MikeMiaFL

Howdy folks, I was reading through this discussion and I felt compelled to join just to share what I know about Atlantis and this event. I have been on 10 Atlantis cruises through the years, my first being in 2001. I haven't sailed with Atlantis in almost a decade, as the parties became increasingly more wild, and frankly I got tired of all the medical emergencies. I was on Allure of The Seas when she was just months old, and the crowd on board basically trashed the ship. I will never forget the amount of times we heard "Alpha Alpha Alpha" on board, and before our first stop, hearing the Captain come on the PA system to tell us of the numerous drug overdoses on board. He was furious, and said anyone caught with drugs would be disembarked at the next port. Atlantis staff asked passengers not to dance on planters because they had destroyed everything in the Solarium. What a horrible trip. Then one day after getting back from St. Thomas, we were boarded by ATF with German Sheppard's and there was a huge drug bust. 22 people were arrested. I did one more Atlantis cruise after that and called it quits... I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In regards to having parties outdoors, etc., what many people seem to forget is that this is a gay cruise, and that means personal boundaries barely exist or are ignored completely by others. I have done podcasts and blog posts about this kind of interpersonal activity with gay men... as a member of the community, it's something that happens such regularity, it's very normal. With that being said, a gay cruise is much much more than people dancing on a dance floor... many are under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and so forget about social distancing... it's a very "intimate" experience for almost everyone on board. I'll leave it at that. So there's basically no such thing as social distancing... none. The photos you're seeing of the dance floor are in fact real, and current, and they are tame compared to what's being shared on Twitter. Yes, Atlantis basically takes over guest relations, and kind of runs the ship. Say goodbye to the customer service standards you would associate with RCCL, this people have attitudes. I was literally woken up and asked to move from my lounge chair during a photo shoot for Atlantis, where a very pretentious photographer pleaded with his friend to find him some hot guys for a brochure photo. When I became visibly upset because "I was on vacation and they were being paid.." I was told "If it makes you feel better, this is for the Atlantis brochure..." No, that actually made it worse. Atlantis cruises sell the same amount of alcohol as a "standard cruise" usually by Tuesday, and once we even ran out of bottled water. The event is a HUGE money maker for RCCL, and I've been told that employees have to bid to be on the ship because the tip money is outrageous. I have seen RCCL crew members cry the last night of the cruise, because apparently we treat them with respect, say "please" and "thank you" and know how to enjoy life. There are some aspects of these cruises that are truly amazing, however they have slowly been overshadowed by everything bad, and that just became too much for me to handle. As far as COVID goes, we all know how transmissible it is, even if you are vaccinated and boosted. We know that these folks are going to take whatever they caught back home with them, and we also know that passengers weren't tested before re-entering the US. There was a similar cruise the week before with a charter company called "Vacaya" on Celebrity Millennium, and 19 passengers were tested positive with COVID after some developed symptoms and contact tracing was conducted. My friend was on that ship, and he said you can't compare the party atmosphere on Atlantis... as he is also a former customer of theirs... in fact it's where I met him. So it's a complete mystery as to how many contracted this disease that I almost died from before vaccines were available. I do want to point out that Atlantis also discourages people from seeking any kind of drug related medical help from RCCL, and brings their own team on board, complete with a cabin number to call in the event you see an overdose. This is because RCCL has a zero tolerance policy for drug use on board and people don't want to be sent home. This of course creates a kind of "don't tell RCCL anything" mentality when it comes to feeling sick, etc. So yeah, everything you're seeing on social media is true, and is actually worse. Atlantis is known in the community for being over the top, and markets to the "circuit crowd" (rave party scene). There is also great tension within our community about this cruise, and what it means for a community that was almost wiped out by HIV only a few decades ago. There are many arguments on Twitter, many people like me that feel it's incredibly irresponsible for our community to be ignoring such an obvious health issue. I hope this sheds some light when thinking of this cruise in terms of a standard cruise, which it is far from.