ABOARD THE WORLD TRAVELLER -- For well-heeled LGBTQ+ travelers, sailing to exotic ports of call has often meant choosing a traditional cruise itinerary for their desired location.
For more of an LGBTQ+ experience, that generally meant planning with a group of friends to create a "mini queer cruise" within a cruise. However, over the years, a variety of tour companies have filled the need for fully LGBTQ+ luxury cruises across the globe -- and the segment is a growing one.
To learn more about this trend, my husband and I traveled this summer with Minnesota-based Brand g Vacations on an itinerary that included Italy, Croatia, Albania and Malta.
Our ship (or luxury yacht, as it was described) was Atlas Ocean Voyages' World Traveller, a stunningly designed vessel with a capacity of 196 passengers.
Brand g Vacations is known for river cruises as well as for chartering smaller luxury ocean ships like the World Traveller, and it has more recently moved into land expeditions, including three safaris scheduled for the next 13 months.
The passengers on our cruise were predominantly white, gay men, many of them in their 50s, 60s and 70s, including a fair number of retired folks. While I'd have loved to see more diversity in the crowd, I was pleased to see some lesbians and straight allies onboard.
The sophisticated Italian design of the cabins was bright and airy, with plenty of space; while ours was one of about 10% not to have a balcony, our motorized window opened whenever we wanted fresh ocean air.
What's more, not having a balcony meant a bit more cabin room. Other passengers mentioned they'd rarely used their balconies and how they would have appreciated the extra space in their cabins.
Guests listen to a guide during an excursion to Krka National Park in Croatia. Photo Credit: Paul J. Heney
Luxury vibe, less-visited ports
Our itinerary included stops in major ports like Venice and Dubrovnik, but it also offered less touristed spots, such as Sibenik, Croatia; Sarande, Albania; Gallipoli, Italy; and Valletta, Malta.
Some think of luxury as never having to worry about the little things, and staff from both Brand g Vacations and Atlas came through with flying colors.
Booking the cruise meant not having to think about anything else. Our voyage included airport pickup on arrival as well as transportation to our hotel after the cruise was over. It also covered 1GB of WiFi on the ship, daily excursions and alcohol onboard. To be sure, there were add-ons available -- some very premium liquors, a few optional longer excursions and pre- and post-cruise tours -- but we never felt pressured to upgrade, given the already high-end feel of everything.
Brian Van Wey, co-owner of Brand g Vacations, who was onboard our sailing, emphasized that the luxury experience starts well before the cruise begins.
"I pride ourselves on a high touch," he said. "When someone calls us or emails us, that's when your travel experience starts. I want that to be a great experience all the way, leading to building that excitement for the trip, and then obviously to deliver the experience. I think we're quite unique in that we have a staff of six -- and six people also host the trips.
"We're not a call center. Our guests are C-level [executives], and they're used to communicating at a certain level and hopefully our communication back to them matches that level."
Broadway star Levi Kreis performed aboard the cruise. Photo Credit: Paul J. Heney
Thoroughly entertained
One of my favorite things about the cruise was the onboard entertainment provided by Brand g Vacations. It clearly knows its passengers' tastes.
Ben David Papworth, a brilliant pianist, did plenty of early evening sing-alongs in the lounge as well as some music-themed trivia contests.
Each night after dinner we were treated to a rotating cast that included Australian singer and drag performer Trevor Ashley; Chicago-based songstress Meghan Murphy, a self-described "actor, singer, producer, redhead and badass"; and Broadway star Levi Kreis, a Tony Award winner for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in "Million Dollar Quartet." Kreis was even joined one evening by his husband, Jason Antone, a three-time Billboard-charting artist.
One evening included a Venetian-themed tea dance and masquerade party and another featured a party where all passengers were encouraged to wear red.
Passengers really got into the themed evenings, with some fully decked out in Venetian attire or sporting red wrestling singlets. And our onboard entertainers fully interacted with the guests during the day, even coming on the excursions with us.
The author (second from right) and onboard friends. Photo Credit: Paul J. Heney
Building camaraderie
I loved the fact that a couple of months before departure, all booked passengers were invited to a Facebook group for the sailing, which gave us a chance to get to know each other a bit before the cruise.
Prior to the sailing, most of the posts in the group were of people saying hello and talking about how excited they were for the cruise. That evolved into posts of photos in airports and on airplanes as guests made their way to Venice.
I took a photo as my husband and I prepared to board our flight to Venice for the cruise, and another couple who was on the same plane recognized us from Facebook group photos and came over to introduce themselves. So we were making connections before we even boarded the ship.