A week on the first LGBTQ River Cruise in the US

What’s better than a gay cruise? How about a gay river cruise?! And the first one ever in the United States?!! That’s what my best friend Mary and I got to do when we hopped on board VACAYA‘s LGBT+ river cruise along the Mississippi. It made for an unforgettable week of fun in the sun with all the new friends we met on board. Most of the passengers were American men, but there were a few from other countries along with a few women as well. Being on a riverboat made for a more intimate and somewhat more tame experience from the rowdy party boats you often see advertised for this community. For this experience everyone had to be tested before getting on board to ensure there was no potential to spread you-know-what, and everyone also had to prove they had their two shots!

The photos in this post are the ones that I shared on my Instagram account, but in the video of our trip, which I uploaded to my YouTube channel, you’ll see our introduction in front of the boat; a tour of the rooms; the meals/food on board; our excursions to Point Coupee, Natchez, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge and Nottaway; the great entertainment on board and theme parties; a wrap up in front of the boat, and even a few bloopers / outtakes!

Speaking of the excursions, being able to check out different spots in Louisiana (and Mississippi) that I likely never would have been to otherwise was a definite bonus. It was really interesting to check out these southern places and learn more about their history. Beautiful scenery and buildings with an often troubled past that’s important to acknowledge. We felt grateful to be able to learn more about the area and those who made it what it is today.

I had been on a VACAYA cruise in the US before (their inaugural one actually) and loved that experience too, but this one was more intimate (I think it held about a tenth the amount of people) and an older demographic as well (most were older than us). It was the perfect vibe for bringing my best friend and having her experience her first gay cruise! You can get a really good feel for how it was in the video at the top of this post, which by the way is also airing on Canada’s national LGBTQ TV station OUTtv! It’s running in high rotation between regular programming for their 1.2 million viewers to provide them with more travel inspiration as we head toward the world opening back up again!

Disclaimer: This experience was provided to us by VACAYA, but they had no input on my content and all thoughts are my own.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top