Gay Cruises 2027: Every Sailing in One Sortable Table

A gay cruise is a ship (or a big block of one) full of LGBTQ+ travelers, with its own parties, shows and meetups on top of the usual cruise. This page lists every gay and lesbian cruise we could find from November 2026 to February 2028: 117 sailings from 17 companies, 95 of them starting in 2027. Sort the table by date or price, filter it by company, crowd or region, and hide what's already sold out.

Last checked against operator sites: October 23, 2026. Every date, ship, fare and sold-out status comes from the operator's own website, and each sailing links to its page there. Fares move every week and cabins sell out, so confirm with the operator before you book.

Charter or group sailing: the two kinds of gay cruise

Full-ship charter. A company buys out the whole ship, so every guest, bar and party on board is part of the trip. Atlantis, VACAYA, Olivia and Brand g work this way. This is what most people picture when they hear "gay cruise".

Group sailing. A company books a block of cabins on a regular cruise and runs its own parties, dinners and meetups for the group. You share the ship with other passengers. Big Gay Cruise, TravelingGays, BearCruise, Daddy Cruises, Lesbians Aboard and Aquafest work this way. It's usually cheaper, and an easy first try.

The gay cruise companies, one paragraph each

Atlantis Events. (Full Atlantis guide) All-gay full-ship charters, mostly men; Atlantis says women are 5–10% of its guests. Its March 7–14, 2027 charter of Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas carries more than 5,600 guests, and Atlantis calls it "The World's Biggest Gay Festival at Sea." Its Virgin Voyages charters carry about 2,700–2,800. 2027 sailings leave Miami and San Juan, then head to Europe (Copenhagen to Stockholm, Barcelona to Rome, the Greek Isles). Lowest bookable 2027 fare on October 23: $1,499 per person before port fees and gratuities.

VACAYA. (Full VACAYA guide) Full-ship charters built for the whole LGBTQ+ community. In 2027 that means two big ships (Celebrity Beyond from Fort Lauderdale, February 14–21, and a Mediterranean eclipse cruise on Oceania's Allura in July) plus small-ship, river and expedition sailings. Most of its 2027 sailings show sold out on its site; on October 23 its booking system still had Caribbean cabins from $1,648 even though the page says sold out.

Olivia. (Full Olivia guide) Full-ship charters for lesbians and LGBTQ+ women; Olivia says it has taken more than 360,000 guests on over 400 trips in 35 years. Its 2027 lineup runs from a 2,100-guest Caribbean charter on Holland America's Eurodam to riverboats and small expedition ships. Almost all of 2027 is on the waitlist; Norway ($3,299) and Barcelona to Lisbon ($3,999) were still selling, and its Vol. 55 anniversary Caribbean cruise (January 29 – February 5, 2028) had cabins from $1,299.

Brand g Vacations. All-LGBTQ+ river and small-ship cruises, mixed crowd, in groups of generally 60–150 (Brand g's figure). 2027 includes the Rhine, Prague and the Danube, Burgundy and Provence, the Greek Isles and Turkey, French Polynesia and the Mekong. Fares from $4,899, and they include most drinks and daily excursions.

Big Gay Cruise. LGBTQ+ groups on regular Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages sailings, with drag shows, parties and a nightly mixer through its All Access Pass. 2027 sailings leave Miami, Galveston and Los Angeles, with inside cabins from $920 for two, taxes included, plus the pass.

TravelingGays. Group sailings, including the Gay Cruise Takeover on Virgin's Scarlet Lady from Miami (April 17–24, 2027, from $963 per person) and a November 2027 Mediterranean group from Trieste to Athens.

Bear cruises. BearCruise, Bears On Deck, Adventure Bears and Arno's Bear Cruises all run bear groups on regular ships, from the Caribbean to Alaska, the British Isles and the Greek Isles. See every 2027 bear cruise.

Women's groups. Besides Olivia, Lesbians Aboard runs nine women's group sailings between December 2026 and December 2027, eight on Virgin Voyages ships and one Rhine river cruise, with no fee to join the group. See every 2027 lesbian cruise.

Smaller hosts. Daddy Cruises (it says most guests are "middle aged or senior gay men"; 14 sailings worldwide), Aquafest (gay men and women, 11 sailings), KelliGregg Travel (formerly R Family Vacations, including a July 2027 family cruise), Source Journeys (small luxury trips, mostly private charters, all sold out or waitlisted for 2027), La Démence's first nine-night cruise in 15 years (July 15–24, 2027, from Barcelona), and TUI's Rainbow Cruise from Mallorca.

Gay Friendly cruise lines (not gay cruises)

These are regular cruise lines, not gay cruises. You sail with the general public, and any LGBTQ+ events are a small part of the week. They matter because the gay charters and groups above use their ships, and because a few run Pride events of their own.

• Virgin Voyages: adults only (18+) on every ship. Virgin's LGBTQ+ page says drag shows, drag bingo and Pride-themed parties happen year-round, and Virgin says its June Pride program runs fleetwide. Atlantis, Big Gay Cruise, BearCruise, the Gay Cruise Takeover and Lesbians Aboard all sail on Virgin ships.
• Celebrity Cruises: in January 2018 Celebrity held what it called the first legal same-sex wedding at sea on a major cruise line, aboard Celebrity Equinox. Its LGBTQ+ page, which described June Pride events and first-night LGBTQ+ welcome parties, was no longer online in October 2026, so ask whether those still run. VACAYA charters Celebrity Beyond, and BearCruise and Bears On Deck sail with Celebrity.
• Royal Caribbean: its ships are registered in the Bahamas, so legal same-sex weddings can't be performed at sea; symbolic ceremonies can. We found no official Royal Caribbean Pride or LGBTQ+ program page. Atlantis charters Allure of the Seas, and Big Gay Cruise and Arno's book groups on Royal Caribbean ships.
• Holland America and Princess: both offer symbolic same-sex ceremonies at sea; Holland America offers legal ones ashore where local law allows. Olivia charters Holland America's Eurodam, Daddy Cruises sails with both lines, and Adventure Bears with Princess.
• Carnival: its help pages listed a June Pride program, including an LGBTQIA+ mixer, as of January 2026; we couldn't confirm the current page. We found no gay charters or groups on Carnival ships for 2027.
• Norwegian (NCL): we found no guest-facing LGBTQ+ program. BearCruise's British Isles group and several Daddy Cruises sailings use NCL ships.

How much does a gay cruise cost?

Using the lowest published fares on October 23, 2026, per person with two sharing:

• Group sailings on big ships: about $625–$2,900, most under $1,500, often with taxes included. Arno's Beef Dip Mexico sailing ($625, January 2028), Big Gay Cruise's late-October Galveston and May Bahamas cruises (about $629 and $634 a person once you split the cabin total and add the pass), its February 2028 Fort Lauderdale anniversary cruise (about $670) and Arno's Galveston Caribbean sailing ($729) were the lowest.
• Big-ship charters: Atlantis from $1,499 and VACAYA from $1,648 for 2027, plus roughly $480–$645 in port fees and gratuities.
• River and small-ship trips: about $2,200–$8,500 (Daddy Cruises' and Aquafest's Christmas markets, Olivia's Norway cruise, Brand g's rivers and Greek Isles), usually with more included; Brand g's Nile trip is $10,499.
• Expedition and luxury: $9,000–$14,500 and up (Antarctica, French Polynesia, the Red Sea).

Traveling solo costs more: published solo fares run from about 1.4 to 2 times the per-person fare, and Atlantis charges double. Atlantis runs a free Room Share Program, and Olivia arranges room shares by phone on some trips.

Gay cruises by U.S. departure port

• Miami: Atlantis (Allure of the Seas and the Thanksgiving charter), Big Gay Cruise, the Gay Cruise Takeover, BearCruise and most Lesbians Aboard sailings. Gay bars and venues in Miami
• Fort Lauderdale: VACAYA's and Olivia's Caribbean charters, Daddy Cruises' singles sailings, Adventure Bears and Big Gay Cruise's February 2028 anniversary cruise. Gay bars and venues in Fort Lauderdale
• San Juan: Atlantis's Southern Caribbean charter, Bears On Deck, and Lesbians Aboard's Spring Fling. Gay bars and venues in San Juan
• Galveston: Big Gay Cruise's late-October cruise and Arno's Caribbean sailing.
• Port Canaveral: the TravelingGays Waterslide group on Star of the Seas.
• West Coast: Atlantis from San Diego (November 2026), Daddy Cruises' Mexico sailing from San Diego (January 2027), Big Gay Cruise from Los Angeles (April 2027), Lesbians Aboard's Alaska sailing from Seattle and Arno's Beef Dip Mexico from Los Angeles (January 2028).
• Northeast and Gulf: BearCruise from Boston, Daddy Cruises from Philadelphia (Bermuda) and New Orleans (Mardi Gras 2028).

Gay cruises for solo travelers

Charters are some of the easiest trips to take alone, because the whole ship is the group. Atlantis says almost half its guests are single men and runs a free Room Share Program. Olivia runs a Solos program and arranges room shares by phone on some trips. Daddy Cruises and Lesbians Aboard both run singles sailings (Daddy's Singles & Friends cruises are priced for one person in a cabin). VACAYA, Brand g and La Démence point solo travelers to Facebook groups to find a roommate.

How to choose your first gay cruise

What's your ideal night? Dance floor until sunrise points to Atlantis or the big group sailings; dinner, a show and a nightcap points to VACAYA, Olivia or Brand g.

Party or place? If the destination is the point, a river or small-ship cruise spends more time in port and less at sea.

What's the real budget? Add port fees, taxes and gratuities to the fare. On Atlantis that's $360–$490 plus $120–$175 per person.

Book early. On October 23, 2026 the cheapest cabins on Atlantis's San Juan charter were sold out, and every cabin on Olivia's February 2027 Caribbean charter was already waitlisted.

Check your ports. Some itineraries call in countries with very different laws for LGBTQ+ people. In July 2026, Cruise Industry News reported that Turkish authorities turned away the Atlantis-chartered Scarlet Lady and Egypt denied it entry at Alexandria. Read up on each port before you book and before you go ashore.

Frequently asked questions

What is a gay cruise?

A cruise where the ship, or a large group on it, is LGBTQ+. On a full-ship charter (Atlantis, VACAYA, Olivia, Brand g) every guest is part of the event. On a group sailing (Big Gay Cruise, TravelingGays, BearCruise) a large LGBTQ+ group has its own parties and meetups on a regular cruise.

What gay cruises are sailing in 2027?

We count 95 gay and lesbian sailings starting in 2027 from 17 companies, from Aquafest's Antarctica sailing in January to Olivia's New Year's cruise in New Zealand. Our gay cruise calendar lists every one with dates, ship, route, fare and status.

What is the biggest gay cruise?

Atlantis's March 7–14, 2027 charter of Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, with more than 5,600 guests. Atlantis bills it as "The World's Biggest Gay Festival at Sea."

What are the cheapest gay cruises in 2027?

Group sailings. On October 23, 2026 the lowest 2027 fares were Big Gay Cruise's late-October sailing from Galveston ($920 for two in an inside cabin, taxes included, plus the $169-per-person pass) and its May Bahamas sailing from Miami ($929 for two plus the pass), Arno's Bear Cruises' Galveston Caribbean sailing ($729 per person, tax included) and the Gay Cruise Takeover ($963 per person).

Are there lesbian cruises in 2027?

Yes. Olivia charters whole ships for women, though almost all of its 2027 sailings are waitlisted; Norway and Barcelona to Lisbon were still selling on October 23. Lesbians Aboard runs eight women's group sailings in 2027, seven of them on Virgin Voyages ships, plus one in December 2026.

Are there gay bear cruises?

Yes. BearCruise, Bears On Deck, Adventure Bears and Arno's Bear Cruises run bear groups in 2027, including a Caribbean sailing from San Juan in March, MayDaze to Key West in May, the British Isles in August and Boston to San Juan in October.

Which gay cruises leave from Florida?

Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral host most of them: Atlantis's Allure charter, VACAYA's and Olivia's Caribbean charters, Big Gay Cruise, the Gay Cruise Takeover, BearCruise, Daddy Cruises, Adventure Bears and most Lesbians Aboard sailings.

Are there gay cruises on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or Virgin Voyages?

Yes, but as charters or groups on those ships rather than sailings run by the lines themselves. Atlantis charters Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas and Virgin Voyages ships, VACAYA charters Celebrity Beyond, and Big Gay Cruise books groups on Royal Caribbean sailings.

How far in advance should I book a gay cruise?

A year or more for the big charters. Many 2027 sailings were already sold out or waitlisted in October 2026, and the advertised "from" fare is often the first cabin to go.

Do gay cruises happen year-round?

Yes. Caribbean charters cluster from January to April, Europe, river and Alaska sailings fill May to October, and late-October, Thanksgiving, Christmas-market and New Year's sailings fill the end of the year.

More gay travel guides

• What an Atlantis cruise is like
• What a VACAYA cruise is like
• What an Olivia cruise is like
• Lesbian cruises 2027
• Gay bear cruises 2027
• The Best Gay Resorts in the US
• The Best Gay Beaches
• Key West Gay Scene