Unwrapping package vacations: whether cruises, private resorts, or land tours, gay and lesbian travel packages are attracting a loyal and ever-growing following. (Travel report 2002).

In 1996 Jeanne LaFrantz, then a manager at a home health agency, decided to treat herself to a vacation cruise. But soon after setting off on their seafaring escape, she and her girlfriend discovered one thing from back home they hadn't escaped: homophobia. "They sat us at a table by ourselves, and we were just kind of shunned by the other people on the cruise," LaFrantz recalls. "And most of the time I just felt a little out of place."

Then she found Olivia Cruises & Resorts, a lesbian-exclusive vacation company. "There is no comparison [between Olivia and the other company]," enthuses LaFrantz, who has since been on 10 Olivia vacations. "Just being able to be free and out and not worry if someone was looking at me--it was such a relaxed atmosphere. My whole circle of friends started with Olivia." Not just friends. In 1999, on her sixth Olivia outing, LaFrantz met her current partner, Rhonda Lashbrook.

LaFrantz and Lashbrook aren't the only ecstatic queer vacationers out there. In recent years travel companies focusing on gay-specific travel packages have proliferated. In addition to Olivia, two gay-male--focused companies, RSVP Vacations and Atlantis Events, have perhaps the highest media profile, while vacations including everything from white-water rafting to intimate five-star comfort journeys are also being offered by Above and Beyond, Toto Tours, Coda Tours, Alyson Adventures, Gayjet, Q7C, Venture Out, Pride International, DavidTours [see page 39], and other companies.

"Our repeat rate is unbelievable," notes Rich Campbell, president and founder of Atlantis Events, whose Web site even hosts a busy alumni section. "That's what we do: create communities, no matter how artificial [the setting]--a cruise ship, resort, or safari."

RSVP lays claim to being the oldest gay tour operator. Having been harassed by locals while vacationing with his boyfriend, fed-up RSVP founder Kevin Mossier looked into booking resorts and cruise ships exclusively for groups of gay men. Since its first cruise in 1986, RSVP has organized cruises and resort vacations in the Mexican Riviera, South America, Thailand, Alaska, and Europe, hosting between 200 and 2,000 travelers each. Entertainment is a high priority, says RSVP director of marketing Paul Figlmiller, with past celebrity guests including Armistead Maupin, Harvey Fierstein, and Nell Carter having come aboard.

There are also discos and parties, although Figlmiller cautions that recreational drugs are discouraged--it is not, he says, a floating circuit party: "People shouldn't fear that when they go on an RSVP cruise it's going to be like they're locked in a gay bar for a week." First-timers often don't know what to expect, he says, adding, "Younger people tend to think it's going to be all older people, and vice versa. People who aren't in shape are afraid it's going to be all people who have beautiful bodies, and vice versa. But it's a total mix--and people don't expect that."

Sean McElonan, 42, a flight attendant with 25 RSVP vacations racked up so far, agrees that RSVP's variety of people and activities is a reason he keeps going back for more. In fact, McElonan has formed a tight group of friends who have treated the vacations as annual reunions for 15 years. "I have always had the best time," he insists. "And whatever you're looking for, if you want to chill and be left by yourself, if you're out to party, if you want to meet people and form some great friendships, that's what it's all about."

Atlantis runs about nine vacations annually; upcoming events range from a 3,000-person Las Vegas vacation to a 40-person Kenyan safari. Like RSVP, Campbell says, Atlantis serves as many couples as singles, although travelers "tend to be a little bit younger, a little bit more urban-oriented."

Olivia Cruises has traveled to Australia, Europe, Israel, Egypt, and the Greek islands, typically with entertainers such as Kate Clinton and Cris Williamson on board; upcoming trips are planned for Scandinavia, the South Pacific, and Greece and Turkey. The company now sponsors land tours and private resort vacations as well. All their vacations are women-only.

While smaller-package gay tours often mix and match genders, the big three companies remain largely single-gender--but they are dipping their toes into cogender waters. Olivia is planning mixed trips in 2003. RSVP and Atlantis both welcome lesbians, with women so far malting up 10% to 15% of RSVP travelers, 3% of Atlantis.

With so many gay men or lesbians traveling together, the joke goes, they don't call 'em cruise ships for nothing. But that doesn't mean couples on a gay vacation are putting their partnerships at risk, Campbell says. "We always say that if your relationship is on the rocks, then it's going to be even more on the rocks when you're surrounded by 2,000 other possibilities. But if your relationship is stable, it's going to be enhanced by being surrounded by so many other wonderful people."

Olivia has instituted a method to help avoid uncomfortable misunderstandings: Single and solo travelers are given a telltale dog tag to wear, if they so desire. "It's such a romantic and sexy environment that if you're coming single, you're going to meet people," says Olivia founder and president Judy Dlugacz. The only downside, she adds, is that because travelers come from all over to join a cruise, romances can develop that are geographically challenging once the boat docks. "So," she advises, "pay attention to geography if you don't want to move!"

Ferber is a New York City-based writer who contributes to Time Out New York and other publications.