A Blissful Adventure on our First Lifestyle Cruise

We sailed on our first Lifestyle cruise in November of 2024, and it was an awesome experience!  We’ve taken several normal cruise vacations prior to this trip, but this was our first lifestyle cruise.  We had an amazing time, met tons of wonderful people, and we’ve already made a reservation for our second lifestyle cruise in 2026.

Despite being very familiar with cruising, we had no idea how things work or flow on a lifestyle cruise.  We assumed some things would be like the lifestyle resorts we’ve stayed at, but just to be safe, we researched several aspects of Bliss cruises, and even joined a couple Bliss Cruise Facebook communities to ask questions.  Our preparation definitely paid off in several ways and made our cruise more enjoyable.  We also learned a lot from other cruise veterans during the cruise that we will be sure to incorporate for our next trip.

This review will highlight our experiences and provide helpful information to make your trip decision and planning much easier.  We will also share some tips and insights specific to Bliss Cruises.

What Exactly is a Lifestyle Cruise?

The lifestyle community has had significant growth over the past several years.  That growth has generated tremendous demand for lifestyle focused travel experiences.  As a result, lifestyle-chartered cruises were created as an alternative option to lifestyle resorts and takeovers events.

In a nutshell, Lifestyle friendly companies like Bliss, Desire, and Temptation will partner with cruise line companies (e.g. Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, MSC, etc.) to book private ship charters.  The cruise lines provide the ships and operational crew, and the lifestyle travel companies sell the bookings and reservations.  Because the ship is a private charter, the onboard rules, events, and activities are lifestyle friendly.

Lifestyle cruises are adults only and typically restrict bookings to couples or single females only.  These cruises are primarily marketed to the lifestyle community through lifestyle travel companies or lifestyle dating sites and are not listed or accessible on the official cruise line’s website.

Why did we Choose Bliss for our First Lifestyle Cruise?

There are multiple lifestyle cruise companies to choose from, and each offers a different experience.  They all provide lifestyle friendly environments, including playrooms, clothing optional areas, and various lifestyle related activities.  However, they differ in areas like destinations, atmosphere, and even in price.

Temptation now offers two cruises per year, which currently sail out of Miami and stop throughout the Caribbean.  The Temptation cruises are known for their party atmosphere and attempt to mirror the vibe at the Temptation resort.  These cruises are budget friendly and often include perks like drink packages.

Desire also offers two cruises per year, but the Desire cruises sail to exotic destinations like Spain, Greece, and Thailand, and are more luxurious in nature.  Desire cruises also attempt to mirror the atmosphere of the Desire resorts, which is a relaxed and intimate environment.  People talk very highly of Desire cruises, but they are definitely more expensive compared to some of the other cruise charters, especially due to the exotic destinations and the additional travel involved.

Bliss typically offers two to three lifestyle cruises each year, which sail in the spring and fall timeframes.  Based on feedback from others, as well as our own experience in November, the Bliss cruises provide a happy medium between the Temptation and Desire cruises.  There’s a fun-loving vibe during the day and during the nightly themed events, but it’s not too crazy or spring break like.  There’s also a good balance of sensuality and intimacy, and the playroom options were amazing.

In the case of all cruise charter companies, the specific ships and cruise line partners will vary.  However, ships and cruise lines for each cruise are published at least 1-2 years in advance, so you know exactly which ship and company you will be sailing with when you book a cruise.

We did a fair amount of research before deciding on which lifestyle cruise to choose.  We ended up selecting Bliss because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews and because it seemed to be a happy medium between the Temptation party cruises and the more reserved Desire cruises.  We prefer to have a good mix of both, and Bliss appeared to offer the best option for what we were looking for.  Our cruise also sailed out of Florida, which made traveling to and from the port very easy for us.   

After deciding on Bliss, we looked at the ships and cruise dates to see which one we liked the most.  The November dates worked great for our schedule, and we also loved the ship that was chartered for this cruise (Symphony of the Seas).  We sailed on the Symphony for a family cruise a few years ago and we loved the size and amenities of the ship.  Knowing the ship made us more comfortable, and it also helped us when selecting our room type.

Once our decision was made, we then went through the Bliss website and initiated the reservation process.  As an FYI, several lifestyle travel companies will buy blocks of cabins on each cruise.  Those companies will then make those cabins available through their travel booking services.  We ended up booking through Castaway Travel because they had rooms available in the category that we preferred.  Bliss was very helpful once we started the process and pointed us to the travel companies that had rooms available for what we were looking for. 

Does Size Matter?

Different ships and different cruise line companies are utilized for each charter.  If you look at Bliss as an example, Bliss is partnering with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines for the next 2 years, and there are 5 different ships being chartered over that time span.  The sizes and ages of the ships can vary significantly, so it’s important to do your homework on each ship if those factors matter to you.  For example, our cruise in November was on the Symphony of the Seas, which is massive!  The Symphony has 2759 cabins and accommodates 5518 passengers at double occupancy.  In comparison, the Bliss cruise in April 2025 is on the Explorer of the Seas, which has 1643 cabins and accommodates 3286 passengers.  That’s a big difference in ship size and in number of passengers, which can make for a very different experience.

We spoke with several passengers on our cruise that had sailed on both the larger and smaller ships.  Some people preferred the smaller ships because there were less people, and felt more intimate.  Other passengers that we spoke to preferred the larger ships because there were more people, more playroom areas, and more bars and entertainment options.  Everyone said they enjoyed both environments, but size did matter for a lot of people. 

Cabins and Rooms

Preferences for rooms and cabins will vary greatly from couple to couple.  Just like with traditional resorts, some couples prefer nicer rooms with extra space and amenities and others couldn’t care less about where they sleep.  It really depends on what you want and what’s important to you.  If you prefer to play in your stateroom and want to bring people back to your cabin, then you likely want a larger room that facilitates that scenario.  If you intend to only use your cabin for sleeping and showers, then you can save a ton of money and get an interior cabin.   In our case, we wanted an ocean facing balcony room because we love relaxing and playing on the balcony.  That was important to us, so that’s the room we booked.  It really comes down to personal preference and what matters the most to each couple. It's also important to note that the room options and layouts can vary from ship to ship.

What are the Demographics of the Passengers on a Bliss Cruise?

As mentioned earlier, our ship was huge and there were over 2500 couples onboard.  This created a very balanced and diverse population of couples that ranged in age from the 20’s to the 70’s.  We also found that all areas of the lifestyle community were well represented, including Newbies, Full Swap, Soft Swap, Hot Wife, Stag and Vixen, Cuckolds, Exhibitionists, Voyeurs, and many others.  There was also a good mix of international diversity, with couples from Australia, North America, South America, and Europe.  It truly was a large and diverse group of people, and it was very easy to meet and find others with similar interests and desires.  In fact, there were multiple meet and greets coordinated every day for a wide range of categories to make it easier to meet and get to know others.

What is a Typical Day Like on a Bliss Cruise?

Bliss really offers something for everyone!  Each day included a diverse itinerary with various activities, entertainment options, seminars, meet and greets, organized play events, and a variety of social and professional functions.  Everyone has their own particular interests and desires, so it’s really up to each couple to decide what they want to do and when they want to do it.  Since there’s such a huge variety of things to do each day, we think it makes more sense to provide an overview of the various daily options and activities instead of summarizing how we personally used our time.  It’s also important to point out that there are two to three days in port during each cruise, which provide even more opportunities and options to consider.

Here's how we will break down things for this section:

·         Afternoon on Day One

·         Mornings

·         Afternoons

·         Dining (Evening)

·         Post Dinner Entertainment

·         Theme Night Parties

·         Playrooms

·         Drink Packages and Wi-Fi Packages

AFTERNOON ON DAY ONE:

We wanted to highlight the day one afternoon because it’s a bit different than the subsequent days on the ship.  Boarding times for guests are staggered throughout the morning and afternoon, so guests are constantly flowing into the ship at different times.  Also, you drop your bags off when you arrive at the terminal, and it can take a couple hours or more for your bags and your room to be accessible.  Some people like to pack a carry-on bag with sunscreen and pool gear and head straight to the pool deck.  Others prefer to spend time exploring the ship and socializing at the numerous bars and clubs.  There were also meet and greet events available, as well as welcome parties hosted by the various lifestyle travel companies and sponsors.  The lifestyle cruise veterans appeared to have a better feel for what they wanted to do, while the newbies like us spent our time wandering around the ship, bar hopping, and socializing until our rooms were ready.  Once everyone’s cabins became available, couples started going back to their rooms to unpack, drop off their carry-on items, and get ready for dinner.

MORNING:

The term “morning” can have different meanings depending on who you talk to.  Some couples are early risers, while others like to sleep-in each morning to recharge their batteries from the previous night.  Regardless of which category you fall into, there are plenty of events and activities available throughout the morning hours to appeal to everyone.

For fitness and wellness lovers, each ship will have a gym, spa, walking track, and a variety of sport courts to use.  Wellness classes and spa services are also available for sign-up or to book.

A variety of educational seminars and classes are taught and hosted during the morning hours each day.  These sessions start at 9:00 AM and run throughout the morning hours and continue into the afternoon.  A complete listing of all sessions and session times are published within the Bliss app.  Some sessions do require advanced bookings and registration fees, while others are free and accept walk-ups.

Meet and greet events are typically scheduled in the mornings and afternoons.  Some events are general in nature, and others are targeted at certain lifestyle groups or play categories.  Regardless of the theme or group, everyone is encouraged to attend any meet and greet session that they find interesting.

The pool deck is a very popular destination in the morning hours and people love to get there early to scope out locations and grab seats.  The prime location seats are typically taken by 9:00 AM, so get up early if this is important to you.  We prefer to sleep in each day and typically don’t make it to the pool deck until around 11:30 AM.  Despite our late morning arrival time, we never had an issue finding a pair of chairs to use for the day.

AFTERNOON:

All of the same activities and entertainment options just outlined in the morning section are also available in the afternoon as well.  The same fitness and wellness options are available, a wide variety of seminars and classes are available, multiple meet and greet sessions are available, and the pool deck is a hot spot with live music, DJ’s, and poolside games.  In addition to these options, several bars and restaurants are open for socializing, ship entertainment is scheduled at various locations and times during the afternoon, and playrooms open for afternoon sessions starting around 2:00 PM.

A significant number of couples spend their afternoons around the pool.  The pool sizes and layouts will vary from ship to ship and some ships have multiple pools and hot tubs to choose from.  There are multiple bars along the pool deck, and the entire pool deck area is busy from mid-morning to late afternoon. The pool deck is also clothing optional. The vast majority of women were topless, but the majority kept their bottoms on. Most men kept their bottoms on as well, but there were numerous couples that took full advantage and were completely nude.

DINING (EVENING)

This varies from ship to ship, but there’s always a wide range of evening dining options available.  Each ship has a huge main dining room, multiple specialty restaurants (these typically cost extra), multiple casual restaurants and cafes, a large buffet style dining hall, and room service is available if you prefer to eat in.

The main dining room is where most guests dine each night.  It opens at 5:30 PM and continuously seats guests until approximately 8:30 PM.  Royal Caribbean utilizes “My Time Dining”, which means you can show up whenever you want without a reservation.  However, if you show up during the peak dinner rush at 6:30-7:00, you may have to wait 15-20 minutes to get a table.  Normally having to wait can be an inconvenience, but it’s a big positive on a lifestyle cruise.  The entire waiting area becomes a giant meet and greet and you get to meet and talk with tons of new people.

With respect to seating, If you’re with friends and you all want to sit together, the staff will try to accommodate you as best they can.  If you’re there as a solo couple, you will be sat with other random couples.  This turned out to be an awesome experience and we met so many great people by randomly being grouped together at dinner.

Dinner attire varied from couple to couple.  Many couples dressed up for dinner, with ladies wearing sexy and revealing dresses and men wearing pants and collared shirts.  Some couples came to dinner already dressed in their theme night outfits so they could go straight to the party after dinner.  Regardless of your preference, the dining atmosphere was super sexy and it was fun seeing all the sexy dresses and theme night outfits all mixed together.

If you prefer a more intimate dining experience, multiple specialty restaurants are available and provide a more traditional fine dining restaurant atmosphere.  These restaurants typically require a reservation and often have an extra surcharge fee. If you prefer casual dining or just want to eat quickly and get back to the party, the buffet is a popular option or you can eat at one of the fast food places throughout the ship.

POST DINNER ENTERTAINMENT  

Each evening and typically starting around 9:30 PM, a show or comedy event will take place in the main theater.  This is a popular event, and the theater is usually packed.  The shows usually last 45 minutes to an hour and when finished, everyone heads to their preferred destination to continue the party.  In addition to the main shows, several bars and lounges will have live music, and our ship had a karaoke bar that people loved.  There’s also a casino onboard for people that love to gamble.  Once the theme party begins, the nightclubs will open for those that like to dance.  If you prefer playing as entertainment, the playrooms open at 9:00 PM and stay open until 2:00 AM. 

THEME NIGHT PARTIES

Each night of the cruise will have a different theme associated with it.  For example, our themes were High School Flashback, Red Carpet, Superhero and Villains, Glow Night, Fetish Night, Under the Sea, and Famous Couples.     Most couples really enjoy the theme nights and have fun dressing up in sexy outfits to match the themes.  If you’ve been to Temptation or Desire, or any hotel takeovers with theme nights, the outfits are essentially equivalent to what you would see at those venues.  Some are very risqué, while others are more reserved or focus on humor.  You never know what you will see, which makes each night fun and exciting.

PLAYROOMS

The size and total number of playrooms can vary based on the ship size and number of passengers.  For our cruise, there were 5 to 6 playrooms set up each evening, and 1 to 2 playrooms available during the afternoon.  The “All Passengers” afternoon playroom was available from 2-5 PM and a second specialty playroom was open every other day (e.g. Fetish, Bi-Males, Women Only, etc.).  In the evenings, there were two main playrooms always open for couples only or all passengers (the term “all passengers” means couples and singles are allowed).  The other evening playrooms became specialty playrooms and rotated themes each night.  The staff did an excellent job keeping things organized and clean, and they did a great job making each environment sensual and erotic.   

DRINK PACKAGES AND Wi-Fi PACKAGES

Drink package options can vary from one Cruise service to another. For example, Temptation and Desire cruises often include the drink package as part of your overall booking fee and you do not have to pay an additional package fee. Our Bliss cruises did not include the drink package by default and we had to choose whether to purchase the drink package or pay for our drinks individually as we ordered them on the ship. Drink packages can be pricey and you need to do the math on whether the cost makes sense based on the types of drinks you like and how many drinks you intend to consume each day. Specialty cocktails and top-shelf liquor drinks are approximately $12-15 each plus gratuities. Beers and "well" drinks are approximately $7-9 each plus gratuities. For a 7 day cruise, the drink package for two people can range from $1200 to $1700, which includes unlimited drinks and all gratuities. If you do the quick math at the $1700 price range, the cost averages out to right at $120 per person per day. That equates to approximately 9 high end drinks or 15 lower end drinks per person per day. If you believe you will consume that many drinks or more each day, then the package likely makes sense. For the Bliss cruise, we had to purchase our package directly through Royal Caribbean.

WiFi packages are typically not included in your cruise booking and must be purchased separately as an add-on. Each cruise line will offer various Wi-Fi packages at different prices, so you will need to evaluate your choices and decide if you need a package or not. On our Bliss cruise, Royal Caribbean offered an unlimited Wi-Fi package and charged different amounts based on the number of devices you wanted to have active simultaneously. For Royal Caribbean, you could buy a single device plan and still use multiple devices. You just had to logout from the one device first and then you could login with the second device. Essentially only one device can be logged in and active at a time. If you can get by with this type of scenario, then the one device plan is the cheapest way to go.

Summary of our Experience?

Our experience on our first Bliss cruise was amazing! We had so much fun that we've already booked a room on the Bliss November 2026 cruise, which sails on the Wonder of the Seas. We honestly didn't know what to expect and things were somewhat overwhelming at first due to the size of the ship and the sheer number of people onboard. However, we quickly got comfortable with the flow of things and were off to the races after that.

We really enjoyed how well things were organized, and we also appreciated the wide range of activities, classes, entertainment options, dining options, and play areas onboard. We took full advantage of what the cruise had to offer and we met tons of amazing people along the way. We are definitely hooked now and plan to take many more lifestyle cruises in the future.

As far as negatives go, the only thing we didn't like was the small pool sizes on the ship we sailed. Instead of one large pool, there were multiple smaller pools and the pools were always super packed and cramped. To be fair though, the pool sizes do vary from ship to ship, and for what our ship lacked in large pools, it made up for it in other areas like bars and restaurants.

Overall we had an amazing cruise, met many new friends, had numerous sexy experiences, and can't wait to do it again in 2026!

Tips and Tricks?

Tip 1: Find and join Facebook communities for the cruise you decide to go with. Bliss, Desire, and Temptation all have Facebook groups for each specific cruise. You can ask questions, get updates on your cruise, sign up early for classes and activities, and get to know other couples in advance of your vacation. Also, if you use any of the Lifestyle dating apps like SDC, Kasidie, or SLS, those sites also have groups and communities that you can join for each cruise.

Tip 2: Communicating with friends and other couples can be difficult onboard due the lack of Wi-Fi and cell service at sea (unless you pay extra for a Wi-Fi package). These ships are massive and there are literally thousands of people onboard. It's very possible that you could meet a couple that you connect with and then never see them again the rest of the cruise. Over the years, people have developed a few clever techniques to mitigate these challenges.

Magnetic Dry Erase Boards: The doors to the cabins are metal, so everyone brings magnetic dry erase boards and sticks them outside their cabin door. This allows you to leave notes about your daily schedule and others can leave you notes, messages, and information about where to meet up later, or even sexy invitations and room numbers.

Slut Cards: We didn't come up with the name, but they are called Slut Cards and people use them just like business cards. Couples make them their selves or have them made prior to the cruise. They give them to other couples that they connect with during the week. The cards can be as simple as just your picture, names, and cabin number, or they can include additional details like play rules or dating site user names. Once you have someone's card, you can stop by their cabin to say hello or leave them a message on their dry erase board to potentially meet up later.

Decorate your Cabin Door: It's common practice to decorate the outside of your cabin door and to include a picture of yourselves. A picture allows you to see who your neighbors are and they also help when you are trying to find other people's rooms. In addition to pictures, people like to decorate their doors with LED lights, magnetic stickers, and funny props. The doors are metal, so anything magnetic works well, and you can also use magnetic hooks or clips to hold things in place.

Tip 3: The room walls and bathroom walls inside your cabin are mostly metal. We like to bring magnetic hooks to use inside the room for hanging up wet clothes, towels or even toys :)

Tip 4: A lot of people bring Yeti or Stanley style cups to use at the pool. People decorate their cups with their names and funny sayings, which helps people remember who you are and helps break the ice when meeting new people. We like to use the medium sized Yeti's so they are not too heavy to hold while standing and talking to people at the pool. Some people use just a lid and drink from the cup and others use a lid with a rubber straw. Either option works and the cups help keep your drinks cold and the lids keep the pool water from splashing into your drinks!

Tip 5: We always bring a speaker and some party lights for our room to make it fun when getting ready or when we come back to the room for fun. We also like to listen to music when we are getting ready.

Tip 6: If you enjoy going to the playrooms, we highly recommend putting together a play bag so you have one ready when the opportunity or mood strikes. Some people use small bookbags, but a good drawstring bag works nicely too. The typical contents of a play bag are breath mints, lube, condoms, sanitary wipes, and small toys.

Tip 7: Irons and steamers are not permitted in cabins, so it's convenient to bring a small bottle of wrinkle release spray in case your clothes or dresses get wrinkled in the luggage. You can hang up the garment, spray it with wrinkle release, and let it air out for an hour or so.

Tip 8: We like to bring battery or USB powered fans for our room. The rooms can get warm during play sessions, so having a fan or two can definitely make things more comfortable.