Invitation to Meet Author Carl Strehlke in Florence to Announce Raffle Winners

Have lunch in Florence with Author Carl Strehlke 

Carl Strehlke & John Scagliotti Touring Florence

The Doni Tondo by Michelangelo

Following Pride of the Ocean’s guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, where we will be viewing The Doni Tondo (right), believed to be the only existing panel picture Michelangelo painted without the aid of assistants, we will be joined by Carl Strehlke, author of the book, “The Bernard and Mary Berenson Collection of European Paintings at I Tatti”

Carl will be autographing a copy of his book, a survey of the 149 paintings collected by the Berensons prior to their donation of the collection and residence as the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. The book will be presented by Carl to a lucky winner previously drawn at a raffle following the Before Homosexuals screening.

Researching Michelangelo’s Same Sex Love Sonnets at Casa Buonnaroti

Carl Strehlke appears in Before Homosexuals, the upcoming documentary film about gay and lesbian history from 2000 BC until 1900 AD, which will be screened on Pride of the Ocean as a work in progress sneak peek screening.

Michelangelo same-sex love sonnet

Carl is alongside the film’s director, John Scagliotti (above), as they research the love sonnets, madrigals, and quatrains (right) that Michelangelo wrote to his male lover Tommaso dei Cavalieri, and which were concealed for 200 years by Michelangelo’s nephew, who changed the gender pronouns in the poetry to female. This is but one of the fascinating stories told in the film.
Click to Learn More About BEFORE HOMOSEXUALS (http://www.beforehomosexuals.com)

Sample Antipasto in Rome with Sam Berliner

Sam Berliner is a Bay Area-based filmmaker and animator best known for his engaging and accessible films about gender non-conformity. His award-winning short films  have screened at over 100 film festivals around the world. When not actively making films, Sam is the festival director of Translations: the Seattle Transgender Film Festival.

Cinematographer Avery Hudson

We had such a wonderful timecruising the Western Caribbeanlast year, that we will be visiting the Eastern Caribbean this time around, including ports of call in St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Labadee.

Endless adventures await in Rome. With two and a half thousand years of history, artand culture, it is no wonder Rome is one of the most visited cities on the planet.

Gaze at the masterpieces of the Vatican or walk into the past with visits to ancient relics, historic monuments and legendary museums. Or people-watch while sipping  an espresso in a quaint cafe.

The leitmotif of Roman cuisine is simplicity, with dishes based on few and fresh ingredients, best embodied by sitting in a piazza sampling antipasto al fresco while watching the people stroll by. After dinner in Rome, only one food is excepted from the no eating while walking rule: gelato.

Supreme Court: Will Gay Marriage Be Back on the Docket?

Samantha Stark

Jim Obergefell in front of the Supreme Court Building

Jim Obergefell (right) and John Arthur returning from their wedding

Natural arch in the Faraglioni di Capri – Italy

Greetings from the Celebrity Solstice®

“The true delight of the trip was not the quality of the festival itself (the richness of Web content being developed was especially amazing) but the friends we made.”George GustinesThe New York Times

“This is not just a cruise to Alaska. It’s a gay group cruise to Glacier Bay, and a great way to mix and mingle with other LGBT film lovers who may have missed the winning films and documentaries at local festivals around the country.”Anthony SchillaciExaminer.com

Have Dinner in Marseille with Stu Maddux & Reel in the Closet

Stu Maddux is a multi-award winning filmmaker with international credits trying to use his powers for good. Sometimes he gets butterflies in his stomach about something that no one is paying attention to and he knows he should document it.

His preceding film, “Gen Silent” is a widely used documentary about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender older people hiding their lives to survive discrimination, bullying and abuse in aging care.

Stu’s first documentary as an independent filmmaker was the critically-acclaimed “Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure” about an Army sergeant who began an affair with his commanding officer in 1952. The two men came out to the troops in their unit and are still together a half-century later.

Stu Maddux will be screening his latest documentary on Pride of the Ocean’s 2016 European cruise. Click on the button below to learn how you can join him.

Stay tuned to meet our other Pride of the Ocean 2016 filmmakers and films!

REEL IN THE CLOSET

Stu Maddux’s “Reel In The Closet” is a feature-length documentary that lets us connect with LGBT people from the past through the rare LGBT home movies that they left for us.

Stu was searching for a way to really understand the people who came before him, not just read about them. He discovered old home movies dating back to the 1930s in closets and attics around the world. There were also recorded news stories and community productions that they left behind.

Stu spent three years making his documentary that he hopes lets you feel how he felt the first time he saw one of these movies.

But a big part of the story for Stu isn’t the few movies that have been saved but all the ones being thrown out- sometimes on purpose. In a decade, most will be destroyed or no longer playable.

We will never get them back.

MAKE FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY

Greetings from the Celebrity Solstice®

In his New York Times article below, author George Gustines alludes to the fact that travel to exotic destinations is only made better by making friends along the way.

Greetings from the Celebrity Solstice®
During our past 8 cruises, traveling in the good company of Pride of the Ocean’s fellow passengers has not only engendered enduring friendships, both personal and professional, but has even resulted in several long-term romantic relationships along the way.

Victoria, British Columbia

“The true delight of the trip was not the quality of the festival itself (the richness of Web content being developed was especially amazing) but the friends we made.”

George Gustines

The New York Times

“This is not just a cruise to Alaska. It’s a gay group cruise to Glacier Bay, and a great way to mix and mingle with other LGBT film lovers who may have missed the winning films and documentaries at local festivals around the country.”

Anthony Schillaci

Examiner.com

We hope you’ll consider joining the smart and engaging people like you who have been coming to Pride of the Ocean since 2009 for the unique experience of enjoying an ocean cruise together with much more than a film festival. Past passengers have included everyone from cruise aficionados, to film enthusiasts, to people who simply like to travel.

Warmly,

Everyone at Pride of the Ocean
Click to Join Our Mailing List

Copyright © 2016 Pride of the Ocean, All rights reserved.

The Secret to Skipping the Long Lines at the Uffizi Museum

The Uffizi Museum in Florence

Bust of Hadrian, Uffizi Museum Bust of Antinous, Uffizi Museum

Sleeping Hermaphroditus, Uffizi Museum

A New Year’s Wish for You in 2016

Cheers!

Celebrate in Rome!

Apollo and Hyacinth (above), and your friends at Pride of the Ocean (below), would like to wish you a glorious, rewarding and productive New Year, and invite you to join them in Europe in 2016.

Celebrate Pride month in 2016 by raising a glass in Rome to our Roman gay and lesbian ancestors on the 47th anniversary year of Stonewall.

We hope you’ll take a moment to consider joining us on our Western Mediterranean cruise in June 2016, visiting Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes, and Marseille for 7 days and 7 nights. We’ll have some great food, great films, and will see some amazing sights for less than you might think.

Warmly,

Your Friends at Pride of the Ocean

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

Bacchus by Caravaggio c.1593 Uffizi Gallery

What better gift to give your sweetheart this holiday season than Spain, Italy, and France with Pride of the Ocean, topped off by an exclusive tour of LGBT related artwork in the now notoriously sold out Uffizi Gallery in Florence?

With the popularity of cruise ships in Europe, it’s become nearly impossible to get into this amazing museum where you can see some of the works of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, including Gabrielle d’Estrees and Her Sister, by the School of Fontainebleau Master (left).

When you see Europe with Pride of the Ocean, you’re escorted on a private guided tour of LGBT themed art in the Uffizi Gallery.

The Abduction of Ganymede by Anton Domenico Gabbiani c. 1700 Uffizi Gallery

Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals, who was abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle and made immortal so that they he could be with him  for eternity. Zeus later put Ganymede in the sky as the constellation Aquarius, which is associated with that of the Eagle (Aquila).

One of the more colorful personalities in the Uffizi Gallery is that of Artemisia Gentileschi, a female Renaissance painter, who often painted heroic women, with herself in the title role, such as in her 1620 painting, Judith Beheading Holofernes (above), hanging in the Uffizi Gallery. Rumor has it that Artemesia may have modeled Holofernes on Pierantonio Stiattesi, her ex-husband.

Did You Know?

John Scagliotti Researching the Same- Sex Love Sonnets of Michelangelo with Harvard University in Florence, Italy

Did you know that Michelangelo wrote numerous same-sex love sonnets  to his beloved Tommaso DeCavalieri that were disguised by one of Michelangelo’s descendants to appear heterosexual by changing the gender pronouns and names used in those sonnets?

How was this deception discovered? How was the record set straight?

James Saslow tells us the story in the upcoming documentary

film, BEFORE HOMOSEXUALS. Guests on our 2015 Western Mediterranean cruise will not only be treated to a sneak peek of the full Before Homosexuals film, but will also have the privilege of meeting some of the scholars interviewed in the film, who will be accompanying us on the cruise.

Learn how you can make a holiday gift of this historic cruise to yourself and/or a loved one (substantial discounts and incentives still available), by clicking here, or on the button below.

Before Homosexuals Preview

Pride of the Ocean’s 2015 Alaska cruise guests were treated to a sneak peek  of a work in progress excerpt of John Scagliotti‘s upcoming documentary film, Before Homosexuals, the anticipated prequel to his classic 1984 film Before Stonewall.

(L-R) Director, John Scagliotti, with editors Christopher Dawes and HB Lozito answering questions from the audience following the Before Homosexuals sneak peek screening on Pride of the Ocean’s 2015 Alaska Cruise.

Before Homosexuals reveals a rich legacy of LGBT history and artwork dating from 2000 BC until 1900 AD, much of which has only come to light in the past decade, due to the research efforts of LGBT scholars, over 30 of whom are interviewed in the film, accompanied by lush visuals of artwork and artifacts illustrating the concepts of the film.

Guests on our 2015 Western Mediterranean cruise will not only be treated to a sneak peek of the full Before Homosexuals film, but will also have the privilege of meeting some of the scholars interviewed in the film, who will be accompanying us on the cruise. Scheduled guests to date include Bernadette Brooten, Ph.D., a MacArthur Fellowship award recipient and Fulbright Scholar who discovered ancient lesbian love spells inscribed on oval-shaped lead tablets.

The love spell is actually in the category of what are called binding spells. They are spells to bind another person to yourself. So you call upon a, the what we would call the Soul of a person who has died, to come and bind another person to go forth and grab another person and bind the person to you. So one woman tries to get the person into the bathhouse and bind her to her. So they’re very sensuous.