Bare Necessities Mid-Winter Cruise

Here in Maryland the winter doldrums are at their absolute worst in late February and not very conducive to the pursuit of naturist activities. This year, Becky and I found the perfect cure — Bare Necessities Mid-Winter Clothing Optional Cruise!

Bare Necessities has built a solid reputation in the naturist community for offering high quality cruises aboard top of the line, full luxury ships. This year was no exception. Our vessel for the cruise was Costa Cruise Line’s Mediterranea. The Mediterranea has more than 1,050 guest cabins — about 80% of them have outside balconies. The ship has three restaurants, at least eight bars and lounges, a large theater, a casino, a disco, a spa, four swimming pools (one of them under a retractable roof), a couple of hot tubs, an outside volleyball/tennis court, an outside running track, a bocce court, an internet cafÈ/library, and, well, you get the picture. The ship is ornately decorated throughout in a 17th/18th century Mediterranean motif fitting of its Italian registry.

The itinerary for our cruise included embarkation from Ft Lauderdale on Sunday, February 26th, two days at sea, a day in St Martin, a day at Catalina Island/La Romana, Dominican Republic, another sea day, a day at Nassau, Bahamas, and returning the following Sunday to Ft Lauderdale. Becky and I were eager to escape the cold, so we left early on the Friday before the cruise’s scheduled departure date, with plans to spend a couple of days on Haulover Beach before we sailed on Sunday.

Haulover Beach

On Friday morning, we got up very early to make a 6 am flight out of BWI. The temperature there hovered near 30 degrees, but within a few hours we were basking in the warm sunshine on Haulover Beach.

Haulover is Miami’s officially sanctioned nude beach and arguably the best nude beach on the East Coast. Beyond any doubt, it is the East Coast’s best nude beach in February! Regardless, Haulover is our favorite beach. We try to visit two or three times each year. The beach is well maintained, the people are friendly, and it is conveniently located near Miami’s attractions. The South Florida Free Beaches group works hard to ensure that the beach is a hassle free haven for nude sun-seekers.

Becky and I enjoyed two very nice days on the beach, though I will admit that we probably over exposed our winter-white skin to the South Florida sun. We both sported the telltale tourist red glow by Sunday.

We were joined at Haulover by some of our cruise companions, fellow Capital Area Family Naturists members Tom and Regina, and former Bare Buns members, Rich and Margette. For us, the cruise experience is best enjoyed in the company of close friends.

Ft. Lauderdale — And we’re off!

Sunday dawned cloudy and with the threat of rain. The dreary weather did little to squelch the enthusiasm of a couple of thousand nudists from all over the USA (the world, for that matter) as they converged on Ft Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, eager to board the Costa Mediterranea.

The conversations were light and lively as we all queued through the long lines to check baggage and complete necessary documents to check in for our cruise. The nudist community is a small, tight knit community. We recognized many faces from other cruises and nude events we had attended over the years. Soon enough, we were all aboard and exploring the ship that would be our home for the next eight days.

Logistically, itÎs quite an effort to refuel, re-stock the galley, and load the luggage for a ship of the Mediterranea’s size. Bare Necessities reported that this trip was a complete sellout. With passengers and crew, that meant provisioning for nearly three thousand people, not an inconsiderable task. The dockworkers and ship’s crew efficiently completed these tasks and we sailed out of Port Everglades shortly after 4 pm.

Shortly after leaving the port, the announcement was made that clothing was no longer required and a cheer could be heard throughout the ship. On the Bare Necessities cruises, nudity is acceptable anywhere on the ship except the main dining room or when the ship is in port. One nice accommodation on this cruise versus other nude cruises we’ve experienced, the crew of the Mediterranea didn’t keep the ship’s common areas as cold as on past cruises. On past cruises, it simply was not comfortable to attend shows in the theater or visit the casino without covering up.