Of course not! We created LezCruise so that lesbians would feel more comfortable on cruises that were not women-only. But you don't have to be gay, or even a woman, to cruise with us. We do ask that you don't include yourself in the numbers, so that lesbians can get an accurate idea of how many other lesbians will be on board, but we believe in diversity. That means gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, straight, not so sure...

Our idea of "lesbian" is a pretty broad one - women who consider themselves lesbian or bi, trans women, women who aren't sure, etc.

Only if you want it to be. Some people will only want to appear as a number in the overall tally, and that is fine. Others might want to post a review or a comment on the blog - and if you use your name, then it will appear on the website. Of course, it's perfectly possible to post these things without using your name as well.

There are two ways to sign up for the newsletter. If all you want is to receive the newsletter, just enter your email address in the "Newsletter Signup" box in the top left corner of this page and then click on the "Submit" button. If you'd like to register as a LezCruise user, so that you can post cruises, then go to our Registration Page. During the registration process, make sure you check the box that asks if you'd like to receive the newsletter.

If you are already a registered user, and accidentally forgot to sign up for the newsletter, you can go to the "My Account" page, click on "Change My Profile," and then check the box that says "Please send me the LezCruise newsletter."

Well, we did have a forum, but it didn't get much use, so we discontinued it. We have found that people like to post cruises, receive our newsletter and read the blog, but there's not really much call, as yet, for participation. There is a nice Gay and Lesbian forum at Cruise Critic, though, and some of the users there are also users here, or at least have heard of us - so you could always post a cruise here and then go and talk about it there!

It's possible, but there are conditions and you'll have to work for it. If you can gather a group of 10 to 16 people who want to go on a particular cruise, you may be able to go for free as the tour conductor (this is sometimes referred to in the travel industry as a "Pied Piper").

We strongly recommend that you talk to your travel agent before you start gathering people, as tour conductor berths are not offered on every sailing, and the number of people you'll need to get varies by cruise line and other conditions.

A couple other things to bear in mind. The berth is free, but you still may be responsible for other charges, like port taxes, tips, booze, shore excursions, etc. As the tour conductor for your group, you'll be the liaison between the group and your travel agent during the "get your paperwork in order" phase before the cruise, and the liaison between the group and the cruise line personnel once the cruise is under way.

Microsoft Internet Explorer: To allow popups on a case-by-case basis, hold down the "Ctrl" key when you click on the link. To allow popups from LezCruise forever, click on "Tools/Popup Blocker/Popup Blocker Settings." In the Popup Blocker Settings box, type www.lezcruise.com in the "Address of web site to allow" box, and click "Add."

Mozilla Firefox: Click on "Tools/Options." In the Options box, click on the "Content" icon. On the "Block Popup Windows" line, click on the "Allowed Sites" button. Type www.lezcruise.com in the "Address of web site" textbox and click "Allow."

Both browsers will usually also tell you when a popup has been blocked, and give you some options for what to do, including allowing popups from the site you're on.