Mark Segal is publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News. LGBTQ people like to travel, and like many people they take cruises to see the world or just to relax. Among those companies are Atlantis adventures, primarily for men, and Olivia cruises for women. But those companies still comprise only a fraction of available cruise sailings.
For our current trip we booked a cruise on Oceania, a line known for its food they claim the best food at sea , exceptional attention to detail, and out of the ordinary shore excursions.
Another advantage of Oceania is that they do exotic itineraries. We traveled with another gay couple, our friends Klay and Val, who are out and proud like us. Throughout the trip, we met many other LGBTQ people, mostly couples, who also had other cruise experiences.
I asked many of them why they picked this cruise over an LGBTQ cruise, as well as how comfortable they felt being out on this cruise.
Most of them were comfortable being open about their sexuality. Jason and I felt comfortable enough to show our emotions at times and hold hands or put an arm around each other, just like non-LGBTQ couples. It made a larger point for me. Could we have done that a decade ago? The answer is: probably not. Like any cruise, we found ourselves finding our own friends who turned out to be a fascinating lot.
