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By KEVIN SPENCE
Friday, December 12, 2003
Tom DeLay, the House majority leader long associated with anti-gay rhetoric,
gave gay cruising — a burgeoning industry in New York — some unintentional
free publicity recently.
The Republican congressman from Texas was pushing for a plan to accommodate
visiting lawmakers aboard a cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, which was to have
been docked along the Hudson River during the Republican National Convention
next summer.
But after facing pressure from New York City officials who insisted that local
venues (on dry ground) be used instead, DeLay was forced to give up on his
plan. A spokesperson from Norwegian Dawn said in a statement that the use of
the ship was not commercially viable for DeLay’s intentions anyway.
As it turns out, DeLay’s featured cruise ship is the same one used to
deliver gay vacationers to destinations in Florida and the Bahamas. At least
two different vacation planning companies catering to gay men and lesbians
claim the Dawn among their vessels. One of the companies, R Family Vacations,
founded in part by Rosie O’Donnell, is the first of its kind that caters
to gay families.
But DeLay’s aborted plan did draw national attention to the rising number
of gay cruises that are using New York as their port of call.
“We’re bringing families in from all over the U.S.,’” said
Gregg Kaminsky, co-founder along with Kelli O’Donnell, Rosie’s
partner, of R Family Vacations. “We’ll have two host hotels in
Times Square and we’re offering pre-cruise packages. We felt New York
was a much more interesting port. Some have never been on a cruise, nor to
New York.”
Kaminsky has been arranging gay travel cruises for the past six years. When
one of his scheduled entertainers cancelled at the last minute, Rosie O’Donnell
suggested that she take the stage. “She [Rosie] was more comfortable
about coming out,” said Kaminsky, referring to O’Donnell’s
interview with Diane Sawyer. “She was blown away by the experience of
a gay cruise. When we were done she asked if anyone has ever done this same
concept for gay families.” Thus, R Family Vacations was born. Their inaugural
cruise is on July 11, 2004.
According to Kaminsky, Norwegian Cruise Lines “stood up for the gay
community” in 1997. After a government official from Grand Cayman asked
Norwegian officials not to dock there, Norwegian Cruise Lines responded by
seeking a port elsewhere, said Kaminsky.
“Gay cruises bring hundreds of thousands of dollars into every port.
Gay cruises also spend more per person; on average, they have a higher income
level. Even for on-board revenue, they [cruise lines] make almost double on
board, as compared to straight people,” said Kaminsky. It should come
as no surprise then, that gay cruises catering to singles, couples, lesbians
and those with children, is fast becoming a burgeoning business.
In the 1950s, said Executive Director Bob Sharak of Cruise Lines International
Association, passenger travel was more a mode of transportation than a vacationing
tool. Since the 1980s, he added, “we’ve had a healthy rate of growth.” The
cruise industry introduced 13 new ships this year alone.
Steven Rivellino, president of Eight Sea, Inc. which features specially tailored
cruises, has worked on cruise ships for more than 30 years. Today, he lectures
onboard ships with the Cunard, Seabourn and Crystal Cruise Lines.
Sharak also noted the increase of voyages leaving New York City. In 1994,
only 99 cruises sailed out of New York City, compared to 307 departing vessels
in 2003.
It wasn’t until 2003, when the first major gay cruise sailed from here,
that gay cruises from New York really started to take off. “RSVP kind
of started the gay cruise thing back in the 80s,” Rivellino said. “They
even purchased a small ship in the early 1990s, which sailed under a gay flag,
but that venture didn’t do well and they subsequently sold the vessel.”
Gay-themed events are popular on gay cruises. Entertainers like Gloria Gaynor
and other dance divas perform.
Those on cruises tailored for the single can enjoy excursions that are “very
cruisy. There is always lots of sex on the top decks at night, in the dark,” Rivellino
said.
Some of his experiences provide fodder for his upcoming book, “Mysterious
Place, Mysterious Dreams” (Xlibris), available in January. He delves
into the realities on life on board passenger ships — a behind-the-scenes
view of sex and personal relationships among the crew and passengers.
RSVP Vacations was the first company to serve gay travelers. “When I
first started,” he said, “we had 600 passengers a year,” said
Charlie Rounds, sales director.
Today, he said, RSVP accommodates 5,000 gay tourists. In 1986, RSVP became
the first company to charter a large ship. Now there are R. Family Vacations,
Olivia Vacations and Atlantis Events.
“There are probably gay groups on just about every major cruise line,” Rounds
said. Gay cruises leave from Boston, New York, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa,
Galveston, San Diego, Los Angeles and Vancouver.
RSVP offers three cruises a year in North America. There will also be three
Atlantis Events cruises in 2004: to the Caribbean, Hawaii, and the Greek Isles.
Altantis Events serves 12,000 guests on their all-gay cruises and in their
resorts.
“Our guests are there to have fun,” said Rounds, noting that there
had only been one anti-gay incident in 14 years. “We have a really good
on-board operation. It’s a lot more organized than a regular cruise.
Plus, we tip better — that helps.”
In January 2003, Olivia will host a Boston wedding ceremony for guests on their
Boston-to-Montreal cruise, July 3 to 10. “It’s a wedding and honeymoon
rolled into one,” said a spokesperson.
In her first-ever Olivia cruise, k.d. Lang will sing in two special concerts
for guests, stopping off in Provincetown along on the way. According to Amy
J. Errett, CEO of Olivia, founder Judy Dlugacz always felt as if she were closeted
while traveling. That’s why she decided to found an all-women’s
cruise line. Dlugacz wanted to offer an alternative for other like-minded women.
“She figured, ‘If I feel this way, aren’t other women feeling
this way, at a time when you want to be feeling most yourself?’” Errett
recounted. When Dlugacz started talking to cruise lines, “They were shocked
when she filled an entire cruise ship with vacationing lesbians.”
The size of the cruise helps determine the port of call. A cruise for 1,250
will venture to the Mexican Riviera. About 150 women will go to Tahiti. And
300 will undertake a voyage from Nice to Rome. (Atlantis also hosts all-women
cruises.)
“I think they’re great vacations, and we get tons of repeat business,” said
Everett, “90 percent come back, and bring friends.”
info@eighth.com
www.GayGroupCruises.com
www.rfamilyvacations.com
www.rsvp.net
www.atlantisevents.com
www.olivia.com
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