OUR “NUDE CRUISE” TO MEXICO
By Nikki P & Volker R

Well, it’s been a few months now and the memories of our first Nude cruise have gently blended together and aged to perfection like a fine bottle of smoothly blended Scotch. Our adventure began on Feb. 28, 2003 from the Los Angeles Port of San Pedro on the Carnival fun ship – Ecstasy. This was the first Nude cruise from Los Angeles to Mexico produced by Bare Necessities Travel.

It was an awesome feeling boarding the ship and sailing out of port with over 2000 sun-loving Naturists, all eagerly awaiting the “all clear” moment when the fabrics of society could be shed for the next 10 days to bask in the sun and ocean spray.

After a short time, the cruise director gave the all-clear announcement and a ship of threads gleefully turned into a sea of bare skin! Our first mission was to explore the ship and get our bearings. It took only a few minutes to overcome the initial sense of being totally revealed in front of the clothed crew and staff, but it was immediately apparent that they all passed their sensitivity training class with an A+. The ship personnel were natural, courteous and very professional.

Mardi Gras Night The ship's casino Our Stateroom (but who slept?)

The Ecstasy was like sailing a four star hotel with clubs, restaurants, buffets, discos, casino, a spa, pools&ldots;you know, all those necessities of life you just can’t do without. After a night of sailing, our first port was La Paz, in the Sea of Cortez. We disembarked for a short bus ride into town and then a self-guided walking tour with friends - a little shopping (forgot to pack our Mardi Gras costumes), and then back to the ship with all those mountains of never-ending food! Other ports included Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas. Each day brought new adventures of sun-bathing, whale-watching, shore excursions, seeing old friends and instantly making new ones. Afternoon and evening activities stretched into the wee hours of the morning and consisted of hot tubbing, eating, catching some more rays, eating, formal ship stage entertainment and live-band or disco dancing till 2 am. OH! Did I forget to mention the 24 hour Pizza Parlour? We could write a book if space permitted&ldots;but here are just a few of our favorite memories. Mardi Gras night was incredible! It should almost be against the law to have so much fun&ldots;floating and fluttering about the deck moving along in a pageant of costumes, colors and creative body painting. The judges really had a tough job choosing the winners. Nikki and I dressed as butterflies, all painted up and wearing plastic wings purchased in La Paz. In Puerto Vallarta, we went on a four hour hike through a rain forest with about 15 people. At the half way point was a natural mineral hot spring with a panoramic view of the river valley below. Our Mexican guides quietly scurried away as we bared all to slide into the two tiled mineral springs. Then, at trail’s end we enjoyed some incredible tacos cooked on an open-air grill along with some cervezas and a Mariachi band! One evening, Nikki tried her hand at free-form drumming with a group of people on deck. The primal rhythm of the drums carried her deep into the essence of her feminine source and power. What a powerful and transforming experience! Most of all, our nude cruise was an unforgettable journey of love and renewal; a regeneration of body, mind and spirit along with the revelation that our love together is like a cruise through life. OH&ldots;and did I mention the food?

On February 28 2003, Carnival's Ecstasy sailed out of Los Angeles Harbor with the largest gathering of Naturists the cruise world had seen to date!
The ship cruised from Los Angeles to La Paz, Mazatlan, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. More than 80 percent of the available occupancy was filled, out of the 2,050-passenger spaces available.

Participants returned to Los Angeles March 10.
The cruise ship was advertised as featuring everything from a lively casino, to bars and lounges, to a full service spa and salon, jogging track, three swimming pools, Las Vegas style floorshows, ship's orchestra and a state-of-the-art dance club.
Bare Necessities has an additional cruise planned in 2003 to the Greek Isles in July, which they say is nearly sold out.