Is Carnival becoming the real Love boat

JoeyandDavid · May 5, 2009

You could call it the Love Boat. Or is taht the Lust Boat!

A Carnival cruise ship that departed Tampa on Sunday is headed on what is billed as a chance for like-minded people to get away in an open, erotic atmosphere.

More than 2,000 people are going on the unusual trip: a seven-day cruise for swingers. Swinging on the high seas isn't cheap. Prices started at slightly more than $600 for an inside cabin. A penthouse cabin with a balcony over the water cost up to $3,500.

There will be plenty of scheduled activities aboard the ship, including body sculpting and body painting. The body painting will be courtesy of Jeff James, a former adult film star who now paints bodies for a living. He'll also be teaching Swing 101 for people who are new to the lifestyle. James says the swinging lifestyle is more than just being all about sex. He says there are different levels of the lifestyle. "Those levels can change, time to time, place to place, couple to couple, situation to situation,'' James said. But while there are plenty of other activities, organizers also have rooms specifically set aside for open sex. James says the environment is self-policed by the people on board. "Trust levels in our lifestyle are of the utmost importance,'' James said. "You break that trust, kill that integrity, you have nothing.'' For many aboard this cruise, having the Carnival name legitimizes the event, even allows them to tell family and friends what they're doing without telling them all that they're doing. " I know several people on their Facebook, for example, that put they're going on a couples cruise, which is what it really is,'' James said. "It's a couples cruise of like-minded individuals, and what they share in common is what they know about their own private lives.'' Two of those on the cruise are Hugh and Judy Hyman, who say they started living the swinging lifestyle 20 years ago. They spoke to News Channel 8 at Caliente, a nudist resort in southern Pasco County. "For us, it's just fun and games. Hopefully meet some new people and make some new friends and, um, have some, you know, naughty fun,'' Hugh Hyman said. Cruise organizers established a whole set of rules for the trip. No open sex in public areas. Cabin doors may remain unlocked but must be closed. There are playrooms for voyeurs. Carnival cruise employees are banned from participating. Nudity is allowed in pool areas, spa tubs and on party nights. The themed parties range from the Kisses and Hugs ice breakers party to a Playmate party and a "hanky panky need a spanky party.''

"There's couples here that are going to come here and are just excited by the whole atmosphere, not do anything with anybody other than themselves,'' Hugh Hyman said. "OK, and there are couples that are going to be wild and go into rooms with multiple people and everything in between.'' Part of the onboard entertainment is body sculptor Clay Holmes, who makes plaster molds of the human form. He says he spends weekends traveling between Miami, New York and Los Angeles as he attends more than 100 "lifestyles events" each year with his wife of more than 20 years. "A lot of people, there's a big, large misconception that it's all about sex, and it's not,'' Holmes said. "I mean, even with me doing this, I mean I get into a zone, I'm looking at the artistic form of it. Sure, I've got some hot girls, I mean, why not, yea get excited; you should be excited, she should be excited by it, I should be excited by it; that's what it's about.'' Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz said the cruise organizers – not Carnival – marketed this particular cruise. She said this was the first charter for this group, although other "alternative lifestyles groups" have booked the entire ship before.

"A full-ship charter is the only scenario under which this group would have been able to sail with us as we would not allow a group of this nature to sail as part of a regular voyage blended with other guests,'' De La Cruz said. "All people who booked this voyage were aware that this was a specialized charter cruise.''

JoeyandDavid · May 5, 2009

There isn't enough bleach on this earth to sanitize that ship after this event..

mercedes · May 5, 2009

Are you kidding me? I noticed they did not give the name of the ship.

JoeyandDavid · May 5, 2009

what else ... the liberty

JoeyandDavid · May 5, 2009

i'll take "liberty" over here .. and over there.. "Liberty" being taken all over the place..LOL

mercedes · May 5, 2009

DebbieandJerry · May 5, 2009

Obviously there must have been requests for this "theme" in order to Charter the entire ship.

The voyier (or however it's spelled) in me would want to be the fly on the wall. The prude in me would be laughing hysterically at the morbidly obese, major pierced participants.

JoeyandDavid · May 5, 2009

and thus we enter the ....................twilight zone......

zebra · May 6, 2009

You are not kidding - that puts paid to me wanting to cruise with them, I am certainly not a prude but I think that the cruise lines should TRY to uphold their image....... this will sure be SOME IMAGE!!