A rather revealing incident aboard a Carnival cruise has sparked a debate about an overlooked cruise ship courtesy: closing your cabin curtains when you're not dressed.
In a story that's making the rounds on social media, a passenger found herself and her partner at the center of an impromptu exhibitionist show when they were unintentionally put on display for guests aboard a neighboring cruise ship.
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald shared the awkward encounter on his Facebook page, where he recounted the passenger's version of the awkward situation. The passenger, identified only as "T," didn't realize that the Carnival Liberty would be docking so close to another ship while in Cozumel, Mexico.
According to Heald, T admitted she and her partner had accidentally left the curtains open in their balcony cabin before heading to bed. The following morning, as they went about their business in the nude, they didn't realize they had an uninvited audience on the nearby Carnival Legend.
"She had not drawn the balcony cabin curtains before going to bed and both her and her partner, woke up, stood up and started to potter about the cabin 'au natural' as they say in Cleveland, Ohio before realizing that guests on the Carnival Legend were enjoying the show," Heald wrote.
T's complaint was simple: there should have been a reminder from the crew about closing curtains, especially when docking close to another ship.
"Her plea was to have the Captain or Cruise Director announce if the ship was docking next to another ship to inform the guests to close their curtains," Heald explained.
Although he didn't fully endorse the idea of a formal announcement, Heald did acknowledge that the situation could have been avoided with a little more awareness.
"It is perhaps a warning to close the curtains if you have a balcony or ocean view cabin," he added.
While some believe closing the curtains should be common sense to avoid unwanted exposure, others agree with T -- a simple announcement reminding passengers to secure their privacy before docking could save some embarrassment, especially for first-time cruisers who might not realize how close the ships can get.