The New Queer Cruising: A Focus on Wine and Food

Adam Martindale started in the hospitality industry in England at the age 17, when he attended hotel & restaurant management college. He says he always wanted to work on cruise ships and applied to every cruise line possible. But Martindale received rejection letters from them all.

Two years later, in 1985, he was working in London as a management trainee when Carnival Cruises came to England to recruit for their Food and Beverage Management Training Program. Martindale interviewed and was hired. Ten years later, he had worked on 10 of their ships—four of which he brought out from the shipyard as Food and Beverage Director.

Martindale also worked for Norwegian Cruise Lines for four years and Oceania/Regent Cruise Lines for two years—all as Food & Beverage Director—as well as in hotels and resorts with Hilton, Loews and Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara.

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Today, he focuses on developing luxury cruise itineraries focusing on food and wine. We spoke with him about the cruise market for queer travelers—where it’s been and where he sees it evolving.

TP: Cruises for gay men have long been a staple of the LGBTQ travel scene. But how are they different today compared to a generation ago?

AM: I can definitely speak from firsthand experience, as I started working onboard cruise ships in 1985. It was extremely rare, if at all, that you saw gay couples on cruises from 1985 to 1995 when I worked onboard Carnival ships.

I went back to work for Norwegian Cruise Lines in 2005 and did start to notice some gay couples onboard at that time. I think over time, gay couples and/or the LGBTQ community, in general, have become much more comfortable going on “straight” cruises. Now, they don't have the feeling that they are “different” or unable to mix easily with everyone else onboard. LGBTQ groups on larger cruise ships have definitely gained popularity.

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TP: Are your cruises primarily aimed at gay men, or the whole LGBTQ community? What's the rough breakdown?

AM: I have two LGBTQ group cruises that I am promoting right now, one with “Meet Me On Board,” a community of 15,000 gay and lesbian cruisers, on the new Norwegian Bliss, sailing round-trip from Los Angeles on October 5

The other one is on the Oceania Riviera sailing from Rome to Venice on September 14, partnering with “Out In The Vineyard”an LGBTQ experiential Wine Country Event and Travel company.

Both cruises are aimed at the whole community. I have lesbian and gay couples as well as singles sailing on both cruises. Straight family members are also sailing on one of these cruises. It is around 90 percent gay men and 10 percent lesbians.

TP: What have been some of your more successful cruises, themes and ports?

AM: As far as LGBTQ, these are the first group cruises I am organizing. As far as other cruises, which have also attracted LGBTQ couples, my clients loved sailing the Pacific Coast where I organized private vineyard tours and meals in different ports of calls such as in Santa Barbara where we had private access to Happy Canyon Vineyard and the Chef at El Encanto served us an amazing lunch paired with wines from Santa Barbara on the patio overlooking the harbor.

I also created a private wine tour in Morocco from the port of Casablanca to the oldest winery in Morocco (no-one else on the ship was able to do this tour). I try to create unique experiences in the ports of call we visit.

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TP: Tell me about Meet Me On Board. How did you get involved with them? How did the idea of their first gay cruise come to fruition, and what will be special about it?

AM: I was originally one of their featured travel agents on their website. I started to see referrals coming to me and the conversation started about how we could partner together more and possibly arrange a group cruise.

After meeting Mark & Dale, owners of Meet Me On Board, in Phoenix, we spent some time brainstorming ideas and they decided to partner with me as the sole travel professional, which I was very happy about.

We chose the Bliss, as it is the first new ship to be on the West Coast for quite some time and put the group cruise together. The group cruise will be a smaller, more intimate group of around 40 people. We wanted this in the beginning. We have incorporated a private beach party with an open bar in Puerto Vallarta at Mantamar Beach Club, to be included in the group pricing.

TP: Can you talk a bit about the typical passengers on board?

AM: I would say the mix is 80 percent couples and 20 percent singles. The Norwegian Bliss appeals to the mass market and the Oceania Riviera will appeal to the more upscale traveler, although it is a great value as the price includes airfare to and from Europe. The clientele is mixed, many of them tired of the party cruises. Anyone looking to have fun with a mixed LGBTQ crowd, seeking unique experiences should consider joining our cruises. Look for more in 2019.