Cruise Line Reverses Ban on Drag for Drag-Themed Sailing
By CLIFF DUNN
MIAMI — When the Carnival ship Glory set sail on Sunday, December 2, it did so with a full complement of drag-bedecked passengers, a sight that wasn’t by any means assured less than a week earlier, before the Miami-based cruise line backed away from its controversial decision last week prohibiting drag attire from being worn on a drag-themed cruise.
With stops scheduled in Nassau, St. John, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Turks and Caicos, the “Drag Stars at Sea” cruise will include performances by more than 30 drag performers—including Latrice Royale and Sharon Needles—from LOGO television’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
In an apologetic letter posted on the cruise line’s Facebook page to customers, Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill said that a miscommunication between cruise organizer Al and Chuck Travel and the cruise line resulted in an email that banned cross-dressing during the Glory sailing.
“Anyone who wishes to dress in drag may do so,” Cahill’s letter reads. The cruise line is also offering full refunds for passengers who want to cancel their trips “for any reason,” along with “reimbursement for any non-refundable travel related expenses.”
That tone stood in sharp contrast to the email sent last week by Vicky Ray, Carnival Cruise Lines’ Vice President of Guest Services, to Glory passengers, advising them that, “Arrangements have been made for drag performances in the main theater featuring stars from LOGO TV. These functions will be private and only the performers are permitted to dress in drag while in the theater. Guests are not allowed to dress in drag for the performances or in public areas at any time during the cruise [emphasis added].”
Ray added, “We’re sorry to say that any guest who violates our policies and/or whose behavior affects the comfort and enjoyment of other guests, will be disembarked at their own expense and no refund will be given.”
Standing by the cruise line, sailing organizer Al and Chuck Travel said the no-drag-policy was based upon terrorism concerns. “Carnival’s ‘no costumes rule’ is NOT meant to be an insult to the gay community,” the president of the agency, Al Ferguson, wrote on Al and Chuck Travel’s Facebook page. “It is in response to the post-9/11 world we live in. It is meant to protect passengers and guests – NOT to marginalize a few.”
(This explanation failed to account for the untold number of post-9/11 Halloween costume cruises the cruise line has sponsored in the decade since the September 11 terrorist attacks.)
Ferguson requested that gay passengers “use this opportunity to set an example so that all the world can see that the [LGBT] community can follow rules and regulations just like everyone else.”
On Al and Chuck’s Facebook page, one post reads, “And what about your comments telling the people on the cruise that we shoudl [sic] just bend over and take it? You guys made a big mistake. Instead of fighting for the right to be included, you did nothing but give excuses. Shame on you.”
“People are letting Carnival off easy. So they will allowed Drag this one time. That doesn’t change their policy,” another commented.
Another advised, “I recommend retracting your ‘Like’ for this business.”
By way of explanation, in his apology letter, Carnival CEO Cahill noted that the cruise line had no idea actual drag queens would be among the passengers for an advertised drag-cruise. “When the group was presented to us we were advised that only the performers would be dressed in drag during the private events,” Cahill wrote.
