Here’s The Naked Truth About Cruising
Cruise lines are always looking for groups to which they can market their ships - and one group that has recently drawn attention is nude vacationers. That’s not surprising, says Roslyn Scheer, executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation in Kissimmee, Fla., whose membership has doubled to 46,000 in the past decade.
“With 92 percent of our members 35 and older, and almost 50 percent earning at least $50,000 a year, the cruise lines are taking notice,” Scheer says. “Nude cruises are a great way to experience beautiful natural settings and to enjoy social nudity in peace and privacy.”
Among the lines that have welcomed full-ship charters from nudist groups are Windstar, Star Clipper, Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, Dolphin, Crown, Cunard, Commodore and Regency.
“Let’s face it, over 20 percent of Americans have skinny-dipped,” says Nancy Tiemann, who owns Bare Necessities Tour & Travel (1-800-743-0405), an Austin-based agency specializing in nude travel. “Nude recreation is out there for people who want to discover freedom and body acceptance.”
Nude cruising is popular, she says, because it “affords (nudists) the opportunity to vacation in a safe and private way and to venture out to see places they always dreamed about.”
She and her husband started the company in 1990 and booked their first nude cruise in 1991 on a small dive boat. Since then, she says, her database of customers has grown from 5,000 to more than 20,000 and this year they are offering three nude cruises.
Most of their sailings are to the Caribbean, and most of the passengers are couples. Tiemann says she tries to balance the number of singles to keep the male/female ratio as even as possible.
In February, Bare Necessities chartered the 960-passenger Regent Rainbow. “Almost 30 percent of the Regent passengers were on their first nude cruise,” Tiemann says. “There are thousands of people who practice social nudism in their backyard and just don’t know that there are places to go and enjoy nude recreation while on vacation.”
Bare Necessities is chartering the 180-passenger Star Clipper for a Halloween voyage in the Caribbean Oct. 28-Nov. 4 (cruise-only fares start at $1,250 per person, double occupancy).
Activities include scuba diving, snorkeling and a Halloween un-costume party. The company also is chartering the 840-passenger SeaBreeze for a Caribbean cruise Feb. 23-March 1 (prices start at $1,500 per person, double occupancy). The highlight of this cruise is the Brazilian Carnival Costume Ball. “There’s nobody who likes to dress up more than a bunch of nudists,” Tiemann says.
The cruises also offer passengers the opportunity to enjoy nude recreation on land. Bare Necessities organizes shore excursions to private areas and arranges for nude rain-forest hikes and river-rafting trips at times when clothed vacationers will not be around, Tiemann says.