Carnival Dream, Jan 3, 2016 Caribbean cruise
Return to DiscussionsWhile you are on Orient Beach, check on the progress of the new construction between Pedro's and Kon Tiki. Hopefully the new shops at that end of the beach won't negatively impact Club O. We've been monitoring orientbeachforum.com to keep up on the work since our trip to Club O in June.
A cruise that stops at SXM mightbe enough to get us to do a textile cruise again. But the nude cruises are so much more fun!
While you are on Orient Beach, check on the progress of the new construction between Pedro's and Kon Tiki. Hopefully the new shops at that end of the beach won't negatively impact Club O. We've been monitoring orientbeachforum.com to keep up on the work since our trip to Club O in June.A cruise that stops at SXM mightbe enough to get us to do a textile cruise again. But the nude cruises are so much more fun!
We've thought about the textile cruise that stops in St. Martin/Sint Maarten but ... to only be able to spend a few to several hours on the beach at Club O and then have to return to the ship ... it would probably spoil the rest of the textile cruise! LOL My wife has said that she'd prefer just taking that same money for the textile cruise and fly to SXM and stay for a couple of weeks at Club O. I'm okay with that!!! :D
We've thought about the textile cruise that stops in St. Martin/Sint Maarten but ... to only be able to spend a few to several hours on the beach at Club O and then have to return to the ship ... it would probably spoil the rest of the textile cruise! LOL My wife has said that she'd prefer just taking that same money for the textile cruise and fly to SXM and stay for a couple of weeks at Club O. I'm okay with that!!! :D
Hear you on that one. It is especially fun to talk about the lookie loo's after they leave for the day (having been on 3 cruises that stop at SXM before becoming nudists, we know they are talking about us at the dinner table, too). We used to always cruise in September (our anniversary, as well as back to school time and the off season), so Club O wouldn't be open anyway, but our cruises were always cheaper than the same length of stay at Club O would be (and we always go there in the off season, too). That was even with a balcony cabin compared to a studio or mini suite at Club O.
There is no comparison when it comes to the friendliness of fellow guests, though. Nude cruises and stays at Club O are way better than regular cruises unless you get lucky and meet a fun group to be with (Cruise Critic roll calls can help some).
We've thought about the textile cruise that stops in St. Martin/Sint Maarten but ... to only be able to spend a few to several hours on the beach at Club O and then have to return to the ship ... it would probably spoil the rest of the textile cruise! LOL My wife has said that she'd prefer just taking that same money for the textile cruise and fly to SXM and stay for a couple of weeks at Club O. I'm okay with that!!! :D
Hear you on that one. It is especially fun to talk about the lookie loo's after they leave for the day (having been on 3 cruises that stop at SXM before becoming nudists, we know they are talking about us at the dinner table, too). We used to always cruise in September (our anniversary, as well as back to school time and the off season), so Club O wouldn't be open anyway, but our cruises were always cheaper than the same length of stay at Club O would be (and we always go there in the off season, too). That was even with a balcony cabin compared to a studio or mini suite at Club O.
There is no comparison when it comes to the friendliness of fellow guests, though. Nude cruises and stays at Club O are way better than regular cruises unless you get lucky and meet a fun group to be with (Cruise Critic roll calls can help some).Yeah ... Club O isn't cheap but it's the place, the opportunities to do so much and not have to get dressed. But mostly, it's the people; the staff, security, beach boys (men), Willie, Papagayo staff and servers ... and especially all the friends we've made there that keep us going back.
We usually visited in June because of Di's work schedule (teacher). Met many a educator on the beach at Club O. A nude cruise is so high on my list of things for us to do but Di's hesitant to go alone and wants to go with friends so we aren't trying to make friends. If it happens while on the cruise with friends, all the better. Trouble is ... getting our friends to commit to a nude cruise. They'd like to go but want to do a much smaller cruise. I'm waiting for all of them to make a decision! :D hahahahahhahaha
Yeah ... Club O isn't cheap but it's the place, the opportunities to do so much and not have to get dressed. But mostly, it's the people; the staff, security, beach boys (men), Willie, Papagayo staff and servers ... and especially all the friends we've made there that keep us going back.We usually visited in June because of Di's work schedule (teacher). Met many a educator on the beach at Club O. A nude cruise is so high on my list of things for us to do but Di's hesitant to go alone and wants to go with friends so we aren't trying to make friends. If it happens while on the cruise with friends, all the better. Trouble is ... getting our friends to commit to a nude cruise. They'd like to go but want to do a much smaller cruise. I'm waiting for all of them to make a decision! :D hahahahahhahaha
If you get up early enough you can even walk the entire beach nude before the tourists show up. Hopefully the new construction won't change that tradition. Hopefully NOLA won't see any evidence of pressure to limit the nude beach any further. The whole reason the beach is "world famous" is becauseof the nude beach! We go in June as well, just because it's cheaper then!
Bare Necessities does smaller ships, too, but they are much more expensive. They work a lot with Paul Gauguin cruises and Star Clipper cruises. For the big cruise lines, the ships BN charters are pretty much at the small end anyway, so you can't get much smaller without chartering a yacht or going with a luxury line. I would tell your friends that these cruises feel like spending the week at a large resort... Something like Laguna Del Sol for Nudestock weekend (wish we were there now!) And NOLA, since you don't have to be nude, you might be able to talk your wife into trying one of these cruises.
We did that every year we visited ... we were surprised that some had run in's with the Gendarme. We never experience that on any of our walks. We were always done by 9 am anyway.
We've looked at the Paul Gauguin and Star Clipper ships. That's more to our friend's liking. If that's what they want ... they'll have to pony up the extra cash. Hopefully they'll see the benefit of the larger boats and the fact that we'll all be together so ... it really won't matter.
We're anxious to see the new buildings ... BUT ... will surely miss the old buildings. Lots of charm, lots of history and less commercial but ... hopefully these new buildings will weather the storms much better. Our next trip back to SXM and Club O is also being planned with our circle of friends. I think all 8 of us would get there around the same time and depending on $$$, stay about the same amount of time. I'm sure we'll be tour guides for our friends from Colorado, since it will be there first visit to the island. That may happen next year but again ... the ball's in their court.
Thanks for all the info on the cruises. I just need my wife and friends to make a decision! ;-)
I've done a number of 8-12 day stays at Club O, sailed in on a nude cruise, and wife/I have made a number of day stops while on textile cruises. We'll be there for a day in first week of December off Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. This cruisecost $1000 for two for a week. A week at Club O would cost more than $1000 plus well over $1000rt airfare for two from most of the US. You can't even fly to St Martin anymore from most of the US without an overnight stop along the way - let's hope that Southwest's new Caribbean routes improve that problem. There are some greatnude ocean beaches here in the US:Haulover and PlayaLinda in Florida, for example.