Meet Jeff Gunvaldson and Brian Van Wey, owners of Brand g Vacations, the preeminent purveyor of luxury LGBTQ+ vacations and cruises.
When booking a Brand g Vacations (brandgvacations.com) luxury tour or cruise, there’s a good chance that you’ll do so through one of its two owners, Jeff Gundvaldson and Brian Van Wey. They also make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible on the trip itself, which is all-inclusive, by joining in or having a member of their curated full time staff on hand.
The silver-haired Gundvaldson, who resembles Anderson Cooper more than a smidgen (no surprise, they’re siblings), and straight-but-queer-adjacent Van Wey first met while working for RSVP Cruises between 2007-2011. Growing less enchanted with big ship gay cruises and more drawn to smaller, intimate vessels and white glove experiences on both water and land, the two joined forces with Brand g, which was officially founded in 2011.
They always ensure that their trips boast a personal touch, and a mere sampling of the 2025 and 2026 offerings include a Belgium, Ireland and Scotland Luxury Cruise (June 6 – 17, 2025); Galapagos Expedition Crusie (Aug 28 – Sep 7, 2025); Dublin to Lisbon Luxury Cruise (Sep 22 – Oct 2, 2025); India & The Ganges River Holi Cruise (Feb 24 – Mar 9, 2026); and Amazon Cruise & Machu Picchu Discovery (Mar 29 – Apr 10,
2026).
During their interview with Passport, Gundvaldson and Van Wey opened up about their company, plus what goes into planning Brand g destinations and itineraries, some helpful do’s and don’ts for luxury travel, and the places that most excite them.
You both got married to your respective spouses in 2013. Do you ever use them as guinea pigs for new or potential itineraries?
Jeff Gundvaldson: My husband Troy, a landscape designer, has been on a few trips as co-host and we’ve traveled on what we call ‘recon’ or ‘inspection trips’ checking out new destinations, so yep.
What were the first trips for Brand g Vacations back when starting out?
Brian Van Wey: A Danube river cruise in 2012 (writer Matthew Wexler of Passport was on that one); 2013 was a larger year with a French river cruise, and we did a resort buyout in Mexico and also a Vietnam river cruise. We’ve added to that portfolio every year since.
Machu Picchu (Photo by Brand g Vacations)
A lot has changed since then, with a growing international LGBTQ+ luxury market and operators. That being the case, how does Brand g most stand apart, in addition to the $800,000 the company has made in charitable donations over its history?
Brian: What we brought to the table was that all-inclusivity, so from the time you land to the time you leave everything is included and you don’t have to think about it. We pick you up at the airport, provide transfers, gratuities, and bottled water. We take care of everything. Also, whether myself or Jeff or another full time employee is on your trip, we don’t want to hear a review later of what could have been done better. We’re on site to make changes today. These are bucket list destinations and we don’t take our guests’ time and money for granted. When you want to call us, you’re gonna talk to me or Jeff or a colleague. It’s a soup to nuts loop, and it’s that one to one personal touch we provide. I never thought here we’d be 11-12 years later with over 20 offerings, and the best part is the friendships we’ve made along the way with our guests.
Are there any destinations you consider for Brand g but ultimately avoid due to human rights or anti-LGBTQ+ issues?
Jeff: Definitely. We like to push the envelope a little bit, so not all of our destinations are 100% gay-friendly, and some have anti-gay laws on the books. But our first concern is always guests safety and we aren’t going to take them somewhere we would knowingly put them at risk. We wouldn’t take them to Russia right now, for instance.
What are a few comparatively underrated places you currently go to and people should consider?
Brian: I would always say Cambodia. Ten years ago when we first did it we couldn’t give Vietnam and Cambodia away. The demand has picked up, but originally there was a lot of ‘why would you go there?’ Dubrovnik, Croatia was very underrated for many years but is finally gaining followers to some degree. It’s a tremendous travel value in Europe and a spectacular destination with ample things to do and wonderful food.
Over the years have you tried some competitors’ trips in stealth mode to see how they compared or handled hiccups?
Jeff: We couldn’t be stealth because our gay competitors would know who we are, but we get a lot of feedback from gay guests who often compare and contrast us. We have a lot of friendly competitors, but we stick to what we do best.
Brian: We’re always trying to improve upon our last trip, and not necessarily chasing a competitor. Everyone rises with the tide, so I would like to see our competitors up their game and we up ours and it’s beneficial for everyone in that segment and the consumer really wins. But we keep our focus on our product and guests.
Atlas Luxury Yacht Cruise (Photo by Brand g Vacations)
Can you share some challenges you’ve faced on your trips and how you dealt with them?
Brian: We’ve had a guest pass away on a trip, as well as one or two people who injured themselves in developing countries. These are situations you never want to have happen, but fortunately, we work closely with our land operations partners and our cruise line partners, so between us (since Brand g staff are always on hand on every trip), we were able to manage the situations in ways that were fairly seamless. Many of the guests weren’t even aware of what had transpired; and fortunately, the ones that were aware were extremely compassionate. We are fortunate to have some of the kindest and most thoughtful guests imaginable. Anyway, situations like that are awful enough for the guests directly involved, so our goal is to take care of them in every way possible while also minimizing the effect on the other guests.
Jeff: I once lost someone at a train station in Peru. Fortunately I found him before we left, but that was disconcerting.
What about showing up someplace and it sucked?
Jeff: I think our resort in Playa Del Carmen would rise to the top of places we’ve never gone back to with good reason. A travel agent who sells a lot of gay travel recommended them and had good experiences before, but leading up to our trip we started having all these problems. They told us the resort was being remodeled so all the best rooms were taken out of circulation, and we’d sold them by category so all of the sudden their ocean view rooms no longer existed.
Brian: The property got sold between the time we booked it and when we went to deliver it. The change of ownership didn’t care about that previous contract. They weren’t going to honor anything, so we were stuck between a rock and hard place.
Have you ever had “evil gays” on a trip like in White Lotus?
Jeff: I would say yeah. There’s always gonna be that sore thumb that sticks out once in a while, but fortunately they are few and far between. A few have been put on the blacklist, let’s put it that way.
How about some do’s and don’ts for luxury travelers? I’ll start by mentioning travel insurance.
Jeff: I think having travel insurance is always smart as it protects your investment, health, and well-being. When you’ve chartered a ship they don’t care if ten people cancel. You still have to pay for the charter. So insurance is something to consider no matter what. Don’t come with an attitude. Don’t be snobbish. Come with an open heart and mind and willingness to accept. Opening yourself up to other cultures and people is a definite. Don’t come to a destination in summer in Southeast Asia and expect to have all the comforts of home. Travel is an adventure, so be flexible. As hard as we try to make everything happen as it was written on the itinerary, life is gonna happen, so come with that open mindedness and flexibility and go with the flow.
India (Photo by Brand g Vacations)
Brian: I think traveling with that open mind and spirit of being adaptable is going to serve you best when you travel. It’s almost like being back in school. If you’re open and receptive you can learn a lot from these places. People want to do nice things for you, just give them a reason. A smile goes a long way. That’s a pretty international language, and if you just make eye contact and smile you’re generally going to have a much better experience and get things you want much easier and have a much more enjoyable experience.
Street food: do or don’t?
Jeff: Don’t! If you want to enjoy the rest of your vacation, avoid it at all costs. Do it on the last day and suffer on the flight home. It’s not worth the risk.
Brian: I think it depends where you’re at. In Europe, not a problem whatsoever. There are many countries where the water is potable, like Australia and New Zealand. You’re rolling the dice (otherwise) and definitely avoid raw fresh vegetables.
I assume don’t miss the ship’s boarding time is a big one based on the YouTube videos I’ve seen of folks just missing theirs and being stuck.
Jeff: That used to happen quite frequently on the bigger RSVP ships. Fortunately, we deal with more mature men and women [on Brand g] who tend to watch the clock and be on time, and the nice part of a smaller group is the intimacy, and it quickly becomes clear who’s missing. Because we travel with them and get to know them so well, we get to know who the laggards are. We check on them first and foremost.
Brian: It’s actually getting easier [to avoid those incidents] thanks to technology. We have a WhatsApp group and on our last trip we had 100 percent participation from the guests. And I can walk on the bus and see 30 people, and we need 32, and someone is telling me who’s missing. It’s great when you have a group that self-polices. And again, I think people realize you can’t be that dawdler. We have very courteous and prompt guests, and with river cruises if you were in that unfortunate position where the ship took off, unlike the big ocean vessels, you can take a taxi and catch up with the ship and no one’s the wiser.
What are your personal favorite destinations in the world right now?
Jeff: India has become a favorite, because the culture is so different from everywhere else in the world. They do speak English widely, but it’s a chaotic, crazy, polluted, colorful, wonderful place to go, and isn’t that why we travel, to see different cultures and experience different food?
Japan (Photo by Brand g Vacations)
Brian: I would say Japan. It challenges a seasoned traveler as much as anyplace. You better have a working knowledge of Japanese, and it’s a cash society, so you better have cash. It’s also beautiful with thousands of years of history and a people very proud of that history.
What’s on tap for Brand g in 2025 & 2026?
Jeff: We’ve got a list of 25 trips for 2025. And we’re proud of a new relationship with Atlas Ocean Voyages. It’s a yacht-like experience with a big ship feel and a lot of those features. It’s a small intimate environment that is classy and very luxurious. We’re also offering more destinations that every cruise doesn’t visit. Going back to Galapagos is something I’m excited about, because it’s been quite a few years since we’ve been. Australia is a new destination for us, which we will experience during Mardi Gras in February. The Eastern Orient Express in Singapore and Malaysia in late 2025 is also new.
