All Aboard

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell says she was surprised when participants in the first gay family cruise were met by protesters in the Bahamas.

The cruise organized by O'Donnell and her partner, Kelli, is featured in an HBO documentary called "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise."

O'Donnell told Tuesday's New York Daily News she found the event to be overwhelmingly positive. However, she added, they were not prepared for the protesters who greeted them upon landing in Nassau.

"It was sort of shocking to me," O'Donnell said, adding other Nassau residents were supportive and apologized for the protest.

She said family was the impetus for the 2004 cruise, which is being repeated this summer as well as 2007.

"I find that being part of the gay community as a married parent makes you a subset of a subset," she said. "So there's not a lot of opportunities for you to go as a family together and do things that are gay-focused or that have any kind of gay theme or message."