Trans Vacationer Files Complaint Against Royal Caribbean

It was supposed to be fun on the high seas on the second annual Transgender Vacations' Caribbean cruise aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ship. That was until one guest alleged she was the recipient of a bartender's homophobic epithets.

Stephanie Land, founder of Transgender Vacations, based in Miami, Florida, on Monday filed a complaint with Royal Caribbean that included the guest's accusations about the November 8 incident. The vacationer, Sherry Donegan, had also contacted the Transgender Law Center on November 21, they told the Bay Area Reporter.

It was the most recent homophobic incident aboard Royal Caribbean. It follows on the heels of a gay man going overboard during one of the company's cruises allegedly after his husband and he were the recipients of anti-gay epithets from crewmembers two days before Transgender Vacations set sail.

Donegan, 44, a bisexual transgender woman from Fresno, was excited about her first-ever cruise and one where she was with other transgender and ally travelers. The group of 18 cruisers with Transgender Vacations set sail November 7 for a six-day cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas ship.

However, it wasn't the cruise of their dreams, especially for Donegan, who on the second night aboard the ship was told by a bartender, "We don't serve fags here," she recalled in an interview with the B.A.R.

"I said, 'Oh, you don't serve fags huh?'" she responded. "I was very surprised, especially coming from a large company as Royal Caribbean."

She immediately left the bar and reported the incident to guest services aboard the ship and to Land. They were told that a guest services representative would look into the incident.

Two days later a member of guest services appeared at Donegan's cabin door and informed her that the employee had been escorted off the ship in Cozumel, Mexico, where the ship called port, the two women said.

Land told the B.A.R. that a member of guest services had informed her that the employee had been fired.

Donegan, however, wasn't satisfied. She didn't believe Royal Caribbean, which last month received a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign's 2016 Corporate Equality Index for the second year in a row.

"I don't think that they did anything," said Donegan, who believes that Royal Caribbean is attempting to cover up crewmembers' alleged homophobia, alluding to the November 6 incident involving the gay man who went overboard after being the recipient of alleged anti-gay slurs from cruise staff. "I don't believe a word that Royal Caribbean is saying."

Royal Caribbean didn't respond to requests by email and phone for a statement by press time.

Two days before Transgender Vacations set sail aboard Royal Caribbean, Bernardo Albaz, also appearing in the media as Bernardo Elbaz, went overboard on a different ship operated by the company. The 35-year old gay man was on vacation aboard the Oasis of the Seas ship with his husband, Eric Albaz, when they were the recipients of anti-gay epithets, according to media reports.

The couple allegedly had a loud, drunken argument in their cabin following an alleged incident where crewmembers called them "lipstick" at a bar. Crewmembers were called to the couple's cabin and then they chased an allegedly intoxicated Bernardo out onto the deck where he got onto the other side of the banister.

Crewmembers reportedly attempted to rescue Bernardo after he fell over the seventh balcony before falling into the water about 92 miles from the Bahamas. Nearly a month later Bernardo's body still hasn't been found.

The Broward Sheriff's Office determined the case was a suicide following a domestic disturbance, but Bernardo's husband and family, along with their attorney Michael Winkleman, are vehemently denying that assessment.

In Donegan's case, it wasn't just the incident at the bar that bothered her. She also noticed things like their group being seated at a table in the back of the dining room.

"They put us at a table way, way in back of the room like we are little kids not being seen," said Donegan.

Land wasn't pleased either and spoke with the maitre d' who, she said, "apologized for the situation" and the situation was corrected.

Now home, Donegan would like to see the company partially refund the cost of her cruise due to being discriminated against and humiliated. She contacted the Transgender Law Center about her experience on the cruise in addition to submitting her letter of complaint about Royal Caribbean to Transgender Vacations.

"I just wish that people would stop discriminating against the LGBT community, especially trans," said Donegan. "They need to be more educated and open about it."

In response to an email from the B.A.R. , the Transgender Law Center declined to comment citing its confidentiality policy.

In the complaint Land filed November 30, obtained by the B.A.R. , the travel agent tells Royal Caribbean about the damage the incident did to her young company, because she assures guests that travel partners are vetted for an experience that is "safe and welcoming on-board," she wrote.

"This promise was not kept and TGV Holidays has been damaged, irreparably, by this incident," Land concluded in the complaint.

She requested a representative of the cruise line contact her to resolve the issue.

"I don't want to see this happen to anyone else ever again," said Land, who simply wants Royal Caribbean to make proactive changes regarding LGBT travelers, such as LGBT cultural sensitivity training for its staff.

For the time being, Land said she won't be using Royal Caribbean to host future Transgender Vacations trips. She's working with Anteros Cruise, a new luxury LGBT cruise line, to charter small ships so guests won't experience what Donegan and her other 17 guests saw during their trip.

Her goal, she said, is to "make sure that everyone will feel comfortable traveling and enjoy life."

Fortunately for Donegan, the incident didn't completely ruin her vacation.

"It was just fun. It was my very first cruise and I loved going in the pool," she said. "I loved going to the disco bar at night. I loved the shows going on at night. They had a lot of interesting demonstrations on the cruise so it was real fun,' said Donegan, adding that she would travel with Transgender Vacations again.