Broadway Hits the High Seas on the New Family Friendly Vacations for the Gay and Lesbian Community

Setting sail on July 11, 2004 from New York City on the Norwegian Dawn will be the first ever gay & lesbian family cruise. The boat also contains an 1,100 seat "Broadway-style" theater, which will feature an at-sea production of School House rock along with lots of other entertainment from some familiar names. The idea for R Family Cruises came about when founder Gregg Kaminsky was working for Atlantis Trips, and a big name entertainer cancelled on them at the last minute. "I asked Rosie for some suggestions and she suggested herself! She loved the experience on the gay cruise and asked if anyone ever did this for gay families. No one had so she told me 'Let's do it!'"

R Family Vacation born then and there, and Kaminsky left Atlantis Trips, where he produced 30 all gay vacations for them over a number of years. Gregg drew upon that experience, along with his own personal ideas to found R Family with Kelli O'Donnell.  Kelli, in the news recently for her San Francisco

wedding to Rosie O'Donnell, previously worked in marketing for Nickelodeon and having taken some time off to raise their children was ready to re-enter the work force. It was a partnership born out of friendship for Kaminsky which has only helped in forming the business. "I have been friends with them for a number of years now so I'm their friend first and business partner second. With that said, Rosie and Kelli are two of the brightest, driven, and generous people I could ever imagine working with. I'm a lucky man! Kelli works with me on a daily basis, and we have very similar personalities so it's very easy. Rosie has an endless supply of great ideas and always pushes you to think bigger and better. I'm sure that's why she's been so successful."

"I think the gay community is changing, because many of our having children. We're aging as a population and our needs are expanding. This is the first cruise to be marketed to both the gay and lesbian community and the first to allow and welcome children."

R Cruises differ from other gay and lesbian themed cruises because they're marketing to both gays and lesbians. The company is run by both, and their marketing and programming reflects that. "We're also producing something family friendly. You won't find all night dance parties on our cruise. We're focusing on more entertainment. It's going to be less of a cruise-y cruise."

The 2200 capacity Norwegian Dawn Cruise liner heads from NYC to Port Canaveral (near DisneyWorld – where the Cruise will stop for the day), Key West, a private island in the Bahamas and Nassau. There are also two sea days which they're packing with full fledged Broadway fun and entertainment.

Rosie O'Donnell oversees all of the entertainment aspects of the cruise, and has creative approval as well, so it's natural that Broadway talent will be involved. "Christine Ebersole is joining us to perform one of her very special cabaret shows. Also, Seth Rudetsky is busy creating a lineup of his Broadway friends to sing on the cruise. There will be an opening night production number created by Seth and choreographer Tim Albrecht and featuring Rosie and some of Tim's dancer friends. Joy Behar (the View) will be offering a comedy night. For the kids (young and old), we are featuring live performances of Schoolhouse Rock. I can also tell you to expect a few of those great voices from the cast of Taboo on the boat as well."

As a thank you from Rosie to the Broadway community, they are offering special discounts ($500 per person plus tax/grat) to members of the theater world. "Most travel businesses offer travel agents a special rate. We decided that because of Rosie's love for Broadway and her long involvement with the Broadway community, we would like to create something special just for them. Part of what we're creating on board is a little taste of Broadway for our guests. We have many performers who are coming onboard to sing and dance. It's a great energy to have on the cruise."

Since announcing officially last week, they've been flooded with interest from the Broadway community, and with the ship leaving straight from New York that certainly helps as well. After this inaugural cruise, look for more announcements about future cruises as well as other travel packages including ski vacations and dude ranch trips.

For more information, visit http://www.rfamilyvacations.com or call 866-732-6822 or 845-348-0397.