2008 HIV Cruise

[Guest guest]

We were able to raise $6500 for HIV non profits in 2007

This is 's email about 2008's cruise:

Happy Holidays To One and All,I am so pleased to announce that we have decided which ship we will be sailing in 2008. It took me this long to get the number of cabins that I think we will require. I had to promise my first born (yeah like that will happen).Ta Da! It is now official that we will be sailing on the brand new Crown Princess which will be 2 years old when we are on it. Yes, it is a Halloween cruise (yeah!).It will sail roundtrip from Ft Lauderdale with stops in the very lovely and relaxing Princess Cays, St Marteen which is half French and half Dutch, St known for world class shopping and snorkel nearby, and finally in the very charming and unspoiled island of Grand Turk which is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands.Our inside cabin rates start at $733 with all taxes included while the Carnival cruise would have cost $734. We will have ship board credits and parties.For those of you who are novices to cruises Princess is a far superior line than Carnival. The food, service, entertainment and cabins are much better. In fact Princess is rated within the top 3 cruise lines with large ships (over 1000 passengers) by both Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure magazines.I did the very best I could and think we've got a great option that allows us to sail on a superior cruise line, sail roundtrip from Ft Lauderdale, and sail over Halloween.As you know, we decided that the gay and straight groups will have separate activities with one cocktail party in common. The site for gay men is www.hivcruise.com which is essentially done. The site for our heterosexual guests is www.positivecruise.com . This one needs a little more work as I have yet to add photos and info on our new hostess.I am ready to accept reservations at any time, however.Thanks so much for support!Big Hugs, Stalbaum***********************************************************************

This article was written by one of the guys who went on this year's cruise...

An Unforgettable Week at Sea With the Poz Cruise Retreat

The idea of 220 men and women from all over the country joining together on a cruise ship based solely on their HIV status is really a grand experiment, when you think about it. A student of human sexuality could come on one of these cruises and leave with enough data for a fantastic doctoral thesis. For me, as a participant, it was exhilarating, uplifting, and just plain fun. One great example: not caring whether people were noticing my facial wasting for a solid week felt fantastic!

No matter how far one had to travel to get to Miami, that old adage about anticipation being half the fun seemed to be true for everyone I talked to, and I know it was for me. (I thought coming from California would be a big deal, but there we came from everywhere including Hawaii and Canada.The evening before we set sail, our group coordinator hosted a pre-cruise party at one of South Beach’s art deco hotels where the group got a chance to meet and greet. There are some who have been returning for years, and many others, like me, were first-timers. This was a great way to break the ice. Our cruise was to sail to Grand Cayman, Belize, Honduras and Cozumel and the rates were very affordable (plus each person got $50.00 spending money back on the ship).

The cruise retreat is a great opportunity for anyone who is looking for a way to meet others. For those who would like to see the elimination of barriers in the poz community between those who identify as straight and gay, I can't think of a better place to see that happening right in front of you. Stalbaum who organized this group was faced with the need for people seeking hetero companionship (vs. gay companionship) to somewhat quickly identify each other, so a clever solution such as the various colored leis to signify sexual orientation at our first cocktail bash on the high seas seemed effective enough to me. The group is definitely diverse: some people are clearly quite well to do, and others are making the best of life despite some pretty serious disabilities and the limited income that often goes along with that. But we all had one thing in common, and despite that challenge (suggested code word for HIV for the week: “recipeâ€), we all made it to Miami, got on the Carnival Valor and spent seven days at sea together. The cruise is really all about reaffirming our lives as HIV+ people…heterosexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, asexual, person of color or not, older, younger, or of differing physical abilities amongst a ship full of folks looking to relax and have fun, which is what we did. Carnival bills itself as the cruise line with “fun ships,†and they do deliver! Our group just got lots more.

On board the ship, and staff presented a nice array of activities, including a good mix of informative presentations and light-hearted fare. Each participant received a “goodie bag,†loaded with thoughtful poz-friendly items such as vitamin and supplement samples and other goodies, all of which were great.

On the informational side, we had a presentation about the latest anti-HIV treatments available from Dr Wohlfieler, the leading South Florida HIV specialist, another from Vergel, a famous HIV advocate and activist whose talk focused on quality of life issues, and a third Q & A session with the two of them together.

The “fun stuff†was extremely varied and there was something for everyone. “The Newlywed Game†(which was open to any couple in our group, really) was truly a high point. Five couples participated in an R rated version and were good sports about answering such questions as: which one of your physical characteristics would your partner rate a one on a 1-10 scale, and which would they rate a ten? At the conclusion of the game, the most touching moment in the entire week undoubtedly came when the male of the hetero couple produced a ring and proposed to his lady. (And she said yes!) Other “fun stuff†for our group on the ship included private cocktail parties, trivia games, a private movie screening, a talent show, and an intro to improvisational theater fun and games class. Plus our group had arranged private shore excursions exclusively for our group including snorkel, Mayan ruins tour and cave tubing in Belize.

Dinner time was always a special treat, since our group had all the tables reserved across the entire back of the dining room, and we were encouraged to table hop. One night I enjoyed dining with two gay couples from Cleveland, another evening with a straight group (from all over – Salt Lake City, even!), and with a bunch of guys from Florida another evening. Everyone would talk about the day they had had – shore excursions, shopping, soaking up local color in the ports - and what plans they had for the next day. There would be the occasional discussion of meds or treatment, but mostly it was just pleasant, civilized conversation. Of course most of us were indulging – maybe even over-indulging – in things like “off the diet†meals, liquor, gambling, but hey, we were on vacation after all, right? The sheer amount of joy we all shared came mostly from just being together, but many other nice things enhanced the experience.

Halloween happened on the ship and we had our own costume party with prizes. Naturally all the gay men went bananas, but our straight comrades did pretty well themselves with the costumes. It was like Mardi Gras at sea.The whole ship had a costume contest in the Ivanhoe Theater and a couple from our poz cruise retreat group – a gay couple dressed as Hansel and Gretel - won first place. (Second place was one of ours too, I believe – a condom-bedecked creation called “Rubber Tree,†which was a sight to behold. I’m pretty sure the guy who wore that costume was straight, incidentally.)

Many people, regardless of sero-status, have experienced irritation over the insistence in our society on divvying everything up into straight/gay terms, and this challenge can be daunting with our cruise bunch. Sheri Kaplan, who started this group in the late ten years ago, deserves praise and credit for initiating a Poz Hetero Cruise Retreat as a way for poz men and women to meet. Stalbaum joined forces with Sheri five years ago and the group became inclusive of people of both sexualities. There aren't lots of other places in our kooky world where these two subsets of human sexual behavior come together. , a gay travel agent in Florida, is a real whiz at the organizational aspects of pre-cruise planning and coordinates a well-executed and fantastic experience once the fun gets started.

One memory that stuck with me: on the bus from Belize City to visit Mayan ruins, we passed a wall with a mural that was about HIV/AIDS, which was a reminder that the virus is everywhere. For me, it was also a reminder of my good fortune to live in a country with the means to provide me with health care, the ability to have a good quality of life even with HIV, and for such luxuries as travel. I’m a long-term survivor with HIV (on meds since 1990) and lots of the other cruisers were too. We remember all too well when the virus was considered more or less a signal that it was time to get one’s affairs in order. Thankfully those days are behind us. A week like the one I had on this cruise reminds me that life is rich and full and when the good times roll it can be downright amazing.

Next year’s cruise promises to be even better many more people are expected. Since this year’s Halloween trip was so much fu it has been decided to once again sail over Halloween. Our ship will sail from Ft Lauderdale with stops at Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos), St , St Maarten and Princess Cays.

Next year’s sailing will actually have two separate groups but with some intermingling. Each sexuality group will have hosts or hostesses with many exclusive activities planned.

I encourage you to consider joining us in 2008. For more information please call at 800-735-0401 ext 241 or visit his two web sites. www.hivcruise is for the gay group while www.positivecruise.com is for the heterosexual group.

*********************************************************************

Regards, Vergelpowerusa dot orgSee AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter.