When you think of a cruise commercial, you think of an experience that is sold “for the whole family.” Parents drinking at a cheerful bar, kids playing in the pool, and everyone is happy. But, in the context of Pride Month, many members of the LGBTQ+ community have found enjoyment on “gay cruises,” designed specifically outside of the often heteronormative cruise experience.
And it is not new. Cruise operators that catered to gay and lesbian passengers were on the seas during the ’80s and ’90s, according to a timeline from IGLTA.
“When it first started, it was somewhat underground and they were definitely more in the charter side of things … where people could be together with members of their community and get away and be free from families or work, you know, be out, because the world was so different in the ’80s,” John Tanzella, president and CEO of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, said to USA TODAY.
“It was probably really hard to get a cruise line to take a gay group (in the early days),” Tanzella said.
Ships carrying LGBTQ+ passengers were sometimes turned away from ports, he added. By contrast, in today’s relatively less homophobic age, cruise lines are “going after the market.”
“You know, a port city might host a reception the night before the cruise departs, like going that extra mile to welcome the cruisers,” Tanzella said.
VACAYA is among some new companies catering to a sexually diverse audience, with an emphasis on the LGBTQ+ community and straight allies. The company launched its first trips in 2019.
“If you believe love is love, then you belong on a VACAYA vacation,” said Patrick Gunn, the company’s co-founder and CMO.
The company’s clientele is predominantly gay men, but 20% of the sailing’s guests were women.
VACAYA recently began giving out pronoun pins to help guests and staff use each other’s preferred pronouns while out on the ship. The company also offers a range of programming. Beyond drag shows and pool parties, the VACAYA has also held a makeup seminar geared toward nonbinary and transgender passengers.
“We believe in balance,” Gunn said. “So, we love a good party, don’t get me wrong, but we also love to wake up and go into port the next day.”
Unlike the cruises of “popular” imagination, trips on ships sponsored by VACAYA are serving a clientele hungry for something different.
