Ed and I have sailed on several of
Pied Piper's Gay Group Sailings and thoroughly loved the experience. Pied Piper places mixed groups of gay and lesbians (skews mostly men) onto traditional sailings. Unlike
Atlantis, Olivia and
RSVP, Pied Piper integrates the groups on to sailings with other people. The experience is relaxed, fun and tends to have an air of feeling a little more exclusive than those taking over the whole boat.
Pied Piper is a Gay Group Travel Agency headquartered in NYC. They have been organizing gay group cruises for 19 years and are a member of
IGTLA, the
International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. Their groups range in size from a very intimate 10-15 fraternity to
their annual
Post-Thanksgiving Caribbean Sailing with over 900 people.
Group services include an on-board "Julie" or Group Host (on sailings with more than 10 people), a "Welcome Aboard" cocktail party, assigned private dining tables for the group, outdoor "Midnight Party" on warmer weather cruises, access to private online
Yahoo group to meet other group members before sailing and for larger groups Private Group Shore Excursions and more parties (Poolside Olympics, Dress-up-Sing-a-long Movies like the
Sound of Music).
If you are looking for a cruise experience that is fun and friendly but a little more reserved than a non-stop party, Pied Piper delivers. On voyages less than 7-nights long the group age range is from early 30's and up. Voyages of more than 7-nights long tend to be mainly retirees with a few cruisers in their late 40's and 50's (a
general age rule for any longer cruise except in summer).
Pied Piper sails on two tiers of ships; Mass;
Celebrity, RCCL and
Princess, and Luxury;
Cunard's QM2 and
Queen Victoria. Which ever style of cruising you enjoy, Pied Piper's
roster of annual cruises will include a ship and itinerary just for you.
Itineraries include
Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Europe, Mediterranean,
Trans Atlantic and beyond.
