By Dina 

Hmm…can I be friends with Dorothy?  Who is this mysterious woman who seems to be on every cruise?   

Perhaps you have seen in the daily cruise program meetings for “Friends of Dorothy”.  Friends of Dorothy (FOD) meetings are informal gatherings for gay men and lesbian passengers to meet and talk.  But, please do not confuse this with “Friends of Bill W” meetings that are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings!

A FOD meeting is usually a very casual cocktail party at one of the ship's bars or public rooms, sometimes with hosted cocktails and champagne and a member of the ship's social staff to act as host.  The biggest complaint from frequent gay cruisers is that turnout is often sparse.  However, this is an excellent way to meet fellow gay travelers on board early in the cruise.

FOD meetings appear on some ships' daily programs but there is no guarantee these meetings will be listed.  The FOD meetings can vary greatly depending on the ship, itinerary, and cruise director. A ship may hold many FOD meetings one week but a new cruise director on the following week's cruise may opt to cancel them. Some cruise lines hold the FOD gatherings upon passenger request. 
The FOD meetings are usually held on one of the first sea days.  Therefore, if you do not see one in the cruise program, you can ask for a meeting to be listed by dropping a note to the cruise director or one of the social staff.  Shorter cruises and more port-intensive itineraries can affect the number of FOD meetings available to be scheduled.  Also some cruise lines are not as open to official FOD meetings while on other cruise lines it depends on the cruise director. 

Do you know how “Friends of Dorothy” meetings were originated?  The answer may lie “somewhere over the rainbow”.  E-mail your answer to dina@livefortodaytravel.com and if you are correct you will receive $50 off your next vacation package that you book for 3 nights or more. 

What has been your experience with FOD meetings or the best way to meet other gay men and lesbians on cruises?  Responses will be published in next week’s column!  Just click here to send a response: dina@livefortodaytravel.com