Bermuda cut from O'Donnells' cruise  | Entertainment News | Advocate.com

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April 18, 2007
Bermuda cut from O'Donnells' cruise

A summer cruise for gay and lesbian families organized by Rosie O'Donnell and her wife, Kelli, has cut Bermuda from its planned itinerary because of possible protests by church groups in the British island territory.

The O'Donnells' charter company said it wanted to avoid the type of protests that greeted passengers when one of its cruises stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2004.

The tour is scheduled to leave New York in July on a ship owned by the Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line. But the charter company, R Family Vacations, said on its Web site that it would replace the Bermuda stop with two other ports of call in Florida.

In the statement, the company said Bermuda's prime minister had assured them they would be welcome as tourists and they had also received hundreds of supportive e-mails from people who live in the wealthy British enclave.

Still, organizers felt they could not be certain there would be no protesters greeting them upon arrival. ''We feel that our cruise would be more enjoyable with an alternate itinerary to ports where we know we are welcome by everyone.''

In 2004, about 100 protesters chanting antigay slogans met one of the company's cruises when it arrived in Nassau, Bahamas, with about 1,150 passengers.

O'Donnell, 45, is a cohost on ABC's The View.

R Family Vacations has offices in Nyack, N.Y. It was founded by Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli O'Donnell. (AP)

© 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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