Stays That Slay: The Rhapsody (2024) - Gay & Lbian Travel

Contents:

• I WENT ON MY FIRST GAY CISE — HERE'S WHAT IT WAS LIKE
• 'GAY SUMMER MP': HOW CIS CREATE SPACE FOR LGBTQ+ TRAVELERS AT SEA
• 11 THGS I LEARNED ON MY 1ST GAY CISE
• 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.
• 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
• CAN A GAY CISE KEEP 4,700 PEOPLE SAFE AMID COVID?
• THE ATLANTIS GAY CISE: REVIEW AND ESSENTIAL GUI

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

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. Even before settg sail, some of my prenceived notns about gay cis seemed to fa.

I met several people, cludg Ken, who drove 12 hours om Chattanooga, Tennsee, to go on his first gay cise; Eric and his partner, Jason, om Taa, Washgton, who chatted about how they met, Jason's "g out" story, and his amible divorce om his ex-wife; and Osr, a passenger om L. I disvered that a gay cise allows to be fully ourselv a rpectful environment, rng wh old iends om prev cis and cultivatg new iendships that go beyond our seven-day journey. Celebry's safety protols and Vaya's attentn to tail, transparency, and clive vibe and strategy are all reasons why I was able to enjoy my first gay cise and return home COVID-ee.

'GAY SUMMER MP': HOW CIS CREATE SPACE FOR LGBTQ+ TRAVELERS AT SEA

Both jumped at a chance for Moss' girliend to be somewhere "culturally entirely queer"bee she had not had as much experience socializg LGBTQ+ more: Bt travel suranceFor some LGBTQ+ travelers, gay cis have offered a kd of haven on the seas. While early cis tered primarily to gay men and lbians, the market has grown recent years, wh more optns aimed at a more diverse array of queer travelers. Cise operators that tered to gay and lbian passengers began sailg the '80s and '90s, acrdg to a timele om IGLTA.

Where people uld be together wh members of their muny and get away and be ee om fai or work, you know, be out, bee the world was so different the '80s, " John Tanzella, print and CEO of the Internatnal Gay & Lbian Travel Associatn, sailgs were a tougher sell back then, though. "It was probably really hard to get a cise le to take a gay group ( the early days), " Tanzella some s, ships rryg LGBTQ+ passengers were turned away om ports, he add.

'I jt want to see more of ':The importance of seeg people like you while travelgJon Fenwick went on his first gay cise 2008 wh Atlantis Events after some iends talked him to . "You fely see a lot of the same fac om trip to trip, and a lot of people would go on the same on every year jt to have a rnn, or sometim we ll gay summer mp, " said Fenwick, a ernment rmatn technology specialist based Arlgton, optns were also more limed and siloed, wh cis aimed primarily at gay men or lbians, he add.

11 THGS I LEARNED ON MY 1ST GAY CISE

Fenwick has met other gay passengers on mastream cis but said the experience isn't the same, "You fely don't have the (same) eedom to be yourself on a regular cise. The pany's clientele is predomantly gay men, but 20% of the sailg's guts were women.

"We have gay, straight, queer iends our real liv, " said Riedlg, who liv Spokane, Washgton, and Palm Sprgs, California. Among those, Atlantis is particularly popular among gay men but wel women, transgenr and nonbary guts, and "even straight parents, " as well, CEO Rich Campbell said an while Olivia Travel's guts primarily intify as cisgenr lbians and queer women, nonbary and transgenr guts have always been wele, acrdg to VP of marketg Autumn Roper's part, he said the kds of sailgs VACAYA aims to offer shift the dynamic LGBTQ+ people experience elsewhere, even if only for a week or two at a time.

Whether you jo onboard for a vatn, your honeymoon, or even your weddg, you'll see why we're the bt cise le for gay, lbian and all LGBTQ+ guts. Celebry has been a major sponsor for Miami Beach Gay Pri two years a row. I had a great time on a 10-day Mederranean cise wh 4, 000 others, the majory beg gay men.

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.

As a gay man, I fell love wh beg the majory for once. At the end of the fal, dis-themed dance on my 10-day "all-gay" cise, I met up wh a man I'd shared a few timate moments wh. I'd fallen love wh beg the I booked my 'all-gay' cise, I prepared myself to be disappoted.

In 2021, I raid my savgs acunt and spent $3, 059 to book an "all-gay" cise around the dancg troupe nvced me to buy the ticket, which was for 10 days on the Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas. The special 2022 Atlantis sailg would be filled wh about 4, 000 gay people, the majory of them my life warned me to manage my expectatns. I also received negative reactns om my gay iends — some said they uldn't thk of anythg worse than an "all-gay" cise.

THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023

Others add a lghg emoji each time they msaged about , as if the choice self was ludicro or exclively beg around gay people was crgeworthy and embarrassg.

I now know that, until you've been on one of the cis, you really have no ia what happens on day one, I was havg the time of my life — we'd created our own floatg universe As our ship set sail om Rome, dawned on me that I'd never been around this many gay men before. I met upl, sgl, and other gay dividuals om around the globe. As a gay man who is Brish-born and liv Atralia, I'm grateful I'm able to be myself.

It mands rtrat to not absorb microaggrsns, but to stead allow them to fuel my day, I mt stand firm and ph agast nventns and benchmarks of the heteronormative world that many gay men like myself choose to reject. When to gay cisg, gone are the days of discreet "Friends of Dorothy" meetups.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GAY CIS

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.

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

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. "The all-gay cis were liberatg, empowerg, and fun, but limed to a small spectm of people. 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.

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

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.

THE ATLANTIS GAY CISE: REVIEW AND ESSENTIAL GUI

" 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.