Big Nude Boat - Tampa, Florida, USA
It was such an absolute pleasure for us to be able to sail on the Big Nude Boat in 2020, a specialty cruise chartered each year by Bare Necessities Tour & Travel. In addition to this flagship cruise that departs from a port in the United States, Bare Necessities also charters a handful of other clothing optional cruises at exotic locations around the world. This 2020 sailing in particular happened to mark their 30th Anniversary of Bare Cruising. While this wasn’t our first cruise in general, it was our first sailing where we had the luxury of deciding what not to wear (a very appropriate slogan used by Bare Necessities in their marketing materials). It also essentially ruined textile cruising for us (in a very good way), as once we returned home we cancelled a CruiseNext deposit that we already had placed on a future textile cruise and instead are now planning to sail on as many Big Nude Boats as we can in the future! As you read on, you’ll learn why Bare Necessities cruises provide such an exceptional experience, but it is also worth pointing out that, as with many nudist resorts and spaces where non-sexual social nudity is practiced, the couple-thousand people that you are sailing with are some of the most genuine, kind, respectful, and enjoyable people to be around (a stark contrast to some of the groups of strangers that we’ve sailed with before on textile cruises). If you’ve experienced that sort of comfort and camaraderie at a nudist or naturist resort, it is the exact same feel here, except this one is floating on the seas for a number of nights!
We won’t go into the basic details of a typical cruise in this post, as those things are very much the same that you might experience on board a Carnival, NCL, or Royal Caribbean cruise. In fact, these boats are chartered (typically from Carnival, but occasionally other cruise lines are utilized for the Big Nude Boat) in place of a normal cruise with a typical itinerary and staff members; this cruise just happens to differ because most of the guests aren’t wearing any clothes! To that end, it’s worth mentioning that you are required to cover up while in port (announcements are made over the loudspeaker when we are far enough away and able to disrobe again), but for many a sarong or pareo or swimsuit cover-up is sufficient attire at those times. We believe the main dining room requires some modicum of clothing as well, though we personally ate at the various buffets throughout our cruise and we didn’t need to wear anything (other than a towel or textile to sit on). It is also worth mentioning that the Big Nude Boat is an adults-only cruise, but please don’t mistake that for any shenanigans. This is absolutely a non-sexual, non-swingers cruise (there are other cruises out there if that is what you are looking for) and you can expect the same etiquette to be practiced (and enforced if necessary) as you would find at a genuine naturist resort.
In addition to the amazing cruise days at sea and ports of call available on these itineraries, Bare Necessities goes above and beyond by offering many curated activities on-board, as well as clothing optional excursions when visiting the ports. This cannot be understated! One of our favorite things about this cruise was being able to choose a variety of excursions that were specifically selected and offered by Bare Necessities for their ability to accommodate a clothing optional group. Whether a private beach club, sporting activity, snorkeling or diving, etc., you will be offered a variety of options for excursions at each port of call that you will be able to enjoy in the nude—how cool and unique is that?! Bare Necessities also staffs the ship (and excursions) with their own group of volunteers and staff members that are all extremely kind and helpful, and provides a daily newsletter that is delivered to your cabin (similar to what many cruise ships already provide, but this one is specific to the Big Nude Boat). There are also theme nights (including costume parties if you are looking to dress up during the voyage), as well as a staged group photo that is organized by the Bare Necessities team and is sure to make for a wonderful keepsake memory to bring home with you (we had ours printed at the Carnival photo gallery on-board and it is cherished on a shelf in our home).
In closing, this was one of our most enjoyable and memorable vacations that we’ve ever had. A huge thank you to Bare Necessities and many of the wonderful friends that we’ve met on board. We can’t wait to sail on the Big Nude Boat again soon!
Learn more and plan your cruise at the official Bare Necessities website.
