lgbTravel: Breakfast in the Atlantic

By Mark McNease

Sunday morning and we’re sailing through the Atlantic on our way to Grand Turk. Cruising out of Brooklyn is the best, we just loaded the luggage into a town car and rode to the ship. We came a little bit after the rush so getting on board was a breeze, and in less than an hour from when we left the apartment we were taking a look around the ship. The Caribbean Princess reminds me a lot of the Holland America ship we took two and a half years ago with Frank’s dad and his friend Moni. The layout is almost identical, unless I’m mis-remembering it, and the decor looks like very much the same. The dining room was different, though. It seems smaller, and the tables are round. When we last cruised it was at a table for eight, with our four table mates turning out to be lovely people from California. Two straight couples, one with a lesbian daughter who’d gotten married during the brief window when it was legal in California. Barack Obama was elected while we were on the cruise, and Prop 8 passed. Imagine all that while you’re taking a cruise! We did a quick tour of the gym and the spa, where Frank signed us up for some spa treats. The guy who led the muster drill was a delightfully and obviously gay man from Britain. The cruise, as usual, has a wide variety of people on it, and, come to think of it, almost no children. Not that I mind children . . . I promised myself I’d take advantage of all the activities the ship offers this time, instead of spending my nights in the casino. I want to take a gaming class today so I can learn to do something in Atlantic City besides play penny slot machines. The LGBT group (listed in the day’s program as “GLBT” – go figure) meets at 4 pm. Plus the gym after breakfast, working on my short story re-write, and reading, reading, reading. It’s a cruise! We don’t pull into Grand Turk until Tuesday, so I have nothing to do until then except hurry up and relax, which is really the point.]]>