I spent 10 days on one of Europe's biggest 'all-gay' cruises for $3,000. Here's what it was like on the ship.

The all-gay cruise was loaded with friendly people and fun decorations.Gary Nunn

• I took a massive "all-gay" cruise with Atlantis on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas in August.
• The themed parties were a highlight and I loved the food and decorations on the ship.

In November 2021, I booked my first-ever cruise: An "all-gay" Atlantis tour around the Mediterranean via Royal Carribean. It would set sail in August 2022.

The 10-day cruise stopped throughout Italy, Turkey, and Greece.      Gary Nunn

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I was a bit overwhelmed by the cost, since I spent $3,000 on a shared room. The price didn't even include booze.

We did pay extra for a balcony.      Gary Nunn

With over 4,000 passengers — the majority of them being queer men — this boarding on the Odyssey of the Seas was one of Europe's biggest gay cruises.

The ship was massive.      Gary Nunn

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Within 48 hours of boarding, we had to get a negative COVID-19 test. I had an Italian breakfast while I nervously waited for my results.

I waited almost a year to go on this cruise and I didn't want to miss it.      Gary Nunn

Outside of the pharmacy, I saw a group of men happy dancing because they also got negative results— I immediately knew they were going on the same cruise.

My COVID-19 test was negative.      Gary Nunn

When I boarded, I used the Royal Caribbean's messaging service on its app for $20 — I could contact fellow passengers if I knew their full names.

The ship became our universe. It even had its own time zone.      Gary Nunn

I came prepared with my "business" cards, which are common on gay cruises. Many put their socials and room number on them to keep track of who they meet.

I got 100 printed, but probably only gave out about 30.      Gary Nunn

The first thing that stands out on all-gay cruises is the passengers' cabin doors. On an ordinary cruise they'd look like this:

A basic cruise has plain doors.      Gary Nunn

On an all-gay cruise, they look more like this:

My cabinmate persuaded me to have pics put on our door, too.      Gary Nunn

Or even like this. This guest was promoting his upcoming album.

One person promoted their music.      Gary Nunn

A lot of passengers bought whiteboards for their doors. Some people used them to write uplifting messages.

The whiteboards were handy.      Gary Nunn

Others used their doors to flirt or tell large groups where individual friends would be at certain times.

Our entire corridor was decorated with excited Aussies who were thrilled to be free after many months of border closures.      Gary Nunn

My own corridor left no guesses as to where my rambunctious group was from.

We made sure to bring signs and flags.      Gary Nunn

Of the almost 4,000 passengers aboard there were many nations represented and a lot of people I met were from the US or Australia.

Our hallway was proud of our roots.      Gary Nunn

I think my Aussie contingent contained one of the few lesbian couples aboard — we didn't meet many on the ship.

My friends made sure to decorate their door.      Gary Nunn

Our room was spacious and cleaned daily. It had a TV, lots of outlets, and an en suite.

Our room had plenty of space for us.      Gary Nunn

My cabinmate appreciated the room's ample drawer space — he used it to store his clothes and accessories for the ship's many themed parties.

These were for the parties on board.      Gary Nunn

We paid extra for a balcony room, which we totally didn't need. I was barely in the room for longer than 20 minutes.

I was either laying on the pool deck, enjoying the activities, or hanging in someone else's cabin!      Gary Nunn

But I guess we did find a use for the balcony.

We kept ours decorated.      Gary Nunn

The ship was filled with rainbow, pride-inspired decorations to celebrate the LGBTQ guests.

Colorful decorations were everywhere.      Gary Nunn

Even the food at the buffet was colorful.

Some of the food had a rainbow theme.      Gary Nunn

The ship jut kept impressing me. At one point, I saw a bar featuring robots that make cocktails.

The robot bar was awesome.      Gary Nunn

The buffet and main sit-down restaurant were included in our fare. Both had plenty of options so we didn't spend extra on food at other onboard eateries.

The dining room was massive.      Gary Nunn

The pool deck was huge and there was a covered solarium at the back, along with many hot tubs.

The hot tubs were popular.      Gary Nunn

The ship was so big that it wasn't always easy for our big group to stick together, but we did get ready for the parties as a squad.

This was one of our only daytime group shots on board      Gary Nunn

The parties are one of the most iconic parts of the sailing — there was a massive one basically every night and often after-parties that began around 5 a.m.

There was no dress code on board for any of the bars.      Gary Nunn

The first party was the dog-tag tea dance, where the color of your dog tag indicated how single you were.

My friends and I got ready together for the big parties in our rooms, which were next to each other.      Gary Nunn

Each party featured internationally renowned DJs, lighting shows, and a host of different venues like the pool deck, bumper-car track, or music hall.

The vibes were amazing.      Gary Nunn

Passengers went all out for themed parties. There were seven in 10 days, including a white party, neon party, and titans and tiaras party.

The atmosphere at the parties was electric.      Gary Nunn

Each party had specialized decor, bespoke lasers and lighting, and matching music and performances.

People really got into the themes with special costumes.      Gary Nunn

I've rarely witnessed an atmosphere more friendly or more fun. I went to many after-parties and missed out on some port time to recover the next morning.

Sometimes getting ready was half the fun.      Gary Nunn

Every day, the Cruise Compass newsletter was delivered to our room to tell us what other activities and events were happening on board.

Sometimes these had tips about our destinations.      Gary Nunn

Even if you didn't go to the parties, there were tons of nighttime activities to check out. I liked the drag shows, which included full live bands.

The drag shows had live music.      Gary Nunn

A showgirls spectacle had dozens of costume and set changes and Ginger Rogers-rivaling moves.

The costumes were so cool.      Gary Nunn

There was also a full-scale production — "The Book" — that used dance, song, and interactive screens to tell a story about the travails and rewards of reading fiction.

The visuals were amazing.      Gary Nunn

There was even "Airotic," a same-sex intimate acrobatics show. Many of my group found it unexpectedly moving.

The show got a well-deserved standing ovation.      Gary Nunn

Since you didn't have to book or pay extra for the night-time entertainment, I discretely popped in and out of shows. I saw at least seven.

I watched most shows all the way through.      Gary Nunn

The highlight was Todrick Hall's Femuline / Algorithm concert since I'm such a fan of him.

Todrick Hall even bought some of us to tears with his unique ballads of gay self-love.      Gary Nunn

I also surfed and skydived on the ship, though I ran out of time to rock climb, bungee jump, and play competitive sports.

The ship had its own rock-climbing wall.      Gary Nunn

I could've easily spent 10 days on the ship without getting off at the ports, and still not run out of free things to do.

I went skydiving on the ship.      Gary Nunn

Overall, taking this cruise was the best decision I ever made, albeit a very pricey one. It was totally worth the cost.

Looking back to the ship illuminated at night made me choke up.      Gary Nunn