FOD? and Single cruising (w/ family)

I have two questions:

One: what does 'FOD' stand for (friends or dates' perhaps?? I've no idea)

Second: my family (judgemental Mom, open-minded dad, sister, bro-in-law, possible other in-laws) are planning a trip during Christmas, on Princess, possibly Carribean Princess (Eastern Carribean) or Star Princess (Western Carribean). I'm 27 yrs. old, and don't want to spend entire trip w/ homophobic fam. Any good 'gay' life on these cruises? Not looking for anything more than 'gay friendly' activities or nice guys to hang out with. Is one ship better than the other? Or should I just jump ship now (as I boycotted a similar fam trip two years ago) and stay home? Actually I'm more of an introvert and would enjoy the peace and time to myself (getting a single cabin at least, albeit inside). Just would be nice to know that there may be others on board. Any thoughts? (And yes, I realize that my second question was actually many questions!)

Thanks!

[Harry Martin]

BF, we have always found Princess to be very gay friendly, so that should make the trip better. And, FOD stands for Friends of Dorothy ... a sorta code for gay-get-togethers on board. You will sometimes see a gathering listed in the ship's newsletter.

Harry

[David and Larry]

Hi ...

You probably won't find a lot of "gay friendly" activities onboard. If you see guys in each others company every time you see them, you'll need to be a little aggressive and just try to say hello and make small talk ... maybe suggest getting together for drinks.

We try to pick a lounge onboard that we like, then as we meet guys during the week, we invite them to join us for drinks at that location. Sometimes there are 20 - 25 guys at "happy hour" each evening.

If you are planning this cruise for this holiday season though, I would suggest you get started soon as holiday sailings are among the most popular, and are already filling fast. Another word of caution ... school is out for the holidays, and there may be lots of kids, so if this bothers anybody in your party, pick another time ... like the week before Christmas or the week after New Years.