Olivia Cruises: All You Need to Know About Lesbian Cruises
"If you have never traveled with Olivia, please do yourself a favor and book a trip." "I believed vacations were about resting before I went to my first Olivia Resort. Now I know that you can rest when you're home and 4 hours is enough sleep! Olivia vacations make you want to wake up at 7am and go to sleep at 3am. You really don't want to miss a thing." "If you are a lesbian, there is no better way to travel than with Olivia! Thank you, Judy, for making this possible." Enjoy gatherings and special events for members of the military and beyond.
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Olivia Timeline: From Grassroots to World's Largest Lesbian Travel Company - San Francisco Bay Times - San Francisco Bay Times
Olivia Timeline: From Grassroots to World's Largest Lesbian Travel Company - San Francisco Bay Times.
Posted: Fri, 16 Sep 2016 07:49:30 GMT [source]
Here’s what some of our incredible guests have to say about traveling with us. Cruise to Turks and Caicos and experience the sugar-white sand, brilliant blue waters, and the kaleidoscopic sea life that is plentiful in the Caribbean paradise. Without hyperbole, this is one of the world’s most photogenic spots. T&C, as it is sometimes called, is the ultimate fantasy-island destination—the screen saver in all its glorious reality. Grand Turk, a jewel of an isle, is awesomely rich in natural wonders. Ringed by translucent warm waters teeming with coral and fish, this Turks and Caicos cruise is a bonanza for divers, snorkelers and anglers.
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All Bahama Islands are full of tropical wonders and sunkissed beaches. But Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s private island in the Bahamas is an absolute stunner. Half Moon Cay is the highest-rated Bahamas private island. It has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award consecutively for 20 years and garnered the best in Travel Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Awards. When you feel the sugar-white sand on your toes or see its brilliant blue lagoon, you’ll understand why cruise travelers love Half Moon Cay. True bucket-list excursions, secluded cabanas, and stunning beaches make it ideal for any type of vacation.
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The reception to a lesbian cruise company in the 1990s was mixed, to say the least. Initially, the word “lesbian” wasn’t even used in Olivia’s branding. “We had an understanding of how careful we needed to be to protect the women that were part of us,” says Dlugacz. For years, correspondence was delivered in plain brown wrappers. Many women traveling on Olivia’s cruises weren’t out at home. Finding a liner to host hundreds of lesbians was another challenge.
Olivia Records would make music by women, for women, keeping the money in the pockets of creators. Cruise to St. Thomas and surround yourself with pristine beaches, excellent shopping and dining. It’s home to some of the Caribbean’s highest viewpoints, spectacularly positioned among verdant tropical foliage. And the island has got the hands-down coolest attraction in the region—an ice museum. Charlotte Amalie, the main town in St. Thomas, buzzes with activity.
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While many people choose to book excursions at Half Moon Cay, it's also a stop where you can pretty happily wander around, dabble in different things and not feel like your day was wasted (unlike stops in some of the flashy, heavily populated tourist cities). Many visitors rave about the snorkeling there, and kayaking, horseback-riding and glass-bottom boat tours are also popular. Our fellow cruisers who went horseback-riding gave us mixed reviews, from "amazing" to "scary" -- the horses apparently wade in some pretty deep water.
Two glasses of wine, shared portions of pasta and salad, and two coffees came out to about $50 (and, yes -- everywhere in Aruba seems to accept dollars), roughly what we would have paid at home. The cruise line's brochure boasted that the room had a tabletop "in-room water feature," which sounded ludicrously fancy, but it was slightly disappointing in reality and only worked for the first day. Other exciting perks were the fluffy bathrobes, the iPod dock and the flat screen TV with a menu of DVD's that we could have delivered to the room.
Each cruise sails with nearly one crew member for every two guests, providing the gracious, award-winning service that defines classic cruising. "You guys are the best and we will continue to travel with the best travel company in the world." For the most up-to-date information on available, limited, or waitlist categories; or availability in our roomshare program, please call our Travel Consultants. Pricing does not include airfare, insurance, fuel surcharge, or nondiscountable amount (NDA). At the beginning of our trip, the captain insisted "No drinking before snorkeling," which implies that, yes, drinking after snorkeling is A-OK and to be expected.
We anchored early in the morning and took tenders to the island in groups of 50 or so, as the island is too small to have an actual port. We were greeted by a couple of sexy blond pirate girls who posed for photos as we approached the "village" of Half Moon Cay -- a small, faux-colonial array of buildings, including souvenir shops, a post office, a wedding chapel and a bar. It was the first of several times that week I would hear Cat Stevens' "Wild World" played on steel drums.
She recalls a heartwarming exchange with the captain when he – to reassure her – asked her where Sappho was from, the ancient poet having written of her love for women. “I hesitated,” says Dlugacz, “and he said, ‘The isle of Lesbos [from where the word “lesbian” is derived], and that is where I am from. Henrietta has now traveled six times with Olivia, the world’s first travel company for lesbians. For Row, the company takes away that “extra precaution” the couple otherwise has to take on holiday as a same-sex couple. “It’s relaxing, and that’s what a holiday should be – you shouldn’t be worrying about anything else,” she says. "I had such a wonderful time as a solo traveler on the Olivia cruise to Norway that I can't wait to go on the next one! The solos coordinators were so welcoming and kind that I felt more a part of a community than just a woman on vacation."
But Half Moon Cay, Holland America Line’s private island in the Bahamas is an absolute stunner. It has won Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Best Private Island award consecutively for 20 years and garnered the best in Travel Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Awards. When you feel the sugar-white sand on your toes or see its brilliant blue lagoon, you’ll understand why cruise travelers love Half Moon Cay. Beautiful Together – that is exactly how you will feel on an Olivia vacation. Our vacations are all lesbian and LGBTQ+ women all the time. From the minute you step foot on your vacation, you’ll feel the joy of being with women from all walks of life – in all the beautiful shapes, sizes, ages, abilities and colors of the rainbow.
You may be traveling solo, but you’re never alone on an Olivia vacation! Our Solos Coordinators make it easy for you to make new friends or even find that special someone. The final night's performers were the original Olivia artists, Meg Christian and Cris Williamson, who have been with the label since its very first release.
"We’ve made some wonderful and long-lasting friendships on Olivia trips. On virtually every trip we have connected with interesting women from every state in the U.S. and around the world. We love the feeling of safety and comfort we know we can count on." We caught performances by old-school lesbian faves Suede, Diane Davidson and Sweet Baby Jai on the main stage and a late night Zoe Lewis show up in the Crow's Nest Lounge. Lewis was one of the musical highlights of the week for me, with her jazzy, gypsy-ish performance that translated really well to a live bar show. We were bummed to miss ex-Ani DiFranco bandmate Julie Wolf, but there seemed to be at least one too many things going on at any given moment.
We charter entire ships, resorts, and excursions so you can feel completely free to be you. We took the day as an opportunity to soak up the sunshine among our fellow travelers, no itinerary needed, and know we were in a for a week of girls-only good times. No matter how many cruises you've been on, there's always something really magical about that first look across the blue sea and sky, and the feeling that you've actually arrived in the middle of nowhere -- except surrounded by lesbians, of course. The beaches there look exactly like you'd expect a Caribbean postcard to look, with water so clear that you can see the scales of the fish swimming around your ankles. If you really feel like indulging, consider renting a cabana or beach villa, though there are plenty of shady spots to sit in the sand for free along with the proletariat.
Then the boat sped off to a reef near the other end of the island. The boat had a section in front that was like a wide, flat lounge chair -- essentially a thick piece of mesh separating us from the water -- where we could relax and sunbathe on the trip. After we anchored, everyone was doled out flippers, masks, snorkels and life vests. I tried to jump in without my life vest and got scolded again. It was a little disappointing to have to wear a life vest the whole time, but we still got a great, up-close look at coral and rainbow-colored tropical fish. "It’s the best way to enjoy a great holiday. Meet different people from around the world. Olivia has an excellent staff who work with lots of love. Those of us who travel alone feel very comfortable and enjoy the fullest. Thanks for existing Olivia travel."
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