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What is a family? Is it something defined by law, by tradition, or
by love? For the growing numbers of gay
and lesbian families in America, the
answer is most definitely love - but too
often, parents and children in such families
are stigmatized, unable to participate in
many of the simple, public joys that most
families take for granted.
For years, Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell,
parents of four, dreamed of a society free
of such discrimination. In 2004, they
made that dream come true when 1,500
people - gay, lesbian and straight - set
sail on a seven-day cruise to the
Caribbean. With a bold stroke only Rosie
O'Donnell could make, a joyous new
community was born in this judgment-free
setting, as passengers celebrated their
freedom and made a positive, progressive
statement about what "family" means
today.
In 2002, comedian/actor Rosie O'Donnell, her partner Kelli and their friend Gregg
Kaminsky (a travel-industry executive) were discussing the
possibility of creating vacation packages for the gay and
lesbian community. According to O'Donnell, Kaminsky
said, half-seriously, "Why don't we rent a cruise ship?"
From this conversation emerged what O'Donnell dubbed
"the first gay cruise with family values," organized by Kelli
and Gregg's "R Family" agency and held onboard the
chartered cruise ship Norwegian Dawn in the summer of
2004.
In addition to providing viewers with the sights and sounds
of the precedent-setting cruise, All Aboard! Rosie's Family
Cruise includes profiles of many of the guests: from an
older gay couple facing an empty nest once their teenaged
daughter goes to college, to a lesbian couple looking for a
possible sperm donor among their shipmates, to a gay
couple who have adopted five children (two sets of
biological siblings), to onetime NFL star Esera Tuaolo,
who was "in the closet" as a player but made headlines
when he "came out" after retiring, and now is a role model
in the gay community as well as the proud father of twins.
Executive produced by Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell along with
HBO's Sheila Nevins, All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise was
produced and directed by Shari Cookson, Emmy®-
nominated for HBO's 2001 documentary Living Dolls: The
Making of a Child Beauty Queen. Also for HBO, Cookson
directed 1993's Skinheads USA: Soldiers of the Race War,
and produced 1992's Asylum.
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