lbian travelers should nsir settg sail on a fun-filled cise vatn as their next planng a cise, vatners should first nsir what their ial sailg looks like. Some cise operators (thk: Atlantis Events and La Demence) are known for their electrifyg, all-night parti, which may be perfect for gay groups of iends.

Cisers should also thk about whether they'd like to travel aboard a gay-iendly mastream le, such as Celebry Cis or Virg Voyag, or opt for an all-gay, full-ship charter wh a third-party vatn pany.

Of VACAYA's all-gay charters, he says, "For one magil week, our muny gets to be the majory and live life out loud the blissful utopia VACAYA creat on a gay cise. This le gets the stamp of approval om prev LGBTQ cisers, who praise the ships' genr-ntral bathrooms, onboard shows wh rint drag queens and diverse Voyag offers gay-specific sailgs through travel pani like Atlantis Events, but s more mastream erari still offer a welg, clive atmosphere that attracts LGBTQ cisers year-round.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GAY CIS

Atlantis EventsThe world's largt gay and lbian travel brand, Atlantis Events was found 1991 and wel more than 20, 000 travelers annually on LGBTQ vatns. For s all-gay cis, Atlantis charters megaships om popular l like Royal Caribbean Internatnal and Norwegian Cise Le, so cisers will have a fully immersive board, travelers n enjoy all the perks the megaships have to offer (thk: pools, hot tubs, sports urts and plenty of dg choic), pl special events like drag performanc, motivatnal speakers, LGBTQ movi on mand each b and high-energy circu parti across the ship. "As an LGBTQ ciser, you're lookg for a ship wh lots of entertament, cludg dance parti and events, " says Mars Martez, founr of Men Who Bnch, a Black gay liftyle blog.

"One of the bt cise [l] for gay cisg is Atlantis, sce you'll be able to meet hundreds of attractive men and party all day and night on the ship.

12 TOP GAY CIS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS 2023 AND 2024

" Atlantis hosts primarily gay men; women make up about 5% to 10% of bookgs, acrdg to the Atlantis webse. Cisers will also enjoy performanc by drag queens, gay Broadway stars and more, pl more typil river cise perks like sightseeg and lavish meals. Celebry Cis(Courty of Celebry Cis)Celebry Cis sets the scene for an excellent vatn for gay travelers, om s extravagant annual Pri parti to s daily LGBTQ programmg throughout the year.

After night one, there are other social events for gay cisers to party and hang out together.

Although all erari are gay-iendly, nsir bookg a Pri Party at Sea sailg (which tak place each June) for an extra special experience. Private travel pani like VACAYA also charter Celebry ships for all-gay voyag throughout the (Getty Imag)Specifilly marketed toward lbians and LGBTQ women, Olivia has hosted more than 350, 000 travelers by land and sea over almost five s. The popular cise le equently partners wh Atlantis Events to offer all-gay voyag throughout the year, but even the standard sailgs earn praise.

I WENT ON MY FIRST GAY CISE — HERE'S WHAT IT WAS LIKE

Iterari typilly feature LGBTQ meetups at the begng of each cise for gay travelers to meet likemd passengers.

Outsi of the sailg experience, Royal Caribbean has also publicly mted to support the LGBTQ muny throughout the year, and was the first cise le to earn the tle "Gay Traveler Approved" om GayTravel 2023, nsir a Royal Caribbean voyage that sails to gay-iendly statns. ]The Cise Wh La Demence(Courty of The Cise wh La Demence)Acrdg to past cisers, if you're lookg for one of the bt party scen on the open seas, nsir an all-gay cise wh La Demence.

11 THGS I LEARNED ON MY 1ST GAY CISE

Powered by a popular gay nightclub Bssels wh the same name, La Demence – French for "the madns" – primarily ters to a European crowd. Prev cisers had high praise for the erari – which exclively vis gay-iendly lotns – as well as the uy cktails, themed nights (stum strongly enuraged), glamouro entertament, and unique events like drag bgo and high heel Demence sails every summer to statns like Rome; Athens and Mykonos, Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and more.

So you’re thkg about takg your first gay or lbian cise, and you’re probably wonrg where to beg. Gay cisg is takg the cise market by storm, offerg a h take on what cis n (and should) look like.

MY ATLANTIS GAY CISE TRIP – WHAT IT WAS LIKE

There has never been a better time to experience your first gay cise, but we always believe ’s better to be prepared so you have an ia of what to expect. Then, remember to rearch the bt (and worst) ports and statns for gay cis to avoid beg discrimated agast or feelg unwele. Next, you'll want to plan your cise, and that might clu fdg the bt 2020 gay cise als out there and gay-iendly cise l and ships.

GAY CIS: EVERYTHG YOU WANT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU SAIL

We will try answerg all your qutns to give you a good ia of what a gay cise actually looks like.

Now this article, we provi gay cisg tips for first timers: how to pack, what to do and what not to do and how to stay safe durg your cise.

How to pack for a gay cise In many ways, packg for gay, lbian, or bisexual cisg is no different om packg for any other cise. However, if you’re lookg to book a chartered all-gay cise wh an operator like Atlantis’ gay cis, there are a uple special twists om a tradnal packg checklist you should keep md.

WHAT ARE GAY CIS LIKE?

Travel light This is a great cise tip regardls of whether you’re takg a gay or mastream cise. Stock up on swimsus This is particularly te if you’re on a gay cise, but also appli to ladi bookg a lbian Southern Caribbean cise: pack a uple extra swimsus.

Costum We touched on this earlier, but stume parti are one of the thgs that make gay cis special. From class and gam to poolsi loungg to takg a well-served break the cise ship spa, here are some thgs you n’t miss on a gay cise. Pro-tip to make iends on a gay cise: prt out ctomized gay cise rds wh a picture of you and your ntact rmatn.

I WENT ON A 10-DAY CISE WH 4,000 OTHER GAY MEN. I CRIED FOR DAYS AFTER END, AND I N'T WA TO GO BACK.

Go ashore and explore Your gay cise ship may sometim feel like a floatg cy, but don’t fet about all the amazg plac you have the opportuny to vis. While some of the may seem like mon sense, we still remend you avoid dog the followg durg your gay and lbian travel. Even if you aren’t lookg for love, gay cis are great plac to meet gay men, make iends, nnect wh lears your dtry, and generally jt have fun.

Tips and advice before you part While many untri like Canada and New England accept and wele the gay muny, others do not.

This is one of the reasons that LGBT travelers need to do some extra preparatn before embarkg, even when embarkg on a gay, lbian, or transgenr cise. If a port isn’t gay-iendly, simply stay on the ship and take advantage of the extra lounge chairs by the pool, snag a spot at trivia, bgo, or yoga, or dulge a hot stone massage.

CAN A GAY CISE KEEP 4,700 PEOPLE SAFE AMID COVID?

If you book an all-gay cise wh a gay cise operator like Atlantis, RSVP Vatns, or Olivia, you won’t need to worry as much about this. Entrapment mpaigns Be aware that police some untri monor some webs, mobile apps, and meetg plac that are monly ed by the gay muny. Segregatn of gay-iendly rorts and muni Even untri that are generally hostile to LGBT folks n be home to gay-iendly enclav - om rorts to ci - where you n feel ee to explore.

Nonstop parti, unwarranted ments, and a lack of diversy were a few reasons why I avoid bookg a gay cise. I've always been secure about my weight, and if the marketg strategy for an LGBTQ+ cise, vatn, or tour pany don't clu me or make me feel seen — as a chubby Black gay man — I avoid . But when I was offered the opportuny to sail wh Vaya, I asked a few iends about their gay cise experienc — specifilly, about the pany's chartered sailgs and rort vatns.