Cat-o-Nine-Tails Nude Cruise & General Nude Cruise Information 

A nude cruise sounds like a wonderful way to vacation. When shedding the clothing we shed all sorts of stress and have a chance to truly relax, which is the point of any vacation. On visits to nudist/naturist resorts, even though I was there for only one day each time, that one day was as relaxing to me as a full week or more at any clothing-required vacation spot. The sights on the Lido deck may not be the prettiest because what is seen is a true representation of humanity, opposite the airbrushed "perfection" which is all that's represented in magazines and media.

Whether on a cruise, at a resort, or camping out in the middle of nowhere, try it clothes-free. You'll love the freedom!

An article in today�s New York Times discusses the recently discovered differences between the human genome and that of the Chimpanzee. The two, as we all know (and some don�t like to admit), are very similar. But somewhere down in that twisting, kinked helix we call our DNA there lies a gene that stopped us from growing hair on our bodies, that led to the invention of clothing, that made Ralph Lauren a billionaire. And some people don�t like that.

Some people, it seems, enjoy being nude. Even when they travel. This post is about them.

According to recent statistics, nude travel is all the rage. And among the mammalian multitudes whoo enjoy a brisk breeze betwixt their privates, is a group who favors sailing the open ocean with nothing but sunglasses and, well OK, just sunglasses. Yes, I am talking about nudie cruises. A company called Bare Necessities offers ocean-going adventures for those who like to enjoy their persimmon sunsets sans clothing. It�s not the prettiest sight one can imagine, but the concept does bring to mind hordes of pale, doughy humans frolicking about the Lido Deck, margaritas in hand, as cool Pacific winds blow a hundred flesh wind socks in the same direction. Could naked travel be for you? Well, that is between you and your God. But if you think it might be worth a try, the company is offering in February 2006 a trip aboard a 2,000 passenger ship that will sail from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean. Another offers a 14 day excursion through the Panama Canal, a trip that will surely make a lot of mosquitoes very happy.

Skinny Trippers Set Off on Nude Cruise

It has been billed as the first naked tour of the Mediterranean, a week-long cruise for 450 people with the wearing of clothes mostly optional and sometimes banned completely.

The first big-ship nudist cruise of the Mediterranean, on the 17,000-tonne Flamenco, was hailed as the biggest naked event in these waters since Aphrodite appeared in her birthday suit floating on a scallop shell.

The cruise left Barcelona on Monday with a passenger list made up mostly of Spaniards, but with Britons the second-largest group.

"It is just like a normal cruise, but for people who like being nude," a spokeswoman for the Spanish organisers, Gheisa Tours, said yesterday.

While the crew would remain clothed, passengers would be obliged to dress only for dinner, she explained. Clothes of any kind will be banned from the sun deck and swimming pool.

"They will have towels, of course, for reasons of hygiene," the spokeswoman added. Clothes will remain optional at all other times and in all other places, except during excursions on to dry land.

The nude cruisers will be taking in some of the sights of the Mediterranean. But every stop also includes an opportunity for passengers to take off their clothes at a new location, be it a French hillside nudist club or a beach in Ibiza.

In addition, passengers can do everything from gamble to disco dance in whatever state of undress they desire.

Not everything, however, will be about achieving all-over tans or enjoying naked frolics in the water.

A series of conferences with titles such as Nudism and Parallel Forms of Discrimination will be available to those who take their nudity seriously.

Thirteen children were among those to have joined the cruise.

One couple were due to be married today by the Flamenco's captain, Joannis Notarakis, though organisers did not say whether it would be a naked ceremony.