Topics: Travel, Holiday, Cruise, Sex and Relationships
Despite the reputation that nudist cruises are somewhat of a 'free for all', one regularl passenger has lifted the lid on some of the unexpectedly strict rules that voyagers must follow whilst on-board.
If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a 'nude cruise' is pretty much what it says on the tin - an excursion across the seas on a colossal cruise-liner.
The only catch? You're in your birthday suit the entire time.
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And whilst you might wince at the idea of getting your kit off in the name of a holiday, nude cruises have spiked in popularity in recent years.
Though that might partially be due to an increase in couples looking to spice up their sex lives - being that these such holidays are often hotbeds for swinging - it could also be down to holiday-makers simply wanting to feel more liberated.
Despite the freedom that nude cruises can give you, however, one man is warning potential newbies of the often overlooked rules that passengers must agree to follow whilst on-board.
The nude cruise regular took to the online discussion forum Reddit recently, where he invited his followers to 'Ask Me Anything'.
The man had just ‘disembarked from a 2,000 person nude cruise' - his first - after setting sail from Tampa, Florida, with his female partner to take in the likes of Mexico and Honduras.
He said the trip, which was organised by Texas-based charter company Bare Necessities Tour and Travel, had been ‘awesome’, having spent around $2,500 (£1,965) per person for a seven-day cruise in a standard room with a balcony.
He explained how the captain will make an announcement after exiting a port about 'when clothes can be removed'.
"Usually it’s about thirty minutes," the man added. "Same, in reverse, going into port."
Curious users soon jumped into the comments to ask about the experience, with many hoping to find out more about whether or not there were many rules on board, considering the nature of the trip.
It turns out there are quite a few, including the fact you ‘must get dressed to exit the ship’, although there were ‘nude excursions’ at each of the three days in port.
One person asked: "Do you carry a towel everywhere you go? It seems rather gross to have multiple naked sweaty bodies sitting or laying on everything that everyone uses."
The man wrote back: "Yes. One must only sit with a towel under one’s bare butt. There are clean towels all over the ship.”
He also told another user: "Shoes were required walking around the boat, although some folks went barefoot nonetheless.
"Of course, one could be barefoot on beach chairs and in the pools. Unless you were dressed up for dinner, everyone was in flip flops or sandals."
The passenger stressed that you never had to remove your clothes if you didn’t want to, adding that there was just one time on board when they were compulsory.
"Most people were nude most of the time,” he said.
"However, since one has to dress to go to the main dining room, there were always many clothed people at and after dinner time.”
While many of the above guidelines about how to act on the cruise, Reddit users were keen to find out if there were any ‘strict’ rules - especially about ‘video recording’.
The man explained: "Absolutely. No one was carrying their phones around."
Another probed into the ‘policy’ on mobile phones and taking pictures, mentioning how ‘virtual’ the world is these days and how ‘paranoid’ they would feel about anything being shared online.
He continued: "This was a crowd with lots of nudist experience. Everyone knows you can’t take pictures of other people.
"I was much less worried here than I have been at nude beaches. Almost no one had phones with them outside their cabin.
"There were many signs posted. There were a lot of staff from the charter company whose job it was to enforce good naturist etiquette.
