I'm with you Joni, I thought the dog was fake too!  I was standing next to her, in the buffet line on Half Moon Cay, and still thought it was a fake dog.  My partner had to convince me that it was real.  Wild!  Whatever works I guess.  

As for the men on the cruise, I completely agree.  My family had their opinions about how an "all women cruise" is discriminatory against straight people and that it shouldn't be allowed.  It took a lot of restraint not to lay into them, but I finally got them to realize that the whole world is set up to be discriminatory against lesbians.  That us having our own space is no different than a baptist cruise, purple hat club, baseball summer camp, etc. It's a place for like-minded people to share an environment specifically for them.   

snort!

Holy ***!!..i seriously thought the dog was stuffed!!!..i saw it in pictures at the picture gallery and saw it on half moon cay...its tongue was always so far out of it's mouth that i sincerely thought it was a stuffed dog!!! 

First off - I absolutely don’t want any straight couples on my Olivia vacations either.  If I had been on that cruise I’d have been angry that my ‘feel free’ time had been taken away!  Whether you won the trip or paid for it – you still should be allowed your lesbian vacation!!!

We’ve been on a few excursions where they (HAL) were booking people from their other ships on the same excursion - we opted out & now they are suppose to let you know that it’s ‘not an exclusive Olivia excursion’ - then you can decide to do it or not!

I don’t know what happened in this incident - but I do know that there are ways to keep straight people off and still keep things legal.

I know Judy and many of those that work for Olivia - and don’t believe that they would have just let this happen for no reason at all.  Judy and Olivia has fought long and hard the have vacations for women & lesbians to let something come along and destroy all that!  And I know in Judy’s heart she wants it to be exclusive to women & lesbians!

Maybe the guy threatened to sue - and being Olivia just came out the other side of a major lawsuit - did not want to go through the legal $hit again.

But, now that all 2 for 1s and discounts will be given away while you're on the cruise or at the resorts - it shouldn't happen again.

So … if you promise not to chop my head off … 

I’ll try and find out what truly happened.  And if I still have a head … I’ll let you all know!

 

The good in all this …

look at all the new wonderful/great/forever friends Olivia provided the occasion where you all met!!! 

were I the cruise company I would have handled it this way

"I want to let you know today is your lucky day. While you won a very basic room on this cruise, we are going to send you on a cruise you will like better with a room upgrade. The reason is, this cruise would wind up being uncomfortable for you. All facilities, such as the workout room, the bathrooms, and all excursions are women-only on this trip. Plus, we've promised a women only trip to those who booked and I am sure you will agree we dont want to let them down or cause discomfort for you to those who expected it....so while this is a small, ship we are putting you on a mega ship the same weekend with a room upgrade that has more facilities"

How do I know they could have done this? Holland America was offering megaships for 200 bucks the same month.

AND, just so everyone knows, they did also allow them men on the excursions too because we had the dudes on our excursions.

so, while some were 'shocked back into reality" when they hit land...we got it mid-vacation.

I dont complain about anything that might happen on a cruise before I have been, but I gotta say, this was frankly bizarre of Olivia to do.  And, since someone said the man is the one who entered ( I had wondered that) is'nt it odd for Olivia to email someone named Dave and go "hey Dave, you won an Olivia lesbian travel vacation! congrats!"

Legally, just so everyone knows, you can offer something of equal value or better and still keep this a women and adult only trip.

I won my cruise so I can't complain to Olivia, but I can say it makes a person think about paying an extra grand for an all lesbian and all adult vacation

just sayin

it's very clear on the entry form that it's a lesbian cruise. I also won that way...

It isn't about THEM minding that it's a lesbian cruise, it's about lesbians booking an all lesbian cruise. Apparently, it no longer is...and any man who would refuse a straight cruise that is equal, in order to go on this one, says something about why they shouldn't be there.

Who knew I would be sunbathing next to a dude on my lesbian cruise?

I won my trip but if I had paid, I must agree, I would have had more complaints. Olivia should have fought harder to ensure an all women's vacation in my opinion.  The staff is trained to be professional but you can't ensure that wheh you start letting straight men on a cruise who would rather be on a lesbian cruise than a straight cruise and wear shirts that say "this Butt's for YOU"....nice....

In my email "after the cruise" questionarre... I let them have it!!  I was so very angry about the lack of attention to that matter regarding a "Straight Couple" on our trip... mostly because I actually PAID to have a FEEL FREE experience for a week.... and I definetely did NOT receive that which was promised.  I am terribly sorry that Olivia made a mistake in giving away a trip to a man... NOT my problem.  What IS my problem is that now I will be forced in to  finding an alternative company to cruise/vacation with due to their negligence.  (I hate that...because this was becoming quite a habit for us.. my 5th trip coming up)  I am so upset over this.  What scares me, is that if HE tells his buddies...and they all are "welcome" onto an all women trip... then what do WE have???  REALITY... and I am slammed with that in my face 24/7 back home in "Good ole boy" SC!!!   NO thanks Judy.  You are obviously slipping, and need to step back and re-evaluate.   I am sure that him and his straight male friends got a real KICK out of our discomfort!!!  And I am sure that if he took pictures... they are all sitting around doing what straight men, that feel entitled to come on a lesbian trip do best!!!  STARE.

We asked him the same thing and he said that the only place he used the restroom was in their own cabin! 

where did the guy go to the restroom except his room?    

I was in the room next door to the dog.  I was surprised to but it sure was cute.

As far as the straight couples (2) on board, I talked to Judy about it because I was curious she said they won the trips and were offered a different cruise bought for them by olivia but both declined.  One of the couples had a little boy with them, he looked like he was 18 months old of something.  I saw him at half moon cay mostly. 

Teresa

We were in line for the dining room and overheard the straight couple (never found out there names) talking about how they happened to be on the cruise.  Apparently the gentlemen enters any and every contest that he can find online and they were actually one of the couples that won a free trip.  It wasn't until they received the travel documents, etc. that they realized what kind of cruise they would be going on.  They both said they didn't care one bit who else was on the cruise (more power to them for being comforatable with it I guess) and didn't want to pass up on the freebie.

I think she needed that dog to be with her; whatever it was for.  One day during the cruise, I was standing in line waiting for a burger and she comes up to me and ask if I'll do her a favor.  Before I could ask "what?", I was handed my burger.  She then said, "never mind; I was going to ask you to request an extra burger for my dog".  Maybe the next person in line got it for her; I don't know.

I'd also like to know what was up with the straight couple that was on the cruise; anybody hear anything about that? 

 

typically small dogs are used as "siezure alert dogs" for people who have seizures...or are diabetic...or are allergic to a food they may accidentally consume...the dogs can sense it before the people and yelp and get them to safety. These dogs cannot be refused anywhere, even restaurants and hotels.How do I know this? wellllllllllllllllllll, I saw one (seizure dog)  on tv and so now both of my dogs have seizure alert vests, patches, and badges I bought on ebay so I can take my dog to a hotel when I travel.

thinkin outside the box...

Id do anything for my doggies, but it seemed wrong to take them on the cruise.

primarily because they wouldn't know what the hell to do if anyone had a seizure but that's just between you and me.

dogs used for things like anxiety and lesser levels of service can be refused, but medical dogs cannot according the the american disabilities act...they cannot even question it.

 

That was an amazing 'Service Dog'. Despite it's tiny stature, it was there to alert his owner. Some dogs are used a guide dogs, hearing dogs, or alert dogs. I know of a woman who has a service cat who can sense when she is about to have a seizure and alert her b\efore it happens. Only dogs that are certified as service dogs are allowed on the ship.

What was the deal with the dog that was on board?  We love dogs, just wondering how one got on as a "guest"....