ON TRADITIONAL cruises, passengers get to see the world. On a Desire cruise, they are exposed to quite a bit more.

Put on by a Mexican company called Original Group and setting sail from Venice, Italy, in September, the Desire cruise boasts nude sunbathing, sexy playrooms, sensually themed dress-up parties, swinging around the clock and get-to-know-you icebreakers that veer away from, say, shuffleboard.

“One game we have is a contest to see which couple can get into the most sexual positions within a one-minute time limit,” Mario Cruz, a product developer with Original Group, tells The New York Post. “Then, for fun, we might change it up and have two women showing us the various positions.”

For all the unbridled wildness, though, Cruz emphasises that hard limits get set. “Playrooms are the only public areas where you can actually have sex,” he says. “Guests can get sensual and close at the pool, but you cannot have intercourse. We don’t want to have people who are relaxing, maybe reading books or whatever, and all of a sudden the people next to them are having sex.”

While the playrooms never close, Cruz says that they get busiest after the sun goes down and cruisers have a few drinks in them. He acknowledges that nights on the high seas can get pretty heated.

“I have seen things that I never thought I would see — not even in a movie,” says Cruz. He recalls the time when a man and woman swapped clothing at the pool, so that they were both essentially in drag, and proceeded to a playroom. “The lady was [sexually] acting like a man, and the man was acting like a lady. I am pretty open-minded, and even I was a little uncomfortable. But you respect what everyone does, and nobody judges you.”

Attracting a mix of nudists, swingers and the curious, the cruise, which should have 350 couples on board this fall, will boast Tantric yoga, talks from sexologists and carnal possibilities to suit every taste. Cruz himself will be on board. “I bring my wife; it’s our job,” he says. “I enjoy being around the guests, but I know my limits. I don’t participate. The golden rule is ‘no means no.’ ”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.