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Get a taste of the area’s nautical lifestyle by cruising the Intracoastal Waterway on an old-fashioned paddle wheeler. Other options include hopping aboard one of the popular water taxis or Venetian gondolas that glide down the historic New River that flows right through town. Visitors will find world-class shopping on famous Las Olas Boulevard, celebrated restaurants and a cultural explosion in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District. We caught performances by old-school lesbian faves Suede, Diane Davidson and Sweet Baby Jai on the main stage and a late night Zoe Lewis show up in the Crow's Nest Lounge.
Welcome to PIED PIPER CRUISES!
Hotels, restaurants, shopping destinations and attractions are open and ready to welcome you. It’s easy to spend a day at the beach, with soft sands, beachfront promenades as well as beachfront shopping and dining. Lauderdale is sometimes called the Venice of America because of its many canals and waterways.
Riverboats ►
While you can find ocean and river cruise lines that welcome queer travelers with our guide, charter cruises are entirely focused on a full gay cruise experience. Cruising has long been one of the most LGBTQ-plus-friendly forms of travel. While almost all mainstream cruise lines cater to gay and lesbian travelers, there are also dedicated lesbian cruises and gay cruises for every taste and budget. At the beginning of our trip, the captain insisted "No drinking before snorkeling," which implies that, yes, drinking after snorkeling is A-OK and to be expected. A cute Aruban cabin boy acted as the onboard bartender as we moved toward the dock, pouring us really stiff rum punches.
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Pied Piper Cruises is the premier agency for LGBTQ group cruises, serving the LGBTQ community for over 32 years! You’ll have more fun and will never be alone when you are in the comfort of your own group environment. You can relax in knowing that Pied Piper will have it all arranged for you before you board your ship. All Pied Piper LGBTQ group cruises are subject to minimum participation. Beautiful Together – that is exactly how you will feel on an Olivia vacation. From the minute you step foot on your vacation, you’ll feel the joy of being with women from all walks of life – in all the beautiful shapes, sizes, ages, abilities and colors of the rainbow.
First Legal Same Sex Marriage at Sea
Gratuities are provided for your cabin steward, dining room steward, bus person, maître d’, and other-behind-the-scenes crew members. Tips to your local guides on excursions are not included and are recommended. Airports You will need to fly into Venice, Italy (VCE) and out of Rome, Italy (FCO). We encourage all guests to arrive at least one day early to avoid the stress of unexpected delays. From the moment you step on board the ms Nieuw Amsterdam you will recognize the Holland America Line difference. Each cruise sails with nearly one crew member for every two guests, providing the gracious, award-winning service that defines classic cruising.
'Women were able to be themselves for the first time': Inside the world's first lesbian travel brand - Euronews
'Women were able to be themselves for the first time': Inside the world's first lesbian travel brand.
Posted: Mon, 14 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Cruises
It's a private retreat exclusively for cruise ship passengers, so it was quite a thrill to transform it into our own private lesbian island. To step onto land with only women as far we could see was exciting; it was the first time that I could really feel Olivia's motto of "Feel Free." Dress how you like, do what you like, kiss whom you like, without a second thought. Cruise to St. Thomas and surround yourself with pristine beaches, excellent shopping and dining. It’s home to some of the Caribbean’s highest viewpoints, spectacularly positioned among verdant tropical foliage. And the island has got the hands-down coolest attraction in the region—an ice museum. Charlotte Amalie, the main town in St. Thomas, buzzes with activity.
It was the first of several times that week I would hear Cat Stevens' "Wild World" played on steel drums. This 12-night Vietnam and Cambodia Mekong River Cruise illuminates two very different cultures linked by one very famous river. Ensconced in one of 34 custom-designed suites aboard the Mekong Jewel, LGBTQ guests cruise from Cambodia’s Siem Reap to the capital of Phnom Penh, and on to Vietnam’s Long Khanh Island, Cu Lao Gieng, Sa Dec and Ho Chi Minh City. The journey includes a three-night stay in Siem Reap with a visit to UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat and a two-night stay in Ho Chi Minh City. VACAYA's only forthcoming big-ship cruise, this sailing roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale aboard Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Apex promises plenty of fun in the sun, with port calls in Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and sun-splashed Antigua.
Gay Cruises You Need to Know About (Listed by Company)
All Cruises, Riverboats, and Resorts feature an Olivia ship or resort take-over with signature programming and entertainment. You should definitely plan ahead for a day in Aruba, unless you really love casinos, souvenir shops, Louis Vuitton and tourist bars that play Jimmy Buffet. In which case, no need to plan, because you'll step onto shore, and all your dreams will have already come true. The cruise line's brochure boasted that the room had a tabletop "in-room water feature," which sounded ludicrously fancy, but it was slightly disappointing in reality and only worked for the first day. Other exciting perks were the fluffy bathrobes, the iPod dock and the flat screen TV with a menu of DVD's that we could have delivered to the room. St. Kitts, Martinique, Aruba, and Curacao offer plenty of fun in the sun -- and plenty of time to kick back and party, aboard or on-shore.
The panoramic suites of the Avalon Expression give you ringside seats to view castles, gardens and medieval city skylines. Charters work closely with the cruise line to develop itineraries, and they always bring aboard their own group of entertainers, musical guests and speakers. Major cruise lines that frequently host LGBTQ charter cruises include Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean, Uniworld, Azamara and Virgin Voyages.
Just when you’ve reached your fill of blues and greens, the bright red rooftops of the medieval Old Town come into view. The entire area has been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The charming streets of Old Town remain car free, filled with 12th century Baroque palaces and Romanesque churches.
Every ship takes part in the celebration that brings our crew and guests together to honor and celebrate Pride. Lunch was a carnivore-/vegan-friendly assortment of Caribbean salads, barbecued meats and veggie burgers. We were eating, shaded by covered picnic tables, fluffy feral chicks nibbling at our crumbs beneath the table, when Maebh's attention was piqued. It was a steel drum version of "Don't Stop Believin'," and what could be a more quintessential Caribbean cruise anthem?
All Olivia trips—whether big cruises and resorts, intimate riverboat and luxury trips, or off-the-beaten-track adventure tours—are created specifically for our community. We charter entire ships, resorts, and excursions so you can feel completely free to be you. We took the day as an opportunity to soak up the sunshine among our fellow travelers, no itinerary needed, and know we were in a for a week of girls-only good times. The beaches there look exactly like you'd expect a Caribbean postcard to look, with water so clear that you can see the scales of the fish swimming around your ankles.
We were booked on one of these celebratory cruises -- along with mainly women who have been fans of the record label and cruise company since the beginning. (Alas, my girlfriend Maebh and I were 6 and 4, respectively, when that first cruise set sail.) This wasn't just any ladies-only sailing -- it was a tribute to a history we hadn't lived. Small-ship cruising at its finest awaits 148 LGBTQ+ women on this Costa Rica and Panama cruise. Set sail for seven nights on the luxurious Wind Star, a four-mast sailing ship that feels just like a private yacht – nimble enough to nestle into secluded coves. Ports include Puerto Caldera, Quepos and Puerto Jimenez in Costa Rica; and Isla Parida, Fuerte Amador, the Panama Canal and Colon in Panama. Our 24-mile span of Fort Lauderdale's golden beaches await you.
Maebh and I joined other couples dancing in the aisles, and no matter what generation we identified with, this felt like our moment, all of "our" moment. The fitness facilities were impressive, with a good range of cardio and weight equipment in a spacious room with panoramic views. I'd be much more inspired to work out at home if my gym was this beautiful. I noticed the gym offered a few group fitness classes throughout the week, too, though we didn't attend any. It was essentially a big saltwater Jacuzzi in the center of the spa facility.
Olivia has had the pleasure of taking nearly 300,000 lesbians and LGBTQ+ women on trips across the world in the last 30 years. We’ve had adventures from the Arctic to the Caribbean, and countless stories to tell. Here’s what some of our incredible guests have to say about traveling with us. The Captain‘s blog will be a regularly updated blog posting by our cruise hosts.
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