‘Cruise obsessed’ gay couple who got engaged, married and honeymooned on ships said they’ll never holiday on land again

A “cruise obsessed” gay couple who got engaged, married and honeymooned on board Princess Cruises ships have said “the beauty of travel is something that’s best shared” and they will never holiday on land again.

Elliot Adderley-Bateman, 29, a resourcing business partner, and Mark Adderley-Bateman, 31, an accountant, who live in Redditch, Worcestershire, met at a bar in Leicester on January 19 2019 after connecting on Tinder.

They took their first cruise together in July that year, travelling around the Mediterranean, and have now been on nine cruises, with four more in the pipeline.

The couple got engaged on Enchanted Princess on December 8 2021, married on Sky Princess on September 18 2023 – which was a “beautiful blur” – and they embarked on another Sky Princess cruise for their honeymoon in October 2023.

They have celebrated other milestones on cruises, such as Mark’s 30th birthday in 2022, when they travelled around Norway and the Norwegian Fjords, enjoying the “stunning scenery” and culture.

Elliot and Mark love how cruises allow them to explore multiple locations and ports in a safe environment – which is particularly important to them as an LGBT+ couple – and said “every day is a new adventure”.

The pair, who said they were “born to cruise, forced to work”, have set up an Instagram page with the name Cruising Gaze as they “love a pun”, and enjoy sharing their adventures and tips with 1,600 followers.

“We talk a lot about travel as being a gift and a joy that you share with one another,” Elliot told PA Real Life.

“It’s about making those memories with one another, and I think that’s one of the most important aspects that we always like to share.

“The beauty of travel is something that’s best shared, and making memories is far more important than anything else you can buy.”

Mark added: “We always say when we go on board a Princess ship in particular, we feel like we’re going home. We know what to expect, we know that we’re going to get a fantastic time.

“And as an LGBT couple, it’s a very safe space for us – it gives us an opportunity to dance together, hold hands, things that perhaps in some of the countries we’re visiting wouldn’t be allowed.

“It gives you an opportunity to see those beautiful places, but in a safe way.”

Before meeting Mark, Elliot had never been on a cruise – but now, after their many sailing adventures together, the couple said they “wouldn’t do a land holiday again”.

Describing themselves as a “Tinder success story”, Elliot and Mark took their first seven-night cruise together in July 2019, starting and finishing in Barcelona, and have never looked back.

It allowed them to spend uninterrupted “quality time with one another”, and it was something “exciting and completely different” for Elliot.

“For us, cruising is about spending time with one another. When we’re both so busy with work, we don’t necessarily get to spend that quality time together,” Elliot said.

“It’s just the perfect opportunity to watch the ocean, really relax, have a drink, and just watch the world go by.

“I think there’s something so beautiful about waking up in the morning and just seeing ocean. To me, that’s just amazing, it’s so serene and calming.”

In the following months, Elliot said he had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about wanting to get engaged, such as leaving wedding brochures on the coffee table for Mark to discover.

However, when it came to the proposal on December 8 2021, Mark and the Enchanted Princess team had planned everything so perfectly that Elliot had “no idea” it was coming.

The couple flew to Miami, getting “sloshed” on the plane, and once on board the ship, which was sailing around the Caribbean, Mark explained to the team that he would like to propose, and they helped make all the necessary arrangements.

On day nine of the trip, Mark told Elliot he would like to go for a cocktail before dinner to see the sunset, and Elliot recalls walking down the stairs and seeing a photographer on the empty aft.

Mark then got down on one knee and said: “I loved you yesterday, I love you today, and I’ll love you tomorrow. Will you marry me?”

They said the photographer captured the exact moment of the proposal, while the sun was setting, and from that day, they knew they wanted to get married on another Princess cruise to “continue the moment”.

The wedding, with a black and white theme, was held on Sky Princess on September 18 2023, in between Guernsey and La Rochelle, and the couple said the crew went above and beyond to ensure it was a memorable occasion.

The crew sprinkled petals down the aisle, arranged for violinists to play at the balcony party, and had even stopped in Italy on a previous cruise to buy the couple’s favourite Italian red wine, Valpolicella.

“I don’t even think words would do it justice,” Elliot said.

“We had an expectation in mind, we’d sailed with Princess a few times up to this point, but we had no idea how breathtaking it would actually be.

“It was just the most surreal but most beautiful experience. It’s such a beautiful thing, I think, marrying your soulmate at sea.”

Mark added: “The only word I can say is fantastic.

“We knew it was going to be good, but I don’t think we could have ever imagined what ‘good’ would look like in that circumstance.

“Details like the specially printed menu cards for the wedding breakfast table that had every guest’s name on it, and the way they coordinated it, so we didn’t see each other before we met at the altar, it was just wonderful.”

In October that year, the couple were back on a Sky Princess cruise for their Canary Islands honeymoon, and said they love how cruises allow them to wake up to a “new place every day”.

They typically enjoy relaxing by the pool or visiting the various restaurants and bars on the ship while experiencing the “best views”.

Although they do not know how much money they have spent in total on their trips, they see “cruises as great value for money”, and have made new friends and a lifetime of memories on their travels.

For anyone hesitant about going on a cruise, they said you should “try everything once”, and with the restaurants, bars and activities on offer – and the opportunity to see multiple locations – there is something for everyone.

“Part of the reason why we love cruising so much is every day is a new adventure, and I think, for us, that’s why we wouldn’t do a land holiday again,” Elliot said.

“A lot of people are surprised when we say that, that we haven’t done a land holiday in about five years. It’s just not something we would do because we love cruising so much.”

To find out more about Elliot and Mark and their cruise trips, search @cruising_gaze on Instagram.

For more information about Princess Cruises, visit: princess.com