Wifey and I returned last week from the most recent Bare Necessities nude cruise, this one a 10-day jaunt to the ABC Islands- Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. We winter at Cypress Cove so we took advantage of the fleet of 6 buses that shuttled us down to Miami from the Cove. Since we were traveling with a couple dozen of our good buddies from here, the bus ride was fun and took the hassle out of driving down there.

This was our first cruise of any type and it being clothing optional was the frosting on the cake for us. We've since read some on-line feedback from cruise veterans who were less than entralled with Carnival and their ship, the Victory. But to us newbies, it was just fine. The crew was very friendly, especially our steward and dining room server! And they seemed to have no problem with the pervasive nudity!

We loved the 5 days ashore given that all the ports were new to us but I enjoyed the 4 days at sea at least as much, thanks to the nude aspect. Just so relaxing in spite of the crowds. The cruise-line owned ports of Half Moon Cay and Amber Cove were fine, giving us a couple of days on shore au naturel. The Cay in particular is a gorgeous beach making it easy to overlook the high drink prices. At least the buffet lunch was free, albeit sort of mediocre food. We were asked to dress for lunch and most folks complied even though it didn't make much sense since the hall was just a few steps back from the beach. Amber Cove offered a huge pool area for skinny-dipping and lounging, although clothing was again a requirement between there and the boat. We were shuttled to Half Moon in tenders and it was a bit of a hassle with the slow process of getting everyone ashore. There's a dock at Amber Cove so that's easy.

I won't go into details about the ABC islands other than to say that we totally enjoyed our visits and the weather was outstanding- a cooling breeze kept the temps in the low 80's and it was hotter in Miami when we got back! Mostly sunny every day! We rented a car to see Bonaire and Sorobon Beach (no longer nude), took a taxi to Kokomo Beach in Curacao and a bus to Palm Beach in Aruba and we were happy with our choices. No nude options but the beaches and scenery were AOK!

Bare Necessities had plenty of activities going on during our days at sea and we were never bored! One issue was that the music and antics at the pool were fun but the sound system was waaay too loud so we couldn't take more that a couple of hours of it, even though we sat as far from the speakers as we could and still be in view of the pool deck. Plus in general the music was tailored to a much younger crowd than am sure was the average on ship. Another issue was that there weren't anywhere nearly enough lounge chairs to handle this sun-loving crowd. One had to find chairs before 7AM if one wanted to sit anywhere near the main pool. But aside from those minor complaints, it was great not to have to wear swimsuits all day!

There were plenty of options for on-board dining, and, yes, the buffet servings could have been hotter but we didn't have to get dressed for those (as we did for the main dining rooms). And the "guyburgers" and Mexican food near the main pool were super! The more formal dining room offerings were excellent too, for our simple palettes. Especially those desserts!!

One of our motivations for the trip was that our favorite musical group that plays here at the Cove (A Taste of Love) was playing 6 nights in a nightclub on the ship. Our gang are all friends with them as they are members here and it was a lot of fun rockin' out to their tunes most nights. The ship's entertainment was very good as well, particularly the comedian/juggler. They also had some impressive musical revues so were never lacking for things to do.

A final note is that we truly enjoyed meeting our new cruise mates and everyone was very friendly. As we would expect for nudies!