Arianna Huffington sails with Olivia

Arianna Huffington is taking her shtick to sea.

The founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, a New York Times best-selling author and one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people has signed to appear-and speak-on an upcoming Olivia cruise.

Huffington will be on the Caribbean Islands Cruise, set for March 1-8. She has been on The L Word, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Nightline and The Today Show. Aboard the Olivia cruise, Huffington will be part of a symposium titled, "Post-Election Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities."

"Whether you are passionate about politics or newly excited and curious about what the future might hold now that Barack Obama is the U.S. President, you'll be thrilled with Arianna's insightful analysis and down-to-earth commentary," said Judy Dlugacz, president and founder of Olivia, the nation's No. 1 vacation company for lesbians.

In addition to Huffington, the upcoming Caribbean cruise will feature the hilarious comedy of Kate Clinton, Ren? Hicks and Vickie Shaw; the music of Doria Roberts; and the exciting Olivia Star Search contest.

"We called her to speak on our cruise because we really felt like, after the election, that people really wanted to have a sense of, and get to talk about, the future," Dlugacz said. "Arianna has this incredible knowledge and instinct about the political realities happening. I'm sure she'll be extraordinary and forthright. I think it's going to be an incredibly powerful conversation.

"Arianna has always been supportive of this community." And this is her Olivia debut.

Huffington met Michael Huffington in 1985 and they were married in 1986. The couple divorced in 1997 and, in 1998, Michael Huffington revealed that he was bisexual. A 1999 GQ Magazine article claimed that Arianna Huffington, "entered the marriage... with full knowledge of Michael Huffington's sexual interests in men."

Dlugacz said an on-board performer's sexuality is never discussed before Olivia signs a celebrity.

"Sure, there have been some who are out, but we never discuss [ sexuality before hiring a talent ] , nor do we only bring gay or bisexual performers," she said. "The only thing is, [ the talent ] has to at least be gay-friendly."

Olivia has several more cruises planned for later in 2009, including an Alaska Glaciers and Bays ( Sept. 20-27 ) and a Caribbean Halloween Cruise ( Oct. 25-Nov. 1 ) . Plus, the San Francisco-based company has several resort trips planned, such as Columbus Isle, Bahamas Resort ( May 2-9 ) and Vallarta Palace Resort ( Nov. 14-21 ) . And, Olivia has numerous ultimate escapes for 2009, such as its Tulips & Chocolate Rhine Riverboat Cruise and an Amazing Galapagos Adventure ( Nov. 14-23 ) .

"We might be doing two fewer events [ than in the past ] , but we're making sure the number of cabins on ships and the number of rooms at resorts is the right number," Dlugacz said. "In the past, we might have had too many rooms. We're changing the number of [ rooms downward ] , so that it exactly meets the needs of the community and to create a very healthy company. And that's a good thing, a very good thing. No one is going to feel any different, or sense any difference.

"Most of our late 2009 events are looking very good [ to be ] sellouts, and that's a very, very telling statement to me. The beginning part of 2009 was a little tougher, but I think people still really feel like they need vacations, and Olivia provides an extraordinary experience."

So, yes, most definitely, Olivia has been hit by the economic downslide.

"We had to do some discounting earlier and we had a lot of inventory. But what we're doing is, re-adjusting the inventory so that we're not doing lots and lots of large ships. So instead of a ship for 1,850; we're doing a ship for 1,250," she said. "I think we're a very good textbook example of what you do when the economy really starts to have an impact on the world. You condense some of your costs and you expand the awareness. You do all of the things that really, really make it lean, and that's what we've done. By the end of the year, I think we'll be in the black, which is very positive.

"Olivia is an extremely healthy company, given the fact you see 90 to 100 percent occupancy."

And that's not so surprising, even in today's economic times.

Jump back to September 2001, when the entire travel industry was devastated by the 9/11 attacks-but Olivia still thrived.

"The month of October 2001, was unbelievable; that was our best month ever. We did even more [ business ] in November. And even more than October and November in December," Dlugacz said. "The reason was, people understand that these trips are so much fun and they take you out of the stress that you're feeling in your every day life."

Olivia, in its 36th year, will celebrate its 20th year in the travel industry in 2010.

Olivia vacationers range from 21 to 93, said Dlugacz, "and it really is a wide range of very happy people." Although the majority of Olivia vacationers com from the United States and Canada, Dlugacz said they also have large number of registrants from England, Scotland, Germany, France, Australia, and Central and South America.

And what about Chicago?

"Chicago is very good for us. We get very good response [ s ] from Chicagoans," she said.

"I can do all of the advertising in the world, but ultimately it's word of mouth that is our best advertiser."

For more information about Olivia, including the upcoming cruise with Arianna Huffington, go to, www.olivia.com .