Can a Gay Cruise Keep 4,700 People Safe Amid Covid? (NYT article, your thoughts?)

[+ glutes]

 

By Ceylan Yeginsu / NYTimes

Published Jan. 14, 2022Updated Jan. 16, 2022

As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to surge onboard cruise ships, forcing several cruise lines to cancel and postpone voyages, Atlantis Events, a gay and lesbian tour operator, is preparing to launch one of its biggest events on Sunday: a 4,700-person Caribbean cruise marking the company’s 30th anniversary.

Even as the pandemic is raging around the world and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a stark warning telling Americans to avoid travel on cruise ships, regardless of their vaccination status, Atlantis insists that its vaccination mandate, testing requirements and health protocols are enough to provide a safe environment for guests throughout the voyage. Many passengers are convinced.

[+ Lucky]

https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/127537-atlantis-cruises-your-experiences/?do=findComment&comment=1947787

Already posted.

[+ nycman]

The answer is no… and it doesn’t matter. 

All the gay party boys have already had COVID…twice. 

That plus vaccinations will most likely keep this ship sailing.
If they’re smart, they won’t test once they start. Lots of positive 
swabs are meaningless in a population that is largely immune
to severe disease. 

Think about it. You always hear about huge Norovirus outbreaks 
on cruise ships, but never on gay cruises. Why not? Because,
a few dirty doorknobs are meaningless to a boatload of 
butt lickers.

I still don’t think they should have never planned this cruise, but
I’m betting there will be very little to no severe illnesses from 
COVID as a result. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by nycman

[+ glutes]

19 minutes ago, Lucky said:

https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/127537-atlantis-cruises-your-experiences/?do=findComment&comment=1947787

Already posted.

Thanks Lucky. I would have added my post to the thread mentioned above, but could find only expired threads when I put "Atlantis" into the search engine.

[pubic_assistance]

A boat full of gay men who have been hooking up all through the pandemic is unlikely to have many deaths considering these guys likely have super immune systems already, with all the swapping of body fluids they do. 

During the AIDS crisis, NYC had to forcibly shut down the sex clubs because an HIV epidemic wasn't reason enough to stop going out to having sex with dozens of strangers each night....so a little thing like a corona virus is unlikely to stop some the sort of person who likes a gay cruise. Same animal. Same response: ignore the problem until it's too late.

 

 

[cany10011]

I know several (seemingly) responsible friends who decided to go. They have taken enough precautions and not going to see their elderly parents anytime soon... so i guess it's a calculated risk. I however wouldn't even get on a plane to celebrate a good friend's bday in Maui. 

 

[Luv2play]

I read on here a day or two ago that a poster to this forum was going on that cruise. I believe he was a provider but can’t remember who.

[jeezifonly]

Avoid the Captain’s table!!

[robberbaron4u]

4700 "souls" on a floating Mall of the Americas??? A sojourn in purgatory, not a pleasure cruise, in my estimation. Give me the "old days" in such excursions: a midnight sailing from NYC on the SS United States with three nights at sea, docking at Southampton on the mornng of the fourth day, the "boat train" stoked and ready for the transfer  to London. 

[+ E.T.Bass]

You'd have to pay me a ship load of money to get me on a boat with 4700 queens.

[jeezifonly]

19 minutes ago, E.T.Bass said:

You'd have to pay me a ship load of money to get me on a boat with 4700 queens.

Technically not all queens, some will be womyn… a lot are staff, but virus don’t care and there hasn’t been a cruise since 2019 that docked without it…

[josh282282]

9 hours ago, nycman said:

All the gay party boys have already had COVID…twice. 

 

9 hours ago, nycman said:

Because,
a few dirty doorknobs are meaningless to a boatload of 
butt lickers.

 

9 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

A boat full of gay men who have been hooking up all through the pandemic is unlikely to have many deaths considering these guys likely have super immune systems already, with all the swapping of body fluids they do. 

Wait, this is a website where gay men not only promote the hiring of prostitutes, we CELEBRATE the hiring. Yet, we are coming up with the above judgmental and cruel comments towards our gay brothers not on this board as IF we are on some Higher Holy Ground than they? Um, wat? Are we really that juvenile & petty (and off base)? Surely we can do better...

 

1 hour ago, robberbaron4u said:

4700 "souls" on a floating Mall of the Americas??? A sojourn in purgatory, not a pleasure cruise, in my estimation.

Although I wouldnt set foot on a cruise right now due to Covid, I have done several gay cruises in the past & found them fun & exciting. And no, I didnt do any drugs, get drunk, nor have wild sex.  Most dont on gay cruises, contrary to what you might think. It's mostly normal every day gay guys just wanting a vacation. But I find it amazing that often the loudest detractors of gay cruises are gays that have never been on one. Why is that?

 

31 minutes ago, E.T.Bass said:

You'd have to pay me a ship load of money to get me on a boat with 4700 queens.

There are no more queens on a gay cruise than on this board. And tbh, I respect the queens.  It was the queens at the Stonewall Inn in NYC in 1969 who first fought back against the police tyranny,  not the respectable gays in the closet. The queens initiated the Stonewall Riots & ushered in the modern gay civil rights movement.  I am no queen myself,  but I am fully aware I owe a lot to that group. Unfortunate they dont get the respect they deserve, especially from this board.  

 

Love to all 

Josh

Edited January 18, 2022 by josh282282
Typo

[Leyte2019]

14 minutes ago, josh282282 said:

 

 

Wait, this is a website where gay men not only promote the hiring of prostitutes, we CELEBRATE the hiring. Yet, we are coming up with the above judgmental and cruel comments towards our gay brothers not on this board as IF we are on some Higher Holy Ground than they? Um, wat? Are we really that juvenile & petty (and off base)? Surely we can do better...

 

Although I wouldnt set foot on a cruise right now due to Covid, I have done several gay cruises in the past & found them fun & exciting. And no, I didnt do any drugs, get drunk, nor have wild sex.  Most dont on gay cruises, contrary to what you might think. It's mostly normal every day gay guys just wanting a vacation. But I find it amazing that often the loudest detractors of gay cruises are gays that have never been on one. Why is that?

 

There are no more queens on a gay cruise than on this board. And tbh, I respect the queens.  It was the queens at the Stonewall Inn in NYC in 1969 who first fought back against the police tyranny,  not the respectable gays in the closet. The queens initiated the Stonewall Riots & ushered in the modern gay civil rights movement.  I am no queen myself,  but I am fully aware I owe a lot to that group. Unfortunate they dont get the respect they deserve, especially from this board.  

 

Love to all 

Josh

One can intentionally avoid multi-day settings of being subjected to behaviors, music, expressions repeated ad nauseum while still respecting Queens, drag queens, and all other rainbow colors. I can't be sure of @E.T.Bass's precise definition of "queens", but I'm fairly certain that he has some things in mind that would turn me off of this particular cruise as well.

[+ purplekow]

10 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

A boat full of gay men who have been hooking up all through the pandemic is unlikely to have many deaths considering these guys likely have super immune systems already, with all the swapping of body fluids they do. 

 

 

Gay men are much more likely to be immunosuppressed rather than having a super immune system.  Most notable men with HIV.  

[+ E.T.Bass]

46 minutes ago, Leyte2019 said:

One can intentionally avoid multi-day settings of being subjected to behaviors, music, expressions repeated ad nauseum while still respecting Queens, drag queens, and all other rainbow colors. I can't be sure of @E.T.Bass's precise definition of "queens", but I'm fairly certain that he has some things in mind that would turn me off of this particular cruise as well.

I prefer a handful of smart, sassy queens, not thousands of them.

Edited January 18, 2022 by E.T.Bass

[+ Lucky]

18 hours ago, glutes said:

Thanks Lucky. I would have added my post to the thread mentioned above, but could find only expired threads when I put "Atlantis" into the search engine.

The topic may get more attention by being in the Lounge after all.

[pubic_assistance]

11 hours ago, purplekow said:

Gay men are much more likely to be immunosuppressed rather than having a super immune system.  Most notable men with HIV.  

That would depend on the generation we are discussing.

Older guys who've been dealing with decades of HIV medications...yes. suppressed immune systems.

Younger generation who avoided HIV and are whoring around on Grinder 24/7 ...their immune system is on full alert.

[+ nycman]

16 hours ago, josh282282 said:

Yet, we are coming up with the above judgmental and cruel comments towards our gay brothers not on this board as IF we are on some Higher Holy Ground than they?

Say what? Ummm, chill

As someone who’s been partying (albeit without the drugs) and butt licking for decades, my post was neither intended to be "judgmental" nor “cruel". I celebrate both whole hardily. 

Nonetheless, facts are facts. Science doesn’t care about your feelings.

Gay men are very sexually active. (Fact)

As such, we often transmit and are at high risk for many infectious diseases, including COVID. (Fact)

All my sexually active gay friends in NYC got COVID very early in the pandemic and many of them got reinfected when omicron came around. (Fact)

Those same promiscuous gay men are currently at low risk for being re-re-infected with COVID by virtue of current antibodies, current COVID strains, and current vaccinations. (Fact)

5,000 gay men on an Atlantis cruise right now is a pandemic public relations disaster waiting to happen. (Fact)

Mixing PC talk and science triggers me. (Fact)

You are triggered when you perceive people to be judgmental of our community. (Fact) 

Now, let’s all be friendly whores and play in the butt licking sandbox together!

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I would be on that cruise, but I didn't especially care for their ports of call this year.  From what I see from friends' posts who are on the cruise, they are having fun and no one is becoming ill or dying.  I'll consider booking for next year once I see the itineraries.

This will be a PR event: one that shows us we can get back to living life.  The sky isn't falling, Chicken Little.

My next cruise sails in 4 months

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I agree that 4,700 gay men at sea is a bit much.  My limit is 3,000 men at a time (my first RSVP gay cruise was on a smaller ship with a capacity of 3,000)

[+ nycman]

1 hour ago, Vegas_nw1982 said:

I agree that 4,700 gay men at sea is a bit much.  My limit is 3,000 men at a time….

A whore with limits….my kinda guy!

[pubic_assistance]

From what I read about these cruises they always have to cart away a few dead bodies from drug overdoses...so what's a few extra Covid deaths in the name of fun 🙄 ?

Edited January 22, 2022 by pubic_assistance

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

6 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

From what I read about these cruises they always have to cart away a few dead bodies from drug overdoses...so what's a few extra Covid deaths in the name of fun 🙄 ?

I've been on one of these cruises where two guys dropped dead on the dance floor within 50 feet of me, for drug overdose.

It's serious and not a laughing matter; I still booked a cruise for the following year.  I don't do drugs.

Seeing how cruise ships have a lower Wuhan virus positivity rate than any state in America, it's actually safer to be on a cruise ship than on land.  Go ahead and stay home and die in your living room.  If you're going to die anyway, you might as well be having fun on a cruise before you go!

[pubic_assistance]

2 hours ago, Vegas_nw1982 said:

you're going to die anyway, you might as well be having fun on a cruise before you go!

I will pass. Not my scene. Would rather die quietly at home while watching Netflix than grinding up against a bunch of meth addicts in pink leather thongs.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

8 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

I will pass. Not my scene. Would rather die quietly at home while watching Netflix than grinding up against a bunch of meth addicts in pink leather thongs.

For those readers on the fence about going on an all-gay cruise, don't be off-put by the claim of pink leather thongs.  In the 3 all-gay cruises I have been on, not once did I grind up against someone in a pink leather thong.  A pink jockstrap, yes.  But never a thong.  Hope to see some of you on next year's cruise! 🛳️🏳️‍🌈👬