Which ships and which lines have gentlemen hosts on their cruises? Although no guarantees can be given, and policies appear to fluctuate from season to season (and even from sailing to sailing), it appears probable that the two biggest of the lower-cost lines - Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises - no longer do so. After all, they occupy cabins that could otherwise be sold to paying passengers. I can only guess that the recent upsurge in cruise bookings, and the sold-out nature of many cruises, have caused a number of cruise lines to regard gentlemen hosts as an unnecessary expense. On a phone-in radio program that I host, I received call after call from women - especially widows - telling me how much they appreciated the presence of gentlemen hosts on their recent cruises and how pleasant it was to have a partner with whom to dance. Even some of the lower-priced cruise lines made use of gentleman hosts, whose presence aboard the ship was generally appreciated by unaccompanied older women. Often, they accompany groups of mature or elderly women on optional excursions departing from port cities.Ī dozen or so years ago, the institution of the gentleman host received a great deal of press attention, probably because the cruise lines were not booked to capacity and had to use every wile to attract cruise passengers.

They cannot favor any particular woman with their attentions. Earlier, they have dinner at tables usually with four or five unaccompanied women, engaging in pleasant conversation on noncontroversial topics. The gentleman host dances with unaccompanied women, generally of senior age, and is expected to go immediately from dinner to the ship's ballroom and to stay there, asking women to dance throughout the evening.

An offer from gentleman