Cruising Naked

_{Yes it exists!}

While I’m in the mood for sharing all my secrets, why not throw in this one for good measure. @Shai-hulud and I are naturalists. What does that mean, basically if you were to knock on our door without a prior invitation you may be left standing for a moment while we clothe ourselves. It also led us on the adventure of a lifetime. To find out more keep reading!

The Big Nude Boat

Mind out of the gutter please…

First up let me make it very clear, my husband and I are not swingers. Secondly, you can choose to wear or not wear clothes, it’s a clothing optional cruise. Thirdly, towels are required at all times when naked and clothes are required in the dining rooms.

Although this is open to interpretation by the person wearing the clothes, so we did see a lot of fishnet and I’m not talking stockings.

Last but not least, if you ever want to gain some self-assurance get onto one of these cruises, any inhibitions you may have about your own physique will have disappeared by the end. I am however getting ahead of myself.

Having an ostomy ensures you are never strictly naked except possibly in the shower if you are willing to play chicken with the output. Add to this the numerous scars I have obtained, this is an activity that never entered my mind pre or post ostomy surgery.

Pre-ostomy I would have been too self-conscious about stretch marks and cellulite to consider it.

So, how did I go from crying in front to the mirror to getting my kit off on a boat with 2,500 other nude people or naturalists as we liked to called. Well, it’s easy – timing, a love for travel, and preparedness to step out of my comfort zone.

Back Story

I had previously gone on a cruise with my sister through the South Pacific and completely loved it. There was always things to do with 24 hours a day entertainment and food, not to mention housekeeping. Who wouldn’t love that… Since that cruise, I had been trying to convince my hubby Hive account@shai-hulud to join me on a cruise, he is not however very fond of large crowds or anywhere his computer isn’t. So surprise surprise…

Hubby found a cruise…

He told me he had been looking at cruises for our next holiday I was surprised to say the least. He had found a decent one too. Nine nights leaving from Tampa in Florida which also meant we could visit the US, something I had been agonizing to do since I missed my opportunity back in 2007 due to surgery.

You can find my full story here: How I got flipped Inside Out... For REAL!

New York, Washington DC, Disneyworld and Universal studios were all on the list. My enthusiasm took over and I was sold. So when he told me the hook that it was a ”clothing optional” cruise, as in a nude cruise the pro’s still compensated for the cons and I booked it that night, before I had the chance to wuss out.

My husband doesn’t like wearing clothes, I just wanted to go on a cruise… Win win right…

It wasn’t until everything was booked and paid for that the enormity of what I had done hit me. I had just readily signed myself up to get naked in front of random people. The months leading up to the trip was full of unsettled feelings of you can do this to what were you thinking.

It’s one thing walking around your own house naked but this is crazy!.

It Begins

The time came and I packed my ostomy provisions, along with the stuff we needed to survive the adventures in the US prior to the cruise and very little else. The time spent travelling through parts of the US prior to the cruise was amazing, exhausting and chilly. Trying to pack so much into so little time gave me no opportunity to ponder the logistics of the cruise until we were in line with hundreds of other soon to be naked people. At that stage, they all looked as normal as us.

We all wore expressions of excitement mixed with a tinge of fear and some like me doubt.

Registration was easy and went by in a flash. Clothing was required when in port so the first few hours went by like a normal cruise, checking out our stateroom, the eating areas and listening to safety demonstrations before disembarking.

Bits in, Boobs out

As we left port we hid in our stateroom for some time as we were a little anxious about opening the door and what we would be confronted with but Hive account@shai-hulud maned up and lead the way. Given it was clothing optional we decided to venture out clothed to see what we had signed up for.

The cruise director declared over the speaker clothes were no longer required, and the party can begin!

There were forty of us under forty out of the 2,500 cruise goers and this included the models and video crew so with or without my ostomy and my husband’s ringlets we were going to be easily recognisable.

Did you know he is cutting them all off for leukaemia? He is raising money from all his posts with (FCK Cancer) in the title until early MARCH, check him out Hive account@shai-hulud and upvote generously for a great cause. We are also sending his hair off to be made into a wig for a child suffering from hair loss associated with leukaemia. He has been growing it for over 5 years now. I can honestly tell you we are both a bit scared of what he's going to look like...
Interested in knowing how we met
_{It had to do with the curls again.}
Love isn’t always shit free.

There were people in all stages of undress. After what felt like forever but was probably only 15 minutes of walking around the ship we retreated back to the cabin to give our eyes time to adjust and process everything we had seen.

We both let out a giggle we had been holding onto since seeing two gentlemen playing ping-pong on the entertainment deck.

Agreeing that we may not be as adult as we thought as we continued to giggle like children would over the word “fart”. Once we gathered our senses back about us and reassured each other that we looked as normal if not better than the masses we dared to leave the cabin again.

My husband in full ship attire and me while still terrified, went topless with my ostomy securely tucked into my shorts.

First exposure

I officially went fully nude three times on the cruise, the first of which was on the cruise liners privately owned island in the Caribbean. We had a seven hour stop and I deliberated with myself for the first four of them.

I got as naked as you can safely get with an ostomy and stepped out onto the beach.

Even after all my deliberations I started crying soon after disrobing, sure everyone was staring at me. My husband brought me back to the real world by first telling me how proud of me he was and then enlightening me that they were probably checking out my “hot body” if they were looking at all. That made me laugh, stop crying and gave me a second to feel proud of how far I had come since receiving my ostomy.

The pirate and the octopus

My favourite experience by far had to be the “Under the Sea” costume party. It was hilarious and the imagination of some people still amazes me, the body paint artists were amazing. The painted one gentleman as an octopus with one loose tentacle while another bloke as a pirate and you will never guess what his sword was. I laughed when one gentleman came adorned with nothing but flashing lights attached to his man region.

You get good at keeping eye contact on these things but add flashing anything and your eyes are drawn to it...

Although I enjoyed my time nude and I was never made to feel uncomfortable I still chose to wear bottoms most of the time. The most therapeutic thing I found was no need for underwear and no shame for it.

Assumptions shattered

Whilst I had the assumption that cruise boats are full of old people, I had honestly thought I may encounter another ostomate but I was the only one I saw. However, there were people of all shapes, sizes, nationalities, political and religious beliefs all with their own scars to bear and stories to tell.

There was no judgement as it really is hard to judge someone who is naked, especially if you are naked too.

In the clothed world we make assumptions about people due to what they wear, take that away it becomes much harder. Which means to get to know anyone you need to interact and talk with them. _{A lot like steemit.} This is challenging at first and not only requires eye contact but is best approached from the same level, both standing or sitting, any combo is made somewhat more difficult due to the lack of clothing.

This aside, we did meet some amazing people and we would love to reconnect with them in the future. One of these lovely ladies is featured throughout this blog as I wasn't brave enough to let my hubby take photos.

Not your cup of tea

Now I do appreciate if this is not your cup of tea. I can understand especially those struggling with body issues. It's completely normal not to get buck naked on a ship full of strangers. It's taken me ten years, a desire to go on a cruise, a passion for travel and the willingness to compromise to get me there so by no means is it for everyone. However, you do need to know anything is possible and you can experience new things and live the life you always wanted no matter what crap you have endured in your past.

Stronger than before!

Power Up & Steem On!