The Atlantis cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico that was scheduled for mid-March has been canceled–by Celebrity, not by the Atlantis management team.
In a Facebook post on March 13, a representative from Atlantis wrote, “all sailings are cancelled on all of their brands until April 11. Obviously, that means that our charter is officially not operating next week. We are very disappointed that the Covid-19 situation has caused this and will miss all of you next week.”
Before that decision by Celebrity Cruises, Atlantis had insisted on moving forward with the cruise, and suggested anyone who wanted to cancel their bookings do so with travel insurance, or Atlantis would consider refunds on a case-by-case basis due to each customer’s medical situation.
No mention of refunding customers was made in the Facebook post, although a large portion of Atlantis cruisers are repeat customers, so presumably credits to another cruise would be an appropriate resolution.
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Also in a move that is not a surprise, The Black Party in NYC has been canceled, courtesy of coronavirus.
A statement has not yet been released. But during a conversation with GayCities, a representative at Saint At Large, which produces The Black Party, said that they will continue to plan their other events during the year.
New York’s Gov. Cuomo issued wide-sweeping restrictions on daily life in the state, most notably a ban on any gathering of more than 500 people. This has led to the temporary closure of Broadway theaters, cancellation of conventions, and the cancellation of big nightlife events such as The Black Party.
The Black Party brings thousands of partygoers to New York each Spring. It is particularly popular with fans of the leather and kink scenes, which would have been a great excuse for attendees to wear sexy yet functional BDSM respirators and face masks.
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March and April usually have some of the biggest events on the gay party calendar, but The White Party and The Dinah in Palm Springs have both been canceled and rescheduled already.
It is always possible that New York’s coronavirus-related restrictions will be lifted early, depending on how current measures effect the spread of the virus. But as many of The Black Party’s attendees travel from outside of New York City, it is necessary to cancel the event based on the presumption that the restrictions will still be enforced in April.
