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Heterosexual couple booked on a gay cruise sues cruise line
So, you saved all your moneyFor a cruise with your honey,
And when you get there,
You notice something funny.
"It's not that there's anything wrong"
So they say,
But everyone else on your cruise ship is gay.
Yes, this happened. According to The Daily Mail, a heterosexual couple accidentally ended up on Italy's first gay cruise, and they are suing the cruise line for not informing them. "The middle-aged husband and wife, who have not been named, said they were embarrassed after spotting people they knew, but had not realised were gay, on the cruise," reports Nick Pisa.
Awkward!
Even if they hadn't spotted anyone they'd known, you would think Grimaldi Lines, the cruise line in question, would have been a little more careful -- especially with their first ever foray into this touchy niche.
The couple reportedly booked the cruise with loyalty points from their grocery store. I guess they didn't know it was that kind of grocery store. They're suing for £2,800.
Some are saying the couple is making a big deal out of nothing or calling them homophobic, but I think I'd sue, too. Anytime you are being put on a boat with a target audience, you should be informed. I would also sue if I unexpectedly ended up with my boyfriend on Italy's First Singles Cruise, Italy's First All-Nine-Inch-Nails-All-Day Cruise, or Italy's First Cruise for Twilight Fans (no offense to any aforementioned parties).
Basically, it's great to have cruises for niche markets, but in my opinion, you've got to be pretty aggressively upfront about it. People get sued for serving hot coffee, after all.
Gallery: The newest innovations in cruise ship entertainment
[via USAToday]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
chris. Oct 16th 2009 4:52PM
"Some are saying the couple is making a big deal out of nothing or calling them homophobic, but I think I'd sue, too. Anytime you are being put on a boat with a target audience, you should be informed."
sometimes it happens that things don't work out quite as you'd expected. this is called life. had the couple accepted this and had a laugh at it they could have had a blast on this cruise. what a great story to tell everyone on the cruise, to have a laugh over! it's sad that people have to freak out when something unexpected comes up. you can't always control what happens to you, so why not just go with whatever comes at you?
Zach Oct 16th 2009 5:43PM
Ignoring the fact that cruises are lame and straights and gays should have better taste than to go on one, this couple should have just embraced. Not to stereotype or nothing, but gays are a lot of fun to drink with.
Monipenny Oct 18th 2009 6:34PM
I would have just sat back and enjoyed the costume parties and dancing. ;)
Chris_ Oct 18th 2009 5:55PM
"People get sued for serving hot coffee, after all."
Ugh...an oft-repeated myth. http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2a7Kt7/www.citizen.org/print_article.cfm?ID=785/
Randy D Oct 18th 2009 6:09PM
Actually I wouldn't be too happy either, and would be looking for some form of reimbursement. Most likely I would settle for a free booking and the same deal I thought I had been signing up for, but I wouldn't just sit back and take it. I'm sorry, I have nothing against gay people, but I'm not gay and I don't want to go on a gay cruise, and if I end up on one, I want either to get my money back, or to have my cruise booking switched to something I want. Just like if I wound up on a rapper cruise, or a heavy metal fan cruise, or a ICP Juggalo cruise, I don't want to go on any of those, and if I end up on one because it wasn't made clear what type of cruise it was, then I want the situation corrected and to be either reimbursed, or rebooked on a different cruise.
Caitlin Oct 22nd 2009 2:44AM
The 'content' of a gay cruise would not necessarily be different, just the people on it. It sounds like this couple just didn't feel comfortable being around gay people. That's quite different from not wanting to hear heavy metal music.
Being gay or straight is about who you are. Liking heavy metal music or not is merely about your interests. Not wanting to associate with gay people is homophobia. Not wanting to listen to heavy metal music is just a musical preference.
Maybe I'm wrong and the 'content' of the cruise was also different - maybe there were lots of drag shows and stand-up comedians telling suggestive gay-oriented jokes. But if it's just the fact that they were embarrassed to be on a cruise with gay people and were suddenly experiencing being a minority, then I think they should get over it.
Hypothetically I would be cranky if I were a straight, single woman going on the cruise hoping to meet available men (or vice versa). But this couple were already married so presumably they were just there for a holiday. Unless they were secretly hoping for a bit of straight swinging? ;-)
I also don't see why they get to sue the cruise line under the cover of anonymity. If they truly believe this isn't about homophobia, they should have no problem with putting their names to it.
Tom Oct 18th 2009 7:02PM
I see by he last line that the author is one of those ignorant idiots who has no idea awhat hte McDonald's hot coffee case was all about. So let's eduicate hte ignorant....McDonalds ADMITTED that the store that was sued went against their own company SAFETY gudelines by heating their coffee to near boiling. They did this so they wouldn't have to throw as much away for being too cold. Coffee is not supposed to be anywehre NEAR boiling. People spill coffee on themsleves all the time. Most people who do so do not need MONTHS of surgeries and skin grafts to lead a semi-normal life. McDonalds ADMITTED liability the entire time. They went to court over the amount, not over whether or not they should pay.
The MCDonald's coffee incident is a perfect example of why civil lawsuits are SUPPOSED to exist. Yet morons who have no knowlege of the actual facts still whine like a bitch about it.
lolzmcgee Oct 18th 2009 10:01PM
You do realize the mcdonals case isn't the only one for a hot coffee incident.
You say ignorant, I say, look in the mirror.
As far as the gay cruise, I would just ask for a refund, and then sue for it if they did not give a refund. And then go on a hetero cruise if thats what they really want.
JohnMichael Oct 18th 2009 7:08PM
I went on a "general audience" cruise once there were a few gay folks (besides me) on this cruise. I found a great number of the cruise staff 'knew Dorothy' though. Why didn't those embarrassed non-gay cruisers just enjoy the fun and the food and the entertainment? And why didn't cruise line admit the error and send them on another one with "their kind"?
Sean Oct 18th 2009 7:59PM
My boyfriend and I are going on a straight cruise in February. Should I sue? I think it's nice that these people had an opportunity to experience what gay people experience everyday. A world full of straight people. We don't go around suing over it. Oh wait, yeah the gay marriage thing's a sensitive topic with us, and hate crime legislation, and...never mind, lol. Oh the straights, gotta love the double standard SOME of them have.
rcorrino Oct 19th 2009 7:31PM
You do know you are going on a cruise with predominantly striaght people right? Herin is the problem; this straight couple DID NOT know it was a Gay cruise. I would be pissed off if I were gay, planning a Disney Cruise with my partner and kids and I was booked in this cruise. Let's not play naive here, gay cruise implies things that are not meant for kids to see. Are some some things on singles cruises, Hedonism cruises etc. These two middle aged folk probably did not want to see these things as well.
What most of you don't get is this is not a gay vs. striaight issue. The issue is misrepresentation or lack thereof.
SkyRider Oct 18th 2009 8:02PM
And you think GAY is fun? Besides ruining a good word it ruins lots of lives too. Sky~
dwood Oct 18th 2009 8:27PM
ruins a lot of lives?? What exactly do you mean?
ShishKabob Oct 18th 2009 8:57PM
This suit is entirely justified. The couple did not pay for a niche market cruise, they wanted a general cruise. They did not get what they wanted and had to spend several days, presumably, on a cruise they did not want to be on.
Other niche market cruises I have heard of include boot camp cruises for overweight people, country music/hip hop themed cruises, the famous Los Angeles goth cruise, and cruises organized by regional centers for people with developmental disabilities.
The average person that did not specifically want to participate in one of these specialized cruises would feel mighty uncomfortable. I would probably kill everyone on the cruise if it had to do with country music.
Matt Oct 19th 2009 12:28AM
How is it justified?
Just because they were around gay people means they should get their money back?
They can still enjoy the cruise.
Jesus Oct 19th 2009 10:04AM
Skyrider might I ask which version of the Bible you're reading from? There are many, and a lot of them take a slightly different view to you. Quoting from the Bible, Corinthians and Leviticus particularly, to make generalised judgements about people isn't why the Bible was written. Stay on topic please, there's no point me returning to Earth if you lot haven't learned anything in the past 2000 or so years.
Isabel Oct 21st 2009 3:53PM
My husband and I once booked on what we thought was going to be a romantic steak dinner cruise in Mexico (just an evening thing) when on arrival we realised it was a 'pirates of the caribbean' themed thing involving attempts to photograph you with a cutlass in your mouth (refused), eating surf&turf at a bench with everyone else, ending with a staged fight between both boats. We had paid though so rather than moaning we took it in our stride.
You can sign me for a nine inch nails cruise though, although my husband would severely disagree!
tim Oct 19th 2009 5:02PM
anyone who agrees with this idiot couple is ridiculous. it boggles my mind that some how EVERY SINGLE other person on that cruise ship was well aware of what the cruise was about. how in the world is this one couple the only people on the ship to not be informed of what kind of cruise it as when every single other person was.
dillon Oct 22nd 2009 12:16AM
Erh, who did they book through? Loyalty points sounds like they should be going after the grocery store or whomever the store used to book them.
I don't know about the UK, but in the States it's almost impossible to book on to one of these specialty cruises, as you have to go through the agency that has created the cruise.
marian Nov 11th 2009 8:34PM
Last year when my husband and I went on our cruise, it was over run with singers. Quartet christian singers, It was a big big group of people who took over the lounges, the talent show, Kareoke you name it. But did it really bother us? NO we just found something else to do. I actually would have enjoyed it more if it had of been a gay cruise. My gay friends are SO MUCH FUN!!