2015 Bliss Cruise- Our First Swinger Cruise

The inaugural sailing of the Bliss Cruise took place over November 29 - December 6, 2015. We thought it would be helpful to jot down our impressions from this vacation. Just so you know where we're coming from, experience-wise, this was our first lifestyle cruise vacation, though we have been to lifestyle resorts before. The last cruise we took was a Disney Cruise 18 years ago!

In a word, the Bliss Cruise was fantastic!

The Mrs. and I had a great time on the cruise. We met lots of fun, interesting, friendly people. And we played A LOT. This aspect of the cruise was the main reason we chose a swinger cruise over a trip to Desire for this vacation. We were looking for a more active play environment, and we certainly found it here! We played every day, and multiple rounds on most days. Between that and the late nights of partying, I (Mr. CoupleInMD) actually had to decline a couple of after-dinner play opportunities on the last two days, due to simple exhaustion. This is not like me! But it's an indicator of how busy we were. We left the ship very satisfied, exhausted, and happy, with several potential continuing friendships made, and plans to get together down the road!

This was billed as a partially clothing-optional cruise, and the outdoor decks were in fact clothing optional. Everyone had to cover up whenever they were in an interior portion of the ship, which made it impossible to just leave your clothes in your cabin and head out. This proved to be a little inconvenient, and meant that one had to plan ahead for being naked out on deck. Consequently, there were many people who chose to just keep their clothes on, which spoils the effect somewhat! For our part, we were happy to be naked on deck on several occasions, but did not make it a daily thing. Honestly, we didn't spend all that much time just hanging out on deck!

Another thing we didn't take full advantage of was the availability of playrooms. We used the main playroom once, and it was fine- though we heard that they ran low on condoms later in the week (big mistake!). There was a special playroom set aside for exclusive use by the elite-class cabin holders, of which we were not. I have to say that I reject the whole premise of an elite-class playroom-- once we're naked, we should all be equal! We intended on one occasion to use a 24-hour play area topside near the bow of the ship, but there were frankly a lot of non-playing people lurking around there and creating a bit of a creepy feeling for my play partner of the moment (I wouldn't have minded putting on a show, but she was not quite in the mood for that!). Also, that area of the ship is very breezy, and a little chilly on some days. No matter- we had plenty of sexy fun in people's cabins!

Although we were there mainly to meet the other people onboard, we also generally enjoyed the shore excursions. We did not go ashore in Casa de Campo (reports from others were that the town was not interesting enough to have been worth the trip to visit), but did go ashore at Samana for a horseback ride/hike to a secluded waterfall. The horses were not well tended to, and the trail was terribly muddy and rocky, but the waterfall was a spectacular destination.

At Labadee, we enjoyed kayaking and naked snorkeling, as well as a lunch ashore in the artificial "Haiti World" that the cruise lines have created there. The sense there was that we were in a constructed bubble, a Green Zone of comfort and safety, rather than in the real Haiti. And we got a small dose of what the real Haiti might have been like for us when we landed at a small spit of beach outside Haiti World during the kayaking excursion. The vendors who had their wares spread out on blankets on the beach were very aggressive, descending on us even before the kayaks hit the sand, guiding us to each of their "shops", picking up items and putting them in our hands, putting the items in a bag for us, and arguing amongst themselves over who got to shadow us and harangue us about the stuff on their blanket. All that said, the souvenirs were charming, if cookie-cutter, examples of local crafts. We felt a little guilty haggling on the prices, knowing that the outrageous prices they were initially offering were enough to provide a month's income to the average Haitian.

We are not experienced enough at cruising to comment expertly on the quality of the total experience compared to other cruises. We were a little disappointed at the fact that our expensive drink package did not include some non-alcoholic drinks that we prefer, but adjusted without giving it much thought. We occasionally struggled with the logistics of meeting up with particular people on a large and busy ship, but we figured that out pretty well. All in all, it was a busy, sexy, fun, deliciously-exhausting trip! And it was one we will repeat! We booked next year's cruise while we were onboard.

I hope that gives you a flavor of our experience. Come join us next year!

Yes the Bliss Cruise was fantastic,

BUT the Celebrity entertainment staff took the week off. No sail Away party, usually a staple of cruising.

The first day we had NO pool side entertainment.

Each sponsor took at turn at poolside entertainment some were fun some were not.

The ships band played a couple days at the pool but only for 45 minutes, it took them longer to set up.

The ports were BORING, the port charges must have been much lower than the original ports. I would not bother to ever go to Casa de Campo or Samana again.

We are not swingers, were nudist. We never get past a touch and tickle with others, but every time I touched or got tickled the sex police told us to go to the playroom. No , I'm happy with a little flirting!

But enough complaining , cause we had a Ball!

Thanks so much for the review. We've been on many cruises but never a lifestyle cruise and we are booked for bliss 2016. We have no idea what to expect so reviews are so helpful.

greetings from Vermont
this will also be our first lifestyle cruise so posts like the above are very helpful in our planning
some questions: since dress is required in certain areas can it be revealing (ie sheer or open or toga)
thinking about bringing along a clone-a-willy kit in case my wife sees something she wants to bring home (ideas or response)
what types of mixing activities (if any) are organized by staff and interested in reviews of same
any recommendations for carrying devices for rope, floggers, lube, and other toys
cabin 7197
Marjorie and dave
thanks

Marjorie and Dave-

Good questions there! Let's see if I can take a stab at these, one by one.

Revealing dress: I saw some pretty sexy dress around the clothing-required parts of the ship. This is not an authoritative statement of policy, but I have a feeling that sheer is OK, but it's possible that there may be an objection to open clothing that lets your sexy bits flop out uncovered. Also, I can report that if your clothing is so revealing that you run the risk of your bottom and genitals being uncovered when you sit down to dinner, the staff will issue you a towel to sit on at the restaurant entrance. The Mrs. was given a towel one night, and I felt like we won the jackpot!

Clone-a-willy kit: I have never heard of this! I would think that the kit could be taken along in checked baggage, as long as it doesn't look like a bomb in X-rays, or smell like a bomb to a dog! And if you decided to take out the kit and use it in a naked area of the ship, I would think that'd be OK. Personally, I would be honored to have my willy cloned by you!

Mixing activities: There were some organized mixing activities over the course of the week. Speed-dating, meet-and-greets, games, and other activities were on the agenda every day, as well as daily theme parties and the disco every night. To be honest, we made plenty of friends apart from the speed dating and meet-and-greets, so we did not join in any of those things. But we joined different couples for dinner each night, and had a great time socializing there and at the theme parties!

Rope/Floggers/Lube/Toys: We packed all that kind of stuff in our checked baggage (no rope in our case, but everything else you listed), and had no particular problems. We know that TSA opened my checked luggage on our return flight, and nothing was confiscated- I hope they enjoyed rummaging through my sexy underwear, flogger, whip, and leather clothing!

Have fun, and good luck!

P.S. Marjorie and Dave, you'll be right down the hall from us. Come visit us in 7135!!

This will be our first lifestyle travel event and this section was very informative of what to expect. cant wait!

Did you meet any single women on the cruise or is this mainly a couples cruise?

Both Bliss and Couples Cruises require Bookings as a couple.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ginger Gillette

Did you meet any single women on the cruise or is this mainly a couples cruise?

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While gsml is correct about the fact that you book as a couple, the Bliss Cruise did have provisions for having couples bring a third along, with the third staying with the couple in their cabin. Solo people were not allowed in the playrooms, however.

We met a few single people on the cruise. There were female friends with benefits traveling as a couple (they may have had to get special permission), and a male and female FWB pair who were traveling as a couple. The Mrs and I each had lots of fun with the M/F FWB folks!

This will be our first lifestyle cruise as well, we've just signed up for March 2017. Reading other people's reports helped, especially this one!

If you're not tired of all the questions so far, I'd like to add a few more.
Did they allow for purchasing of drink plans (alcoholic or non-alcoholic?) Neither of us drinks much (and on a this type of cruise drinking too much doesn't make sense), but the convenience of a drink plan is, well, convenient.

What about playing? Did people play throughout the day, or was it mainly in the evening? or mainly super late evening?

Is nudity allowed in the pool? Is there a pool that's not surrounded by large mattresses?

Did you have to reserve dinner seating or not?

Do you know if concierge class has any of the usual perks besides the slightly larger cabin?

I think that's it, and thanks for everything you've written so far, it really helped us make our decision for next spring!

Hi, chipair, and thanks for the kind words!

About drink plans- yup, they have several levels of drink plan, non-alcoholic and "alcoholic". We purchased the cheapest level of alcohol-included drink plan, which probably did cost us a little more than just buying drinks a la carte (we didn't drink a whole lot, but did have a drink or three during the day). But we felt it was worth it just so we didn't have to feel guilty about the cost every time we wanted a drink.

Playing- we might not be the absolute best reference on this, because we didn't use the playrooms much. Our experience was that people played at different times of the day. We usually played in the afternoon, and again in the evening! Nearly all of our play was in people's cabins. Most of the "official" playrooms weren't open until well after dinner (9:00 or 10:00), though there was one play area (the outdoor play area) that was available 24 hours.

Nudity was allowed in the pools, both the outdoor pool and the pool in the solarium. Both pools and hot tubs were surrounded by deck chairs, not mattresses. By the way, these areas are clothing-optional, but play in and around the outside pool was not allowed. Nor was play in and around the solarium pool/hot tub during the day.

We never made reservations for dinner. There was one evening when we should have reserved a table at one of the specialty restaurants, because they had no space when we arrived. But we went to a different one of the specialty restaurants instead, and had a fine, friendly dinner!

The cabin we had was a little bigger than the smallest size, and I think we got a bottle of champagne and a small fruit plate that that the other cabin types did not get.

I hope that all helps! Have fun!

Drink packages are not managed/offered by Bliss or Couples cruises, they are managed/offered by the cruiselines. On the Celebrity (Bliss2015), the regular alcohol package was $70pp per day (including the 18% service charge). Much more convenient, but it would have been cheaper to buy as you go (especially if you go off the ship on port days).

Playrooms on Couples Cruises were great but only open at night. Bliss playrooms, IMHO, was a flop. The 24/7 outdoor playroom was too windy and poorly managed, the evening indoor playroom (indoor pool/lounge by day and converted to playroom each night) was simply not sensual, with too much traffic and talking. The couples massage workshop was probably the best (impromptu) playroom!

Nudity is allowed on the pool and sundecks only, and is at the Captain's discretion when in port. Depends if docked or achored and location, but typically once cleared by the port authority the Captain will allow nudity on the pool deck but not the sundeck.

Main dining room is open seating. Not sure about the specialty restaurants, we never tried them.

Concierge class does have express check-in, in-room bottle of champagne/canapés, but no dinner perks given it's open seating. We did not take Concierge class but our friends did. Cabin size was the same as other balcony cabins. Non Concierge class have more balcony size options. On the Century we were on the back with a huge balcony, on the Silhouette we were on the hump, again with a huge balcony. IMHO, Concierge is not only a waste of money perk wise, there are a lot better (and cheaper) cabin/balcony options.

We're signed up for the March 2017 Bliss Cruise so all the information here is helpful! We know the Bliss Cruise offers a few clothing optional areas and excursions and we were wondering from those that have been on previous Bliss Cruises, do most people actually go nude at the clothing optional pools and excursions or do a lot people keep something on?

In the clothing-optional areas on the ship, there was a real mix of people- some completely nude, some topless, and some wearing clothes. The fact that you have to wear clothes from your cabin to the clothing-optional areas on the ship makes things a little bit less convenient for going au naturel. But I would say that no one, whatever state of naked they were in (including fully clothed) would feel out of place.

We did only one clothing-optional excursion- a naked snorkeling excursion. We had to be clothed while boarding the boat, but a few minutes after leaving the dock, the captain announced that people could now disrobe. I was initially a little surprised that people were slow to get nekkid, and it was a tiny bit awkward being roughly the second person on the boat to take my suit off! But many others followed suit (pun intended), and soon most of our fellow snorkelers were free of clothing.

Hello,

Can you just wear bikini's in the inside halls? Do guys have to have shirts on? Last question. Can you get away with sheer coverups?

Ok I lied, What is everyone wearing for PJ night?

We can't wait for the cruise, we are also thinking about the march 2017 cruise.