Gay & Lesbian travellers

Ally · 01-21-2006, 01:06 PM

What specialised holidays are there? Which are the favourite places/countries?
Are there any problems associated with being gay/lesbian and how you are received at hotels, resorts etc?

Ally · 03-22-2006, 12:17 PM

Is there a 'recommended' list of reputable holiday companies, or not?

Ally · 03-23-2006, 03:12 AM

23rd March 2006

Quote:

On April 6, Home Box Office (HBO) will present ‘All Aboard! Rosie’s Family Cruise,’ a documentary feature film chronicling Rosie and Kelli’s O’Donnell’s first cruise for gay and lesbian families.

The documentary, shot on R Family Vacations’ charter of the Norwegian Dawn, was presented as a selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival where it had its world premiere in January.

R Family Vacations has chartered Norwegian Star this summer for an Alaska cruise and Norwegian Jewel next winter in the Caribbean. (SeaTrade)

Anyone here either on the original cruise, or booked on the future ones?

Ally · 04-08-2006, 08:22 AM

We have a cruise charter on QM2 on our 2007 itinerary section...

http://www.tripboards.com/showthread...4054#post14054

Ally · 04-13-2006, 02:22 AM

13th April 2006

Quote:

Within a week of each other, two of the leading gay and lesbian travel companies have announced charters of the world’s two largest cruise ships.

Atlantis Events chartered Royal Caribbean International’s Freedom of the Seas for an all-gay Caribbean cruise in January. Sailing from Miami, the Jan. 28 voyage will visit San Juan, St. Maarten and Labadee in seven nights.

Last week, RSVP Vacations announced its May trans-Atlantic voyage on Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2. Sailing from New York on May 29, 2007, the six-night crossing will end in Southampton.

Atlantis said its group will be the first charter of Freedom of the Seas. RSVP said its business will be Queen Mary 2’s first gay and lesbian charter.
(SeaTrade)

Ally · 05-02-2006, 06:59 AM

2nd May 2006

Quote:

Gay Cruise 1st time ever ex Australia

Peter Oxford from AllGayCruises.com.au is thrilled to announce the 1st ever NaviGAYtion event to operate out of Australia in 2007 on a large Cruise Ship for over 1800 gay passengers, which is already being hailed as the most innovative new travel event to come to the Australian Gay community.

NaviGAYtion departs Sydney on 29th March is guaranteed to be a stunning three night, fun filled, party cruise with the most exciting and diverse group of people on-board.

All gay cruise departures are very popular in the States with over 15,000 guests travelling annually and following on from the successful concepts offered by RSVP and Atlantis Events, AllGayCruises.com.au have secured advance booking rights on P&O's Pacific Sun. Peter Oxford hopes this cruise will be a sell-out with over 1800 passengers prior to the 30th June 2006 booking cut-off.

Testament to the pink dollar spending power he said the "Verandah deck cabins were sold in the first week out with a waiting list".

Prominent advertising in the Gay press and at many inner city establishments is creating quite a buzz amongst eager would-be cruisers. This is a great opportunity for the community to try cruising, especially those people who have been reluctant to book regular departure but always wanted to try the cruise experience, can now do this with other passengers from the gay community.

"Hundreds of people have already signed-up for this innovative trip of a lifetime" said Peter. Plans are well underway to secure a top DJ line up with fabulous Celebrity entertainment that will have the ship partying all weekend long.

For information on the Navigaytion event contact the promoters at AllGayCruises.com.au on 1300-88-0419, all travel bookings are made through MTA Travel (Tag 903) with your MTA consultant Peter Oxford and For further information email peter@allgaycruises.com.au or call 1300 880 419. (TravelMole)

Ally · 05-16-2006, 03:19 PM

Gay Travel Guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 16, 2006 — The editor of a new gay and lesbian travel guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia said he hopes the book will foster more acceptance of homosexuality — which is outlawed in two of the three conservative Southeast Asian nations.

The "Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia," launched in late April, is the first such guide for the three countries, said Utopia Guides editor John Goss.

"We are simply shining a light on an aspect of society that exists in every country around the globe, but one that has been mostly in the shadows here in Asia," Goss told The Associated Press via e-mail from the Thai capital, Bangkok, where Utopia Guides is based.

"I am hoping for positive repercussions (in the three countries)," Goss said. "The more that all aspects of human nature are discussed, the more at ease everyone becomes."

Unlike Malaysia, majority-Muslim Indonesia does not deem homosexuality punishable by jail, but it remains a sensitive topic. Islamic hard-liners in Jakarta have also carried out their own raids on events considered un-Islamic and once attempted to shut down a transvestite beauty pageant.

Singapore also outlaws homosexuality, saying it violates conservative Asian norms, but prosecutions are rare in the city-state and Malaysia.

Goss said Bangkok-based Utopia was careful to market its $28 guide as "a travel book."

"As the cover only has gentle references to the subject matter, it should be able to be sold without fanfare in even very uptight places," he said.

He did not directly respond to a query on whether the book will be sold in the three nations featured. However, the book can be ordered online, both from the publisher and from retail booksellers like Amazon.com, which lists Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia among its international shipping destinations. The book can also be downloaded for around a quarter of the cost of a hard copy.

Despite Malaysia's conservative stance on homosexuality, Utopia says it is has the "hottest gay scene going," based on surveys conducted from Singapore.

There are also hints on where to "cruise" — to hook up with other gays — and it lists enterprises owned by gays and ********. Massage and travel services are also highlighted, but venues fronting for prostitutes are not featured, he said.

"The intent of this particular guide, by grouping all these three countries together, is to encourage tourism and patronizing of gay-friendly businesses that are beginning to flourish in Southeast Asia," he said.

Utopia also prints gay and lesbian guides to China, Thailand, and one grouping Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

(ABC)

Ally · 06-06-2006, 07:01 AM

05 June, 2006

Gays and ******** invited to a wedding

The Canadian Tourism Commission has launched a campaign to make the country more of a Mecca for same-sex marriages.

Canada is one of the few countries in the world to extend full marriage equality to all people.

The ads are part of a gay and lesbian marketing campaign that also includes sponsorship of film festivals and other events.

Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto are already among the top destinations anywhere for gay and lesbian travelers.

Canada's gay-tourism leader, Montréal was voted the 8th most romantic travel destination by Gay.com.

Report by David Wilkening

(TravelMole)

Ally · 07-13-2006, 03:11 AM

13 July, 2006

NZ ski festival "second only to Sydney Mardi Gras"

Queenstown's Gay Ski Week had become one of the hottest international gay events in just four years and was second only to the famed Sydney Mardi Gras, ski week director Mike Sanford said yesterday.

A marketing deal worth thousands had been struck with Gaydar, the largest worldwide gay lifestyle and dating website, which meant bookings and inquiries had been flooding in for the September event, Mr Sanford said.

The week had been rebranded as the 42 Below Gay Ski Week NZ.

It was the realisation of a dream of making Gay Ski Week NZ a truly international event, he said.

New Zealand, and Queenstown in particular, was beaming into the homes of millions of gay men and women around the world as a top "gay-friendly" destination, he said.

"We're thrilled that in less than four years we're on the gay world map as a major gay event in Queenstown, New Zealand."

(TM)