Man who went on 2,000-person nude cruise reveals the golden rule 'everyone knew' they had to follow

A traveller on a cruise ship carrying 2,000 fellow nudists has revealed the one golden rule everyone taking part knew they must follow.

The 67-year-old man opened up about his experiences as he urged internet users to 'ask me anything' about his naked jaunt across the waters with like-minded naturists.

He insisted everyone taking part was 'pretty well-behaved' - and key to their common sense of purpose was an implicit agreement about not taking photographs.

The passenger had booked a cruise via the Texas-based travel company Bare Necessities, which has been operating clothing-optional ship charters since 1990.

And writing anonymously on website Reddit, the man invited questions from other users about the experience - prompting further tips about best behaviour on board.

While there have been group photographs taken and shared online, filming was kept to a minimum out of respect for others, he suggested.

The poster insisted: 'These are pretty well-behaved nudists and they know the rules - no photos without express permission.'

He described the 2,000-strong travelling party as 'a crowd with lots of nudist experience'.

He added: '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.

'And I've spent time online researching nudism and I've never a single online photograph from the cruise except for the group shots that people voluntarily pose for. For those reasons, I wasn't concerned.'

The unnamed man told of being on a 2,000-passenger Carnival cruise liner with his 61-year-old wife for a seven-day round trip from Tampa in Florida, with stops in Mexico and Honduras along the way.

He reiterated to other Reddit users that the trip - his first ever nudist cruise - was 'not a swingers cruise or a sex positive environment' and 'this was a crowd with lots of nudist experience'.

Explaining the ins and outs of nudist cruising, he revealed that the captain 'generally makes an announcement after exiting a port when clothes can be removed' and 'usually it's about thirty minutes'.

The same then happens in reverse, when the ship starts nearing its next port of call.

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He added that people 'usually take advantage of the opportunity to be nude since that's the point of the cruise'.

The man also told how all cruise vessel employees were clothed 'except for one male/female duo' who performed in the theatre.

He said that from his understanding, no employee from the cruise line is 'obligated' to work on the nude charters if they did not feel comfortable.

He added: 'Unquestionably, there were relatively few younger couples [and] it definitely skewed older.

'Certainly most were in their 50s to 70s. Many gay men. Not many gay women that I could tell, but I would think they would be comfortable. It's an accepting crowd.'

Other commonly accepted rules he described included an agreement that people would not sit on surfaces naked without placing a towel beneath them.

He wrote: 'That's not a difficult concept. Nudists are as interested in hygiene as much as if not more than the next guy.'

He also tried to explain the apparent appeal of stripping off for a cruise trip, saying: 'The "why" is because it's a nice feeling to be nude, just like it's a nice feeling for a man to be without a shirt at the beach.

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'Skinny dipping is great. Being nude at some of the world's nicest beaches is great.

'Most people who try nudism love it. YOLO. Please don't write that the only people who are on nude beaches are the ones who shouldn't be there. That's crabbed and trite.'

His Reddit debate seemed to provoke plenty of intrigue, while there were mixed emotions about whether such a holiday would appeal.

One commenter said: 'I went to a nude beach a few years ago and actually enjoyed myself.

'I was not comfortable going fully nude but my experience was basically what you are describing - very chill and people were nice in a non sexual way.

'I think people do think about it the wrong way, it was a very non sexual experience and I enjoyed it!

'No one was weird or creepy as we were quite young females at the time. 10/10 experience.'

Another wrote: 'I’m jealous, I love being nude, but not so sure about wanting to be nude around 100s of other people. So glad you had fun and this AMA has been super interesting.'

Further comments included questions such as 'Anyone actually attractive?' and 'How do you get into this? Asking for a friend'.

The initial poster was also told: 'Hope you remembered to get dressed before disembarking.'

Unimpressed sceptics included one person who replied: 'That would be disgusting. Don't know why you would do this when you could just wear clothes.'

And another wrote: 'What’s fun about watching people being nude? Not trying to be rude, just trying to wrap my head around this as an activity.'