Ben Squires
Cruising

Nude cruises are a thing

In researching a book on nudism a travel writer has gone on a nude cruise, describing the somewhat awkward experience in a detailed account with all flaps of loose skin included.

For his book, Naked at Lunch Adventures of a Reluctant Nudist, Mark Haskell Smith booked a cruise called The Big Nude Boat, which is essential a luxury cruise liner that caters for nudists.

In his account Mr Haskell Smith explains the only real difference between a normal cruise and a naked one is the lack of clothing, saying, “They were everywhere. On the decks, in the shops, playing ping-pong, guzzling cocktails by the pool and grazing the all-you-can-eat buffets. It wasn’t unusual to get on an elevator and find yourself squeezing in with six or seven totally naked people.”

Mr Haskell Smith at work on his cruise

Image credit: Twitter / NY Times

Mr Haskell Smith also notes that while it may sound on paper like quite a debaucherous trip, nude cruises are actually predominantly populated by people who enjoy the liberation of having their clothes off and strive to generate a “non-sexual environment”. And thanks to people courteously sitting on towels at all times the naked cruise was thankfully a skid mark-free zone.

Mr Haskell Smith says, “While I can’t say I’m planning to go on any cruises in the near future, I did enjoy my first seagoing adventure. There was no plague or pirates, no rogue waves or freak Caribbean icebergs, nothing to cause alarm other than a few random erections.”

Tags:
travel, cruising, Naked cruise, Mark Haskell Smith