We started R Family vacations in 2003 to fill a new niche in the gay travel market: LGBT parents and their families. There were cruises for gay men, there were vacations for lesbians but there were no big gay family trips.

What we found out was our vacations were so much more than just a gay cruise that welcomes families: We truly started building community. Yes, LGBT parents showed up with their kids, and often accompanied by extended family members and friends. But many gays and lesbians who were not parents also took advantage of the unique opportunity to travel together in a welcoming environment! Indeed, to date there are very few opportunities outside R Family where gays AND lesbians can simply vacation together.

We’ve done 12 vacations in seven years including cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico, Cape Cod and Canada, and Alaska. We have also visited the Galapagos Islands. More than 15,000 people have traveled with us. HBO shot a documentary about our maiden voyage and we’ve been featured in many newspapers and magazines including the cover of the arts section in the New York Times, who wrote about the incredible entertainment that is a part of all of our trips.

This past year we featured our first land based all-inclusive Club Med resort and started taking small groups of 100-200 on more exotic cruise destinations including Hawaii and Europe.

While we continue to “see the world together”, this year we invite a larger community to “meet the world together”… We are reaching out to people from around the world to join our most welcoming community. The reality is that there is no travel company like R Family Vacations anywhere else in the world. So while we plan to continue to expand our travel destinations in Europe and beyond, we invite European, Canadians and other international guests to join us on all of these exciting vacations. This summer are already offering multilingual staff and special programs at our Florida Club Med vacation and on our Mediterranean cruise.

Now R Family guests from Dallas can have new friends from Paris. And LGBT parents from Barcelona can introduce their kids to families just like theirs who live in Chicago. We will all learn something about different cultures and discover that we may face many of the same challenges being gay or lesbian whether you live in Rome or Atlanta. And we are sure that both and gay and straight families, men and women together, older and younger, are going to appreciate the exciting international atmosphere that will transform our vacations.

We are excited about expanding the R Family community across cultural and geographical borders to include all that share our vision: Seeing the world in a comfortable and welcoming environment while meeting family and friends who are just like us.

Dan (my hubby) and I recently visited the newly renovated Club Med Sandpiper Bay resort in Port St Lucie, FL. As you know, we have chartered the entire resort next summer July 9-16, 2011. It’s going to be AMAZING!!

When we arrived, many familiar Club Med staff greeted us and Ramon even surprised us by joining us there for the day. If you were with us this past summer, you all know Ramon from the Club Med corporate office. He’ll be back with us this summer.

When Kelli and I look at a new property or ship, we really try to look at the programming we want to offer our guests and how this programming will fit and how the resort/ship will serve the needs of our cherished guests. Club Med Sandpiper Bay is really perfect for R Family. It offers a variety of accommodations, delicious food, brand new theater, disco, piano bar, brand new pools, INCREDIBLE kids programming, brand new spa and gym, and more sports and activities than you can imagine.

Club Med offers world-class tennis and golf instruction, circus school (including flying trapeze), soccer, Zumba, multiple pools, brand new gym, and so much more.

Club Med Sandpiper Bay is also easy to reach with plenty of affordable flights into Palm Beach, Orlando, or Ft Lauderdale airport. It’s also less than 2 hours from all of FL’s theme parks and you can take a day excursion during our week or add on a few days before or after our July week together.

We are also introducing our very first theater camp so all of you Broadway lovers get ready to sing, dance and perform with our experienced team.

This trip is perfect for R Family and there is something for everyone. Young, old, gay, straight… everyone is welcome. We have many guests with kids and many without kids. You will find that this is really the most inclusive vacation and get ready to make life long friends.

Please join us this summer for an exciting week filled with friendship, laughter, and love. We are thrilled to be back again at another Club Med and invite you to make your summer plan with R Family Vacations.