Posted on 07/13/2004 12:21:18 PM PDT by truthandlife
Ahoy, mateys, Rosie O'Donnell's going full steam ahead--her cruise line for gay and lesbian families has launched on its maiden voyage.
The first cruise of R Family Vacations, a new company backed by the comic and gay-rights advocate, set sail Sunday from New York for a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas. O'Donnell was on hand in Manhattan Sunday to celebrate the first of several gay family friendly vacations planned by R Family Vacations.
According to the R Family Website, the cruise is a seven-day adventure that will take its 2,100 passengers from New York to Florida to the Bahamas and back again aboard a chartered Norwegian Dawn ship. (Rosie will be receiving the key to the city of Key West for her efforts, when the boat docks there Wednesday.)
On-board activities include mini-camps, entertainment and discussion groups on adoption, artificial insemination, surrogacy and other topics of interest to gay parents or gay parents to be. Cruisers shelled out $999 to $15,000 for the maiden voyage.
R Family Vacations was founded by O'Donnell's partner, Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell (the two married in San Francisco in February and are parents to three adopted children and a daughter conceived via artificial insemination and delivered by Carpenter), and Gregg Kaminski, who formerly worked for the Atlantis gay travel agency.
R Family calls the cruise "truly the first of its kind. A home away from home where you can relax with your partner, your children, your nieces, nephews, grandchildren, parents or friends. It's 'R Family,' and that means a place where everyone is finally welcome."
O'Donnell, who has been hammered by the press in recent years for apparently straying from her Queen of Nice image since leaving her Emmy-winning daytime talk show, is getting props from the gay community for this recent venture.
"Rosie O'Donnell is very smart--as more gay families are getting more exposure, they've got a place where they can go," cruise-goer Jeff Harris told the New York Daily News before shoving off.
Up next for R Family: a series of other gay family friendly vacations, including small tours, ski vacations, fishing trips and safaris.
Why is it that the term "Whale-spotting cruise" leapt to mind?
Watch this business crash and burn too... this is just too small of a market.
What's her role on the ship- the anchor?
Hopefully, they will stay there.
It won't take long for this business venture to fail as well.
I wonder if straights are not allowed. (Not that I have a hankering).
Wow. Guess the Norwalk virus would be the least of the worries for anyone taking these cruises.
Yup. I give it 3 months.
gay or straight, why would anyone want to spend time with rosie.
homosexuality might be a mental disease but they aint that crazy
Wouldn't I just love to be a fly on the gate of heaven while this is being explained.
More like "R" Rated...
There will be a lot of loose tongues before this cruise is over...
I hope that boat gets a good cleaning after they are done.
thuper!
I'm not going there....
Here's one captain who won't have any difficulty finding the white whale.
Aw geesh!
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