Rosie's O'Donnell's cruise line calls at Key West

[Jason]

Rosie's cruise line gets Key West welcome

7/11/2004, 6:43 p.m. ET

The Associated Press

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Rosie O'Donnell's new cruise line is getting a warm welcome in sunny Key West.

O'Donnell will receive the key to the city this week when her cruise, billed as the first that caters to gay and lesbian families, stops at the popular island port Wednesday on its inaugural voyage, officials said.

The Norwegian Dawn's seven-day trip was scheduled to depart New York on Sunday and is the first cruise of R Family Vacations, the O'Donnell-backed company that promotes family-friendly vacations for gays and lesbians.

Key West has long fostered a reputation as a tolerant vacation community that is especially friendly to gays and lesbians. A street fair will provide entertainment for children on the cruise.

O'Donnell married Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell in a civil ceremony Feb. 26 in San Francisco. The duo are raising four children together and are strong advocates of gay marriage and adoption.

[DaCruzNut]

The inaugural voyage of "the first gay cruise with family values," planned by comedienne and former talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell is coming to Key West.

A street fair and mayoral ceremony to give O'Donnell the key to the city and an art show featuring her works are part of welcoming events for the ship, which docks in Key West sometime between 1 and 3 p.m. Wednesday and departs at 9 p.m.

The seven-day trip, which departs New York harbor Sunday, is touted as the first vacation cruise of its kind for gay and lesbian families including grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, cousins, in-laws and friends.

It's the first cruise of R Family Vacations, the O'Donnell sponsored company that promotes "family friendly vacations designed especially for the gay and lesbian community," according to Web site www.rfamilyvacations.com.

O'Donnell lent her support to the founding of the company by her spouse, Kelli O'Donnell, and Gregg Kaminsky, formerly of gay travel agency Atlantis. Rosie O'Donnell married Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell, a former dancer and marketing director at Nickelodeon, in a legal, civil ceremony Feb. 26 in San Francisco. The duo are raising four children together and are strong advocates of gay marriage and adoption.

"This is the all-gay cruise that you can take your parents [on]!" the Web site says. "It's 'R Family' and that means a place where everyone is finally welcome."

Besides standard cruise ship entertainment fare, the 2,100 passengers on the chartered Norwegian Dawn liner can attend discussion groups on adoption, artificial insemination, surrogacy, and other topics of interest to gay parents or gay parents to be.

The Key West Business Guild is hosting a family street fair from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday to provide entertainment for the children, Executive Director Julian Ward said. The 1300 block of Duval Street will be closed off for the fair, and a stage erected for the 3:30 p.m. key-giving ceremony.

"For this, the [business Guild] board decided to really go above and beyond," Ward said. He said the guild usually greets disembarking passengers from gay- and lesbian-themed cruises, giving them a map of Key West and coupons that might fit their lifestyle.

"But this is really different for us," Ward said. "We see Key West as being a destination for Rosie's cruise ships in the future, so we want to show that this is a family city as well as a gay and lesbian friendly city."

Face-painters, music, street performers and business-sponsored booths will be at the fair, he said.

At 3:30 p.m., Mayor Jimmy Weekley will present the O'Donnells with the key to the city from a stage erected in front of the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. After that, the Rosie O'Donnell entourage will be whisked away by the gay trolley Historic Tours of America contingent to her own art show at Luis Sottil Studios, 716 Duval St. O'Donnell's paintings and collages will be featured and up for sale from 4 to 6 p.m.

Gallery manager William Bailey said there are already 50 or 60 works by O'Donnell in the studio, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"I would say the prices are from $600 and up," Bailey said. "Some are 6-by- 6 inches, others are 4-by-4 feet." He said O'Donnell's art will be featured in the studio for the rest of July.

Proceeds go to benefit "Rosie's Broadway Kids," a 15-week in-school program of dance, music and an overview of American musical theater. The program targets Manhattan fifth-graders in schools that are below the poverty level.

A banner made by Timber at Graphic Image will hang across Duval Street announcing July 14 as "Families Kids Day." The first 12 business sponsors can get their logos on the banner for $100 and have the option to host a booth at the street fair. All sponsors will be listed on the welcome packet for passengers.

Key West is one of two ports of call  the other being the Bahama stop  featured on the Web site's photo gallery about the upcoming cruise.

"A favorite port of call, Key West is known for its colorful sunsets, diverse gay and lesbian community, live music, sailing and kayaking," reads the caption. "There is something on this tropical island for everyone."