Kevin Mossier Paved Our Waves With RSVP Vacations

GLBT travel is not just about creating a value for our community but it also how we can impact the world through our travels.

In 2015, RSVP Vacations marks 30 years of gay and lesbian cruises with a yearlong celebration highlighted by their largest cruise yet on the brand new Regal Princess.

RSVP is taking 3600 guests cruising from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and the private island of Princess Cays. A completely customized cruise experience will feature all-star entertainment, original theme parties, and community enrichment programs.

RSVP’s most popular entertainers from the past 30 years and some dazzling new stars are slated to perform in the stunning venues onboard. The all-star lineup already includes, RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon, Tony-nominated songstress Ann Hampton Callaway, RSVP favorites Amy & Freddy, co-star of the current hit film Gone Girl, actress/singer Missi Pyle, and RSVP Cruise Director Brad Loekle.

This anniversary cruise is only possible because of an extraordinary man, Kevin J. Mossier, the founder of RSVP Vacations. Founded in 1985, RSVP has hosted over 100,000 guests on over 200 vacations.

“Kevin was a visionary entrepreneur who took risks, treated his employees with respect and always shared his success with them, said Charlie Rounds, pioneer of LGBT travel, former RSVP Vacations president and Kevin’s friend. “He worked tirelessly for the rights of his community, and always gave back both in life and in death. The world -gay or straight – needs more Kevin Mossiers.”

“Obviously very few businesses focusing exclusively on the gay market have been around as long as we now have,” said RSVP President Randle Roper.

Roper says, “Back in the early 80s, our founder Kevin J. Mosier was harassed on what was supposed to be a gay-friendly beach and decided there was a better way for him and his friends and family to travel together. So he started RSVP back in 1985. The early years were tough – nothing like what Kevin was trying to do had ever been done before. He persevered, however, and here we are 30 years later.”

The RSVP 30th Anniversary Cruise Season will be a celebration of the incredible work of the Kevin J. Mossier Foundation. Since 1997, the charitable giving of RSVP’s late founder’s foundation has touched the lives of countless LGBT individuals and organizations, including PFLAG, Lambda Legal, ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights, Freedom to Marry, GLAAD, GLSEN, Amnesty International, and on and on and on. The work of the foundation has led to incredible human rights progress around the globe.

On Regal Princess, former RSVP President Charlie Rounds in a presentation of Kevin’s and RSVP’s fantastic work.

Earlier this month, Princess Cruises–the cruise line made famous as the backdrop of the iconic Love Boat television series–christened its new Regal Princess with a gay campy tribute. All six Love Boat cast members – Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Fred Grandy (Gopher, the chief purser), Ted Lange (Isaac, the bartender), Bernie Kopell (Doc, the ship’s doctor), Lauren Tewes (cruise director, Julie) and Jill Whelan (Vicki, the captain’s daughter) – pulled a lever that first sent a record-breaking fifty champagne bottles smashing against the ship’s hull. Frequent show guest-star Florence Henderson served as the Master of Ceremonies.

Can it get any gayer? Find out more about this trip atwww.rsvpvacations.com

 

Jeff Guaracino is the author of Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing.