This is a courtesy translation of one of our original stories – in French. We thought that some of our non-French speaking swinger friends in the U.S.
We decided to enrol into this swinger cruise – full charter ship, 1100 swinger couples on board ! – one year ago after reading the testimony of an Austrian couple and discussing with them over the internet. We missed an opportunity to meet them for real during the summer, when they came to France
The hotel shuttle buses keep going to the harbour terminal 3 since early in the morning. We catch one around noon, the atmosphere inside is very laid-back, a little bit like a teenager bus going out for a day field trip… One of the passengers asks the driver about his feelings, carrying such a bunch of swingers in his limousine! But the driver remains very professional, he doesn’t get nervous at all, even though a couple of beautiful, scantily clad women are sitting in the back seat.
Only 10 minutes later, we reach the pier and porters come all around to take our bags. These must be checked carefully before delivery to our cabins: are strictly prohibited all items looking like weapons, including pink fur handcuffs, also considered a defensive weapon! But fortunately, Japanese claws and dildos are not… Food and drinks are also prohibited: the shipping company has a monopoly on board and intends that passengers pay their dues each time they are thirsty or hungry!
Before boarding the ship, there is a very long waiting line: 2300 passengers cannot board such a ship in the blink of an eye. But the organisation is very professional again, like it is usually in the U.S.
This ship is brand new. It’s huge too, higher than a 13-story building and over 200 meters long. The harbour and its warehouses appear ridiculously small when seen from the highest deck. Cabins are located from deck 3 to deck 10, some have exterior balconies and larger, luxurious suites are located on the highest deck. Our cabin is of the smaller variety but nevertheless we enjoy what we consider a luxury hotel room of 20 sq. meters with a large porthole overlooking the sea, a king size bed, a small salon with a TV set (that we’ll never turn on during the cruise!) and a private bathroom with a shower. Decoration details are of high quality: nice wooden floors, beautiful carpets and curtains…
We get to know a very important person (VIP): Bernadette is our « stateroom attendant » and she is in charge of taking care of us, she is here to satisfy all of our desires (well, except the sexual ones of course, we’ll have to count on the other passengers for that…). She will prove to be our angel during the stay, always available, very reliable, sweet and smiling…
Since our bags haven’t arrived yet, off we go to explore this sea giant. Panoramic glass elevators are not far from our cabin and allow us to reach the upper floors. Some are facing the sea, others the central atrium which extends from floor 4 to floor 10. This will prove to be an attractive way of travelling up and down for those “exhib” passengers who go to the jazz pub on the 4th floor, as we will notice during our stay. Actually, the atmosphere in the elevators is like it was in the shuttle bus: participants telling jokes all the time and trying to squeeze as many of us inside, which is an interesting experience when people are mostly wearing bikinis or only short pants, and sometimes nothing at all! We must confess that this is a “clothing optional” cruise… And, well, clothes were really an option on this ship, except when setting anchor in a harbour like Tampa
I, as a French male, will rapidly become conscious of a fundamental difference between the so-called “normal” life and the rules of this swinger micro-world in which we’ll spend almost one week, 24 hours a day: here, on the swinger ship, when I walk past a very nice-looking, scantily-clad young woman, I am entitled to… well I rather must look at her openly and evaluate all details of her anatomy, and she… smiles back to me and, almost always, engages a lively conversation with me! What a difference! Maybe a foretaste of paradise?
On the intermediate decks (decks 4 to 6), we find the main bars and restaurants as well as the casino, duty free shops, massage and spa center, clubs, theatres and “conference” rooms… On the first night, we’ll attend a nice show in the main theatre and enjoy the welcome message of the cruise director.
Floors 7 to 10 are quieter because they accommodate the most beautiful cabins and suites. Deck 11 is the deck most crowded during daytime: you find here a strategic day-use facility, the large outdoor swimming pool with a series of hot tubs accommodating up to 10 people each, and a noisy dance floor on the side. Sunbathers will share sun chairs and pool stools all day long, sipping fruit cocktails and dancing to live music bands from 11 a .m. until 8 p.m.
Deck 12 is sort of a mezzanine floor overlooking the swimming pool and the open air disco, also with a lot of sun chairs but much less action than on deck 11. It also has sports facilities like a fitness center, volleyball ground, jogging trail, mini-golf and climbing wall – ever tried to climb mountains in the middle of the ocean, eh??
Finally, on deck 13 we find two discotheques and a series of lounge bars which will be packed each night: theme disco nights will take place there, until late in the morning, under the stars… Everything seems to be organized to avoid getting bored even for a single minute. We start to ask ourselves if we’ll manage to sleep a little bit during this week anyhow…
Everyone seem now to converge to decks 11 and 12, live music is playing along the swimming pool, for a group of young dancers offering their show, and bars produce gallons of the cocktail of the day: “Orgasm”! We are overlooking the pier from almost 12 stories, a rather large military ship anchored along it looks very small and the staff raise their heads to catch a glimpse of our bunch of happy travellers. Fortunately, they cannot see the swimming pool where a number of young women have already dropped their tops…
The collective madness is already well on the way, hot tubs are packed with people sipping cocktails, sexy women are dancing on the side. The dress code here, as we’ll see during the following days, is something like: almost nothing on, but women wear high heels – even for walking in shallow waters of the swimming pool! – bikinis or topless bathing suits, mostly tangas or strings, and as much decoration as you like: intimate jewelry, piercings, tattoos (permanent or temporary), small chains, nipple jewels,…
The ship siren goes off at last.
And off we go too, the huge ship is drifting slowly away from the pier and starts to glide over the salt water. “Alea jacta est”: there is no way back now, we are here for 5 nights and 6 days, surrounded by over one thousand sexy swingers of both genders who undoubtedly are here for partying until exhaustion. The harbour sheriff boat is still escorting us out of the bay, but even before he leaves, almost all passengers have taken off their (remaining) clothes to enjoy a naked party at sunset. The swinger cruise “au naturel” is setting sail for almost a week of hot adventures under the tropical sun and moonlight!
