Pride at Sea

I love Celebrity Cruises for so many reasons. The understated elegance of their ships. The exceptional food and service. When I am on a Celebrity cruise I feel pampered. A Celebrity cruise is affordable luxury. But I also love Celebrity Cruises because of their commitment to the LGBT community. Their parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., was once again recognized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) with a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index. Celebrity Cruises was the presenting sponsor for Miami Beach Gay Pride for the second year in a row. And this year, for the second consecutive year, in honor of Pride month, Celebrity Cruises hosted the Largest Pride Party at Sea.

The Party

The Official Flag Raising Ceremony on board was the exciting beginning to the onboard pride festivities. The Cruise Director opened this Ceremony by reaffirming Celebrity Cruises’, and the ship’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and support of the LGBT community. The Cruise Director, along with other members of the senior management team on board, lead the symbolic raising of the flag. The Party had many fun activities including The Pride Parade. “I am so proud to work for Celebrity Cruises, a company that not only promotes and embraces such a diverse culture for our guests but our employees too. It has been exhilarating for me and the entertainment team to be able to produce and spearhead one of the biggest Pride parades and parties at sea” stated Dan France, Celebrity Summit’s Cruise Director. The Summit hosted Olympic medalist Adam Rippon for its party. Rippon, who is currently sailing onboard Celebrity Summit for the celebration, which took place at sea, said: “I’m honored to be an ambassador for Celebrity Cruises’ second annual Pride Party at Sea! It’s great to collaborate with a brand like Celebrity that is so dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community.” Celebrity Summit was this year’s flagship of the largest Pride Parade & Party at sea. “We are honored to welcome our special guest Adam Rippon. It will be an amazing week and one we will remember for a very long time” said Arjan Scheepers Celebrity Summit’s Hotel Director. The high energy Full Moon Pride Party was a perfect end to the day. The party was an immersive entertainment experience celebrating diversity, individuality, and the vitality and energy embodied in the Pride Flag. This party was held poolside and featured live musicians, DJs and pop up performances. Guests danced the night away in celebration of Pride.

More than a month: Every Week Onboard and Onshore

Onboard you will receive a warm welcome on every Celebrity ship every week of the year. Celebrity Cruises publishes a notice about the welcome gathering for LGBT guests in the daily program as well as on the event board. Celebrity Cruises’ staff have all been trained to be personal, genuine and knowledgeable. On shore, Celebrity Cruises has a strong commitment to the LGBT community including their employees. “As Dance Captain and a member of the LGBTQ community, one of my favorite things about working for Celebrity Cruises’ Productions is their commitment and pro-activeness towards the LGBTQ community worldwide” offered Casey Stolowski, Celebrity Summit’ s Dance Captain. Celebrity Cruises’ marketing features many couples, whether straight or gay, together mingling and having fun because that’s what happens aboard Celebrity Cruises – an inclusive environment where we all feel welcome.

What the Experts Say

Celebrity Cruises is the top choice for LGBT cruisers whether it is as a couple, part of an LGBT group cruise, or on an all LGBT cruise. We asked five LGBT travel experts why they choose Celebrity for their guests.

“We are proud to be a charter partner of Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity’s commitment to celebrating women, diversity and inclusion was an important deciding factor for us to charter the Celebrity Summit for our 45th Anniversary Cruise this year. We sail again on Celebrity Summit April 27 – May 5, 2019, for our Caribbean Islands, Bermuda and New York Cruise. We’re thrilled to be back with them again,” said Tisha Floratos-Silano, Olivia Travel’s Vice President of Travel & Business Operations.

"While we have strong relationships with all of our cruise line partners, one stands head and shoulders above the rest in regard to their progressive leadership in the LGBT community. And that's Celebrity Cruises. Ultimately, they made it a very easy choice for VACAYA in regard to our first cruise being on Celebrity Summit. We simply couldn't imagine a better fit. What's so inspiring is that they're not following trends or disingenuously engaging, they are tackling the challenges and opportunities head on and in a completely authentic way” said Randle Roper, CEO, VACAYA.

“This is what it looks like for a company to welcome our community!   Celebrity works with every major LGBT travel company, hosts multiple LGBT groups on board their entire fleet, offers same-sex weddings and celebrates with the biggest Pride celebration at sea.   To say they are gay-friendly is an understatement.   We look forward to many more R Family sailings aboard these cutting edge ships.  Our next LGBT group sails on the brand new “Celebrity Edge” featuring "infinite balcony" staterooms and the “Magic Carpet”.   We can’t wait” said Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli Carpenter, Founding Partners, R Family Vacations, 

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