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TLO Cruises & Tours - Cruising with Polar Bears
TLO Cruises & Tours - Cruising with Polar Bears
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Take a look at most gay advertising and you usually see twenty-year-olds in speedos with perfect six pack abs. In reality, gay travelers come in all wonderful shapes, sizes and ages. We asked the dashingly handsome Christopher MacLellan about his Cruising Polar Bears and TLO Cruises & Tours which welcomes “guy that looks like Santa Claus without the suit!”
How would you describe TLO Cruises & Tours in one sentence?
TLO Cruises and Tours is where you can find like-minded people who want to step into their comfort zone after caregiving ends.
TLO Cruises and Tours is named after my late partner Richard Schiffer as he was known as The Little One (TLO) as he stood a foot shorter than me.
What is special about Cruising Polar Bears and your guests?
The Urban dictionary describes Polar Bears as gay slang for a grey haired, older, hairy chubby guy. Or a guy that looks like Santa Claus without the suit. As I age, I am definitely growing into this look ...and I love it.
Cruising Polar Bears is part of TLO Cruises and Tours, and is a group I specifically created for senior gay males who want to travel with like-minded men who are supportive, caring and kind.
The primary goal of Cruising Polar Bears is to create a nurturing community, which brings men together from all around the world who not only like to travel, but who want to meet other men for fellowship and emotional support.
Don’t let the name of the group fool you. Cruising Polar Bears is open to all like-minded adult men (and women) who are caring, supportive and kind regardless of age and regardless of color of hair or degree of baldness!
Cruising Polar Bears has been created as an outtake from my own personal caregiving experiences. The original idea behind the concept was to provide respite opportunities for caregivers, as well as a place for people to meet and greet after caregiving ends. My deceased partner and I loved to travel and after he made his life transition, I isolated (rather hibernated) after his death and have had a difficult time finding my comfort zone after caregiving ended. I see travel as a way to revive, not only myself, but people like me who have to find their way after the loss of a loved one.
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Take a look at most gay advertising and you usually see twenty-year-olds in speedos with perfect six pack abs. In reality, gay travelers come in all wonderful shapes, sizes and ages. We asked the dashingly handsome Christopher MacLellan about his Cruising Polar Bears and TLO Cruises & Tours which welcomes “guy that looks like Santa Claus without the suit!”
How would you describe TLO Cruises & Tours in one sentence?
TLO Cruises and Tours is where you can find like-minded people who want to step into their comfort zone after caregiving ends.
TLO Cruises and Tours is named after my late partner Richard Schiffer as he was known as The Little One (TLO) as he stood a foot shorter than me.
What is special about Cruising Polar Bears and your guests?
The Urban dictionary describes Polar Bears as gay slang for a grey haired, older, hairy chubby guy. Or a guy that looks like Santa Claus without the suit. As I age, I am definitely growing into this look ...and I love it.
Cruising Polar Bears is part of TLO Cruises and Tours, and is a group I specifically created for senior gay males who want to travel with like-minded men who are supportive, caring and kind.
The primary goal of Cruising Polar Bears is to create a nurturing community, which brings men together from all around the world who not only like to travel, but who want to meet other men for fellowship and emotional support.
Don’t let the name of the group fool you. Cruising Polar Bears is open to all like-minded adult men (and women) who are caring, supportive and kind regardless of age and regardless of color of hair or degree of baldness!
Cruising Polar Bears has been created as an outtake from my own personal caregiving experiences. The original idea behind the concept was to provide respite opportunities for caregivers, as well as a place for people to meet and greet after caregiving ends. My deceased partner and I loved to travel and after he made his life transition, I isolated (rather hibernated) after his death and have had a difficult time finding my comfort zone after caregiving ended. I see travel as a way to revive, not only myself, but people like me who have to find their way after the loss of a loved one.
What travel services can we expect from TLO Cruises & Tours?
Now that we have our maiden voyage completed it is an exciting time to look into the future and plan additional events. The fellows on our first cruise offered a variety of ideas that we will be implementing as we move forward. For instance, not everyone wants to cruise, yet there are a variety of land tours available where people can come together for a week or so and tour some of the wonderful areas in our country, specifically, the five state parks in Utah for example. We are looking at a few different train trips in and around the Canadian Rockies and Europe too. Our goal is to become a full-service travel agency, mindful, that the best services we can provide is when we collaborate with others in the industry to bring the bet travel experience for our group.
As we move forward, we want to be sure to reach out to folks who are alone and feel like they can't travel, for whatever reason. We want to be able to provide those folks with a safe environment where they will meet liked minded people who will end up being lifelong friends.
It's been great to watch the follows on our maiden cruise stay in touch with each other via social media, as it gives the group a sense of belonging, which is so important, especially after losing a loved one. One of the areas that I will be looking to grow will be companion services for single travelers. Now, let's be careful with the word companion here...What I mean here is someone who might have a health issue that prevents them from traveling, or someone who has never traveled before and needs a little assistance in organizing their itinerary, etc.
We want to have competent Certified Nursing Assistance that can help one of our travelers with some of their basis needs. For instance, someone might need a little assistance getting going in the morning with putting their shoes on, or they use a walker and feel like they can't travel. We want to ensure that travel is for everyone!
As a Certified Accessible Travel Advocate, I have access to a variety of health-related products, like electric scooters, walkers, oxygen that will put any traveler at ease who might be dealing with a health issue or two. The cruising industry makes accessible travel available for just about any health issue one might have. This is when my caregiving gene really kicks in!
What activities and special events are coming up at TLO Cruises & Tours?
We are actively planning additional events for 2020 and 2021 and we will be collaborating with Cruises 4 Bears in Barcelona, Spain on two events in 2020. Plans are in the works for an International Polar Bear event in 2021 in Barcelona.
Our website is currently being updated, so I don't want to give too much detail at the moment until everything is up and running with a fine tooth comb.
But I'd like to ask your readers Steven, what kind of events are they looking for...what would they like to see in a group activity?
You see Steve, the parallels with caregiving amazing. The best caregiver is the one who includes his care-partner in the decision-making process about their care. When I had to make a decision about Richard's care, I was confident about the decision because we had the ability to talk about what he wanted, even up to end of life. In order for Cruising Polar Bears to be a success, I have to take the same philosophy and listen to what people want. Sure, I have some ideas of places I want to go and things I want to do, but Cruising Polar Bears can't be about what Chris wants 100%. I have to listen, explore and respond to what the group is saying in order for this to be a success. Listening is a communication skill that often goes unused. I want to be sure that I hear what our group is seeking and do my best to provide that experience for them
Why are gay travel opportunities like Cruising Polar Bears important?
Let's just get the cat out of the bag here Steven, there is quite a bit of ageism in our society and ageism is prevalent in our LGBTQ community too. Sure, we've made a tremendous amount of progress over the years and of course, marriage equality is the paramount. But when it comes to today's LGBT Seniors, we have to be mindful of the system that they (we) grew out of was not accepting or supporting.
When I think about the lack of support I had from the three pillars, Family, Work and Church when I was going up and see what is happening now, I'm enlighten by the people who came before me to help make this happen. Remember, there was no Will and Grace when I was growing up.
Gay travel groups, whether it is Cruising Polar Bears are any of the other wonderful groups that are out there are important because it gives people a safe haven. A place where like-minded people can get together, share their inner most thoughts and feelings without worrying.
CONTACT:
Cruising with Polar Bears & TLO Cruises & Tours
www.TLOCruisesandtours.com/CruisingPolarBears
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cruising-Polar-Bears-635406223505819/photos/?ref=page_internal
Now that we have our maiden voyage completed it is an exciting time to look into the future and plan additional events. The fellows on our first cruise offered a variety of ideas that we will be implementing as we move forward. For instance, not everyone wants to cruise, yet there are a variety of land tours available where people can come together for a week or so and tour some of the wonderful areas in our country, specifically, the five state parks in Utah for example. We are looking at a few different train trips in and around the Canadian Rockies and Europe too. Our goal is to become a full-service travel agency, mindful, that the best services we can provide is when we collaborate with others in the industry to bring the bet travel experience for our group.
As we move forward, we want to be sure to reach out to folks who are alone and feel like they can't travel, for whatever reason. We want to be able to provide those folks with a safe environment where they will meet liked minded people who will end up being lifelong friends.
It's been great to watch the follows on our maiden cruise stay in touch with each other via social media, as it gives the group a sense of belonging, which is so important, especially after losing a loved one. One of the areas that I will be looking to grow will be companion services for single travelers. Now, let's be careful with the word companion here...What I mean here is someone who might have a health issue that prevents them from traveling, or someone who has never traveled before and needs a little assistance in organizing their itinerary, etc.
We want to have competent Certified Nursing Assistance that can help one of our travelers with some of their basis needs. For instance, someone might need a little assistance getting going in the morning with putting their shoes on, or they use a walker and feel like they can't travel. We want to ensure that travel is for everyone!
As a Certified Accessible Travel Advocate, I have access to a variety of health-related products, like electric scooters, walkers, oxygen that will put any traveler at ease who might be dealing with a health issue or two. The cruising industry makes accessible travel available for just about any health issue one might have. This is when my caregiving gene really kicks in!
What activities and special events are coming up at TLO Cruises & Tours?
We are actively planning additional events for 2020 and 2021 and we will be collaborating with Cruises 4 Bears in Barcelona, Spain on two events in 2020. Plans are in the works for an International Polar Bear event in 2021 in Barcelona.
Our website is currently being updated, so I don't want to give too much detail at the moment until everything is up and running with a fine tooth comb.
But I'd like to ask your readers Steven, what kind of events are they looking for...what would they like to see in a group activity?
You see Steve, the parallels with caregiving amazing. The best caregiver is the one who includes his care-partner in the decision-making process about their care. When I had to make a decision about Richard's care, I was confident about the decision because we had the ability to talk about what he wanted, even up to end of life. In order for Cruising Polar Bears to be a success, I have to take the same philosophy and listen to what people want. Sure, I have some ideas of places I want to go and things I want to do, but Cruising Polar Bears can't be about what Chris wants 100%. I have to listen, explore and respond to what the group is saying in order for this to be a success. Listening is a communication skill that often goes unused. I want to be sure that I hear what our group is seeking and do my best to provide that experience for them
Why are gay travel opportunities like Cruising Polar Bears important?
Let's just get the cat out of the bag here Steven, there is quite a bit of ageism in our society and ageism is prevalent in our LGBTQ community too. Sure, we've made a tremendous amount of progress over the years and of course, marriage equality is the paramount. But when it comes to today's LGBT Seniors, we have to be mindful of the system that they (we) grew out of was not accepting or supporting.
When I think about the lack of support I had from the three pillars, Family, Work and Church when I was going up and see what is happening now, I'm enlighten by the people who came before me to help make this happen. Remember, there was no Will and Grace when I was growing up.
Gay travel groups, whether it is Cruising Polar Bears are any of the other wonderful groups that are out there are important because it gives people a safe haven. A place where like-minded people can get together, share their inner most thoughts and feelings without worrying.
CONTACT:
Cruising with Polar Bears & TLO Cruises & Tours
www.TLOCruisesandtours.com/CruisingPolarBears
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cruising-Polar-Bears-635406223505819/photos/?ref=page_internal
Article by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Copyright 2019 Sunny Harbor Publishing Sunny Harbor Publishing, PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956 Phone: 321-252-9874 Email: [email protected] Website: www.SunnyHarborPublishing.org |
Gay Travelers Magazine
the best cruise & travel news, tips & reviews for the sensible gay traveler
the best cruise & travel news, tips & reviews for the sensible gay traveler