Departing from Tampa, Florida, this unique experience allows passengers to shed their inhibitions and embrace a carefree lifestyle on the high seas.
Cruise ships are pretty impressive vessels: they can pull off three-point turns in Sydney Harbour, play home to a luxurious new Rolex boutique, and — for the more morbid among you — even provide ad-hoc body storage when more tailor-made containers prove hard to find. Few vessels, not even the recently-unveiled world’s largest cruise ship, can boast such a head-turning feature as this vessel, due to set sail from the United States early next year.
You won’t be surprised to read — in fact, you may even be relieved to hear — that nudity is strictly prohibited on traditional cruises, even in designated adult-only areas. While this has never stopped people from making some wholly questionable and sometimes risque choices with their holiday attire, passengers are generally expected to adhere to dress codes in dining and public spaces. This is where the ‘The Big Nude Boat’ comes into play: a clothing-optional cruise that offers a very different experience altogether, as reported by The Street.
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While the ‘Big Nude Boat’ trip has been going for some years now, 2024’s outing is forecast to be the biggest ever. Taking place on the Carnival Pride, it’s worth clarifying from the outset that this is not a Carnival-sponsored cruise; rather, they charter the boat to a company that’s aptly named ‘Bare Necessities’, who buy out the vessel and curate their own very special program of entertainment over the course of the trip. A handful of the boat’s regular crew stay on to keep the boat running as normal… whether you consider such a role to be a blessing or curse is entirely a matter of perspective.
The weeklong journey of the ‘Big Nude Boat’ begins on February 25th, with the chosen departure location of Tampa being far from a random choice: as well as being close to an international airport, the Florida city also boasts some of the country’s most widely-renowned nude resorts. While previous trips have been significantly longer than the seven days planned for 2024, the organisers wanted to cater to travellers with limited “Nakataion time”…
This so-called ‘nakation’ comes with a fairly hefty price tag: the cheapest room requires two passengers to qualify and costs over $1200 USD per person, while balcony cabins with unobstructed views start at $2,525 USD per person. Be warned, however, that this isn’t a barefaced free for all: passengers are free to be nude when the ship is at sea or anchored in a port, but if it’s docked alongside another vessel then it’s time to get your clobber back on. Similarly, while the buffet allows clothing-optional dining, the main dining room and specialty restaurants require casual attire, and fetish-wear is strictly banned.
Thankfully, the ‘Big Nude Boat’ has a number of rules to maintain a safe and respectful environment for all passengers, as we could imagine things getting out of hand pretty easily… Fondling, inappropriate touching, overt sexual activity, and solicitation for sexual acts are strictly prohibited, along with all the usual antics you’d expect to be off the menu on any run-of-the-mill, clothes-on cruise. Photography is also banned without express permission from the subject and — in perhaps the most welcome rule of them all — travellers must always put a towel down before sitting, to help keep things hygienic…
So, if you’re ready to sail away from societal norms and embark on a liberating ocean-bound adventure, ‘The Big Nude Boat’ awaits. While inhibitions walk the plank, all you need to bring is your unbridled sense of freedom and a towel to keep things shipshape.
If you’re lucky you might even see Hedo Rick there.