March 11, 2004 -- With gay marriage both all the rage and the cause of all the rage, it seemed an opportune time to discuss gay cruises, which have been offered for years without causing irreparable harm to the American way of life.
A number of specialized travel agencies offer cruises for gay men and/or lesbians, either chartering a full ship outright or reserving blocks of cabins with cruise lines that are known to be particularly gay-friendly. Full-charters typically bring aboard their own entertainers (as well as the ship's usual entertainment staff) and program many of their own activities. Hosted group trips typically have cocktail parties for group members and specially programmed activities on board and in port.
- Friends of Dorothy Travel, 1177 California St. Ste. B, San Francisco, CA 94108-2231 (tel. 800/640-4918 or 415/864-1600; www.fodtravel.com), offers many full-gay charters with lines like Celebrity, NCL, and the ultra-luxe SeaDream Yachts, as well as hosted tours on Queen Mary 2 and other ships.
- Pied Piper Travel, 330 West 42nd St., Ste. 1804, New York, NY 10036 (tel. 800/874-7312 or 212/239-2412; www.piedpipertravel.com), offers hosted gay cruises that include various onboard parties and activities and arranged visits with the gay community at the various ports of call.
- Atlantis Events Inc., 8490 Sunset Blvd. Ste. 610, West Hollywood, CA 90069 (tel. 800/628-5268 or 310/659-4400; www.atlantisevents.com), offers all-gay charters with lines like Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and NCL. In addition to the lines' own entertainment, Atlantis brings aboard its own featured performers. Past guests have included Patti LuPone, Cybill Shepherd, and Chaka Khan.
- RSVP Vacations, 2535 25th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406 (tel. 800/328-7787 or 612/729-1113; www.rsvpvacations.com), offers full ship charters on lines like Holland America and Star Clippers. All sailings are targeted to both gay men and lesbians, and bring aboard their own guest performers.
- Olivia Cruises and Resorts, 4400 Market St., Oakland, CA 94608 (tel. 800/631-6277 or 510/655-0364; www.olivia.com), offers full-ship charters targeted specifically to the lesbian community, mostly aboard Holland America's ships. Guest performers for 2004 included k.d. lang and The Indigo Girls, plus the company's first lesbian film festival at sea.
- R Family Vacations, 2 Washington Ave., Nyack, NY 10960 (tel. 866/732-6822; www.rfamilyvacations.com), is a new company founded by Rosie O'Donnell and her partner Kelli, along with gay travel veteran Gregg Kaminsky. On July 11, the company is hosting the first ever gay and lesbian family cruise, offered aboard NCL's 2,224-passenger Norwegian Dawn, sailing from New York. Contrary to the reputation of some gay cruises, it's billed as one on which you can be comfortable taking your parents. Sorry, though, the captain won't be performing any marriage ceremonies onboard (we checked).
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