2024 transatlantic cruise on Celebrity ASCENT: blog #1

(This article originally appeared in News is Out.) 

“I feel like I’m in that scene from ‘Under the Tuscan Sun,’” my wife whispered to me as we boarded the Brand g Vacations bus in Bordeaux, France. 

She’s not wrong. It does hearken to the scene where Frances Mayes (Diane Lane) takes her best lesbian friend’s place on a queer European adventure. We are seated among a sea of gay men (and two very dedicated lesbian Brand g regulars) on our way from the Intercontinental Hotel Bordeaux to have lunch at the famous Château Smith Haut Lafitte. One of our many excellent guides that week tells us that King Charles III recently paid a visit to the winery. The visit sets the tone for the rest of our Loire Valley River trip –  sometimes decadent, often boisterous, but always fun.  

Founded in 2011 as “the next generation in gay travel” Brand g Vacations offers an alternative to queer vacation companies that host large cruises and resort trips. If 1,000-person, party-centric cruises aren’t your cup of tea, Brand g offers a more intimate, excursion-heavy option. This proves popular with Brand g’s clientele, many of whom have traveled with the company multiple times.

Brand g’s Director of Marketing Eric Poole tells me that the company’s success lies in four key elements – service, quality, inclusivity, and destinations.

“Our commitment to high-touch service is unparalleled in the industry,” said Poole. “The surveys we receive from guests after each trip routinely point out the extremely high level of personal service and their appreciation of the fact that all they have to do is show up. We will take care of everything else.”

Mark W. from Fort Lauderdale was one of our trip’s 80 or so guests. It’s precisely the service level that Poole mentions that has resulted in Mark booking 17 trips with Brand g. Mark tells me that it’s the door-to-door service and like-minded LGBTQ guests that keep him coming back.

Couple Steve M. and David P. also commend the service they experience with Brand g. Originally on a stateside cruise that was canceled (by the charter company), the couple pivoted and booked a spot on the Loire Valley trip. This was their third Brand G adventure. 

For our particular trip, we arrived in Bordeaux and spent the next six days experiencing delightful Loire Valley towns like Nantes, La Rochelle and Clisson. On our visit to Clisson, we stumbled upon the 13th-century town’s Italian-inspired festival, with masked revelers, music and many fellow tourists.

Our trip was led by our host and cruise director Johnathon Gallagher. Hailing from Scotland, Gallagher is a fixture on many Brand g trips. Bawdy and friendly, you can see why Gallagher is such a popular touchpoint for guests. Steve M. and David P. tell me that one of the reasons they booked again was because of Gallagher and how much he had added to their previous trip. 

While Gallagher is very entertaining, he wasn’t the only top-notch talent on board. Guests were treated to musical performances by West End star Emma Lindars, accompanied by musical director/composer Tom Knowles. Lindars and Knowles performed everything from disco hits to Broadway ballads, captivating the guests each time. The duo was even kind enough to allow some guests (myself included) to sing a little ourselves.

Also performing to cheering crowds was dynamic Wales-based performer Lee Gilbert. Gilbert, who was previously a guest on a Brand g trip, is now a host and performer after impressing the team with his serious chops. 

I asked Poole what Brand g looks for when booking talent for these cruises. 

“The ability to blow our guests away; the ability to perform several shows over the course of a cruise and keep an audience engaged with new material at each show; and someone who is a lovely human being.”

Something special about this trip for me, was the opportunity to get to know many of the guests. I tried to sit with different guests for meals and excursions, getting to know groups of people from places like Palm Springs, Fort Lauderdale, and even Melbourne, Australia. 

Writing about my experience without noting some important demographics would be impossible. My wife and I were two of four women travelers on my particular trip. We were also some of the youngest travelers on the ship. Brand g was transparent about this when I asked about marketing toward queer women.

“Because we do skew heavily male, we try to attract women travelers who have lots of gay male friends or who enjoy traveling with a mixed group as opposed to an all-female experience like Olivia. No disrespect to Olivia – there’s a place for all kinds of LGBT+ travel experiences,” said Poole. 

“This tends to occur by referral more than through marketing, since we’re seeking a subset of lesbians.”

Poole points out that there are typically more women on Brand g trips, sometimes 15-20 out of a 80-120 person trip. 

The guests on Brand g trips also tend to be over 55. On our trip, the average age was about 62.

“By virtue of the fact that our trips are luxury, all-inclusive packages, they will tend to appeal to an older, more affluent demographic, but we are always working to broaden our offerings in order to bring in more guests in their 30s and 40s,” said Poole. “And each trip has a somewhat different makeup based on the destination, length, and cost. Our exotic trips that require more extensive travel to get to the destination, or that feature more physical activity –  for example, our trips to Africa, Nepal and Bhutan and Peru – attract a younger clientele. As do our trips that offer luxury at a lower price point, like India, Thailand and Vietnam and Cambodia.”

Sometimes, you can’t control things, like the rising of the Loire River, which kept us docked in Nantes longer than expected and altered some of our plans. However, Brand g did its best to pivot and still offer guests adventures, even if it did mean a lot more bus time than expected.

Our experience with Brand g Vacations was memorable, and personally, the highlight was the dear friends. I now have found family in Palm Springs and Melbourne that I plan to visit. At the core of it all, Brand g offers what most non-LGBTQ-focused vacations can’t—heart, community, and a celebration of LGBTQ+ culture.

Brand g offers a more intimate and immersive alternative to larger, party-focused cruises, making it an excellent choice for LGBTQ+ travelers who value adventure and connection.

Brand g has 24 trips planned for 2025, including adventures in Japan, Australia and Scotland. Check out the full list of trips here.