World’s Only Floating Gay Film Festival Sets Sail In June

Some sun between films.

The third annual Pride of the Ocean film festival, the only LGBT film festival held aboard a cruise ship unspools on the high seas on the Celebrity Summit June 10-17, 2012 (from New York City to Bermuda and back).

This is a gay/lesbian group aboard a mainstream cruise. Organizers expect over 50 guests. According to John Scagliotti, organizer of the event:

“One of the most important missions of Pride of the Ocean is to increase visibility of the LGBTQ and Alliance Community.”

He continues, “For this reason, we choose to host our film festival aboard ships with a diverse group of passengers, so that we are able to do our part in putting out a positive, constructive, example of our community to society at large.”

Check here for trip details and for a line up of the films.

Miami Beach Gay Pride + Gay Cruise = A Whole Lotta Gay!

If you are looking for some great gay fun in the sun this spring, consider the Miami Beach Pride Cruise setting sail from Miami April 16 (through April 20), 2012 following the festivities of Miami Beach Gay Pride on Sunday, April 15.

The four-night, five-day cruise aboard the Norwegian Sky, is organized by Source Events with prices starting at $329 per person double occupancy plus taxes and fees.

According to the cruise organizers, “The event also represents an opportunity to “cruise for a cause” as a portion of all tickets sold through Source Events will be donated back to Miami Beach Gay Pride.”

Regarding Pride, In addition to the parade moving to Sunday, the expanded line-up of Pride activities will include a Thursday night kick-off party, Friday night block party along Lincoln Road, a Saturday pool party at the Surfcomber Hotel, a Saturday Voters’ Rally on the beach, a Saturday evening movie on the beach, a Saturday night VIP fundraising event and a Sunday night closing party after the parade and festival.

For more information about the cruise, click here.

For more information about Miami Beach Pride, click here.

High Seas Hijinx: We Can’t Even Cruise Straight

Actual guests on an Atlantis cruise

After a welcome but almost scarily mild (global warming?!) December, rigid weather gripped the Northeast just after New Years.

Of course, that propelled our thoughts to warm-weather getaways, including gay and lesbian cruise vacations. This season’s aqueous getaways range from the offbeat (scuba diving in the Republic of Palau with Undersea Expeditions) to the romantic (Danube riverboat excursion with RSVP Vacations) to the humungous and fun (the Caribbean with Atlantis Events).

Check out the websites of these companies and the following for this year’s line up of water-based fun including all-gay or all-lesbian charters and gay or lesbian groups on mainstream cruises:

• Alyson Adventures
• AquaFest
• Coda
• Concierge Travel
• Hanns Ebensten
• Olivia
• Pied Piper
• R Family Vacations
• Source Events
• Sweet

Glee Fans Rejoice: Idina Menzel to Perform on Atlantis

You may have seen her in the original productions of Wicked or Rent or in the uber-gay Glee. Now you can see her on board an Atlantis cruise!

The fabulous and talented Idina Menzel is scheduled to perform on Atlantis Events’ Allure of the Seas Caribbean cruise, January 29 through February 5, 2012.

This is the company’s biggest cruise ever with 5,400 passengers anticipated to make the journey which originates in Ft. Lauderdale and heads to a private island for some water-based shenanigans then over to two ports in Mexico.

Have a little extra time pre- or post-cruise? Check out some of our favorite guest houses, including the Royal Palms in Ft. Lauderdale and Island House Key West if your travels take you to America’s very own Caribbean islands. Both are popular gay men’s resorts that are stylish and fun places to meet other gay travelers. They also both offer bars and restaurants so you really don’t have to leave!

Sweet, Baby: Lesbian Cruises & Tours Galore in 2012

The alterna-Village People

Our gal pals at Sweet, a lesbian travel company creating fun land and sea vacations for gay women and their friends, have rolled out their 2012 vacation calendar. Kicking off February 17 with a three-day “Short & Sweet Bahamas Cruise” followed by a cruise to Alaska in May (see those glaciers before they melt!), a Mediterranean cruise in July, a rafting expedition later that month and finally a September resort vacation and a Caribbean cruise in November.  See the full line up here. (See previous coverage of this company, “Making Waves with Sweet,” here.)

Unique mission:

• One of the dirty secrets of travels is that to a large degree even the most eco-conscious travelers may not realize just how dirty their travel-related carbon footprint is. (Hint: Jet travel ain’t very green.) It’s good to know some travel companies are consciously trying to offset these effects.
• Click here to learn more about the Sweet’s mission which includes travel with social and environmental awareness.

It’s never too early to book your winter vacation, particularly cruises. Many of the best cabins on cruises  book up fast, for example, and you’ll want to monitor your favorite online travel search engines for good airfares. (I like Kayak.com which can be easily programmed to send alerts regarding best air fares to your chosen destinations.)

A freak Halloween snowstorm rattled the Northeast, reminding lesbian and gay travelers how cold, windy, dark and just dreary winters in these parts can be. Simply planning a warm-weather getaway can help get you through that.

Other resources for LGBT travelers seeking a nice warm-weather getaway include  Olivia (also for women), Atlantis Events (mostly for men), and RSVP (owned by Atlantis and also mostly for men). I’ve also started writing for an online vacation discounter called OffTo. They offer packages (accommodations, services and attractions but do not as of yet include air). Check it out here.

SOURCE EVENTS’ 10TH ANNIVERSARY GAY CRUISE WITH STRAIGHT ALLY

Source Events, the LGBT tour operator, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a cruise September 3-10, 2011 that will feature some prominent celebrity guests (above). We’re especially excited about the handsome straight athlete, Ben Cohen, who’s devoted much of his energy to anti-bullying efforts.

Of course Armistead Maupin is no slouch what with his new book Maryann in Autumn, nor is international photographer Paul Freeman. More info on the celebrities here.

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com.

Tour of the Week: Source Events 10th Anniversary Cruise

Sail from Rome to Venice September 3-10 with the great folks from Source Events on their 10th aniversary cruise aboard a luxurious, intimate five-masted, 617-foot long msy Wind Surf.

Source Events recently announced that world renowned novelist, Armistead Maupin, will be their featured guest speaker aboard the cruise.Armistead’s latest Tales of City book, Mary Ann in Autumn has received rave reviews, and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and Avenue Q writer Jeff Whitty have teamed up to produce Tales of the City into a Broadway musical, which premieres this May in San Francisco.

Miami Beach Gay Pride Cruise Aboard Norwegian Sky

From Ocean Drive to the ocean, Miami Beach Gay Pride is once again setting sail for “Pride Celebration at Sea,” Monday, April 18 through Friday, April 22, 2011 aboard Norwegian Sky.

The Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival — with grand marshall Andy Cohen from Bravo TV — is set for Saturday, April 16 along South Beach’s Ocean Drive, and this cruise is an ideal way to extend the magic of Pride for another five days at sea.  The event also represents an opportunity to “cruise for a cause,” as a portion of the tickets sold will be donated to Miami Beach Gay Pride.Prices for the Pride Cruise begin at just $479 per person, based on double occupancy.  For reservations or further information, visit www.SourceEvents.com/pridecruise or call (888) 768-7238. 

For more Miami, click here.

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com.

History is Made with World’s Largest Gay Cruise

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com

This is a shout out to all you guys and gals flocking this weekend to Miami to catch the world’s largest gay cruise in history. Atlantis Events, the largest tour operator specializing in gay cruises and resort vacations, has chartered the 5,400-passenger (yes, you read that right!) Allure of the Seas, which is longer than New York’s Chrysler building if it were laid on its side. The cruise has been sold out for many months. Not to fear, though, because Atlantis is chartering the Allure for another weeklong sailing adventure on January 29, 2012. You can book your spot on the 2012 cruise starting February 23, 2011. (Did we mention it was actually sold out?) Visit AtlantisEvents.com to book.

If your plans include an overnight stay in Miami, click on our Out Guide to that sunny south Florida city.

Tour of the Week: Pride of the Ocean

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com

The Pollin Group and After Stonewall Productions are pleased to announce their second cruise of Pride of the Ocean — a floating LGBT film festival.

Six festivals from Boston, Philadelphia, Long Island, Rhode Island, Vermont and Montreal will be presenting works on the Norwegian Gem when it sets sail from New York City on May 29, 2011.The Pride of the Ocean’s Program Director, John Scagliotti (creator the first LGBT TV series on PBS, In the Life , as well as the producer of the first gay film on PBS, BEFORE STONEWALL, will be collaborating with five festival directors. Each festival on board will have a special day on the cruise to present films.  They will also participate in a panel discussion with those on the cruise about the future of the LGBT film festival and what it might look like in five years