GAY CRUISE FORBIDS MAKING SEXUALLY EXPLICITY CONTENT ON ITS SHIP

Videos taken onboard past cruises had become popular online.

Guests on what has been billed as the “biggest gay cruise in history” currently underway in the Caribbean have been asked to refrain from posting sexually explicit material taken while onboard.

The 9-day cruise, organized by LGBTQ+ tour operator Atlantis Events for up to 5,400 guests on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas, left Fort Lauderdale on February 4th with stops including Aruba and Curacao. According to a report in Buzzfeed, the new policy was included in a handbook distributed to guests under a section entitled “Important - New Social Media Policy.”

The handbook notes that while everyone is encouraged to have fun, “there are limits” to what is permitted on the cruise and asks guests to be “respectful” of both Royal Caribbean and other guests.

“Please do not post anything explicitly sexual on social media in a public forum or other online space,” according to a copy of the handbook posted by Buzzfeed. “Any guest who posts or publishes an explicit and publicly visible photo or video will be asked to leave the ship with no refund. This also applies to any private media posts (whether or not behind a paywall) that identify or could identify either Atlantis, our vendor brands, their properties, or any other guests with or without permission.”

Videos of sexual encounters taken onboard similar gay-themed cruises have been posted to social media as well as private paywall platforms such as Only Fans and Just For Fans.

The CEO and founder of Atlantis Events, Rich Campbell told Buzzfeed the new policy was created at the request of the contracted cruise lines who didn’t want their brands connected with the sexually explicit content.

“The cruise lines have asked me to include that and that's not such a strange request,” Campbell told Buzzfeed.

There were also concerns about the privacy of guests sometimes unknowingly appearing in the videos. One stand-up comedian currently onboard the Harmony of the Seas as a guest told Buzzfeed it’s a valid concern and a “wise” policy.

“I can tell you with authority that there is public f*cking happening,” comic Adam Sank told Buzzfeed, later adding in support of the policy, “Nobody wants their boss to be scrolling through Twitter and spot a video of them bent over a railing.”

Atlantis billed the cruise online as “8 fabulous nights packed full of awe-inspiring parties, superstar performers, great friends, and endless surprises,” saying it was “time to play again, and there’s no better way to do it than at sea on the biggest gay cruise in history!”

SOURCE: ADVOCATE