What is a Nude Cruise, and Which are The Best Ones?
Adolf Hitler believed that nudity is undignified and lacks taste, while Ginnifer Goodwin opines it is for her boyfriend or doctor. On the other hand, others believe it is a part of life and an expression of art. Therefore, the Greeks made nude sculptures, and artists soon followed suit by painting naked human bodies. Being comfortable with nudity has since evolved, and today you must have heard about, if not visited, a nude beach where people have the option of being naked. Well, more progress has been made, and nude cruises are now fashionable. Below is a sneak peek into the best ones.
What is a Nude Cruise?
A nude cruise is a clothing-optional cruise that began exactly 30 years ago when Bare Necessities Tours, a U.S. cruising company set sail with its first batch of clothing-optional clients. It had 36 passengers on board, and four years later, in 1995, the number of customers in the database grew to over 5,000. According to Washington Post, Nancy Tiemann and her husband founded Bare Necessities in 1990 because nude cruising affords people the chance to vacation safely and privately while venturing out to the places of their dreams. Tiemann said that 20% of Americans had skinny-dipped; therefore, nude recreation awaited those interested in discovering freedom and accepting their bodies. Still, nude cruises are not about a state of undressing but rather a state of mind, at least according to the Cruise Bare website. It would be weird to have an uneven number of each gender on such cruises. Therefore, even if most passengers are couples, Tiemann added that she tries to balance the number of single men and women on board. All the same, companies offering nude cruises dispel the myths about nudity being all about sexuality. They argue that since people practice social nudity in their backyards, the same form of freedom is extended in their vacations. Due to this type of marketing, more passengers have been drawn to make their first nude cruises. By 1995, 30% of the Bare Necessities passengers were on their first nude cruise. As more and more people embrace the concept of nude cruises, the company had its largest cruise to date, the Big Nude Boat, of 3000 passengers, in 2013.
Which are the Best Nude Cruises?
According to Love to Know, the best way to know about a nude cruise is through an agency specializing in nudist travel. Therefore, among the best recommended are:
• The Big Boat Nude Cruise by Bare Necessities Tours
Of course, the pioneer in nude cruises has remained undefeated in providing the best nude cruises over the years. The Big Boat Nude event has put the company on the map, and since the COVID-19 pandemic put any cruise on hold, Bare Necessities has promised that passengers can board the Carnival Pride in February 2022. The biggest cruise, which departed on February 9, 2013, made a round trip from Fort Lauderdale to Panama, through Costa Rica and Mayan Riviera. The one booked in February 2022 will last two weeks, a week longer than other previous cruises. It will depart from Tampa, chosen because of its accessibility to nudist resorts in Florida. It will set sail on February 13, 2022, and make stops to Colombia, Puerto Rico, Curacao, Bonaire, and Panama. Given how many passengers are looking forward to it, it could become the largest nude cruise yet.
• Specialty Lifestyle Cruises by Shoes Only Travel
According to Dream Pleasure Tours, Shoes Only Travel was started by Jonathan and Lori, who wanted to do something different; thus, settled on specialty lifestyle cruises. The two founders plan the trips to the last details and are hands-on in the business; they are the tour guides, organizers, and hosts. Unlike the Big Boat Nude event, Jonathan and Lori prefer smaller boats hosting 50 to 150 couples, and the cruises are usually sold out. Besides encouraging nudists to book the cruises, swingers too are welcome. The best thing about it is that you do not have to break the bank to go on the cruise. If you are on a tight budget, they have a payment plan whereby you deposit a small amount of money each month before the big day.
• Hedonism Cruises by Castaways Travel
Castaways Travel boasts of offering clothing-optional adult vacations and cruises since 1984. The Hedonism Cruise takes the passengers to Hedonism Resort in Jamaica; it is one of the most famous nudist resorts worldwide and attracts visitors from all over the globe. Of course, since it is nudist, it is an adults-only resort, but it’s not limited to couples; singles and even triples are welcome to enjoy whatever the facility has to offer. The Hedonism Resort warns that if you find revealing costumes and adult themes offensive, it is not the place for you. The cruise is a good fit for any open-minded person between the ages of 21 and 85.
What to Know About Nude Cruises
Although they are nude cruises, you are not expected to be nude throughout. According to The New York Post, some cruise lines are strict about going naked to the formal dining area or other specialty dining rooms. You might have reservations about sitting on surfaces, but the general guideline about nude cruises is that you are supposed to place a towel wherever you sit. Also, contrary to preconceived notions about nude cruises, they are not about sex; thus, they ban overt and public sexual activities. Therefore, you should not get carried away on the dance floor and engage in body contact because staff will break you two apart. You do not have to go out of your way trying to shed extra pounds before embarking on a nude cruise because everyone accepts themselves as they are. Finally, staring is impolite.