R Family Vacations
| LGBT travel | |
| Industry | LGBT tourism |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Nyack, New York, USA |
|
Key people
|
Gregg Kaminsky (co-founder) Kelli O'Donnell (co-founder) Rosie O'Donnell (creative input) |
| Products | all-inclusive cruise-ship-based vacations, events, related products |
| Website | Official website |
R Family Vacations is a LGBT vacation entertainment company that provides luxury cruise ship trips with a focus on inclusive activities for children and services including same-sex marriage ceremonies.
In 2003, Rosie O'Donnell and her then partner Kelli Carpenter-O'Donnell partnered with travel entrepreneur Gregg Kaminsky to launch R Family Vacations catering to both gays and lesbians, "the very first all gay and lesbian family vacation packages" where "gays and lesbians can bring their kids, their friends, and their parents." O'Donnell is not involved on a day-to-day basis, but provides marketing and promotional advice. She came up with the idea for the company when she filled in as a last-minute replacement headliner on a gay cruise being promoted by Kaminsky.Kaminsky's partner is a business partner of O'Donnell's.
On July 11, 2004, the first cruise was held aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines's Norwegian Dawn with 1600 passengers including 600 children. By the third year, the cruise was selling out to a maximum capacity of 2,600 passengers. In addition to traditional entertainment and recreational activities, the company partnered with Provincetown’s Family Pride, a 25-year-old Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for GLBT families, to host discussions on "adoption, insemination, surrogacy, and everything else that would be helpful to gay parenting. Metropolitan Community Church, the predominantly GLBT Christian denomination, had clergy on board to perform wedding ceremonies and conduct interfaith services and there was also discussion groups for kids and a panel discussion where teens could share their experiences of growing up with gay and lesbian parents.
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Wikipedia