Olivia’s 50th cruise. (Photo courtesy Miki Vargas)

Olivia Travel — by and for lesbians — celebrates 50 years

JENNY BLOCK | Contributing Writer
jennyeblock@icloud.com

Judy Dlugacz, the founder of Olivia Travel (Olivia.com), is one of those remarkable kinds of women who sees a problem and can’t help but fix it — even when the solution seems, well, outrageous. In the early 1970s, Dlugacz noticed a problem that was as massive as it was challenging to fix: Women musicians — lesbian musicians — were simply not being recorded.

So, she did what she figured had to be done. She joined with other like-minded women and founded Olivia Records.

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It was 1973 and the undertaking was downright revolutionary. But if you know anything about Dlugacz, you know revolutions don’t scare her; they inspire her. So naturally, she didn’t stop there.

When supporters of the new label suggested it might be fun to not just have concerts but to have concerts at sea, Dlugacz booked a charter on a cruise ship. The supporters of Olivia Records signed on without question, and Olivia Travel was born.

Olivia is a travel company for lesbians and LGBTQ women. And the folks at Olivia are now celebrating 50 years of changing the way lesbians and LGBTQ women move through the world.

They have organized 300 trips for more than 350,000 women in those 50 years. From large cruises to small riverboats and from resorts to travel, they always make sure that the trip is for Olivia guests only, allowing for everyone there to feel safe and free.

It was in 1990 when it all kicked off with two back-to-back cruises to the Bahamas. This year, for its 50th Anniversary, Olivia honored its impressive beginnings with two back to back cruises, starting and ending in Fort Lauderdale with stops in Turks and Caicos, St. Thomas, San Juan, Puerto Rico and, of course, the Bahamas.

Olivia’s first cruise

Apart from being for LGBTQ women only, the thing that Olivia is best known for is its absolutely stellar entertainment offerings. They have kick-ass musicians, of course, as well as hysterical comedians and women who have changed history in every arena.

Entertainment on the 50th Anniversary cruises included musicians like long-time favorites Cris Williamson and original Olivia recording artists like Linda Tillery, Teresa Trull, Barbara Higbie, June Millington, Deidre McCalla, Dianne Davidson, Lucie Blue Tremblay and Tret Fure.

Sweet Baby J’ai, Julie Wolf, Zoë Lewis, Alyson Palmer, Shelley Doty, Kofy Brown, and Katie Cash also gave musical performances, and the dancers of the Sarah Bush Dance Project performed throughout the trips at various venues.

There were tons of other offerings as well — comedy from Karen Williams, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Elvira Kurt, Lisa Koch, Roxanna Ward and Vickie Shaw; dance parties with DJ Citizen Jane, DJ Christie James and DJ Rockaway; and special guests including Dr. Bonnie Morris and Irene Young and founding members of Olivia Records Judy Dlugacz, Jenna Woodul, Ginny Berson and Cris Williamson.

If you’ve ever traveled with Olivia, you know how incredible it is — the feelings of true freedom, of camaraderie, of acceptance, of joy, of, well, possibility. One woman who definitely understands that is Texas-based comedian Vickie Shaw who has been performing on Olivia trips for more than 20 years. So we asked her thoughts on the Olivia phenomenon:

Jenny Block: For LGBTQ women who have never traveled with Olivia and ask why should they, what would you tell them? And with all of the strides we have made as a community, is Olivia still even necessary? Vickie Shaw: There are many women in this United States who aren’t able to be out and are still the victims of discrimination, and can’t be comfortable sometimes in their own skin, whether it’s just being a lesbian, or being transgender, being a Black lesbian or being something that is just not the norm. It is still necessary, and it is still needed. It serves a purpose, and I hope they keep having continued success.

Yeah, they’re more expensive, but they offer something no one else can: their own entertainers [who] will entertain you for you. They bring their own staff. You don’t have to think of anything. You don’t have to be anything. … You just enjoy [and] be yourself.

Looking back over the years, what do you most marvel about? How do you account for Olivia’s success starting with Olivia Records? It’s all about the women that bought the albums, because no one had sung about a woman loving a woman. You had those women, and they ate it up. It was the only thing they heard that really touched their hearts. First you have women’s music festivals. Then, you had women’s music festivals on the water, and that touched a group. Then, the women’s music festivals then added comedy, and comedy brought in more things. You couldn’t have planned that. It was organic. I think that was it. It was just my feeling of awe, of watching this progression and knowing the people in the progression. It’s just mind-boggling to me.

What would you like to say to Olivia on their 50th anniversary? I would say I am so grateful for everything that you have given me over the years, that you’ve taught me over the years, that you’ve inspired me over the years. I am so grateful that you were here in my life, and, I hope, for many years to come. You will never know my gratitude, ever.