Clothing optional

[ColinIllinois]

Has anyone ever requested to have their meet and greet on the freestyle deck? Just wondering.

 

 

Would that then be called a Meat and Greet?

 

~groan~

 

Sorry about that one folks. :p

[fergusonvt]

And here's hoping that in the future you don't have to have a doctor remove skin cancer from any of those places that normally aren't exposed to the sun.

[shamr0ck]

I've never been on an NCL ship (first one upcoming on NYE), but last fall on the Carnival Spirit, i was nude on our balcony every day we were at sea. No problems with peekers or commenters.

[The Scotsman]

So sad that this is how you choose to spend your time :)

 

This was supposed to end with a :(

[SAEMike]

And here's hoping that in the future you don't have to have a doctor remove skin cancer from any of those places that normally aren't exposed to the sun.

Your comment just drips with sardonic condescension. Thanks for that.

[fergusonvt]

Your comment just drips with sardonic condescension. Thanks for that.

 

Sorry, it wasn't meant that way. I have no issue with public nudity unless its mine.

[TOP DECK]

So sad that this is how you choose to spend your time :)

 

One could spend hour upon hour drinking and gambling on the ship or at home. Sad people have to do that but it is culturally acceptable by many. I believe spending time doing that is sad and irresponsible.

[TOP DECK]

Typical incorrect belief. Sunbathing or beaching topless is not about "showing off" any of our "stuff" (what a nice euphemism). It's about enjoying the sun sans top (and tan lines). Sure, many women like to show off their bodies, but many of them do it wearing teeny, tiny little scraps of fabric. There's no correlation between topless sunbathing and flaunting one's body.

 

beachchick

 

I believe the only reason they wear the threads is to abide by the law. On the cruise ship this is not against the law so I saw no fabric on these people.

[sdmike]

Now Mike' date=' when you went up to the freestyle deck with your camera in hand, of what what were you hoping to get a picture ;)[/quote']

 

I was hoping there was nobody up there so I could TAKE a picture. lol

[beachchick]

And here's hoping that in the future you don't have to have a doctor remove skin cancer from any of those places that normally aren't exposed to the sun.

 

One word: Sunscreen.

 

I'd bet that doctors have to remove much more skin cancer from places that are normally exposed to the sun because they get more exposure. In fact, ears, nose, face, neck, and scalp are extremely common sites for skin cancers. The back of legs and calves, shoulders, forearms, hands, and feet are other common places for skin cancers to grow. I hope that none of us have to have a doctor remove skin cancer from any of our parts. My hubby already had two superficial ones removed from his nose--kind of doubt that the times we've visited clothing optional beaches or resorts has contributed to those.

 

My parts not usually exposed to the sun don't even get more than a smidge of tan because I slather on the high SPF sunscreen. And as I prefer topless to fully nude, I don't have to worry about applying it to the bottom parts.

 

beachchick

Edited July 28, 2011 by beachchick

[fergusonvt]

One word: Sunscreen.

 

I'd bet that doctors have to remove much more skin cancer from places that are normally exposed to the sun because they get more exposure. In fact, ears, nose, face, neck, and scalp are extremely common sites for skin cancers. The back of legs and calves, shoulders, forearms, hands, and feet are other common places for skin cancers to grow. I hope that none of us have to have a doctor remove skin cancer from any of our parts. My hubby already had two superficial ones removed from his nose--kind of doubt that the times we've visited clothing optional beaches or resorts has contributed to those.

 

My parts not usually exposed to the sun don't even get more than a smidge of tan because I slather on the high SPF sunscreen. And as I prefer topless to fully nude, I don't have to worry about applying it to the bottom parts.

 

beachchick

 

So true. Both my BIL and SIL have had to have some removed from nose and arms. Yeah much easier to apply to the top rather than bottom.:eek:

[beachchick]

I believe the only reason they wear the threads is to abide by the law. On the cruise ship this is not against the law so I saw no fabric on these people.

 

I have to disagree. Many or perhaps most women who wear those tiny bikinis will not ever consider sunbathing topless or nude. I'm sure for some that legal compliance is the only reason they wear swimsuits, but it's far from the norm considering how few people take advantage of the topless/nude option.

 

beachchick

[SAEMike]

I have to disagree. Many or perhaps most women who wear those tiny bikinis will not ever consider sunbathing topless or nude. I'm sure for some that legal compliance is the only reason they wear swimsuits, but it's far from the norm considering how few people take advantage of the topless/nude option.

 

beachchick

Beachchick, did you read my comment a few days ago about how the judgemental and myopic people always feel the need to randomly chime in on topics on which they know nothing? TopDeck fits that category. I find it kind of ironic that, going by his early post about surreptitiously checking out, from behind dark sunglasses, the topless deck on the Carnival cruise that he was on (because he HAD to see it for himself), he would come across as now making negative comments about the very people he was ogling. Sounds pretty hypocritical to me.

[acmes]

You're attitude that "If kids want to look--they look" is a bit cavalier and risky. IF you can be seen from an adjacent balcony, you should proceed with caution. I'll be traveling with my young child and if we're on our balcony and can easily see you through a gap, I would probably make a report. It will be hard to tell if you're a "naturist" or just creepy. You should be aware of who your neighbors are and how much they can see. You have the whole free-style deck--why push the boundaries.

[SAEMike]

You're attitude that "If kids want to look--they look" is a bit cavalier and risky. IF you can be seen from an adjacent balcony, you should proceed with caution. I'll be traveling with my young child and if we're on our balcony and can easily see you through a gap, I would probably make a report. It will be hard to tell if you're a "naturist" or just creepy. You should be aware of who your neighbors are and how much they can see. You have the whole free-style deck--why push the boundaries.

It's not pushing boundaries. If I pay for a stateroom with a private balcony, then I will assume that I can be in whatever state of dress or undress I choose to be in on that balcony. My comment of "If kids want to look, they look" is not cavalier. It's reality. Especially if they are seeing something that they have never seen before. Children and adults alike ALL do it. As I stated in that comment, it's the responsibility of the parents to educate their children on what they are seeing. Now, if said parents choose to teach their children that the nude human body is a shameful thing and something that should be viewed in a negative light, then that is their prerogative. Unfortunately, I was raised in this manner, and then, when I got into college and started living less restricted and with a more worldly view of my surroundings and the people in it, I realized that what I had been taught about that subject matter was utter rubbish. As I said in another posting, every person has the same basic body. Some may deem others not as attractive or they may not approve of how someone decides to express themselves through their display of it, but those reservations are the problem and issue of the person holding those views and judgements, not of the person they are being reflected upon.

 

You said you will be traveling with your young child and if you're on your balcony and can easily see me through a gap, you would probably make a report. That's fine and that's your prerogative. t won't be hard to tell if I'm a naturist or just creepy. the haturist basks in the sun and enjoys nature in a relaxed manner. The creepy individual is scanning the other balconies trying to see what he can see and possibly doing things to himself. I can guarantee you that wouldn't be me. But going along with your threat to make a report, I'll be traveling with an adult friend and I can't stand small children. If you can look through a gap and see me, that means I can look through the very same gap and see you. How about I make a report that I am being harassed by the child and their parent who are constantly looking at me? Looking one time and recognizing that I'm nude is one thing. It is what it is. But constantly looking to see if I'm out there in the nude time and time again and huffing and puffing in a deprecating manner because of something YOU don't approve of or understand could be construed as creepy all the same. Sound ludicrous? So does your claim that my lounging on my private balcony in the nude would warrant lodging a complaint. It goes both ways.

[che5904]

I find this thread and your attitude quite interesting. You start the thread looking for to see if this would be considered "improper" or "unacceptable".

 

I'm wondering if it's improper or unacceptable to sit out on my balcony au naturel while we are at sea. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks!

 

You move onto defending your position to be a naturalist/nudist (BTW which I hold no judgement on). But still claiming to "respect peoples comfort levels and zones"

 

While I try to be respectful of people's comfort levels and zones, ultimately, their opinion does nothing to disrupt my comfort with myself.

 

Then the first person to really say, in their opinoin, it would be "improper" and make them "uncomfortable" because you balcony wouldn't be so private. You choose to chastize and basically tell them who cares if your kid sees, it's up to you to explain my choice to them.

 

It's not pushing boundaries. If I pay for a stateroom with a private balcony, then I will assume that I can be in whatever state of dress or undress I choose to be in on that balcony. My comment of "If kids want to look, they look" is not cavalier. It's reality. Especially if they are seeing something that they have never seen before. Children and adults alike ALL do it. As I stated in that comment, it's the responsibility of the parents to educate their children on what they are seeing. Now, if said parents choose to teach their children that the nude human body is a shameful thing and something that should be viewed in a negative light, then that is their prerogative. Unfortunately, I was raised in this manner, and then, when I got into college and started living less restricted and with a more worldly view of my surroundings and the people in it, I realized that what I had been taught about that subject matter was utter rubbish. As I said in another posting, every person has the same basic body. Some may deem others not as attractive or they may not approve of how someone decides to express themselves through their display of it, but those reservations are the problem and issue of the person holding those views and judgements, not of the person they are being reflected upon.

 

So does your claim that my lounging on my private balcony in the nude would warrant lodging a complaint.

 

So personally IMO your original post was full of it. You really don't appear to care what people think unless their position is "sure go for it".

 

The only place I will say you made total sense was your disagreement with Topdeck in the fact that he felt the freestyle deck was equivalent to a strip club and there for his own pleasure of gopping. I think NCL and other cruiselines that have a totally private deck (clearly marked), wish for all their passengers to enjoy their cruise the way they wish without disturbing the comfort levels of others. And since you seem to realize that the majority in the states usually view this different than Europeans, that you are definately pushing some peoples comfort levels.

[SAEMike]

I find this thread and your attitude quite interesting. You start the thread looking for to see if this would be considered "improper" or "unacceptable".

 

 

 

You move onto defending your position to be a naturalist/nudist (BTW which I hold no judgement on). But still claiming to "respect peoples comfort levels and zones"

 

 

 

Then the first person to really say, in their opinoin, it would be "improper" and make them "uncomfortable" because you balcony wouldn't be so private. You choose to chastize and basically tell them who cares if your kid sees, it's up to you to explain my choice to them.

 

 

 

So personally IMO your original post was full of it. You really don't appear to care what people think unless their position is "sure go for it".

 

The only place I will say you made total sense was your disagreement with Topdeck in the fact that he felt the freestyle deck was equivalent to a strip club and there for his own pleasure of gopping. I think NCL and other cruiselines that have a totally private deck (clearly marked), wish for all their passengers to enjoy their cruise the way they wish without disturbing the comfort levels of others. And since you seem to realize that the majority in the states usually view this different than Europeans, that you are definately pushing some peoples comfort levels.

I accept your rebuttal to my initial post. In retrospect, I should have simply asked "Do people do this?" In the grand scheme I am really not concerned with whether or not someone approves because, as I would be on a private balcony and what I do is my business. In a public area, if people had issue with it, then I would do what I needed to do not to infringe on their comfort. But as I said, their opinion will not disrupt my comfort either. If I chose to sunbathe in a speedo versus nude, there would still be individuals who have a problem with that. It's their problem, not mine.

 

And I didn't chastize the poster who claimed that they would have a problem with it until it came to the point where they made the threat that they would file a report on me. As if my being outside nude is something perverse. And yes, in my view of parenting, it IS the job of the parents not only to protect their children from potential harm, but also to educate them on things that may not be encountered on a daily basis. That part about educating is something that many seem to forget these days. Isn't that part of the reason people choose to travel the world? To experience and learn from other cultures? What if that same child open the pages of a National Geographic magazine and sees the pictures of the naked African tribes and asks about it? What makes their nude body any different from mine? If they choose to take the negative approach, then so be it, that's their decision. But if they choose to use it as a teaching moment to explain and enlighten that we are all the same but perhaps with slightly different packaging, then that's their decision as well.

 

I respect your opinion, but I don't think my initial post was "full of it." As I said, perhaps I should have simply asked "Do people do this?" and left it at that.

[che5904]

I respect your opinion, but I don't think my initial post was "full of it." As I said, perhaps I should have simply asked "Do people do this?" and left it at that.

 

I agree, that is then the way it should have been worded and therefore I wouldn't have felt it was "full of it". Sorry I was just going by the actual wording.

 

I don't agree or disagree with your position on the explanation of children, nor do I really care as my children have far grown past the kiddie stage and have little ones of their own. However yes I did feel you were chastizing that poster (and perhaps it was borne from the threat). But they were just answering your question in your original post complete with an explanation and what they personally would do if they saw someone like you lounging "au naturel". And since they could not read minds to know that that really wasn't what you were trying to ask. In all fairness they were just answering.

 

As for the threat, if you do offend someone because, as I said, regardless to you being told this is your "private balcony" (and I have read that write up on the NCL site). I wouldn't be a bit surprised, if I were you, to have a knock at your door asking you to refrain because it isn't private in the sense of others viewing only in the fact that the only people that can sit there is whoever you invite to join you. Think about this a resort may have the word "private beach" in their write up but they don't mean you get the pleasure of doing whatever you wish, but that outsiders (not staying at that resort) do not have the privelege of using it.

 

In answer to your reworded, I have no idea. I personally wouldn't and that has nothing to do with naked=sexual but in turn the word modesty comes to mind. As well clothes are my best friend and they actually make me feel good. As I also said above basically to each their own and I am not about to judge what you wish to do.

Edited July 29, 2011 by che5904

[HelliCap]

In a way I agree with Mike. The balconies are sold as "private" therfor one would assume a level of privacy. Threatining to report someone for being au natural on a "private" balcony would be like reporting someone for being au natural in their living room; "look officer, if you go up to their window and look in just like this..." :rolleyes:

[anayl329]

Totally agree with all you said here...the OP assumes that people that don't want to do this or see this is because they think the body is "shameful". When in fact it may be a completely different reason. As for myself, I wouldn't do it because I was raised with the idea that my body is sacred and should ONLY be seen by my husband, myself, or a doctor if necessary. So, for myself the body isn't shameful...just sacred and I dress and act in a modest way. I don't judge others on what they do either. I just wanted to point out the OP shouldn't say others think it's "shameful" unless a person specifically makes that comment.

 

 

 

 

I agree, that is then the way it should have been worded and therefore I wouldn't have felt it was "full of it". Sorry I was just going by the actual wording.

 

I don't agree or disagree with your position on the explanation of children, nor do I really care as my children have far grown past the kiddie stage and have little ones of their own. However yes I did feel you were chastizing that poster (and perhaps it was borne from the threat). But they were just answering your question in your original post complete with an explanation and what they personally would do if they saw someone like you lounging "au naturel". And since they could not read minds to know that that really wasn't what you were trying to ask. In all fairness they were just answering.

 

As for the threat, if you do offend someone because, as I said, regardless to you being told this is your "private balcony" (and I have read that write up on the NCL site). I wouldn't be a bit surprised, if I were you, to have a knock at your door asking you to refrain because it isn't private in the sense of others viewing only in the fact that the only people that can sit there is whoever you invite to join you. Think about this a resort may have the word "private beach" in their write up but they don't mean you get the pleasure of doing whatever you wish, but that outsiders (not staying at that resort) do not have the privelege of using it.

 

In answer to your reworded, I have no idea. I personally wouldn't and that has nothing to do with naked=sexual but in turn the word modesty comes to mind. As well clothes are my best friend and they actually make me feel good. As I also said above basically to each their own and I am not about to judge what you wish to do.

[che5904]

Totally agree with all you said here...the OP assumes that people that don't want to do this or see this is because they think the body is "shameful". When in fact it may be a completely different reason. As for myself, I wouldn't do it because I was raised with the idea that my body is sacred and should ONLY be seen by my husband, myself, or a doctor if necessary. So, for myself the body isn't shameful...just sacred and I dress and act in a modest way. I don't judge others on what they do either. I just wanted to point out the OP shouldn't say others think it's "shameful" unless a person specifically makes that comment.

 

 

LOL I guess that is stating to the OP, that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones :eek:.

It just holds a magnifying glass up to how judgemental and myopic people can be when they know nothing about a topic but feel the need to chime in.

Goes to show you your somewhat blanket statement of why people wish to stay clothed, is not necessarily how people feel and also may be a little judgemental and myopic.;) Edited July 29, 2011 by che5904

[sdmike]

A lot of these threads assume that the balconies are truly "private" not just in name but in function. Well, they are. There are no easy to "peek through" gaps where you would inadvertently catch a glimpse of something you didn't want to see. Although the divider does NOT go all the way to the edge, you would have to look around the balcony intentionally. The only exception is the "keyhole" for opening the partition. Again, someone would have to look intentionally. Might not be a bad idea if you hear kids next door to just stuff a piece of paper in there to block it, and even a better idea to stay away from the railing since the dividers don't extend all the way out. The divider comes out to the pole in these pictures, and you can see there's a few inches between the pole and the railing.

 

Enjoy your time on Epic. It's a great ship

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2011 by sdmike

[SAEMike]

A lot of these threads assume that the balconies are truly "private" not just in name but in function. Well, they are. There are no easy to "peek through" gaps where you would inadvertently catch a glimpse of something you didn't want to see. Although the divider does NOT go all the way to the edge, you would have to look around the balcony intentionally. The only exception is the "keyhole" for opening the partition. Again, someone would have to look intentionally. Might not be a bad idea if you hear kids next door to just stuff a piece of paper in there to block it, and even a better idea to stay away from the railing since the dividers don't extend all the way out. The divider comes out to the pole in these pictures, and you can see there's a few inches between the pole and the railing.

 

Enjoy your time on Epic. It's a great ship

 

 

 

Mike, am I mistaken or are those partitions not closed all the way forward? It looks like there is a flap that is folded back to allow access to the balcony of the room next door. Is that correct?

[JMHAM1]

...for the replies everyone! Provided it's still warm enough for me to indulge in going au naturel in the middle of October in the western Med, I'll be taking advantage of some freestyle time. Balcony time was probably going to be early morning to enjoy the passing water as I wake up and then Ill explore the CO deck if it warms up during the day. Can't wait! This will be my first cruise and I'm so looking forward to it.

 

Mike

 

As long as you are not the one "passing water" then it sounds like a plan to me ;) Have fun!

[KansasCityGuys]

In a way I agree with Mike. The balconies are sold as "private" therfor one would assume a level of privacy. Threatining to report someone for being au natural on a "private" balcony would be like reporting someone for being au natural in their living room; "look officer, if you go up to their window and look in just like this..." :rolleyes:

 

I can't remember where it happened but somebody did call the police because they could see someone making coffee in the nude through the window. Before someone points it out to me, yes, the person who called the police had their child with them. It sound like to me that the person who called the police in the first place is the real pervert and I would have had them arrested for being a peeping tom.