Alas, I’m not a lesbian — but after discovering Sweet, a travel company that merges lesbian travel with eco-social awareness, I had to check the FAQ to see if I could still go on one of their green-minded trips! But alas, “What if you’re straight?” was not on the FAQ — which I took as a sign I should look more into other trips, most of which are pretty much only marketed at straight people, thus necessitating a company like Sweet….
But I thought my eco-thinking lesbian readers may be interested in the Sweet Carribbean Cruise coming up in November! The year-old Sweet’s first cruise kicks off with a pre-cruise, 3-day land package that lets cruise-takers get involved with Katrina relief through Bayou Rebirth, a program that matches volunteers to wetlands restoration projects in Southeast Louisiana. The cruise itself includes everything from wining and dining to a fitness boot camp to Sweet weddings to cross-cultural learning experiences. As Nicole Fancher at Travel Muse describes it:
Sweet’s first cruise … offers volunteer projects like painting a mural in a children’s hospital wing, building a library at a primary school in Belize and picking up beach trash in Mexico. The community immersion is also a chance for lesbian travelers to engage with some cultures that are traditionally not as welcoming to gay and lesbian travelers, says [Sweet CEO Shannon] Wentworth, adding that it’s an important opportunity for breaking down stereotypes and cultural barriers.
Also coming up is a Salmon River Rafting adventure — with a strict no trace and no motors (not even electric toothbrushes!) policy — and a Kenyan Safari that includes helping out at a Chimpanzee sanctuary and making school supply donations to a local school.
The women behind Sweet stand strong behind their sweet combo of travel and philahthropy. Ivette López Sisniega at Out Front Blog has an interview with CEO Shannon Wentworth:
We’re offsetting all of our carbon emissions, doing volunteer projects in the ports we visit and matching our guests’ philanthropic contributions. So far, the lesbian community loves the idea of a fun-filled vacation with a purpose.
Dana Rudolph at Mombian profiled Jen Rainin, one of the founders of Sweet:
For Rainin, though, the volunteer and social aspects of the cruise are not distinct. The travel experiences she likes best are when she has the opportunity to work with people she might not have met otherwise. “You end up making really quick and easy friendships with people who care about the same things you do,” she says. Sweet will give guests that opportunity, in addition to “representing lesbians in a really positive light throughout the world” and making the physical space better wherever they go,” says Rainin.
The Caribbean cruise starts at $1,099 per person — or as little as $36 a month for 12 months through Sweet’s no-extra-fees installment plan. Can’t afford the big trips? Sweet also participates in lots of do-gooder events in San Francisco, from the AIDS walk to Dykes on Bikes. Subscribe to the Sweet blog to find out where you can find them next.
Image via discoversweet.com
Thanks for the link! (And while I’m in no way an official spokesperson for Sweet, I can’t imagine they have any way to “check” if someone is a lesbian or not. Given many people’s gradual coming out process, it’s not as if there’s a definite qualification. I’d imagine that if you wanted to go on the cruise, especially if you had friends who were going, they wouldn’t turn you away, as long as you were an unbiased sort of person.)
Dana’s last blog post..Visibility Matters: Scientific Proof
Comment by Dana — June 20, 2009 @ 8:19 am
“But alas, ‘What if you’re straight?’ was not on the FAQ.” Literally lol-ing!
Rosemary’s last blog post..Los Feliz Saturdays vol. 5
Comment by Rosemary — June 20, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
I would forward this to my lesbian friends but alas they all fit in one of 2 categories:
1) Too poor to go on a cruise
2) Too unconcerned with enviro matters to care if it’s green.
Okay, I’ll forward it anyway. You never know.
Oh, and what if you’re bi?
:-)
Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish’s last blog post..Confession of a Fast Food Addict who ate at Amanda’s and forgot to BYO.
Comment by Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish — June 21, 2009 @ 7:26 pm
Well even if no one can “check” my lebian creds or lack thereof, I don’t think it’d be fair to other cruise takers. For ex, if I signed up for a cruise for 25 – 35 year olds, then got on board to find a bunch of 60-somethings along for the ride, I’d feel rather cheated even though I have nothing against 60 year olds going on cruises…. I would imagine some lesbians would feel similarly — and rightly so — if a bunch of straight people crashed the cruise :)
Beth: “What if you’re bi” was also not in the faq….
Comment by Siel — June 24, 2009 @ 5:51 pm