GET WET | Recent attendees on an RSVP cruise enjoyed Speedo weather in winter — as well as the fellowship of many other gay men.
Even though the ads for RSVP Vacations show a bevy of buff sexy men, decoratively oiled frolicking around pools, these cruises are not just for muscle boys and twinks — all ages and body types are welcome. “Sex sells,” admits RSVP president Jeff Gundvaldson, “so that is why our ads look like they do. However, our clientele looks the same as the general gay population.”
RSVP cruises are 100 percent gay (or gay-friendly, with tag-along friends and family). All are welcome — from those who like a non-stop party to those who appreciate a more sedate experience. There are high-tech dancefloors, but also mainstage shows, intimate piano bars and cabarets; costume parties usually punctuate the experience. You can eat in the main dining room or one of many other possibilities, such as smaller specialized restaurants or the ever-present and overloaded buffets. (Most of the ships that RSVP uses are from the Holland American line, well known for the high level of luxury that they offer.)
In fact, being on an RSVP cruise is much like visiting a concentrated version of a typical big city gayborhood on a Friday night: a variety of bars, restaurants and shops all within a few blocks. Only on the water. It’s nice to wear a Speedo and not feel out-of-place.
— Gregory Sullivan Isaacs
BEST LGBT CRUISE COMPANY
RSVP
800-328-7787
RSVPVacations.com
BEST TOUR OPERATOR
Funjet
888-558-6654
Funjet.com
BEST ONLINE TRAVEL SITE
BEST TRAVEL & CRUISE COMPANY
The Pauer Group
Call for an appointment
972-241-2000
ThePauerGroup.com
BEST AIRLINE
American Airlines
GAY BLOKES | London is a very gay-friendly city — and the locals even speak English (probably better than you).
Some sources say London is the most visited city in the world, so it follows that its welcoming reputation would translate to LGBT visitors. While SoHo is still the center of gay life in Olde London Towne, with G-A-Y the hottest club (three floors of frenzied dancing!), nearby Camden and Hampstead are also fun; Vauxhall is the place for after-hours entertainment. (When they say that you can “party ’til Tuesday,” then assume you started on Friday.) Many clubs are specialized (from bears to twinks), and guesthouses like the gay-owned Philbeach Hotel are in the eye of the action.
As a huge metropolitan city, there are tons of sights and attractions, from bar crawling to world-class museums to all the pomp and circumstance attendant to the changing of the guard. Now that’s something we totally get in international travel — who doesn’t want to go to a city where you might actually meet a real queen?
— Gregory Sullivan Isaacs
BEST INTERNATIONAL LGBT DESTINATION
London
BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY
Austin
BEST COUPLES ROMANTIC GETAWAY
Hawaii
BEST DOMESTIC LGBT DESTINATION
San Francisco
BEST SINGLES GET LAID DESTINATION
New Orleans
BEST SMARTPHONE TRAVEL APP
Kayak
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 16, 2012.
Sadly, the Philbeach Hotel in London closed in 2008, so a little better research and editing would make this a more credible article. It also doesn’t make sense to compare a huge corporation like FunJet with the several very fine small-group gay-owned and gay-friendly tour operators that give much more back to our community than Funjet does. If you want to recognize large corporations that are gay-friendly, you should have separate categories for them and for entrepreneurs who have spent decades customizing products for the LGBT community – and giving back to our community.