Fleet Week sailors are getting the most out of their Big Apple shore leave — receiving VIP treatment that includes free drinks, lap dances and limo rides.
“It’s supposed to be professional summer training, but it’s basically a pleasure cruise,” said Naval Academy sophomore Emmett Jenkins, 21. “We’ve heard some stories … there are legends.”
At Midtown jiggle joint Rick’s Cabaret, as many as 40 sailors and Marines were let in for free on Wednesday night after many months at sea.
“They have fun, get a few drinks. Some customers will buy them drinks and dances,” a manager at the West 33rd Street spot told The Post.
“Every once in a while a girl will feel patriotic and give them a free dance.”
“We had more than last year,” he continued, “Last year was quiet for some reason.”
Some 2,600 Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corp members landed in the city Wednesday and will enjoy a week here as part of the annual celebration, now in its 31st year.
But it’s not all plaque unveilings and warship tours, with service members in town for the time-honored tradition, saying they’re on the hunt for a good time.
One female Naval Academy student fondly recalled being picked up in a limo before being ferried to upscale jiggle joint Sapphire 39 last year.
“People go to strip clubs. They go everywhere,” she said.
“Last year [Sapphire 39] picked me up in a limo and were like, ‘Let’s go’…,” she said. “I would go again if they offered.”
A lot of the clubs let the servicemen drink free, sources told The Post. But nudie bars aren’t the only spots where sailors are treated like kings.
“People keep stopping to take pictures with us,” said Chief Tunal, 34, a student at the Naval Academy.
Another lucky Navyman named Nathan Cruz, 24, said he and his pals got their a $100 tab at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant taken care of by a patriotic patron.
Sailor Kenneth Stelmack, 24, said he’d “rather pay for my own meal,” while describing the generosity of patriotic Yankees as “kind of insane.”
“You never feel like you’ve done enough — you’re in a party of 8 or 9 and someone picks up your check. That’s kind of insane.”
Stelmack said he’s staying at an Airbnb on the Lower East Side and on the lookout for good rooftop bars — though he won’t be going too wild.
“Look, we’re not trying to cause more problems then New York already has,” he said.
Nowhere is off limits, but some sailors reported being warned not to venture into potentially dangerous territory, citing the Bronx and East New York. Some Naval Academy students said they had curfews of about 1 a.m.
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