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They’re not just people you might run into at dinner once or twice during the week, they’re semi-permanent fixtures of your world for nine months, with whom you’ll have the time to form actual relationships. The cruise differs from a typical seven-night voyage in several crucial ways. Mainly – you’re not just on a short-lived vacation with your fellow passengers. You’ve essentially moved into a floating apartment building with them for almost a full year. You’re also putting your real life, relationships, and potentially careers, on hold. Who can just depart from their everyday responsibilities for a 9-month jaunt around the world?
Why the Internet is obsessed with 9-month world cruise on Royal Caribbean cruise ship
Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise has taken over TikTok - Vox.com
Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise has taken over TikTok.
Posted: Wed, 24 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The couple are considering getting married on the cruise, but due to the itinerary changes, they have not been able to make it happen yet. Terry also said that, as 'back-to-backers' rather than guests who paid for one single trip, they haven't been invited to all passenger meetings and 'have definitely been treated differently by Royal Caribbean'. Maddox said it makes sense that people are trying to use the language of reality TV to understand what they see on TikTok, where “storytime” posts and drama are often posted episodically.
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If you were to ball out for a junior suite, you’d be paying $117,599 per person. You can get on the cruise for free if you go viral for saying you want to go on the cruise. So far, this has only happened to TikToker Marc Sebastian, who is going on the cruise for a couple weeks courtesy of a brand that has not yet been revealed.
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You simply haven't lived until you had a "free" chocolate fountain at your disposal for 14 days. If you’re looking for a more boots-on-the-ground situation, you are in luck. A plethora of people on the cruise have realized that there is content to be made on the ship, and they’re starting to link up. The most prolific creator so far has been @amike_oosthuizen, a South African influencer with more than 200,000 followers. If you spent your holiday break mindlessly scrolling through TikTok in order to avoid your mother’s questions about your job/romantic life/plans for the future, then you probably know about the nine-month cruise.
It's not too late to sail on TikTok's favorite 9-month Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise — but it won't be cheap
Still, she urged viewers to remember that where reality TV is often scripted and planned behind the scenes, those on the Ultimate World Cruise are real people living their real lives. Like Maddox, many likened the cruise to the viral BamaRushTok — the time of year when sororities recruit new members at The University of Alabama, which is often shared by potential recruits on TikTok. Maddox, who has taught some of the women who became stars of the Bama Rush phenomenon, said she’s seen first-hand how real people being treated like figures on reality TV can be damaging and stressful. The penultimate leg of the trip heads to the Mediterranean and Middle East destinations over the course of another 67 days.
And it seems like everyone on TravelTok has been keeping a close eye on these seafarers, eagerly awaiting updates about the potential drama at sea. I've stayed in one of these and if you can swing it, you're gonna want this for the balcony alone. You simply haven't lived until you've contemplated your existence overlooking miles of endless ocean while listening to Enigma's Return to Innocence. There are other suite options available but those must be so pricey, that Royal Caribbean suggests you call for details. When the nine-month cruise finally started, Linderman got to her room, where she had five large suitcases, a carry-on bag, a backpack, and a weekender bag waiting to be unpacked. For the nine-month cruise, each passenger was allowed to bring six bags on board.
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As people began to share their experiences on board, those on dry land were already reveling in the reality show that they believed would soon unfold on the Serenade of the Seas. On TikTok, the #UltimateWorldCruise tag has more than 54.8 million views as users obsess over what they speculate will turn into seaside drama. Shortly after its departure, many aboard the Serenade of the Seas began documenting their time on the ship. Some showed off cabins in the style of the MTV show “Cribs” while others opted to give tours of the entire ship. One couple made videos onboard joking about how they spent their children’s inheritances on the price of the cruise.
Her first cruise was much shorter, sailing in and out of Boston to Saint John, Canada, and Portland, Maine. There, she said, she lived with a small group for 10-month stretches, ate at the same dining hall every night, and lived in a small space. Linderman said that as December 10 — the start of the world cruise — approached, she started preparing. While Linderman's sister-in-law, brother, and their children weighed the pros and cons of going, Linderman was also intrigued, even though she had never vacationed on a cruise before, she told Business Insider. The closest thing to drama is that some people are saying that pinnacle members — people with the highest loyalty status with Royal Caribbean — are being treated better than the regular people onboard.
This World Cruise to 140 Countries Will Set You Back as Much as $839,999
And, naturally, many people are just making TikToks about the cruise, hoping for some Below Deck-meets-Love Boat-style intrigue, with maybe a little Triangle of Sadness thrown in for schadenfreude. As it turns out, you don’t need to be a millionaire with a ton of savings in the bank and absolutely zero responsibilities back home. This is the age of remote work, and the era of taking some time off the 9-5 grind to find yourself. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. The combination of a new kind of cruise of a well-known cruise line and TikTok's tenacity for generating drama seems to have resonated with viewers. World cruises aren't new, but this is the first one that Royal Caribbean has done and being a mainstream cruise line, the attention it's generating may be related to the fact it's more approachable than on smaller lines.
Linderman said her test cruise allowed her to visualize how she would store items such as toiletries and clothes for the next nine months. During that first sailing, she packed a tape measure, which she said she used to plan out storage for her closet, the bathroom, and the bedroom area. Unlike many of the other passengers on board the world cruise, Linderman had zero experience on massive vacation ships. She had, however, spent two years volunteering in West Africa with Mercy Ships, a nonprofit that operates floating hospitals. The cruise is currently in the honeymoon phase, in which a Belgian waffle for breakfast every morning still sounds like a good idea and the crossing of the Drake Passage is yet to come. I think I’ll be putting my money on “old couple splits up” or “mystery illness rips through the ship.” In any case, I will be tuned in.
The world cruise will take 274-nights and visit every continent in the world, including Antarctica. Take in the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Behold the largest waterfall system on the planet, Iguazú Falls near Buenos Aires. And explore Machu Picchu, one of the most iconic symbols of Peru’s ancient Inca heritage. Then sail up to the Yucatàn Peninsula to discover hidden coves and dramatic rock formations along Land’s End in Cabo San Lucas before exploring Ensenada.
Meet the 'cast' of the 9-month cruise that's taking over TikTok - The Washington Post
Meet the 'cast' of the 9-month cruise that's taking over TikTok.
Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Royal Caribbean first announced the Ultimate World Cruise on Serenade of the Seas in late 2021, and it opened for bookings in early 2022. Serenade of the Seas will sail roundtrip from Miami on Dec. 10, 2023 and through Sept. 10, 2024. Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas departed Miami to begin a 9-month Ultimate World Cruise on December 10, and TikTok has seen a flurry of interest for this kind of a cruise. Finally, experience another natural marvel — the other-worldly geothermal seawater at The Blue Lagoon in Iceland before stopping in New York and Perfect Day at CocoCay on your way back to Miami. Then your journey continues to even more destinations known for their storied history — like the fortified walls of Split, Croatia and the cobblestoned streets of Barcelona, Cannes and Provence. Besides Royal Caribbean, operators like Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Azamara also operate world cruises, albeit more expensive and much shorter.
The price covers business class airfare and accommodations at a five-star hotel before setting sail. After the past couple of years stuck at home, most people are more than ready to jump back into travel—ideally visiting as many places as possible, as soon as possible. The company just unveiled its Ultimate World Cruise, an epic 274-night sailing that visits all seven continents, including over 150 destinations in 65 countries. It sounds like the perfect way to cross off half your bucket list in one fell swoop.
Rumors also quickly began to circulate on TikTok, with some people alleging that the ship wasn’t at capacity and how some travelers with better membership status were being treated differently than the others on board. “I’m so invested in this 9 month world cruise happening cause I know it’s gonna be some MESS,” one person posted on X. And after all that sailing toward Antarctica, the passengers weren't able to actually set foot on the icy continent. Brandee Lake, 46, and sister Shannon, 42, are sharing a state room while on the trip with their retired parents.
Choose one of four Ultimate World Cruise segments — each an unforgettable voyage of 60+ nights where you can wander and explore that corner of the globe. The all-encompassing itinerary is the main draw here, but guests should expect to have a pretty great time on the actual ship itself, Serenade of the Seas. According to the ship's website, onboard amenities include a mini-golf course, rock climbing wall, full-service spa, pool with a retractable glass roof, and a theater hosting everything from Broadway shows to stand-up comics. Guests can choose from nearly 20 restaurants and bars, then enjoy the scenery from the ship's panoramic, multi-story windows.
Royal Caribbean also offers deals based on departure ports and destinations, so if you’re a flexible traveler looking for great savings, you can plan your next vacation around which itineraries are on sale. Just check your email or visit RoyalCaribbean.com/cruise-deals to stay up to date on promotions, sales and special offers. You can even browse sailings and deals by homeport, destination and season, so you can rest assured you’re getting the best possible deal no matter when or where in the world you choose to set sai. It’s an age-old question — does the early bird really get the worm, or are there perks to taking a “wait-and-see” approach? If you’re booking a cruise vacation, you’ll find there are benefits to both strategies.
