I just disembarked from a 2,000 person nude cruise. AMA.

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

Yes. One must only sit with a towel under one’s bare butt. There are clean towels all over the ship.

Yes, it is strange to go to the bathroom when one is naked. I for one was much more fastidious after using the bathroom because of the unusual exposure.

Unquestionably, there were relatively few younger couples. We’re 67/61. The younger couples seemed to be having fun though. It’s a very friendly vibe, so I doubt the younger couples experienced any distress. If doing lots of fun things without having to wear clothes sounds good to you, I would say go for it. This was a pro-nudity crowd, so everyone was upbeat.

In my experience, they almost never happen. This cruise is very non-sexual, so a man would want to hide it somehow. Non-nudists think about this a lot more than nudists do.

Exactly. Nudists are always perplexed why the vast amount of humanity doesn’t feel this same way.

Preliminarily, nudists dislike the term “nudist colony.” That term went out of fashion, so to speak, in about 1965. It’s nude beach, resort, club, etc.

Nudists tend to be a little different, perhaps, and less concerned with superficiality, so I suppose it’s possible they are not great dressers. But I don’t that that’s widely true. If you saw everyone boarding this ship clothed, you’d view them as normally dressed.

So, I am a nudist as well…and I have been told I have very good fashion sense. If given the choice, I’d prefer to be naked. But, if I have to wear clothes, I’m going to try & make it look good.

I’m an experienced nudist, so I was very comfortable from the beginning. I couldn’t honestly say I became completely desensitized because it’s fun people watching.

No smells. People are clean. One can’t put one’s bare butt on any surface; a towel is required.

As I said above, this is something that nonnudists worry about a lot more than nudists. I’ve been a nudist for ten years and I’ve almost never seen one. Since this cruise is not a sex-positive event, the man would be expected to conceal it.

The staff was clothed The musical acts and other performers were clothed, with the exception of one male/female duo.

I’m a straight guy, so I don’t have a sense about the men. Cruises seem to be for people who like to eat and lie around, so there were a lot of large people. Also, most people don’t seem to be comfortable being nude in public until later in life so the crowd was older. I’d say 20% attractive, 20% average, 60% unattractive. However, if you’re there for the views, you’re probably going for the wrong reasons. And I would never suggest or think people need to put their clothes on. That’s antithetical to the whole point.

I assume you meant “on” the ship, not off. One couldn’t be nude in port and one never had to be nude. I didn’t see any underwear, but some women wore shear tops and coverups.

This one was nudist. While couples may have met up for sex, there was nothing public about it.

I'm curious about this too.

Somehow this isn’t something I paid much attention to. And when I noticed, it was usually men because their genitals are external. I think most men are shaved. My partner and I are not.

I’m sure it’s happened. I apply sunscreen to my genitals like any other body part, so it didn’t happen to me.

As a pasty white irish guy i cringe of the thought of my thumb dick getting burned red!!!!

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.

It was awesome. Great weather and the opportunity to do a bunch of fun things nude (beaches, resorts, dancing, be at bars, etc.).

I never darkened the fitness center door, so I don’t have any observational experience. But I’m sure they do.

I did go to the gym. I wore clothes since sweat and that stuff is just nasty to me. Some do workout naked. Always sitting on towels. The gym has disinfectant wipes and like most gyms, people wipe the machine down after use.

It’s apparently significantly more than a normal cruise. I’ve never done a textile cruise, so I don’t know the difference. I think this one was $2,500/person for a seven day cruise first a standard room with a balcony. Go to the Bare necessities website for the details.

Yes and yes.

Since a nude cruise is by and large committed nudists, I was much less worried about cameras than I am on a nude beach, where lots of randos might be present.

I’m a nudist, and it’s a widely known thing in the nudist world. The charter company is Bare Necessities Tour and Travel.

The same amount you usually need, and then a little more.

It is also philosophical and activist:

Some of us want to desexualize the naked body. People find offense in nudity. People get ashamed for simply being. Others justify rape or sexual misconduct for garments or skin exposure. Many attribute value and morality to clothing.

The human body is not offensive. All bodies are beautiful. Everyone should be proud of who and what they are. Clothing does not determine your value or place in society, you simply are valuable.

Have you ever gone skinny dipping? It’s great to be nude to go swimming, dancing, walking along the beach, etc. For me, that’s the main thing. If I’m candid, I don’t mind seeing naked women, so that’s nice too.

It’s the same reason men don’t wear shirts to go swimming or on the beach. It’s great feeling. I’m sure some people have an exhibitionist thrill, but I don’t. Also, I’m not sure that a naked person among 2,000 naked people could be considered an exhibitionist.

Not to us. Yes, it occasionally seemed a little silly, but you only live once.

Nudists regard themselves as nonjudgmental , and typically admire people who go clothes free notwithstanding disabilities. There were several very large people on board and I have no doubt it was without incident. I saw one person with a major birthmark on his/her face.

I think it would be fine.

I’m pretty confident it would be a safe environment for single women. in fact, we met such a woman at the bar and spoke to her for quite a while. She is confident in her own skin and finds conventional attitudes on nudity and sex hypocritical.

There are many staff members of the charter company whose principal job is to ensure appropriate naturist etiquette.

With regard to your boyfriend, I can’t hazard a guess. I’m sure there are people who go on the cruise and find the whole thing overwhelming. That being said, the overall vibe is very positive. These are people who find nudity very enjoyable and not a big deal. It’s a positive and joyful environment. While some people drink, it wasn’t a drunken rowdy event. It was a social event, kind of like the first weeks of college, except almost everyone was older and nude.

It feels nice and there’s nothing so special about my body that I feel like I have to hide it from the world in those rare circumstances where it’s permissible. It’s the same reason men don’t wear shirts at the beach.

It’s organized by a travel company named Bare Necessities. It was a Carnival ship.

No nude in the nicer restaurants, but nude everywhere else, including the bars, nightclubs and buffets.

There’s no requirement that anyone be nude so far as I know. That being said, nearly everyone was, at least by the pools. Away from the pools, some clothing wasn’t uncommon. If a sizesble contingent of folks started showing up at the pools with clothes on, people would become disgruntled. Nudists don’t like textiles invading their relatively few spaces.

While there were adults of all ages, it definitely skewed older. Certainly most were in their 50’s-70’s. Many gay men. Not many gay women that I could tell, but I would think they would be comfortable. It’s an accepting crowd.

Almost no one was trans from what we could tell. I would think it would be a very accepting crowd, but there was at most one mtf from what we could tell.