swingers will be on our family cruise

[CarolynB]

I just found out, through Norwegian Roll calls, that there will be a swingers group on our cruise. We will be sailing with our grandkids, 4 of them will be under the age of 6, and one will be 17. I feel that it won't be a problem, since the little ones are little and their parents will be on board too. Our 17 year old grandson will be going to, I will make sure his dad knows what is going on, and make rules and see if they are followed.

 

Should I be concerned about this?

[rebeccalouise]

I don't think swingers looks any different from anyone else. This lifestyle isn't going to effect your cruise. I have yet to see anyone do anything in public on a cruise. People reserve their sex lives to private places.

[cantwait2cruize]

I feel bad for you. I wouldn't want to have to worry about this problem on vacation. Swingers must not think very highly of themselves, or their partners, so I would worry they will not think of the feelings of the other passengers. They are on that cruise for one reason only:eek: .

[Dr_DNA]

The ships are pretty big. My guess is that you won't even notice them (or even be able to figure out who they are.)

[Ephraim]

I just found out, through Norwegian Roll calls, that there will be a swingers group on our cruise. We will be sailing with our grandkids, 4 of them will be under the age of 6, and one will be 17. I feel that it won't be a problem, since the little ones are little and their parents will be on board too. Our 17 year old grandson will be going to, I will make sure his dad knows what is going on, and make rules and see if they are followed.

 

Should I be concerned about this?

 

They will most likely congregate around an adult pool, if there is one. And be extremely low key. The ship may organize a venue for them but it should essentially be invisible to you. They aren't interested in people who aren't part of the group. You have little or nothing to worry about.

 

...Swingers must not think very highly of themselves, or their partners, so I would worry they will not think of the feelings of the other passengers....

 

Wow. I'm just hoping your day job isn't that of a courtroom judge. I have a tendency to NOT be judgemental of people and prejudice, but maybe that's just me. It's so easy to generalize about people.

[crusinmama06]

OK, before I "judge" I research. And I'm sorry but if it was my cruise, I would be rescheduling. I don't like to cruise with ANY large group...I don't care who it is because with groups they have a tendency to close off areas for the group only. (sometimes the adult pools will be closed to group members)

 

But in this case, the naked sunbathing and hot tub parties with "play places" would would worry me. Get some drunk people whose only goal is to hook up for some non-commital sex...and there is no way it will be all kept in private.

 

Here's the group's site.

http://mitchspartyswingerscruise.com/

 

Taken from that site...

 

As always, this is only a backdrop for your own erotic adventure in our elegant on-premise swingers club. Mitch's Party Swingers Cruise not only brings you 7 days of exciting cruising with an excellent cruise line, NCL, but also an elegant private Lifestyle Club floating right along with you. Think of it, a club for swinging couples and single females with hot tub, play spaces, nude sun decks, lounge areas, dancing, parties and the best views on the ship. You will be traveling with other like-minded couples in the Swinging Lifestyle.

[njtwinmom]

Thank God for the the Roll Calls. I also found out a group was traveling on a Royal Caribbean cruise I had booked for my family. I didn't want to travel with this group of people, so I switched my plans and now I'm booked on another ship.

[6rugrats]

OK, before I "judge" I research. And I'm sorry but if it was my cruise, I would be rescheduling. I don't like to cruise with ANY large group...I don't care who it is because with groups they have a tendency to close off areas for the group only. (sometimes the adult pools will be closed to group members)

 

After going to this group's webpage, it almost appears as if they are telling their members they have the run of the ship for their private use. I totally agree; I'd be rebooking immediately. I was on a Windstar cruise with a large group of "alternative lifestyle" people and they took over a lot of the ship; and those are small ships! I could care less about their lifestyle and did not find it offensive, but I hated the fact they could take over areas and the rest of the passengers could not use what they paid for. No way would I do this again.

[lovesublime]

I've been on NCL and they don't have any "nude" decks. How are they going to get away with that? I would reschedule even if I weren't traveling with children. It sounds like they plan to be quite intrusive to other pax. What with nude sunbathing and hot tub parties-I'll bet there's going to be a lot of upset pax.

[emjsea]

I certainly wouldn't want to get in one of those hot tubs after one of their parties!!! :o Yikes.

 

And that is seriously out of control. I really have to condemn a cruise line for having a group that is specifically about having group sex on board with kids (or, honestly, anyone that isn't into it). I really feel sorry for the crew that might have to serve drinks during the "parties."

[chipmaster]

Damm, I'll have to check the roll calls BEFORE I book next time!

 

Seriously I doubt they will cause any more trouble then any other "group" It would be very bad press for any cruise line to make the headlines. With the newspeople these days they'd jump on this like any good scandal, and wouldn't this be a good one :D

 

I'm sure in every hotel you go to their will be folks doing all sorts of stuff you might find offensive. On a cruise with hundreds of couples on vacations and honeymoons and illicit vacations I'm sure there is lots of shanags going on that you might not want your children to see:eek: If that is the concern I say go to Disney Land and even there you aint save.

[ANETLY]

Yikes, I'd notify the cruise line and ask if things like the nude sunbathing, etc are allowed and send them the link to what you've learned. I'd be curious to see what they say.

[kitty9]

Having this kind of thing in a hotel and on a cruise ship are two very different things. I'm not big into sailing with any kind of large group because from my own experience, these groups do change the cruise due to many things, including venues closed to passengers not with the group. It's a pain when you can't get into your favorite bars or lounges because the group has them booked every night for their own parties. As for a swingers group, sorry to say, they don't care about being private about their activities or else they wouldn't be swingers. They put it all out there to attract others for their adventures. They certainly aren't going to confine themselves to private cabins when they're scoping out potential hook ups. And if that website is any indication, passengers are going to see lots of what they may not be prepared for. I remember taking a cruise that was partially chartered by cross dressers. While not at all a sexual thing, it certainly was eye-opening and rather interesting as the male cross dressers certainly dressed better than everyone else LOL. If this were my cruise, I'd cancel as I'm admittedly closed minded about such behavior.

[karatemom2]

Darcie I'm with you 100% on this. I have seen trip reviews from people traveling with large groups and no matter what the group it always seems to cause problems. I would not want to take my kids on a cruise like this. Just doesn't seem really conducive to a family vacation. I think I'd be paranoid the entire time and feel I had to micromanage everything my kids might see or hear. That doesn't sound very relaxing.

 

To the OP, I'd skip this cruise and rebook for another week.

[CarolynB]

I have emailed and asked how many swingers will be on this cruise, if I get a reply I will post it.

 

We really don't want to change dates, since this is going to be a birthday celebration. I don't want my husband working on Oct. 28th.

[Dr_DNA]

You'll probably get a better response from the roll call about how large the group is than you'll get from the cruiseline. I'm not sure that they'll tell you, but I could be wrong.

[CarolynB]

I was just informed about the group on the roll call. I was directed to the google search. I emailed the site where to book the cruise and asked about questions there.

[crusinmama06]

 

We really don't want to change dates, since this is going to be a birthday celebration. I don't want my husband working on Oct. 28th.

 

I hate to bring this up, but maybe changing cruiselines? Sailing on the same date. You are well within the cancellation period.

[CMK1970]

Uh I think they are taking the "Freestyle" cruising a little to far:eek:

I have yet to cruise..gonna take care of that in July;) and I really dont care whatever "floats" other peoples boats but that is their PRIVATE life.

As a paying cruiser if it interfers with MY vacation time then yes I would be seriously mad:mad:

I have 3 teens and I'm sure they are gonna want to hang out with their newfound friends...I would hit the roof if my kids came upon some activity like that! If its in private go for it but dont take away from my familys vacation that we paid for using the exact same facilities.

 

Again its not my business what you do behind close doors but it is my business if public..

[Ula]

This is going to be a hot mess of a cruise, lots of areas will probably be closed off to the general people. That will cause bad feelings.

What I have read they are promoting would better in a whole ship charter situation. Nude decks, hot tubs, available women. A little hard core adult for family situations.

I think sometimes cruise lines in the goal for money lack some common sense. To me maybe if the group can not afford to charter, the line just make it an adult only cruise.

The swingers might have kids, but just keep that exclusive to their charter group. My last cruise had only seven kids on it. No groups, just time of year. The kids club still ran, and the kids had fun that I spoke with.

[wrp96]

Any large group can cause issues on it's own. BUT there have been previous swinger cruises on other lines and there were major issues with those cruises (usually the threads about those cruises got so heated the threads went poof).

 

If it were my family and I were prewarned about a large group, I would be choosing a different week or a different ship.

[SelectSys]

...What I have read they are promoting would better in a whole ship charter situation. Nude decks, hot tubs, available women...

 

After reading this I was a curious how this group thought they can pull it off. As a result I looked at the deck plans. Perhaps they are renting the garden villas that have private sun decks and hot tubs. I am certain NCL would not allow public nudity in the general pool areas.

[Preds]

I just posted this response on the NCL boards, but I'll also post it for you all here.

 

We were on the Star last August with our kids and found out that this same group was on our sailing. Having similar concerns (ie. were they going to be prevelant on the ship, obnoxious in the shows and lounges, doing things we wouldn't want our children exposed to, etc), I talked with my TA, who put in a call to NCL for me to get some info. They're not a big group (less than 50 if I recall). They had one of the Garden Villa suites and seemed to keep their "activities" up there.

 

During the week they were a complete non-factor in the public spaces. I "noticed" them all of twice during the week.

 

- at embarkation, I saw one of them holding a sign for their group "Mitches Party". She was a plus sized woman wearing a poorly fitted nurses outfit with bright red lipstick. I pointed her out to my wife, had a chuckle, said... no way would I want to "swing" with her and moved on. Our kids never even noticed.

 

- the second time was at the late evening Second City adult improv show in Galaxy of the Stars. Didn't really notice them, but during the call out for ideas, someone screamed "swingers" for part of the improv act. It was an adult show, and the cast didn't even play it right, or acted like they didn't know what the heck a "swinger" was.

 

I never noticed anything inappropriate from this group, and having been forewarned that they were going to be onboard I had my eye out for it. The reality is, had I not known in advance, I never would have noticed a thing or realized a swingers group was on board.

 

Anyhow, take your cruise, enjoy it, and don't worry about this group, It's highly unlikely you'll notice them throughout the week, certainly not to the point where they impact your enjoyment of the cruise.

[crusinmama06]

I just posted this response on the NCL boards, but I'll also post it for you all here.

 

Hey Mike, after reading the reviews tonight, you're right...nothing out of the ordinary for that Alaska cruise.

 

I wonder if it being a Carribean cruise and having more outside activities will make a difference in this case?

 

And I am seriously laughing at the vision of the nurse that you painted in my mind...lol.

[Preds]

Hey Mike, after reading the reviews tonight, you're right...nothing out of the ordinary for that Alaska cruise.

 

I wonder if it being a Carribean cruise and having more outside activities will make a difference in this case?

 

And I am seriously laughing at the vision of the nurse that you painted in my mind...lol.

I doubt it. They were really a complete non-factor. It's a small northwestern group out of the Seattle area. Think about it, they're roughly 50 of nearly 2500 passengers, that's what, 2%?

 

Also, NCL advised my TA that in no way would they allow a group to have any public sexual activities or innuendo.

 

I think they kept their "activities" inside the Garden Villas, which BTW have a private balcony if I recall correctly. I don't recall any public spaces being closed at any point due to this group.

 

I wouldn't worry about them being on a future cruise.