6 new luxury LGBT cruises announced for 2026 and 2027
Unforgettable vacations on luxury boats that hold fewer than 200 passengers.
Mark
Luxury LGBT travel company Brand g has announced half a dozen new boutique cruise vacations for its 2026 and 2027 schedule.
Brand g was launched in 2011 with a single riverboat trip. However, it now routinely organizes over two dozen trips each year. These are a mixture of guided tours, deluxe river cruises, and luxury yacht cruises at sea.
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They typically offer smaller charters than some other gay cruise operators, often on luxury boats that cater to fewer passengers. Brand g trips usually host between 40 and 200 clients at a time.
The vacations span the globe. Upcoming trips include: Tours of Colombia, Japan, a New Zealand land tour, India and a cruise of the Ganges, and an Amazon cruise and Machu Piccho hike, among many others. All trips are virtually all-inclusive, apart from airfares, which you pay separately.
The company is co-owned and operated by Brian Van Wey and Jeff Gundvaldson.
The new luxury cruise packages it has added to its schedule for the next two years are as follows.
Panama to Belize (Panama Canal) Cruise
From April 24 – May 3, 2026: A 9-night luxury cruise will visit tropical and cultural paradises in the Central and South American countries of Colombia, Panama, Honduras and Belize.
2026 Athens to Barcelona Cruise
From Oct 7-17, 2026: A 10-night cruise that takes in some of the most popular and iconic ports in the Mediterranean (including Corfu, Malta, Sardinia and Tunisia), as well as lesser-traveled ones where large ships cannot dock.
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2026 Skeleton Coast: West Africa Cruise
From Oct 11-23, 2026: A 12-night luxury cruise along the “Skeleton Coast”, taking in Namibia and Angola, among other highlights.
2027 Baltic Cruise
From July 26-Aug 5, 2027: A 10-night luxury cruise encompassing Norway, Sweden, Poland, Estonia and Finland.
2027 Greek Isles and Turkey Cruise
From Sept 12-23, 2027: An 11-night Mediterranean luxury cruise that blends the postcard-perfect scenery of the Greek Isles with the rich religious and cultural history of Turkey.
2027 French Polynesia Cruise
From Oct 3-17, 2027: Spend 14 days sailing through some of the most unspoiled and spectacularly beautiful tropical locations on earth. Take in sacred archaeological sites and stunning coral atolls, and snorkel in crystal-clear lagoons.
Cruise take place on acclaimed vessels including The World Traveller from Atlas Ocean Voyages, Swan Hellenic’s Diana and Vega, and Ponant’s Le Champlain and Le Jacques Cartier.
“Size matters,” said Brand g Vacations CEO Jeff Gundvaldson in a press statement. “When you’re traveling on a super yacht with Brand g, you know you’ll be traveling with fewer than 200 other passengers. It provides for a luxurious and intimate experience where real friendships are born in sublime surroundings.”
For an idea of price, the 9-night Panama trip starts at around $7,899 per person for two people sharing a cabin. The 14-night French Polynesian cruise starts at $13,999 per person for two people sharing a deluxe stateroom (the cheapest available option). Single-occupancy travelers can expect to pay more.
Philanthropy
Besides wanting to offer unforgettable, memory-packed luxury adventures for LGBT clients, Brand g also believes in giving back. A percentage of the money goes to US-based non-profits. Some of these focus on LGBTQ-related work (Gay Men’s Choruses, HIV charities, etc), while others deliver international support (for example, sponsored clean water projects in Africa, or an orphanage in Cambodia).
Last month, Brand g announced it had now topped $1 million in donations since its inception in 2011.
“One of the most important aspects of travel is doing our best to help people along the way,” said Gundvaldson.
“I remember our first trip to Myanmar. We visited a primary school in a very small rural village along the Irrawaddy River. The cruise line had started a fund to help put a new roof on the school for the meager cost of $1,500. Over several sailings, we had only managed to raise a couple hundred dollars,” Gundvaldson continues.
“After visiting the school and the children, some of our guests took it upon themselves to engage their fellow travelers, and they not only raised enough money for the roof, but also for more chairs, desks and a white board. It made me incredibly proud and was the catalyst for many more Brand g philanthropic projects all over the world. Our guests are heavily involved in philanthropy and even bring some organizations to our attention.”
For more of a taste of what to expect on a Brand g cruise, check out the video below.
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