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HUGS EAST |
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Contacting Hugs East
HUGS
EAST
P.O.
Box 253
Mentor,
OH 44061-0253
(440)
974-8909
HUGSEAST.TRIPOD.COM
E-mail
your questions or comments to:
HUGSEAST@HOTMAIL.COM |
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of gay men. Since its first cruise in 1986, RSVP has
organized cruises and resort vacations in the Mexican Riviera, South
America, Thailand, Alaska, and Europe, hosting between 200 and 2,000
travelers each. Entertainment is a high priority, says RSVP director of
marketing Paul Figlmiller, with past celebrity guests including Armistead
Maupin, Harvey Fierstein, and Nell Carter having come aboard.
There are also discos and parties, although Figlmiller
cautions that recreational drugs are discouraged—it is not, he says, a
floating circuit party: “People shouldn’t fear that when they go on an RSVP
cruise it’s going to be like they’re locked in a gay bar for a week.”
First-timers often don’t know what to expect, he says, adding, “Younger
people tend to think it’s going to be all older people, and vice versa.
People who aren’t in shape are afraid it’s going to be all people who have
beautiful bodies, and vice versa. But it’s a total mix—and people don’t
expect that.”
Sean McElonan, 42, a flight attendant with 25 RSVP
vacations racked up so far, agrees that RSVP’s variety of people and
activities is a reason he keeps going back for more. In fact, McElonan has
formed a tight group of friends who have treated the vacations as annual
reunions for 15 years. “I have always had the best time,” he insists. “And
whatever you’re looking for, if you want to chill and be left by yourself,
if you’re out to party, if you want to meet people and form some great
friendships, that’s what it’s all about.”
Atlantis runs about nine vacations annually; upcoming
events range from a 3,000-person Las Vegas vacation to a 40-person Kenyan
safari. Like RSVP, Campbell says, Atlantis serves as many couples as
singles, although travelers “tend to be a little bit younger, a little bit
more urban-oriented.”
Olivia Cruises has traveled to Australia, Europe,
Israel, Egypt, and the Greek islands, typically with entertainers such as
Kate Clinton and Cris Williamson on board; upcoming trips are planned for
Scandinavia, the South Pacific, and Greece and Turkey. The company now
sponsors land tours and private resort vacations as well. All their
vacations are women-only.
(Continued on page 3) |
Unwrapping Package Vacations
In 1996 Jeanne LaFrantz, then a manager at a home
health agency, decided to treat herself to a vacation cruise. But soon after
setting off on their seafaring escape, she and her girlfriend discovered one
thing from back home they hadn’t escaped: homophobia. “They sat us at a
table by ourselves, and we were just kind of shunned by the other people on
the cruise,” LaFrantz recalls. “And most of the time I just felt a little
out of place.”
Then she found Olivia Cruises & Resorts, a
lesbian-exclusive vacation company. “There is no comparison [between Olivia
and the other company],” enthuses LaFrantz, who has since been on 10 Olivia
vacations. “Just being able to be free and out and not worry if someone was
looking at me—it was such a relaxed atmosphere. My whole circle of friends
started with Olivia.” Not just friends. In 1999, on her sixth Olivia outing,
LaFrantz met her current partner, Rhonda Lashbrook.
LaFrantz and Lashbrook aren’t the only ecstatic queer
vacationers out there. In recent years travel companies focusing on
gay-specific travel packages have proliferated. In addition to Olivia, two
gay-male–focused companies, RSVP Vacations and Atlantis Events, have perhaps
the highest media profile, while vacations including everything from
white-water rafting to intimate five-star comfort journeys are also being
offered by Above and Beyond, Toto Tours, Coda Tours, Alyson Adventures,
Gayjet, Q7C, Venture Out, Pride International, DavidTours [see page 39], and
other companies.
“Our repeat rate is unbelievable,” notes Rich Campbell,
president and founder of Atlantis Events, whose Web site even hosts a busy
alumni section. “That’s what we do: create communities, no matter how
artificial [the setting]—a cruise ship, resort, or safari.”
RSVP lays claim to being the oldest gay tour operator.
Having been harassed by locals while vacationing with his boyfriend, fed-up
RSVP founder Kevin Mossier looked into booking resorts and cruise ships
exclusively for groups
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