If you’ve ever been on a vacation where virtually everything was an optional “extra”, you know how much of a damper it can put on your good time.
Do I really need that glass of hooch? I’m sure this sparkling water is delicious.
Do we really need a limo transfer? I’m pretty sure this taxi driver won’t pull the car over and rob us.
Brand g’s vacations include almost every possible item, so the only dithering you have to do is over which fabulous shirt to wear to dinner. We want you to only pull out your wallet when you’re showing people how bad your driver’s license photo turned out. (I mean, seriously, the DMV needs a glam squad.)
While the inclusions do vary somewhat by trip (and they’re always outlined on the trip page for each vacation), you can rest assured that you will spend an extremely small amount of extra money. There will be an occasional meal that’s not included (generally on an afternoon or evening when you have time on your own), or a rare optional excursion.
But as a rule, once you arrive at the destination airport, we’ve got you covered.
For starters, airport transfers are included. And these aren’t big bus transfers where you’re waiting for 30 people to arrive. They’re Mercedes or SUV-type vehicles, typically for your group only – two people, four, etc.
And we know how much luggage you tend to have, so we plan accordingly. Want to bring that beaded gown or set of free weights? Hey, if you can get it into a suitcase, our drivers will get it into their vehicles.
Pre-cruise (or land tour) hotels are always included, and they’re 4.5 or 5-star properties, including Inter-Continentals, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, JW Marriott’s, etc. Some are former palaces. And every hotel includes a fabulous morning breakfast each day of your stay. Diet accordingly.
Transportation between cities is always included. Whether it’s a luxury bus to take you from Prague to the beginning of a Danube cruise, or intra-country airline flights in Peru, Africa, Asia, etc., we take care of everything. All you have to do is show up. We pride ourselves on making long travel days effortless. You’ll get off a bus or plane, be whisked into a hotel where you’re handed your room keys, and you just head up to your room where your luggage will be delivered. No muss, no fuss.
Onboard cruise ships, all meals are, of course, included, so you can eat like Henry VIII on a bender. But unlike standard river and ocean cruises, we also include either unlimited adult beverages or unlimited wine and beer at meals (depending on the cruise line and region of the world). No charging drinks to your room and getting a bill that’s five pages long at the end of your cruise. (On an ocean cruise, friends of ours – who had a penchant for buying drinks for their small group – got a $2,000 bar bill, which sobered them up really fast.)
The same goes for our land tours. While it’s very difficult to offer unlimited drinks in hotels, we always have some form of liquor included in each city – wine and beer with dinner, complimentary cocktail hours, etc. So you can raise all the glasses you want with like-spirited travelers.
On most river and ocean cruises, shore excursions are not included in the fare. On Brand g, they always are. Every day, there will be some type of bus (or walking, or both) tour. And many will include signature Brand g extras – events like wine and olive oil tastings, shaman ceremonies, luxury dinners, etc.
Occasionally, there will be an optional tour offered, like a full-day tour to a nearby destination – the Salzburg tour in Austria on our Danube cruises is one example – but even those tours are moderately priced (usually less than $100 and often less than $50).
Brand g even prepays all tips (at a higher-than-standard rate), so there is never a reason to have to tip any guide, driver, room steward or waiter unless you want to for personal reasons. (We won’t ask what those personal reasons are.)
Add to this the guarantee that all our trips are all-LGBT, and that all our European cruises include signature Brand g entertainers (like Miss Conception, Ann Hampton Callaway, Branden & James, Tori Scott, etc), and it’s pretty easy to see that all you have to do is show up in Prague or Amsterdam or Tokyo or New Delhi or Lima or Siem Reap or wherever…and we’ll take care of the rest.
And then your wallet can stay firmly inside your back pocket, or room safe, or that sparkly clutch you stole from Liza Minnelli when she wasn’t looking.
Because when we say all-inclusive, we mean it.
