Swingers go cruising behind shipowner’s back

Genoa - It could be considered a case of entrepreneurial spirit, seeking new market segments, the ability to sense new social mores and practices. After all, it’s a fact that to gain admission to some of the “members-only” nightclubs in the Veneto or Lombardy regions, one has to queue because hundreds of people are waiting to get in. So it’s understandable when the papers and media report news of a cruise entirely dedicated to Italian swingers, couples who enjoy exchanging sexual partners in certain clubs or in private homes, and that now seem to have a new opportunity before them: engage in some kinky behaviour while on board a ship. A different kind of Love Boat. As soon as the organizers leaked news of this cruise, a deluge of requests followed.

The ship will depart from Civitavecchia on 20 February, and arrive at the port of Palermo the next day, and then stop in Malta, Barcelona, Marseille and Genoa before heading back to Civitavecchia. Some persistent fact-finding, however, uncovered a somewhat different truth. In order to obtain a contact for the agency that sells the package, in Caltanissetta, Sicily, one must first join a Facebook group “Passioni in crociera”, (passions aboard a cruise). It turned out that this is a regular cruise aboard an MSC ship.

The idea, in the end, consisted simply in “putting together people who share the same affinities, and who will spend the holiday together and dine at the same table.” And the exchange of partners? “Nothing will happen in the ship’s common areas, but if anyone wants to take the fun one step further, they’re free to utilize their cabins as they wish.” The rates for this cruise are in the €400-600 per person range. The swingers will be mixed-in with traditional, and perhaps not so open-minded, nuclear families. Will these two worlds so far apart manage to cruise together? Will the flirty dudes resist not ogling those cute mums, or will the usually reserved husbands not pay too much attention to that uninhibited lady? It’s a calculated gamble. Meanwhile MSC issued a comment: “It’s just a trifle, it’s only the gimmick of a tour operator to sell more; our ships are not exactly a “lifestyle club”, on-board everything is regulated.”