9 months cruise

All four corners, one epic voyage.

The Ultimate World Cruise

The most epic world cruise ever to set sail.

Get ready to see the world in a whole new light — introducing the Ultimate World Cruise onboard Serenade of the Seas®. You can spend 274 nights bonding with like-minded explorers over global discoveries across all seven continents. Or pick a corner of the globe and explore every inch of it on one of four Ultimate World Cruise℠ segments — each an immersive voyage of 60+ nights. Connect with countless distinct cultures, soak up the most spectacular landscapes on Earth, and marvel at World Wonders that showcase mankind’s boundless imagination.

Or call your local travel advisor . For more information, call the Ultimate World Cruise Contact Line at 800-423-2100.

Dive deeper into the world's wonders

Ultimate world cruise.

Visit 150+ destinations and 8 World Wonders, across 7 continents and 60+ countries. The Ultimate World Cruise features four distinct segments that traverse the globe in one incredible journey.

Dec 10th – Feb 11th

Ultimate Americas Cruise

Feb 11th - May 9th

Ultimate Asia Pacific Cruise

May 9th - July 10th

Ultimate Africa & Southern Europe Cruise

July 10th - Sep 10th

Ultimate Europe & Beyond Cruise

Chichén Itzá, Cozumel, Mexico

Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Iguazu Falls, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Machu Picchu, Lima, Peru

Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia

Great Wall of China, Beijing, China

The Taj Mahal, Cochin, India

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Berlin, Germany

Copenhagen, Denmark

New York, New York

Dec 10th 2023 – Feb 11th 2024

Venture across Three Continents

36 Destinations, 64 Nights

Arica, Chile

Your once-in-a-lifetime journey begins December 2023, embarking from in Miami on the first segment of the Ultimate World Cruise℠ — the Ultimate Americas Cruise. Go from postcard-perfect Caribbean shores—including the ABC islands —to viewing abundant wildlife like sea lions, penguins and whales roaming glacier-studded Antarctica as you round Cape Horn. Along the way, discover World Wonders in South America, including man-made marvels and extraordinary natural phenomena.

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.

Feb 11th 2024 - May 9th 2024

Far East. Down Under. And up for anything

40 Destinations, 87 nights

Taj Mahal, India

Venture miles from ordinary in Australia and Asia on this leg of the Ultimate World Cruise SM . Explore Hawaii and discover the crystal-clear waters of Mo’orea and Tahiti in unspoiled French Polynesia. Set out for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — the only living thing on the planet that’s visible from space. Trek from pristine natural beauty in Bali to one of the most iconic man-made World Wonders, the Great Wall of China. And discover the unparalleled culture and modern architecture of Tokyo, then take in one of the most breathtaking sights in the world — The Taj Mahal.

May 9th 2024 - July 10th 2024

Beauty beyond belief

Ultimate Africa & Med Cruise

39 Destinations, 63 Nights

Walvis Bay Sandwich Harbour

Explore the orange sand dunes of the world’s oldest desert in Namibia. Bask in the beauty of idyllic beaches in Cape Town. And hike mist-topped rainforests along the Ivory Coast. Plus, go back in time as you wander through the Colosseum in Rome and get lost in the Venetian-style streets of Corfu.

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.

July 10th 2024 - September 10th 2024

Set a course for the north

40 Destinations, 63 Nights

Blue Lagoon, Iceland

The final leg of the Ultimate World Cruise is an immersive cultural exploration starting in the Med heading north. Discover Barcelona’s brilliant architecture, including Gaudi’s Sagrada Família. Savor flavors across continents — like a dinner of tagine and mint tea in Morocco.

Go from taking in fjords in Norway to biking through Copenhagen. 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.

Amenities Included in your entire adventure

Join us for the entire Ultimate World Cruise, you’ll enjoy exclusive perks and amenities — all included in your adventure. So you can complement back-to-back discoveries onshore with all your favorite comforts onboard, plus thoughtful touches to elevate every moment.

*New World Wonders Shore Excursions included for Crown & Anchor® Society Platinum members & above

Business Class Airfare

Premium Transportation Between Airport, Hotel and Ship

Pre-cruise Hotel & Gala

New World Wonders Shore Excursion*

Deluxe Beverage Package

Wash & Fold Laundry Service

VOOM Surf & Stream

A World Wandering Fleet Favorite

Designed with acres of glass offering panoramic vistas of sea, sky and land, Serenade of the Seas® is the perfect ship for scenery-scoping. Take in captivating views of Norway’s majestic fjords, gaze at glaciers in Antarctica, and soak up the sun and the sights while cruising through French Polynesia. In between adventures onshore, you can unwind poolside or tee off on the mini golf green. Settle in for dazzling entertainment or dance until dawn beneath the stars. And with top-notch restaurants onboard, every meal turns into a global taste-tour that’s as immersive as your Ultimate World Cruise.

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Machu Picchu, Peru

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Cruise Details & Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Ultimate World Cruise?

The Ultimate World Cruise is a never-before-offered Royal Caribbean adventure that takes you on a 274-night journey around the world from December 10, 2023 – September 10, 2024. The adventure begins and ends in Miami, Florida, visiting all 7 continents, 65 countries, 150 ports of call, with 16 overnights and 8 World Wonders. More than 40 of the ports you’ll visit are either rarely available on our other itineraries or brand new to Royal Caribbean, so get ready for the exploration of a lifetime. Book The Ultimate World Cruise early to ensure the best accommodation throughout the entire voyage.

What is the starting price for the Ultimate World Cruise and its 4 individual segments?

Ultimate World Cruise Starting Price

Considering all that’s included in your 274-night Ultimate World Cruise fare, you’ll enjoy an incredible value. No matter which stateroom you choose, your fare includes Ultimate World Cruise complimentary amenities like business class airfare, pre-cruise hotel and gala, Deluxe Beverage Package, gratuities, VOOM internet package, wash and fold laundry service, and more.

*Taxes, fees, and port expenses of $4,667 USD per person are additional and are subject to change at any time. All starting prices listed are per person, in USD, cruise only, based on double occupancy and are subject to change at any time.

Ultimate World Cruise Segments Starting Price

Considering all that’s included in your Ultimate Cruise segment fare, you’ll enjoy an incredible value. No matter which stateroom you choose, your fare includes Ultimate Cruise segment complimentary amenities like Deluxe Beverage Package, gratuities, VOOM internet package, and wash and fold laundry service.

*Taxes, fees, and port expenses are additional and are subject to change at any time. All starting prices listed are per person, in USD, cruise only, based on double occupancy and are subject to change at any time.

What are the 8 World Wonders the Ultimate World Cruise and the four Ultimate Cruise segments will visit, and on what dates?

Ultimate Americas Cruise: December 10, 2023 – February 11, 2024

Chichen Itza: via Cozumel Dec 13, 2023

Christ the Redeemer: via Rio de Janeiro Dec 31, 2023

Iguazu Falls: via Buenos Aires Jan 5, 2024

Machu Picchu: via Lima Jan 29-30, 2024

Ultimate Asia Pacific Cruise: February 11, 2024 – May 9, 2024

Great Barrier Reef: via Airlie Beach and Cairns March 13-14, 2024

Great Wall of China: via Beijing April 7-8, 2024

Taj Mahal: via Cochin May 1, 2024

Ultimate Africa & Med Cruise: May 9, 2024 – July 10, 2024

Colosseum: via Rome July 1, 2024

Ultimate Europe & Beyond Cruise: July 10, 2024 – September 10, 2024

There are no World Wonders visited during this Ultimate Cruise segment.

What benefits are included when booking the Ultimate World Cruise or one of the four Ultimate Cruise segments?

Guests who join us for the entire Ultimate World Cruise will receive the following inclusions:

Embarkation Amenities

Round-trip business class airfare

Pre-cruise hotel and gala

Premium transfers between airport, hotel and ship

Onboard Amenities

Deluxe Beverage Package for entire voyage

VOOM Wi-Fi internet for entire voyage

Gratuities for entire voyage

Wash and fold laundry service

Our Crown & Anchor Society guests who hold Platinum status and above will also receive the exclusive benefit of included excursions to the 7 New World Wonders.

Guests who join us for one of the four Ultimate Cruise segments will receive the following inclusions:

Deluxe Beverage Package for entire segment

VOOM Wi-Fi for entire segment

Gratuities for entire segment

Wash and fold laundry service for entire segment

Will I receive the same stateroom for the entire duration of my Ultimate World Cruise or Ultimate Cruise segment?

Our Ultimate World Cruise team will ensure that you get the same stateroom for the entirety of the cruise when purchased within the exclusive booking window through November 2021. If you are purchasing your Ultimate World Cruise after the Ultimate Cruise segments have opened for sale, our team will work with you to make every effort to secure the same stateroom for your entire time onboard, based on the remaining available inventory.

What is the payment schedule for the Ultimate World Cruise and the four Ultimate Cruise segments?

To reserve a stateroom on the Ultimate World Cruise or one of the four Ultimate Cruise segments a non-refundable deposit is required. Final payment must be received by Royal Caribbean 180 days prior to cruise departure. For bookings created within 180 days prior to cruise departure, final payment must be received within 48 hours of booking.

How long do I have to place my deposit for the Ultimate World Cruise or one of the four Ultimate Cruise segments?

If outside of final payment, our Ultimate World Cruise and Ultimate Cruise segment guests are able to place a two-week hold to lock in their preferred stateroom and price before deposit is required. Your deposit must be placed within the two-week offer period to secure your selected stateroom.

Are there travel insurance options available on the Ultimate World Cruise or the four Ultimate Cruise segments?

There are travel insurance options available to guests who meet certain qualifications. For more information, please call 800-423-2100 or contact your Travel Advisor.

Why are the Ultimate World Cruise and the four Ultimate Cruise segments only offered as nonrefundable?

Our Ultimate World Cruise and the four Ultimate Cruise segments are a unique adventure that has never before been offered by Royal Caribbean and we want to ensure that our guests who are committed to sharing this experience with us receive priority placement. To preserve this unique experience, all sailings onboard Serenade of the Seas from December 10, 2023 – September 10, 2024, will be offered as exclusively nonrefundable.

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Passenger dies during 9-month Royal Caribbean world cruise

The viral nine-month Royal Caribbean cruise has experienced a death on the high seas.

“A guest sailing onboard Serenade of the Seas has sadly passed away,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson shared in a statement to NBC News Feb. 13.

The spokesperson did not share details regarding the passenger’s identity or the circumstances of their death.

“We are actively providing support and assistance to the guest’s loved ones at this time. Out of the privacy of the guest and their family, we have nothing further to share at this time,” the statement concluded.

The 9-month-long cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise captured the attention of social media towards the end of last year.

On Dec. 10, Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise kicked off its round-the-world tour. TikTok's obsession with the voyage and its partakers quickly followed suit. The hashtag #RoyalCaribbeanUltimateWorldCruise has already accumulated nearly 100 million views on the platform, and with the cruise liner ending its voyage on Sept. 10, 2024, that number has plenty of time to continue to climb.

A corner of TikTok has been closely tracking activity on the cruise ship, called Serenade of the Seas, with many users pointing out that so much can happen within the span that it’s at sea, including new relationships, falling outs, pregnancy, death and more.

“Can you imagine the type of drama that is gonna happen on that boat?” user @nchimad on TikTok said in a video posted soon after the trip set sail. “If something big goes down, I want to hear from different people, different angles, perspectives.”

TikTok is turning the 9-month-long cruise ship into an official reality TV show.

Read on for everything we know.

What is the 9-month cruise all over TikTok?

Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise is a 274-night trip that began on Dec. 10, 2023, when it left from Miami and is expected to come to an end in the same place on Sept. 10, 2024.

Passengers are currently staying on Serenade of the Seas, a ship that had its maiden voyage in 2003 .

Serenade of the Seas will tour the world in four segments: the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Mediterranean and "Europe and beyond."

Ticket rates are based on a range of 1,073 staterooms and the full 274-night trip ran from $53,999 per person to $117,599 per person. Tickets for different legs of the trip are still available to book.

Why is the 9-month cruise all over TikTok?

TikTok users h ave become highly invested in the cr uise 's passengers, likening them to a cast of characters that would typically appear on a reality show.

For people tracking the day-to-day lives of cruise ship passengers, many have predicted that the 9-month trip has the potential for drama equivalent to or even larger than a reality TV series production. After all, the footage being streamed on TikTok is created and edited by real people, not a major network.

“I made an Ultimate World Cruise Bingo card for anyone else who is buckling in for this nine months TikTok reality show,” user @whimsysoul shared in a video posted shortly after the ship’s voyage began.

Her curated game of predicted events includes “minor mystery to solve,” “stowaway,” “podcast following the trip,” “2nd COVID outbreak” and “staff dates passenger.”

Some users following the events of the cruise ship appear to be ogling the voyage with a sense of suspicion and a sobering dose of reality. After all, the voyage's 9-month set up brings back memories of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine.

As user @megseestheworld notes , the entire experience reminds her of an episode of "Suite Life on Deck" when the sea days repeat themselves, a similar vibe to the movie "Groundhog Day."

"I think that's what it would start to feel like, with all those sea days, like I couldn't do it," she says in the clip.

"But then on the flip side, when they get to Europe in the last segment of the cruise, like the last part of the itinerary, it's almost too intense," she continues. "I think I counted at some points, they're going 18 days in port with no sea days, and the last segment means that you're probably six months into this cruise, you're probably going to be really tired? I don't know, I'd be tired."

What has happened so far on the 9-month cruise?

Month 1 highlights — december to january.

• First scheduled port is canceled: Passengers experienced their first canceled scheduled port on Devil's Island due to inclement weather, but TikToker Angie Linderman shrugged it off in her video as something to be expected while on the high seas.
• Minor flooding on deck: There was some minor flooding. Video captured on board the cruise showed that on deck 12 of the ship, water spread across the floor carpets and small streams flowed down the corridor.
• Seeing Antarctica from a distance: After sailing through the trepidatious conditions of the Drake Passage, passengers weren't able to step foot on Antarctica due to it being a protected area. The TikToker known as Little Rat Brain expressed her disappointment with a video about the visit , writing, "Not stepping foot on Antarctica.” According to the TikToker, passengers were able to see an up-close slab of ice extracted from the area that was brought on the ship.
• Influencer joins the cruise and stirs up drama: On Jan. 6, fashion influencer Marc Sebastian announced that he received sponsorship from Atria Books, a part of Simon & Schuster, to track and stir up the drama on board for 18 nights out of the 274-day trip. In his next-day post, Sebastian revealed his tense-filled interaction with a member of the cruise’s Pinnacle Club when he let out a curse word. 

Who are the TikTokers on the ship?

While the exact number of current passengers on Serenade of the Seas, which can hold up to 2,476 guests, is unknown, recent footage from traveler @brooklynschwetje shows a cruise meeting when it was revealed 1,093 membership passengers were on board.

A select few passengers have been consistently posting on TikTok since the voyage began, and the list includes but isn't limited to: @aa.kenney , @ iambrandeelake , @angielinderman , @brooklynschwetje , @madisonschwetje , @amike_oosthuizen , @little_rat_brain , @drjennytravels , @spendingourkidsmoney and @livingphase2 .

Some of these users, many deeming themselves as The Ultimate Real World Cruise cast, have started to hang out with each other on the ship and post content together.

Alé Kenney and Andrew Kenney, @aa.kenney

Alé and Andrew Kenney will celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary during the Ultimate World Cruise tour.

Speaking to TODAY.com, 29-year-old Alé Kenney says that the cruise isn’t just a massive voyage made up of TikTokers and Generation Z.

"I would say the majority, like the overwhelming majority of passengers, are retirees (or seniors)," she explains, summarizing that number as being at least 90% of the passengers.

According to the Kenneys, the two decided to hop on board the Serenade of the Seas after her father died two years ago.

"My dad got sick and passed away, and he was only 57," she explains.

"We just kind of started running numbers and processing and thinking about it," Andrew Kenney adds. "We were like, 'Well, we can do it. We don't have a mortgage right now. We don't have kids yet.' We're just in a season of life where we could actually take nine months off and see the world."

The Kenneys told TODAY Dec. 27 that when they first came on board, they had 200 followers, and that today, they now have 90K followers.

The couple declined to share what they do for work and whether they will work during the trip.

Brandee Lake @ iambrandeelake , Shannon Lake @swankalamode

Brandee Lake, 46, and her 42-year-old sister, Shannon, decided to join their retired parents on their trip.

“I’m like, you’re not leaving us behind. I don’t really know what you think is going on here,” Shannon Lake quips in their interview with TODAY.com

Brandee Lake worked in marketing and advertisement and lived in Los Angeles, California, before the trip. Shannon Lake runs her own consulting business and plans to work remotely from the ship while making up her own hours.

The sisters say they'll share the same cabin during their 9 months on the trip, and that they don't expect to butt heads too much with each other or their parents, since they're close and quarantined together during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Users have expressed interest in following the Lake sisters in particular to see their perspective of traveling the world and taking part in a cruise as Black women.

"We definitely are the youngest Black people on the boat," Brandee Lake explains.

"I think that's why my TikTok skyrocketed so fast, because I was the first Black person that people were seeing post that was actually on the ship," Shannon Lake adds.

During their joint interview, the sisters agreed in unison that the people and staff for the "most part are amazing."

"So friendly, so kind so much energy," Brandee Lake says, quashing any drama that users have attempted to stir up so far. "Our people at dinner are like family already, you know, we have people who we don't even interact with normally (who) are like family already. And of course, the staff itself is quite diverse."

She echoed these statements in separate interview that aired on TODAY Dec. 27, saying that the passengers are "one growing family" and that "everything has been great."

Though both sisters note that within days of setting sail, they did experience a loaded bump: “Apparently it seemed far fetched to some that a Black woman (and family) could be a guest on the once in a lifetime experience,” Brandee Lake wrote alongside a recent video she shared on her TikTok.

Soon after the post began to circulate, she says the cruise’s hotel director made a point to greet her at dinner.

"I think (TikTok users who watched the post) were tagging Royal Caribbean like 'you need to fix this,'" Brandee Lake explains. "They did at least take the time to come to me and you know, ask how everything's going now."

The Lake sisters tell TODAY.com that other than this, they've yet to encounter any reality television-worthy bits of drama to mark on a Bingo card, but they do have a podcast where they plan on sharing their journey with followers.

Angie Linderman, @angielinderman

Linderman tells TODAY.com that when she first boarded Serenade of the Seas, she had less than 100 followers. Now she has over 115K followers.

"I think that it is surprising out there to people that there's so many on the younger side who are on the cruise," she explained. "I think that's really resonating with people or gathering their attention, maybe."

For Linderman, she wants to use her new platform to share with others why she signed up for the cruise in the first place. Linderman has the BRCA2 gene , which means she is at a higher risk for certain cancers .

"That is something that has kind of helped to impact my desire to travel," she explains. "Retirement age is not a guarantee. And so (there is) an emphasis on just doing all of the things I can do now while I'm healthy, while I'm able, instead of putting them off in hopes that I can do them later, when in reality that may not happen."

Linderman says that she left her cozy three-bedroom home in Oregon to tour the world for nine months in her current 250-square-foot balcony stateroom.

To prepare for the 9-month voyage, she arranged for a friend to stay at her home with her dog and reduced the hours of her job in marketing. For the next several months, she'll work remotely and will be taking advantage of the various stops and sights the voyage will have to offer.

Where is The Ultimate World Cruise going?

The Serenade of the Seas' Ultimate World Tour has an extensive itinerary that promises to take its passengers to 11 Wonders of the World and 65 countries in 274 nights flat. The destinations are broken down into four travel segments. Check out the four segments and their stretches below:

Ultimate Americas Cruise 

• 64 nights from Dec. 10, 2023, to Feb. 11, 2024
• 36 destinations, including Cozumel, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Los Angeles, California
• 4 Wonders, including Iguazú Falls and Machu Picchu

Ultimate Asia Pacific Cruise 

• 87 nights from Feb. 11, 2024, to May 9, 2024
• 40 destinations, including Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Manila, Philippines; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• 3 Wonders, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Taj Mahal

Ultimate Middle East and Med Pacific Cruise 

• 63 nights from May 9, 2024, to July 10, 2024
• 44 destinations, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Alexandria, Egypt; Rhodes, Greece; Barcelona, Spain; and Provence, France
• 4 Wonders, including the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Temple of Artemis

Ultimate Europe and Beyond Cruise 

• 63 nights from July 10, 2024, to Sept. 10, 2024
• 40 destinations, including Casablanca, Morocco; Paris, France; Bruges, Belgium; and Nuuk, Greenland

Alex Portée is a senior trending reporter at TODAY Digital and is based in Los Angeles.

Royal Caribbean's New Cruise Will Visit 65 Countries in 9 Months

Guests will be able to tour iconic destinations on all seven continents

Caitlin Morton is a freelance writer based in Kansas City. Her work has appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue, and many other publications.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean

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. Enter Royal Caribbean International. 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.

The cruise will depart from Miami on Dec. 10, 2023, and last until Sept. 10, 2024. That should give you plenty of time to start pinching those pennies—tickets start at $61,000 for an interior stateroom and go up to $112,000 for a junior suite. The price covers business class airfare and accommodations at a five-star hotel before setting sail.

You also have the option to tag along for just one of the journey's four legs, each of which explores a different part of the world: Antarctica and the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and Europe's Capitals of Culture. As for the ports of call, you can plan on visiting pretty much every famous tourist attraction on the planet. We're talking the Great Barrier Reef, Pyramids of Giza, Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, and Iceland's Blue Lagoon—and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Oh yeah, you'll visit some icebergs, too.

"This is the world cruise of world cruises," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. "To travelers asking themselves where they should go next, we say everywhere."

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.

Bookings for the full Ultimate World Cruise can be made by phone now. The only thing left to do is pray you win the lottery in the next 26 months.

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Why the 9-month Ultimate World Cruise is social media's latest obsession

It only took two weeks into a nine-month global cruise for it to go viral on TikTok.

The Ultimate World Cruise, a 274-night voyage aboard the Serenade of the Seas by Royal Caribbean Cruises, departed from Miami on Dec. 10. The cruise, which promises passengers travel to more than 60 countries and almost a dozen world wonders during its course, was intended to give those aboard the opportunity to spend the months “bonding with like-minded explorers over global discoveries across all seven continents,” according to Royal Caribbean’s website .

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.

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. 

One person began tracking all the content creators on board so that others could easily follow along. Another offered advice to those on the ship on how to stay safe and healthy.

“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. 

“There’s going to be mutiny,” said one TikTok user. “There’s going to be blood. Someone is going overboard. I want to watch. Bravo, where are you? I need eyes,” the person said. “We’re witnessing Fyre Festival, Alabama Rush and no one is rushing there.”

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. 

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment regarding the rumors, as well as the virality of the cruise itself. 

Although no major drama has unfolded aboard the ship, those following along on social media appear eager for reality TV-style turmoil to unfold. 

Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media at the University of Alabama where Bama Rush takes place each year, said she knows first-hand how morally gray it can be to wish drama onto the lives of real people.

“For the world cruise TikTok, I think it’s OK to think of the content we consume on TikTok as reality television,” she said. “But I think it’s important to remember these are real people, and that even reality television is scripted and coerced and is forced drama.”

Here’s everything we know.

Where is the cruise going and how much did it cost?

There are four legs of the cruise. The first traverses North America and South America over 67 nights and includes stops in Brazil, the Caribbean and Antarctica. 

The next leg of the cruise heads to the Pacific, stopping at 87 destinations in 87 nights. These stops include New Zealand, Japan, Australia, China and India, among other countries. 

The penultimate leg of the trip heads to the Mediterranean and Middle East destinations over the course of another 67 days. The stops include Egypt, Greece, Italy and Turkey. 

Finally, the last leg sees passengers touring Europe, with stops in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway over the final 63 nights. 

Some said they cannot fathom what being on the cruise, traveling to that many locations while eating and drinking the days away, would do to a person physically. 

“Imagine eating unlimited cruise food for nine months, like what that’s going to do to your body. I just worry people aren’t going to pace themselves and it’s going to be really hard on their bodies. They’re vacationing for nine months. Like, you can’t vacation for nine months! You need to have balance,” one TikToker said in a video about concerns for the passengers aboard the ship. 

But travelers were not required to book the entire nine-month duration of the cruise. Instead, they were able to purchase either a nine- to 28-night duration aboard the ship or one of the four segments of the trip, rather than booking the entire trip, Royal Caribbean's website states.

Those who chose the full trip, prices started at $53,999, according to the Royal Caribbean website. 

What’s really happening onboard? 

The passengers on the Serenade of the Seas so far seem to be enjoying the cruise, according to several who spoke to " TODAY ." 

Sisters Brandee and Shannon Lake, who are Black, said they’re sharing a cabin and said that quarantining  together during the pandemic prepared them to live in close quarters on the ship for nine months. 

Brandee Lake, 46, said the staff and passengers have been “so friendly, so kind, so much energy,” quashing some of the online chatter that there’s tension among different travelers. 

She appeared to have one issue, according to a TikTok that she posted, saying she has been repeatedly asked if she is a member of the ship’s staff rather than a traveler. 

“If I get asked if I work on this ship one more time,” she said in the video. “After I said I was not working, then I was asked if I was independently wealthy — like, basically, how did you afford this?

But she told "TODAY" that after she posted her TikTok, the cruise’s hotel manager made it a point to greet her during dinner. She and Shannon Lake, 42, said that nothing has happened yet on the ship that would be worthy of reality TV.

Brandee Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment made by NBC News. 

Other passengers told "TODAY" they were on the cruise to celebrate wedding anniversaries. One traveler, Angie Linderman, said she took the trip because she is at a higher risk for developing cancer in her lifetime and wanted to check off bucket list items while she is healthy. 

“Retirement age is not a guarantee. And so (there is) an emphasis on just doing all of the things I can do now while I’m healthy, while I’m able, instead of putting them off in hopes that I can do them later, when in reality that may not happen,” she said. 

So is there drama and why is social media obsessed?

Well, not really. 

Some have homed in on the fact that “pinnacle members,” Royal Caribbean’s highest tier of membership, have access to different excursions and have allegedly had town hall meetings. This doesn’t appear to be out of the norm for a cruise, Maddox said. 

But there have been some suggestions that people of different backgrounds might be experiencing different treatment on the ship. 

One person claimed that American and non-American guests were being treated differently on board the ship. 

Beyond that, those documenting their time on the ship have yet to report any reality TV-worthy drama for TikTok to consume. The posts from those on land have mostly consisted of documenting who is aboard the ship, creating “bingo cards” for events on the ship, and cheering on drama. 

“I don’t love the idea of people dubbing themselves ‘gossip director’ or ‘content curator,’ which I’ve seen to describe, like, talking about viral trends and events on the ship,” Maddox said. “These are real people with real lives on the other side of the screen.”

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. 

“There’s definitely this fascination that’s baked into TikTok that we see exacerbated in things like Bama Rush and the world cruise of ‘I could never live this life, so I’m now going to live vicariously through these people,’” Maddox said. 

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. 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.

“It’s an ethical issue to hope and wish drama upon people who are just trying to do this fun thing with their lives and decided to share it with us,” Maddox said. “So I hope everybody, including the people who are enjoying watching this content, take a pause and remember that ethical social media use applies to them too.”

Kalhan Rosenblatt is a reporter covering youth and internet culture for NBC News, based in New York.

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Royal Caribbean announces nine-month round the world cruise with 150 stops

Voyage is ‘longest and most comprehensive world cruise out there’ says operator, article bookmarked.

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Cruise operator Royal Caribbean has announced an epic new cruise which will last nine months (274 nights) and stop in 150 spots around the world .

The Ultimate World Cruise, which the company is billing as the “longest and most comprehensive world cruise out there”, will sail from Miami in December 2023 and make stops in 65 countries across all seven continents before ending in September 2024.

Travel news - live: Lateral flow tests go on sale as Australia announces steps toward reopening

Some 57 of the stops planned will be new ports for the cruise company: the ship will stop at unusual locations including Qaqortoq in Greenland, Antarctica, Moorea and Tahiti in French Polynesia, and Okinawa in Japan - as well as bucket-list big hitters such as Rio de Janeiro, India for the Taj Mahal, China for the Great Wall, and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Bookings for the epic journey - which will be taken by the Serenade of the Seas vessel, with capacity for 2,490 passengers - open today.

Entry-level, interior cabins for the full voyage cost from £46,409, including flights, taxes and fees, while suites are on sale for just under £85,000.

Royal Caribbean’s map of the Ultimate World Cruise

The longest world cruise until now was Viking’s 245-night Ultimate World Cruise , which set sail from London in August 2019 and was set to return the following May, before the coronavirus pandemic halted all cruises in March 2020.

The vessel had been aiming for a spot in the Guinness Book of Records, but was forced to end the journey early.

In February, Bloomberg reported that 130+-day world cruises were selling out years in advance - heartening for an industry that has lost billions in the past two years.

US giant Carnival reported losses of $10bn in 2020, while in September, Cruise Lines International Association estimated that 200,000 jobs that depend directly or indirectly on the industry had been lost in Europe alone.

Cruises resumed in August, with all operators instating Covid protocols and upping sanitary measures.

Nevertheless, the FCDO advice on cruising in Covid times remains cautious, saying: “Although operators have taken steps to improve infection control, cruise ships continue to experience COVID-19 outbreaks, affecting passengers and seafarers. The confined setting on board and combination of multiple households enables COVID-19 to spread faster than it is able to elsewhere.

Cruises with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases have previously been denied permission to dock or to disembark passengers. This can have serious implications for passengers and seafarers on board. You should check the protocols of the cruise operator to ensure you are comfortable with safety measures.”

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Everyone Worth Following on the 9-Month Cruise

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. If not, you’re in for a treat. Get ready to learn about a group of people whose dads have not explained the plot of The Wager to them.

What is the nine-month cruise?

Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. On the Royal Caribbean website , the cruise — officially called the Ultimate World Cruise — is advertised as “the most epic cruise to ever set sail.” (The Taylor Swift cruise would like a word.) The people who have booked the entire voyage will be on the ship for 274 nights and travel to over 60 countries including Antarctica. If spending most of the year on a boat eating buffet food doesn’t sound appealing, you can just go for one of the trip’s “segments,” which still entails being on the ship for months at a time. Wrapping your head around what you might do on a cruise for nine months can be hard, but thankfully there are plenty of “day in my life” videos that can help you out.

@angielinderman Day 5; At Sea on @Royal Caribbean’s 9-month Ultimate Workd Cruise. It was more of a relaxing day, starting to feel more routines in the ship which I need. #RoyalCaribbean #crusing #explore #solotravler #worldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #SerenadeOfTheSeas #cruise #travel #9monthcruise ♬ original sound - Angie

@amike_oosthuizen Spend a day with us in Brazil!! 🇧🇷🩷 #SAMA28 #cruise #travel #worldcruise #ultimateworldcruise #ultimateworldcruise2023 #royalcaribbean #foryou #foryoupage #cruisetok #fyp #viral #brazil ♬ original sound - Amike Oosthuizen

How much does a nine-month cruise cost?

It ain’t cheap, I’ll tell you that much. Assuming you’re going for the full cruise, the cheapest option is an interior stateroom that costs $59,999 per person. If you were to ball out for a junior suite, you’d be paying $117,599 per person. There is a loophole, though. 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. My guess is Dramamine.

@marcsebastianf #stitch with @Marc Sebastian next time on survivor #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #royalcaribbean #realitytv #cruise #serenadeoftheseas #Uwc #royalcarribeancruise #drakepassage #antarctica ♬ original sound - Marc Sebastian

Who should I be following?

There are two different ways you can go about this. You could either follow the people who are actually on the ship, or you could follow the people who are following all the people who are on the ship. Of the latter group, the most in-depth reportage is coming from @livingmy_bethlife , who has turned the cruise into a reality show that she’s calling “Ship Happens.”

@livingmy_bethlife The main cast of our unintentional soap opera on the seas HAVE MET! Also… two new characters unlocked 🔐 #9monthcruise #cruisetok #royalcaribbeancruise #shiphappens #livingmybethlife @Nadine Bower @Lindsay @drjennytravels @joe @Amike Oosthuizen @Little Rat Brain @Andrew & Ale Kenney @Brooklyn Schwetje @Brandee Lake @Shannon Marie @Madison Schwetje ♬ original sound - Beth Anne

There’s also @whimsysoul , who has created a bingo card for the cruise that already has more checked off than you might imagine.

@whimsysoul Replying to @Abigail G got inside tea on this! @Marc Sebastian is heading to the world cruise for a brand partnership and it's gonna be SO FUN to watch!! 🍿 👀 Make sure you're all following him since this like nothing we've seen before. What brand do we think it is? 🤔 I honestly think this could change the industry & way some brands approach content partnerships in the future so I'm soooo keen to see what unfolds on the Ultimate World Cruise #ultimateworldcruise #bingo #royalcaribbean #ultimateworldcruisebingo #whimsysoul #marcsebastianf #cruise #cruisetok #brandpartnerships #influencermarketing ♬ original sound - Kara • San Francisco

My personal favorite is @yourdatingtipbestie , who has been doing weekly recaps of what’s happening on the cruise.

@yourdatingtipbestie ICYMI!! Here is this weeks recap of everything that has happened since the last video! Tried to condense as much as i could. 🥹 #worldcruise2023 #worldcruise #ultimateworldcruise #lifeatsea #royalcaribbean #cruisetok #cruiseshiplife #cruiser #cruiseship #worldcruisebingo @Kisha Peart #greenscreen ♬ original sound - Kisha Peart

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.

@amike_oosthuizen A look into the shops & activities on board! 🚢🛍️🏓✨ #cruise #travel #pickleball #shop #rockclimbing #SAMA28 #cruisetok #travel #worldcruise #ultimateworldcruise #ultimateworldcruise2023 #royalcaribbean #foryoupage #viral #fun ♬ Rio de Janeiro - Carlos Henrique Lima & H Music

If you are tired of well-produced, professional influencers and just want a boomer’s version of what the cruise is like, I must recommend Joe of @spendingourkidsmoney .

@spendingourkidsmoney #royalcaribbean #cruising #explore #WorldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #Serenadeoftheseas #cruise #travel ♬ original sound - joe

And if you’re looking for a kind of upstairs-downstairs flavor to your cruise content, you must follow the people who work on the cruise, such as @cooljul1 .

@cooljul1 Ultimate world cruise CREW DAY OFF EDITION :) #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #crewlife #cruiseship #royalcarribean #royalcaribbean #serenadeoftheseas ♬ original sound - Julian Mendoza

So … is there drama?

God, everybody wishes. 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 has not gotten much traction, presumably because that’s the point of a loyalty program.

There was briefly a moment where we thought there might be swingers on the ship, when a woman and her husband put a pineapple (a symbol used by swingers to flag other swingers) on their door. Unfortunately, the woman just “liked pineapples.” For what it’s worth, there are definitely swingers on the ship who just aren’t posting TikToks.

@aditaml2759 We’re not swingers, but we do love our Pineapples 🍍 #ultimateworldcruise2023 #ultimateworldcruise #royalcaribbeanultimateworldcruise #pineapples ♬ original sound - Adita

But fear not, we have many more months to go. 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. Give it a few months and I’m sure something wild will happen. 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.

• wait what is happening on tiktok?

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Why a 9-Month-Long World Cruise Is TikTok’s Latest Obsession

T ikTok is the perfect place to develop niche obsessions and find communities of like-minded content creators and consumers. And sometimes, those obsessions find their way out of their niche online spaces when they get popular, get shared across other platforms, and create discourse, causing audience sizes to balloon. From the #BamaRush craze of 2021, which saw the Alabama Sorority Rush take over the internet and even lead to a documentary on Max , to the private chefs of TikTok, who kick off each summer as they make their way to the Hamptons and give their followers a look into the world of the rich (and what they eat), the habits of others, especially when they do something unusual, consistently draw in viewers. The internet’s latest obsession is a nine-month world-spanning cruise that set sail on Dec. 10.

The Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise, taking place on the Serenade of the Seas ship, is set to take passengers to over 60 countries across all seven continents. There are four legs of the cruise: The Americas (Dec. 10 to Feb. 11), Asia Pacific (Feb. 11 to May 9), the Middle East and the Mediterranean (May 9 to July 10), and Europe & Beyond (July 10 to Sept. 10), according to the Royal Caribbean website . People can opt to join any part of the tour, or stay for the whole thing, and the cheapest option for interested parties starts at $59,999 per person, with the more expensive options going for $117,999 per person.

@spendingourkidsmoney #royalcaribbean #cruising #explore #WorldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #Serenadeoftheseas #cruise #travel ♬ original sound - Cruisemum&dad

Serenade of the Seas is attracting a lot of social media attention; the hashtag #UltimateWorldCruise has over 155 million views, and #WorldCruise has over 128.9 million. The content is coming from land and sea, turning the voyage into, as one creator put it, a “nine-month-long reality show.” On the cruise ship, creators have gone viral on TikTok for broadcasting their day-to-day lives, showing their rooms , and talking about spending their kids’ inheritance on a great trip. Just as popular are videos on TikTok from creators who aren't on the cruise, but simply commenting on the journey .

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One creator, @whimsysoul shared a virtual bingo card for those invested in following updates from the cruise ship. Some of the spots include “staff dates passenger,” “pirate takeover,” and “minor mystery to solve.”

@whimsysoul Ultimate World Cruise Bingo Card!!! who's playing with me? 🛥️ 🌊 🌍 🍿 #ultimateworldcruise #royalcaribbean #worldcruise #cruise #bingo #travel #whimsysoul ♬ original sound - Kara | travel girlie

One creator, who is on the ship, with the username @nchimad appointed herself the “Sea Tea Director” and has promised to post about any drama that is sure to come up on the nine-month voyage. In her Dec. 14 video, she pointed out that the price of admission also comes with a deluxe unlimited beverage package.

@nchimad I’m staying on cruisetok for the next nine months😂 I want to see everything!! #royalcaribbeancruise #9monthcruise #whewchile #oceano #fyp #foryourpage ♬ original sound - ✨ND✨

Another concern creators have brought up is a potential COVID-19 outbreak on the ship. According to @nchimad, an anonymous source tipped her off to a positive case on the cruise on Dec. 22, but it doesn’t seem to have created an outbreak (which is also on the bingo card).

@nchimad #greenscreen 🚨SEA TEA ALERT🚨 Shout out to my “TeaNonymous Crew” FIRST KNOWN POSITIVE COVID TEST ON ROYAL CARIBBEAN ULTIMATE WORLD CRUISE! Follow me for all “SeaTea”! #royalcaribbean #ultimateworldcruise #covid #cruisetok #fyp #foryou ♬ Npsy Hussle Type Beat (Remastered 2023) - liuslz

So far, most passengers seem to be enjoying their time on the cruise, according to their videos. However, Black TikTok creator Brandee Lake shared in a video that she dealt with microaggressions from passengers and the crew while on the ship, saying that she was mistaken for an employee on the ship and that she was asked how she could afford the cruise.

“If I get asked if I work on this ship one more time,” Lake says in the video. “It’s gonna be a long nine months." Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to TIME's request for comment.

@iambrandeelake The first few days definitely had some bumps... Apparently it seemed far fetched to some that a Black woman (and family) could be a guest on the once in a lifetime experience. #ultimateworldcruise #serenadeoftheseas #aroundtheworldcruise #RoyalCaribbean #melaninatsea #blackworldcruiser ♬ original sound - Brandee Lake

In Lake's most recent videos, she has posted general updates from the ship.

As the cruise ship makes its way toward Antarctica, TikTok creators and influencers are planning lots more content. One TikToker, Marc Sebastian, says he will be joining the ship for a couple of days to scope out the drama and interact with the passengers to report back to his followers.

@marcsebastianf if anyone says anything about my pimple i stg YOU trh preparing for a cruise to antarctica in 6 days and lets see your skin!!! special shoutout to @Kara • San Francisco for the bingo card #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #royalcaribbean #cruise #serenadeoftheseas #Uwc #target #vlog #antarctica #haul ♬ original sound - Marc Sebastian

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The nine-month cruise that took over TikTok

On the high seas, it’s content creators versus the other passengers.

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On December 10, the Serenade of the Seas departed the Miami harbor. It is not a normal cruise: On board were hundreds of passengers who, for the ensuing nine months, will live aboard the ship as it travels to 150 ports of call, 60 countries, and seven continents. “All four corners, one epic voyage,” reads Royal Caribbean’s marketing materials for “The Ultimate World Cruise,” where prices range from around $54,000 to $117,000 per person.

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There have been round-the-world cruises before, the first almost exactly 100 years ago . There has not, however, been a world cruise that has captivated the internet as this one has, creating what many people online are referring to as its own real-time “reality show.” More than a dozen passengers and crew members have begun documenting their travels via TikTok and posting updates from the ship, while a handful of loyal recap accounts distill all the information into bite-size news updates. A few of the passengers came aboard with existing followings, like South African influencer Amike Oosthuizen , whose mother was a cast member on The Real Housewives of Pretoria, or University of Alabama graduate student Brooklyn Schwetje , who was already posting travel content prior to the cruise. For the most part, though, those who started posting about their journeys on the cruise watched their TikTok follower counts jump from basically zero to more than 100,000 in the span of a few weeks. On #cruisetok, the passengers are characters, the updates are “plot,” and the actual destinations are simply backgrounds on which to project the maximum amount of drama. As of January 22, videos hashtagged with #ultimateworldcruise have garnered a combined more than 340 million views.

@whimsysoul Ultimate World Cruise Bingo Card!!! who's playing with me? ️ #ultimateworldcruise #royalcaribbean #worldcruise #cruise #bingo #travel #whimsysoul ♬ original sound - Kara • Bingo Girl

It began just as the Serenade of the Seas embarked on its journey in December, when multiple videos about the cruise went viral. Among them: a video called “ things that stress me out the 9mo cruise, ” in which the poster listed everything from “alcoholism” to “serial killers” as potential threats, and a bingo card that included both a first and a second Covid outbreak, a pirate takeover, a wedding, mass STDs, a mental breakdown, and, naturally, a podcast upon return. One creator started a series called “Ship Happens” where she meticulously documents everything that happens on the boat, such as when a scheduled stop at the Falkland Islands was canceled due to rough seas or when the passengers spotted some whales ; another has christened herself the “ Sea Tea Director .”

This, obviously, is sort of an uncanny way to discuss regular people who are simply living their lives and going on a (yes, very extravagant) vacation. But it is an increasingly familiar one, as TikTok continues to determine what millions of people are looking at, and when. The Ultimate World Cruise’s closest relative might be the annual ritual of Bama Rush, where every August since 2021 , first-year students at the University of Alabama show off their outfits on TikTok for different sorority recruitment events. After a handful of those videos went viral, the women in them became brief celebrities , as did the people commenting on the phenomenon. Whether they were telling their own inside stories of Bama Rush, sharing which girls they were “rooting for,” or wondering how they ended up watching these videos to begin with, once the topic took off, more and more people started fighting for a sliver of that attention. The result was a media frenzy that lasted for about two weeks before the algorithm moved on.

Because what said algorithm constantly seeks is novelty with a healthy dose of timeliness, precisely what a nine-month cruise can best provide. Consider Joe Martucci, a 67-year-old retired CFO from St. Cloud, Florida, who boarded the cruise as a retirement celebration along with his wife, Audrey. “I was sending videos to my children, and they said, ‘Hey, Dad, put these on TikTok so we can let our friends see them too.’ I didn’t know ‘their friends’ were 90,000 people,” he tells me over video chat while the ship is docked in Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina. His first cruise post , under the account @spendingourkidsmoney , hit 1.5 million views, and within weeks, fellow passengers started coming up to him to say they saw him online. Because he begins all his videos with, “Hey, kids!” his followers have come to see him like their own dad (sample comment: “just know that you’re also healing a little piece for those of us that never had a dad. enjoy your vaca, love you guys! - daughter”).

@spendingourkidsmoney #royalcaribbean #cruising #explore #WorldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #Serenadeoftheseas #cruise #travel ♬ original sound - joe

He says he’s honored by the sentiment and it’s the reason he keeps it up. People are so charmed by Martucci that they’ve scheduled a meetup with him when the ship arrives at Southampton, England, on July 26 (after a TikTok of his itinerary revealed that he planned to shop at Primark that day, fans decided they would come along).

Or consider 23-year-old Little Rat Brain , who grew her account to nearly 150,000 followers and is a “fan favorite” on the cruise. (Little Rat Brain keeps her identity private from the internet and goes only by her username.) She posts funny, sometimes surreal, chaotically edited videos of what it’s like to live on a ship, even though she’d never used social media much before the trip. While she says she never aimed to get famous, she understands why people are fascinated. “We’re a very small group of people on an enclosed ship that you can’t leave,” she said. “And alcoholic drinks are free. It’s a perfect setup for drama.”

The problem, or so it would seem to the TikTokers recapping what’s going on on the ship, is that the stars of their reality show aren’t really posting much drama. There’s a pretty obvious explanation why, per Little Rat Brain: “I don’t think many people will create drama because they don’t want to put their vacation at risk. Like, you have to go to the buffet at breakfast and someone could be staring at you. They could be sitting next to you on the bus ride for an excursion for two hours. You cannot escape everyone who’s on this cruise.” Instead, the TikTokers on board have leaned into the absurdity, hosting a meetup where all the “cast members” get together and introduce themselves in a talk show format, even referring to themselves as “characters.” So far, most of the content has been deliberately anodyne.

That doesn’t mean there haven’t been the kind of hiccups you’d expect on a nine-month cruise. There was, at one point, a flood (it’s fine now). One cruiser was temporarily banned from reboarding the boat for 12 days after he took an unauthorized trip to Brazil. Some guests were upset at the difference in treatment for Royal Caribbean loyalty program members versus regular passengers (which is … the point of joining a loyalty program). The originally scheduled stops in Russia , Ukraine, and Israel were relocated, for obvious reasons. One guest was accused of being a swinger because she had a pineapple decoration on her cabin door (“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said in a response video ).

When I asked if anyone was flirting or hooking up, Little Rat Brain says she attended one of Royal Caribbean’s singles’ mixers but promptly left because no one else showed up. “Literally no one. I walked in, looked around, walked out to double-check I was in the right location, and went back up, got a drink, sat there for two minutes, and was like, I’m leaving. Love Island is not happening.” Perhaps most tragic, the ship briefly ran out of red wine; they’ve since stocked up.

@little_rat_brain The way i would have loved to be on that boat!!! Also there was no announcement that it was on board?? . #ultimateworldcruise2023 #9monthcruise #9monthcruisetok #ultimateworldcruise #antartica ♬ original sound - Little Rat Brain

The bulk of the intrigue is the meta-drama between the TikTokers on the ship and the non-TikTokers. The real shit is going down in private Facebook groups, of which the cruise has at least five. Apparently, many of the non-TikTokers are becoming annoyed about the amount of filming on board and don’t want their faces included in background shots. While the TikTokers I spoke to say they’re very aware not to post anything with other people on camera, Martucci says that tensions have spilled over onto the ship. “I saw an incident the other day where some guy went off on someone and said, ‘Are you one of those TikTokers? Don’t you point that camera toward me! I’ll be mad if you point that camera toward me!’” Martucci says. “I felt sorry for the kid. He wasn’t pointing the camera at him.”

Then came the arrival of a TikToker who had zero problem making enemies on board. After model and influencer Marc Sebastian made a video pleading for someone to pay for him to go on the cruise — “I’ll go cause chaos, I’ll wreak havoc, and I’ll record everything” — Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, took him up on the offer and booked him an 18-night leg beginning January 5. (The deal: He’d read one of the eight books they sent him and post about it.) Within days, he’d become Enemy No. 1 for a certain segment of cruisers, like the people who yelled at him for swearing or the lengthy hate threads in one of the Facebook groups. At one point, he was escorted out of an exclusive lounge area for club members after livestreaming when one of his viewers called the ship to rat him out.

One would imagine Royal Caribbean isn’t pleased with his presence either — he’s been calling out the company for their low worker pay while also making the experience of actually being on the ship seem … kind of miserable .

That the social media spectacle of the Ultimate World Cruise has spilled offscreen and onto the actual boat is maybe more interesting than the understandable highs and lows of living at sea with hundreds of other people. Americans have always taken a special liking to cruises; ever since the birth of the industry in the 1970s, there’s been an enormous market, perhaps because cruise companies have gamified vacation in the form of points and loyalty rewards, or perhaps because Americans love all-you-can-eat buffets and also the freedom from having to make any decisions. Cruises are indeed getting longer , though mishaps can certainly occur — just ask the would-be passengers who are now suing the three-year cruise that was abruptly canceled mere days before it was scheduled to depart.

It’s no wonder, then, that the passengers aboard such a voyage would become objects of fascination for those of us without the means or desire to be on such a vacation, or why the TikTok algorithm has boosted so many of their videos. The Ultimate World Cruise falls perfectly into the platform’s recipe for viral gold: niche with universal appeal, timely, and a little bit controversial. Yet now, the cruise TikTokers are becoming objects of fascination — and frustration — for their own fellow passengers. Those I spoke to said that since they went viral, more people from the ship are opening TikTok accounts in the hopes that they too might become one of its “main characters.” Even though Sebastian is, by my count, the only influencer who’s done a sponsored content deal on the ship so far, it doesn’t mean that more brand money couldn’t be infiltrating the cruise soon.

As for the TikTokers on the boat themselves, most of them view their newfound attention as funny happenstance — as long as it isn’t too mean. “We have some that we really love,” says Jenny Hunnicutt, a 34-year-old who’s running her writing consulting agency from the boat, of the drama recappers. “The positivity has outweighed any negativity.” As long as the other half of the ship doesn’t mutiny against the TikTokers, hopefully that will stay the case.

This column was first published in the Vox Culture newsletter. Sign up here so you don’t miss the next one, plus get newsletter exclusives.

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Matador Original Series

Passengers Open Up About What It’s Like to Go on a 9-Month Cruise Around the World

H ow would you define a reality TV show? Probably as a group of strangers thrown together in a luxurious or foreign locale, engaging in various activities where romance, conflict, and hysterics could ensue. By that definition, cruises are a reality show without the cameras, which makes Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise the perfect reality show. Oh, and thanks to iPhones and TikTok, the cameras are there too.

What exactly does a nine-month cruise look like?

The Ultimate World Cruise is a nine-month voyage around the world, which left Miami on December 10, 2023, and is slated to return on September 10, 2024. Taking place on the Serenade of the Seas, the cruise will tour the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Mediterranean, and Europe. And yes, that even includes Antarctica. Passengers can choose to board for the full nine months, or simply join for one of the various legs. Obviously, the full nine months will set passengers back a hefty sum, ranging from $54,000 to $117,000 per person.

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. So what kind of person takes a trip like this? Who can just depart from their everyday responsibilities for a 9-month jaunt around the world? Surprisingly, it’s not just retirees and millionaires.

@little_rat_brain Might have froze myself half to death but my paint did stay on the table during arts and craft, so there’s that . #ultimateworldcruise2023 #9monthcruise #9monthcruisetok #ultimateworldcruise #drakeshake #drakepassage #9monthcruisedrama #ultimateworldcruisebingo ♬ Feeling Good – Michael Bublé

Several passengers have been documenting their voyages on a day-to-day basis and sharing their videos on TikTok. Now, people are following their journey like they’d follow a reality show. According to these passengers-turned-social-media-reality stars, here’s what it’s like to live on a cruise for nine months.

Who takes a nine-month cruise, anyway?

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.

“My husband and I have always dreamed of traveling the world,” Jenny Hunnicutt , one of the cruise’s passengers, tells Matador Network . “The day that Royal Caribbean announced that it was doing the longest world cruise ever, we gave them a call with a list of questions. One by one they answered our questions and the next thing we knew we were putting down a deposit!”

@drjennytravels I hope everyone had a very happy new year! 🍾 Cheers to 2024! #drjennytravels #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruisetok #cruisetok #uwc #royalcaribbean #Serenadeoftheseas #royalcaribbeanworldcruise #9monthcruisetok #9monthcruise ♬ original sound – drjennytravels

Jenny and her husband didn’t exactly leave behind a traditional lifestyle, either. It’s actually not as hard as you think to take off for several months, assuming you’ve set yourself up the right way professionally and lifestyle-wise.

“In 2021 I went completely remote in my business, sold everything, bought an RV, and started traveling the US,” she says. “For this world cruise, we left the RV stored in Las Vegas and are planning to return to it when we finish the 9 months at sea.”

For little_rat_brain , another passenger, the cruise functioned as a little life intermission, while also serving her travel goals.

“I’m an artist, so my schedule is flexible,” she says. “I was in between major milestones and the timing worked out. Not only was this the only cruise that would allow me to see so many different places across the world and meet so many new people, but it was also the fact that I would only have to unpack once.”

And though she does have a house to consider, she’s not exactly letting it fall into disrepair during her stint at sea. Relatives are caring for her house.

As you might expect, however, longer cruises like this typically appeal to an older demographic – people who have the time and means for a longer getaway.

“While the people on this ship come from a wide variety of demographics,” says passengers Nancy and Mike , “as you can imagine, many of the people on board are retired, simply because of the length of this adventure. Life is short and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Our children are all grown and married, and our grandchildren won’t remember we were ever gone, so this really seemed like the best time.”

@livingphase2 #livingphase2 #royalcarribeancruise #royalcaribbean #royalcaribbeanworldcruise #worldcruisers #ultimateworldcruise #secondphaseoflife #uwc #rainjacket ♬ original sound – MikeandNancyLP2

And all they needed to keep their business back home running smoothly? WiFi.

“We own our own business and have a general manager running it while we are away,” they say. “We have internet so we have contact with our business regularly. Our bills are paid online, and we have a housesitter managing our home while we are away.”

What life is like onboard

Life aboard a nine-month cruise is quite different from your typical week-long voyage. On shorter cruises, you might make “vacation friends” who you hang with for a couple days and vow to stay in touch, only to inevitably lose contact three months later. You might get to know a few crew member’s names just as the cruise is drawing to a close. On a nine-month cruise, your fellow passengers aren’t just incidental travel companions bound together by proximity, they’re like neighbors in adjacent apartments in a floating shared community. 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.

@little_rat_brain Another bingo card down . #ultimateworldcruise2023 #9monthcruisetok #ultimateworldcruisebingo #northsea ♬ It's Five O'Clock Somewhere – Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett

According to little_rat_brain, “for the past 26 nights I’ve had dinner with seven other people, and over time, we have become so interconnected. Not only do we look for each other at the different activities, but we’ve already made plans to meet up once the cruise ends and visit each other across the world.”

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Why the 9-month Ultimate World Cruise is social media's latest obsession

It only took two weeks into a nine-month global cruise for it to go viral on TikTok.

The Ultimate World Cruise, a 274-night voyage aboard the Serenade of the Seas by Royal Caribbean Cruises, departed from Miami on Dec. 10. The cruise, which promises passengers travel to more than 60 countries and almost a dozen world wonders during its course, was intended to give those aboard the opportunity to spend the months “bonding with like-minded explorers over global discoveries across all seven continents,” according to Royal Caribbean’s website .

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.

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.

One person began tracking all the content creators on board so that others could easily follow along. Another offered advice to those on the ship on how to stay safe and healthy.

“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.

“There’s going to be mutiny,” said one TikTok user. “There’s going to be blood. Someone is going overboard. I want to watch. Bravo, where are you? I need eyes,” the person said. “We’re witnessing Fyre Festival, Alabama Rush and no one is rushing there.”

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.

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment regarding the rumors, as well as the virality of the cruise itself.

Although no major drama has unfolded aboard the ship, those following along on social media appear eager for reality TV-style turmoil to unfold.

Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media at the University of Alabama where Bama Rush takes place each year, said she knows first-hand how morally gray it can be to wish drama onto the lives of real people.

“For the world cruise TikTok, I think it’s OK to think of the content we consume on TikTok as reality television,” she said. “But I think it’s important to remember these are real people, and that even reality television is scripted and coerced and is forced drama.”

Here’s everything we know.

Where is the cruise going and how much did it cost?

There are four legs of the cruise. The first traverses North America and South America over 67 nights and includes stops in Brazil, the Caribbean and Antarctica.

The next leg of the cruise heads to the Pacific, stopping at 87 destinations in 87 nights. These stops include New Zealand, Japan, Australia, China and India, among other countries.

The penultimate leg of the trip heads to the Mediterranean and Middle East destinations over the course of another 67 days. The stops include Egypt, Greece, Italy and Turkey.

Finally, the last leg sees passengers touring Europe, with stops in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway over the final 63 nights.

Some said they cannot fathom what being on the cruise, traveling to that many locations while eating and drinking the days away, would do to a person physically.

“Imagine eating unlimited cruise food for nine months, like what that’s going to do to your body. I just worry people aren’t going to pace themselves and it’s going to be really hard on their bodies. They’re vacationing for nine months. Like, you can’t vacation for nine months! You need to have balance,” one TikToker said in a video about concerns for the passengers aboard the ship.

But travelers were not required to book the entire nine-month duration of the cruise. Instead, they were able to purchase either a nine- to 28-night duration aboard the ship or one of the four segments of the trip, rather than booking the entire trip, Royal Caribbean's website states.

Those who chose the full trip, prices started at $53,999, according to the Royal Caribbean website.

What’s really happening onboard?

The passengers on the Serenade of the Seas so far seem to be enjoying the cruise, according to several who spoke to " TODAY ."

Sisters Brandee and Shannon Lake, who are Black, said they’re sharing a cabin and said that quarantining together during the pandemic prepared them to live in close quarters on the ship for nine months.

Brandee Lake, 46, said the staff and passengers have been “so friendly, so kind, so much energy,” quashing some of the online chatter that there’s tension among different travelers.

She appeared to have one issue, according to a TikTok that she posted, saying she has been repeatedly asked if she is a member of the ship’s staff rather than a traveler.

“If I get asked if I work on this ship one more time,” she said in the video. “After I said I was not working, then I was asked if I was independently wealthy — like, basically, how did you afford this?

But she told "TODAY" that after she posted her TikTok, the cruise’s hotel manager made it a point to greet her during dinner. She and Shannon Lake, 42, said that nothing has happened yet on the ship that would be worthy of reality TV.

Brandee Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment made by NBC News.

Other passengers told "TODAY" they were on the cruise to celebrate wedding anniversaries. One traveler, Angie Linderman, said she took the trip because she is at a higher risk for developing cancer in her lifetime and wanted to check off bucket list items while she is healthy.

“Retirement age is not a guarantee. And so (there is) an emphasis on just doing all of the things I can do now while I’m healthy, while I’m able, instead of putting them off in hopes that I can do them later, when in reality that may not happen,” she said.

So is there drama and why is social media obsessed?

Well, not really.

Some have homed in on the fact that “pinnacle members,” Royal Caribbean’s highest tier of membership, have access to different excursions and have allegedly had town hall meetings. This doesn’t appear to be out of the norm for a cruise, Maddox said.

But there have been some suggestions that people of different backgrounds might be experiencing different treatment on the ship.

One person claimed that American and non-American guests were being treated differently on board the ship.

Beyond that, those documenting their time on the ship have yet to report any reality TV-worthy drama for TikTok to consume. The posts from those on land have mostly consisted of documenting who is aboard the ship, creating “bingo cards” for events on the ship, and cheering on drama.

“I don’t love the idea of people dubbing themselves ‘gossip director’ or ‘content curator,’ which I’ve seen to describe, like, talking about viral trends and events on the ship,” Maddox said. “These are real people with real lives on the other side of the screen.”

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.

“There’s definitely this fascination that’s baked into TikTok that we see exacerbated in things like Bama Rush and the world cruise of ‘I could never live this life, so I’m now going to live vicariously through these people,’” Maddox said.

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. 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.

“It’s an ethical issue to hope and wish drama upon people who are just trying to do this fun thing with their lives and decided to share it with us,” Maddox said. “So I hope everybody, including the people who are enjoying watching this content, take a pause and remember that ethical social media use applies to them too.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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After a double mastectomy, this inspiring TikToker embarked on a 9-month world cruise

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The world's longest cruise, as some have called it, set sail just a little over a week ago.

With 650 guests on board, Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise departed from Miami on Dec. 10. The 274-day itinerary was scheduled to stop in more than 60 countries, including Antarctica, China, Oman, Spain, Mexico and French Polynesia.

One passenger, Angie Linderman, has been chronicling her journey on the world cruise on TikTok as @angielinderman – and viewers are loving it. Since she boarded the Serenade of the Seas, her followers climbed from 100 to more than 103,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

This cruise has "felt like the light at the end of the tunnel” for the Oregon-based social media manager.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

This past year has been a whirlwind for Linderman, who had a preventative double mastectomy, including reconstruction surgery. In 2021, she learned she inherited the BRCA2 gene mutation , which put her at a higher risk of developing breast, ovarian and skin cancer.

Being proactive in taking all the preventative measures possible was also spurred by her mother's death the same year as her diagnosis.

Linderman’s mother died from breast cancer at age 65 in August 2021. Her father died at 65 from prostate cancer in 2013.

Her genetic predisposition made her aware that for some people, "someday may never happen, (so) I should do all the things I want to do now," Linderman said.

Native-led travel: You won't see America the same way after this travel experience

Deciding to carpe diem

It struck Linderman how her parents died around the age people usually retire and finally take the time to cross items off their bucket lists.

Now in her mid-30s, there was no time like the present to see the world. "I’ve always really loved to travel and always wanted that to be how I spend my time and money," she said.

Enter the world cruise. 

At first, she joked about it with her brother and sister-in-law, but it became a reality in August 2022 when she contacted a travel agent to finalize the booking.

Yes, cruise prices are up: Here's why cheap sailings may be harder to find

When she had her double mastectomy, Linderman said, she didn't feel like herself, and the trip became something to look forward to, like celebrating the new year in Rio de Janeiro. "I'm going to buy the craziest, most disco ball-y kind of dress to celebrate," she promised herself at the time.

"It was nice to have those moments when I was recovering and not myself to know this trip was happening and to be looking forward to all those experiences."

Although she has traveled extensively and lived abroad, Linderman went on her first cruise after booking the world cruise and surprisingly enjoyed herself. 

"I always thought cruising for retirees or people with kids because of the many activities onboard," she said, but she liked how she could see different countries without having to pack her bags and move to a new hostel each day.

"It's nuts to see the itinerary," she said. "I’m so excited. There are places I maybe wouldn’t have to traveled to as a female solo traveler." To her, the cruise option makes visiting these places "more doable" and removes the hassle of figuring out logistics.

Getting ready to live on a ship for nine months

"This is more of a marathon than a sprint," Linderman said of the nine months she's spending in a cabin. On Tuesday afternoon, the ship is sailing from Bonaire to Barbados.

Because Linderman's brother and his family of five are on board as well, she calls herself "a hybrid solo traveler." But one of the reasons she chose such a long cruise was to find community. 

"You'll make friends, you'll make these connections with people as opposed to a seven-day or 10-day cruise where you just smile at people." She already has met several fellow solo travelers and attends a women's knitting group that meets every sea day, and several parties.

Finding community: How cruises create space for LGBTQ+ travelers at sea

Thankfully, living in a small cabin is familiar to Linderman. About a decade ago, she lived in West Africa with Mercy Ships , a nonprofit that offers free medical care from a hospital ship. Although she lived on the ship, it was always docked. Regardless, it gave her a sense of what it could be like on a ship 24/7.

Still, Linderman doesn't want to burn out on such a long trip and still anticipates those "low" days that happen in regular life on land.

"It's balancing normal life things when you’re in a cool spot and trying to balance how to make the most time when you’re in a new place," Linderman said. She said she wouldn't force herself to be the first person to disembark and the last to return to the ship.

She's focused on building "good habits and good routines," including going to the gym in the morning and working on sea days. Right before Thanksgiving, she gave notice to her job to reduce her hours and work remotely.

"I don't view this as a 9-month vacation. This is my life."

Sharing her journey

Linderman started posting TikToks in February, sharing her BRCA2 journey as "a way to process" and encouraging others to do genetic testing. Not knowing many others who also had the genetic mutation, she also posted for others going through something similar to have someone to relate to.

On Nov. 7, she posted her first cruise-related TikTok sailing around the Northeast, and from there, her videos took off. Her views went from several thousand to more than 4.5 million .

"It is mind-blowing," she said.

Though she knew people would be interested in a trip as intriguing as a 274-day-long world cruise, Linderman "never anticipated this level of interest."

She said she has gotten a plethora of responses from "women who are BRCA-positive women" and "people who have lost people to cancer as well."

"We don't wait for things. We do them now ... we do all the things we want to enjoy now."

Has a life event inspired you to travel? How so?

Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at [email protected] .

A passenger on Royal Caribbean's 9-month ultimate cruise said she prepared by first taking a 'test cruise' in the same room

• Angie Linderman is on Royal Caribbean's nine-month Ultimate World Cruise on Serenade of the Seas.
• Linderman said that prior to booking, she had never been on a cruise.
• To prepare, she booked a practice cruise and stayed in the exact same room she's living in now.

Familiarity set in when Angie Linderman stepped inside her cabin on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas for the Ultimate World Cruise , a nine-month sailing to 65 countries.

The tan carpet with blue swirls was instantly recognizable under her feet, and the mattress and linens felt just as soft as she remembered.

The room was familiar because a little more than a month earlier, Linderman, who's recording her adventure on her TikTok account @angielinderman , slept in the exact same stateroom on another cruise to prepare for the journey.

Linderman was inspired by her brother's family to book the nine-month cruise

The idea to board a nine-month cruise came about in the summer of 2022. Linderman's sister-in-law heard about the journey and pitched it to the family.

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.

"I want to go. This sounds amazing,'" Linderman, 38, recalled saying.

The idea for a nine-month cruise started as a lofty dream that Linderman and her brother's family joked about that summer.

But by the end of August, the idea had become a reality, she said. Linderman booked a solo room on the ship, and her brother's family reserved a cabin, too.

@angielinderman Ultimate World Cruise Q&A or really FAQ since i dont know how to do a Q&A on here. Help! I tried to andwer as many as I could that I know a lot of people have, but let me kniw what else you want to know about what its like on @Royal Caribbean’s Ultiamte World Cruise. #RoyalCaribbean #crusing #explore #solotravler #worldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #SerenadeOfTheSeas #cruise #travel #solofemaletraveler #cruiseship #cruisetok ♬ original sound - Angie

Linderman said the cruise, which starts at $60,000, was possible after receiving money from her parents' life-insurance plans. In the span of eight years, both of Linderman's parents died from cancer.

The trip was not only financially possible because of her parents, but their passing served as her reminder that "retirement is not guaranteed to any of us," Linderman said.

She said that after booking her spot on the Ultimate World Cruise, she found a friend who would house-sit for her in Portland, Oregon, while she was away. And with a contracted remote job, she was able to reduce her hours to 10 a week while sailing.

To prepare for the world cruise, Linderman took a 'test cruise' on the same ship

Linderman said that as December 10 — the start of the world cruise — approached, she started preparing.

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.

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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.

She realized that to prepare for this wholly different experience, she wanted to do one key thing: take a vacation cruise.

Linderman said she planned what she called her "test cruise." Her travel agent booked her on a sailing in October on the Serenade of the Seas. Not only was it the same ship, but she was also able to choose to stay in the same exact room she had reserved for the Ultimate World Cruise.

Her first cruise was much shorter, sailing in and out of Boston to Saint John, Canada, and Portland, Maine.

The initial cruise gave her a visual of what nine months on board could look like. She found places on the ship she loved, developed a better understanding of her room, and learned the ins and outs of vacationing on a ship, she said.

Linderman remembered thinking after the cruise, "OK, I can do this."

Staying in the same room allowed Linderman to plan how she wanted to design and organize the space for the Ultimate Cruise

For the nine-month cruise, each passenger was allowed to bring six bags on board.

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.

"It made packing easier since I then knew what I needed and how I could make it all fit," she said. "I would look at a space and measure it, then get on Amazon to find a solution that would work."

The test cruise also helped Linderman realize she wanted elements to make her cabin homey. For example, she said she packed a throw blanket and twinkle lights, as well as a small fan near her bed to create airflow.

Linderman said she wasn't sure she would've packed some of these items if she hadn't done the test cruise.

@angielinderman Take a more in-depth look at my cabin and what I have done to make it feel like home for the next 9 months on @Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas. #RoyalCaribbean #crusing #explore #solotravler #worldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #SerenadeOfTheSeas #cruise #travel ♬ original sound - Angie

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.

She recalled that when she started to put the items away, she thought, "OK, how do I win this game of Tetris."

Thankfully, she said, the practice cruise left her prepared with a mental map of how she wanted to organize the space.

Looking back, Linderman said it was really this first cruise that set her up for success.

"I couldn't imagine having not done it," she said.

Watch: This is what it takes to be a cruise ship performer

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A 9-Month Cruise Is TikTok’s Favorite New ‘Reality Show’

Social media users, gripped by the potential for drama on Royal Caribbean’s world cruise, have turned the ship’s unwitting passengers into “cast members” overnight.

By Becky Hughes

In the last few months, Beth Fletcher, a 39-year-old photographer in Derbyshire, England, built a small following on TikTok by recapping and analyzing the British reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!” When the latest season ended in early December, Ms. Fletcher was at a loss for content because, she said, “we don’t have another good reality TV show on until summer.”

Then the TikTok algorithm delivered: a video of Brooklyn Schwetje, a graduate student and influencer, sharing a day in her life on the Ultimate World Cruise, a nine-month-long, round-the-world voyage with Royal Caribbean. Ms. Fletcher was instantly rapt. “I’ve never been on a cruise, and the idea of a nine-month cruise blew my mind,” she said. After finding more videos from other passengers on the cruise, something clicked: “Maybe this is our own reality TV show, but better.”

Since the ship launched from Miami on Dec. 10, TikTok has been flooded with posts from voyeurs on land, dissecting the videos shared by cruise passengers and speculating on the ship’s potential as a floating arena for high-level drama. Some are declaring it a “nine-month TikTok reality show,” with the passengers becoming unintentional celebrities.

Videos with the hashtag #UltimateWorldCruise have had more than 138 million views on the social media app.

This isn’t the first time TikTok creators — competing for views with millions of other accounts — have mined videos posted by others to manufacture their own genre of online reality TV. In 2021, the University of Alabama’s sorority rush became an internet fixation known as #BamaRush (and eventually, a Max documentary ). But much as on reality TV, the truth behind the content can seem beside the point.

With a 274-night itinerary, the Ultimate World Cruise is the longest cruise ever offered by Royal Caribbean. Fares for the full trip — which stops in 65 countries — start at $53,999 per person and can go up to $117,599, excluding taxes and fees, according to Royal Caribbean’s website . The ship, called the Serenade of the Seas , has capacity for 2,476 guests, although a Royal Caribbean representative would not confirm how many are currently on board.

From England, Ms. Fletcher started posting videos of herself talking about the cruise, introducing passengers that she identified through their TikTok accounts as “cast members” and sharing tidbits about their life aboard the ship gleaned from their videos.

More accounts dedicated to the cruise emerged: One creator refers to herself as TikTok’s “sea tea” director, updating her followers with “breaking news” (claiming that someone had left the cruise , and another had tested positive for the coronavirus). Another TikToker made a virtual bingo card with predictions like “petty neighbor drama,” “a wedding,” “stowaway” and “pirate takeover.” That bingo card video amassed more than 300,000 views and hundreds of comments like, “This is the new Hunger Games,” and “It’s gotta be a social experiment.”

@amike_oosthuizen A glimpse of what I would eat on a cruising day! There’s so many options, but we just ate at the buffet area on this day 🍔🌭 #SAMA28 #worldcruise #travelvlog #royalcaribbean #foryou #travel #fypシ゚viral #cruisetok #fyp ♬ Deck the Halls - Lofi - Gentle State

Ryan Holland, a 28-year-old posting regularly about the cruise, says people are “curious how people afford it” and “how people can stand being on a boat for that long.” She sees two possible outcomes for the trending fixation. Either “it dies out,” she said, “or it changes the future of reality TV.”

One unlikely star of #cruisetok is Joe Martucci, a 67-year-old recent retiree from St. Cloud, Fla., posting from the ship with the handle @spendingourkidsmoney . Mr. Martucci’s four children encouraged him to post video updates on TikTok, which he’d never used before. His first video has nearly half a million views.

“This is not us trying to become famous,” said Mr. Martucci, who now posts daily with his wife, referring to themselves as “Cruise Mum & Dad” and opening each video with a cheeky, “Hi, kids.”

@spendingourkidsmoney #royalcaribbean #cruising #explore #WorldCruise #UltimateWorldCruise #UWC #Serenadeoftheseas #cruise #travel ♬ original sound - joe

Mr. Martucci, who now has more than 69,000 TikTok followers, says the attention is mostly positive, but he worries about fan accounts dedicated to drumming up drama. “I think they’re trying to manufacture something,” he said. “They’re in it for the views and for the followers.”

Another passenger, Lindsay Wilson, a 32-year-old teacher from Phoenix, said the attention “was very, very weird.” She and some of the other passengers who have amassed new TikTok followings have since connected in person and talk via group chats about their overnight stardom.

Apart from some grumblings about passengers of different customer tiers being treated unequally, few actual dramas have yet to emerge. One exception, however, was a video (currently at 2.5 million views) posted on Dec. 17 by Brandee Lake, a Black content creator and cruise passenger who said she had been mistaken for a crew member, once by a passenger and another time by a staff member. Neither Ms. Lake nor Royal Caribbean confirmed if they had been in contact regarding the issue.

Despite TikTok’s fixation with the cruise (and hope for drama), most of the videos coming from the Serenade of the Seas has been more mundane than gripping. Ms. Lake described a typical day at sea: Zumba class, breakfast, coffee at Café Latte-tudes and an activity such as doing a team puzzle or making gingerbread houses. After dinner, she will occasionally take part in the evening programming, like a silent disco , but usually she just retires to her room. “I’m trying to figure out where this drama is,” Ms. Lake said. “What am I missing?”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

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Recent projections, delegate tracker, recent election news, how these cruise passengers missed boarding, got stranded in africa.

Both Americans and Australians were left at port after an excursion ran long.

After what seemed like a dream trip, several American travelers were left stranded at port in West Africa mid-cruise while traveling from Cape Town, South Africa, to Barcelona, Spain.

Jay and Jill Campbell told ABC News Myrtle Beach affiliate WPDE that they were in the first week of a three week voyage aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines when they stopped just off the coast of West Africa.

The couple and others opted to tour the nearby island of São Tomé and Príncipe on the afternoon of March 27, and when the excursion ran late, they said they brought it to the guides' attention.

"We were like, 'our time is getting short,'" Jay Campbell recalled, at which point he said the guide let them know, "'No problem we can get you back in an hour.'"

Upon their return, the passengers said cruise officials refused to let them aboard the ship, even as the local Coast Guard had ferried the group to the anchored vessel.

"The harbormaster tried to call the ship. The captain refused the call. We sent emails to NCL the customer service emergency number," Jay Campbell said. "They said the only way for us to get in touch with the ship is via email. They're not responding to our emails."

The Campbells say they were left stranded along with four other Americans and two Australians -- of whom one is a paraplegic, one has a heart condition and one is pregnant. Some did not have credit cards or medication that was left on board.

Cruise expert Stewart Chiron, known as The Cruise Guy, told ABC News that "the bottom line was, they were hours late, the ship was ready to go."

MORE: Norwegian Cruise Line passengers claim Antarctica voyage was rerouted mid-trip

"More than likely that the anchor was already up, and the ship was already possibly moving," he said.

He continued, "Any operation at that point to get these passengers back on the ship would have caused tremendous delays, and safety would have been a major concern."

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines said, "On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in São Tomé and Príncipe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on a private tour not organized through us missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time."

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They continued, "While this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is communicated broadly over the ship's intercom, in the daily communication and posted just before exiting the vessel."

The spokesperson added that the passports for the passengers who did not return at the all aboard time "were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port, as per the regular protocol."

"Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed for the guests to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call," they said.

The Campbells said that their eight person group spent 15 hours traveling through six countries in an attempt to rejoin the Norwegian Dawn ship in Banjul, Gambia, on April 1. However, the ship couldn't dock due to low tide, so they are now trying to get to Senegal where the ship is meant to dock on Tuesday.

The Norwegian spokesperson said, "Unfortunately the ship was unable to safely dock in the destination due to adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions that require specific timing for safe passage. While we share in our guests' disappointment, this modification was made with great consideration for their safety and that of our crew, which is our top priority."

The cruise line contacted the guests "regarding this itinerary adjustment and provided them with authorization to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal on April 2, 2024."

In light of the "series of unfortunate events outside of our control," the spokesperson said Norwegian Cruise Lines "will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal" and are still in communication with the guests to provide additional information as it becomes available.

MORE: Meet the cruise couple who have spent over 450 days at sea so far

In a separate, unrelated situation that took place coincidentally on the same day of the voyage, the spokesperson said, "An 80-year-old woman was medically disembarked after being evaluated by our onboard medical team, who thought it best that she receive further assessment and treatment as needed from a local hospital."

"In instances such as these, as the guest was released from the hospital and in a coherent state, our protocol is to contact the guest directly, as we would not have the authority to share any medical details with anyone else without their expressed consent," the spokesperson added, saying they worked with the port agent to receive updates.

"The guest has since been escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, and then put in the care of airport staff to continue her journey to the United States, where she has now made a safe return," they said.

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Meet the ‘cast’ of the 9-month cruise that’s taking over TikTok

Joe Martucci was beginning the trip of a lifetime, and he intended to tell his kids all about it.

On Dec. 10, after two years of planning, the recently retired 67-year-old and his wife, Audrey, finally embarked on Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise . The itinerary on the nine-month expedition includes 65 countries across every continent. They’d see the snowy shores of Antarctica, climb the ruins of Machu Picchu and feast across Southeast Asia. Between their ports of call, they’d play mini golf, attend lectures and relax at the spa on board the 965-foot Serenade of the Seas.

To share it all with the folks at home, Martucci started recording updates for his four adult children, who encouraged him to post the videos online. Almost overnight, a star was born.

Unbeknownst to Martucci, an insatiable interest in his cruise had been growing since his ship left port in Miami. How could anyone stand to be on a cruise for nine months? How could anyone afford to with rates starting at $61,000? Across the internet, people were clamoring for as much information as they could find.

Dozens of TikTok accounts have popped up to document all-things Serenade of the Seas. Some are run by a few of the 600-something travelers staying on board for the entire 274-night itinerary. Others are spectators on land. The culmination of their content — with hashtags like #ultimateworldcruise, #worldcruise and #9monthcruise — has racked up hundreds of millions of views. The cumulative effect is comparable to a reality TV show, complete with “cast members,” drama and intrigue.

Unlike a traditional reality show with meddling producers and forced cliffhangers, content from the nine-month cruise comes from average Joe Martuccis. That’s what makes #CruiseTok so captivating.

“Those of us who haven’t been on a cruise before or don’t even like the idea of it are probably thinking ‘these people must be crazy,’” said Beth Fletcher, 39, who started a series recapping Ultimate World Cruise news called “Ship Happens” on her TikTok account a few days after it departed. “Like, we want to know more.”

While the internet loves the folksy content Martucci and others share, it’s also thirsty for reality show infighting.

“Everybody likes to think there is conflict,” Fletcher said. “My first couple of posts, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, if I was traveling in a small cabin with anyone in my family, after a week or so I would want to throw them overboard.”

Such plot twists have yet to actually emerge. To understand the appeal of TikTok’s favorite cruise, you’ve got to meet the “cast.”

The “mom and dad”

Joe Martucci: @SpendingOurKidsMoney

Martucci’s family asked him to post his recaps online for their friends to see. He started a TikTok account with the handle “spendingourkidsmoney,” because he often jokes the cost of the cruise could have been their inheritance. On Dec. 18, he published his first public check-in. It’s now been watched more than a million times.

“People tell me, ‘Joe, you have 76,000 followers in three weeks, that’s amazing!’” Martucci said. “And I sit there and go, ‘Well, how many am I supposed to have?’”

The most wholesome account on Serenade of the Seas, the Martuccis are a fantastic antidote to the increasingly chaotic nature of many viral videos . No real editing, no second takes, just your “cruise mum and dad” checking in.

“If I mess up, we just let it run,” Martucci said. “I have a little speech dyslexia, especially when it comes to pronouncing words … and Audrey’s always correcting me but we just leave that in.”

To feel like you have parents on the Ultimate World Cruise, this is your follow.

The bucket-lister

Angie Linderman: @angielinderman

Passenger Angie Linderman became a breakout star thanks to an early Q&A sharing how she ended up on the ship.

After both her parents died of cancer, Linderman discovered she also had an elevated risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She had a preventive double mastectomy and plans to have both of her ovaries removed in the near future. “To me there is no thought of retirement,” she shared in a TikTok. “Doing all of the things I can do now is kind of the motto.”

Linderman spent her inheritance to book the Ultimate World Cruise with her brother’s family, and is continuing to work remotely along the way.

“She will be inspiring lots of people who receive cancer diagnoses, and cancer survivors, to go out and just live your life as if every day could be a last,” Fletcher said.

The swingers (or, not?)

Adita: @aditaml2759

Adita (last name unknown) has been drumming up fan interest with her sassy , slightly wacky videos that wink at the potential of her and her husband being swingers. The main culprit for the rumor: her obsession with pineapples. When shown upside down, the fruit is known to be a signal in the swinger community that you’re game. Many of her posts wink at the theory, although Adita has (perhaps unconvincingly ) denied the claim.

“She says that they aren’t and that she just likes pineapple,” Fletcher said. “But that’s a heck of a lot of pineapple.”

Adita also loves to clean and share tidbits of ship life , like how she stays organized on board.

The crew member

Daniele Salvatore Arbisi: @singing.sailor

For a behind-the-scenes look at working life on the cruise, there’s the @singing.sailor Daniele Salvatore Arbisi. Originally from Essex in the United Kingdom, Arbisi comes to the ship as a performer and has amassed a following for his crew cabin tour s , thorough travelogues from port days and helpful Q&As, like when he tapped the ship’s captain to find out the best side of the ship for whale watching.

“He’s very, very talented,” Fletcher said. “His content is fantastic … he’s got a real good likability and he’s very funny.”

The solo traveler

Anthony McWilliams: @anthonyantoine1021

Anthony McWilliams was working in public health at Emory University at a job he loved when tragedy struck. “I lost my husband to cancer in 2018,” McWilliams, who goes by Anthony Antoine on social media, told The Washington Post. “From diagnosis to his passing was literally eight months and one day.”

His late husband left him with a request: travel the world. “He said traveling would be my salvation,” McWilliams said. So he retired and hit the road that year.

Now McWilliams is one of the most beloved passengers on the ship — both to fellow cruisers and online fans. After a mix-up with Brazilian cruise regulations , he had to fend for himself on land for a week until he was allowed to return. “Everybody was cheering for me to come back on,” he said.

He mostly posts joyous port recaps and musings. Like when he said he’d gained 10 pounds in five days on the ship. He gets messages constantly that his travels as a solo Black traveler is inspiring.

“That’s my No. 1 travel rule , to not wait on the others. If you’re waiting on the others, you’ll end up going nowhere.”

The Lake sisters

Shannon Marie Lake: @swankalamode ; Brandee Lake: @iambrandeelake

Could you spend nine months sharing a room with your sister? That’s the social experiment Shannon Marie and Brandee Lake are carrying out in real time for fans. So far “it’s working well,” Shannon Marie told The Washington Post.

“We travel together a lot, so we know each other’s hotel style, like ‘Okay, you take long showers,’” Lake said.

When she’s not spending time with her parents, who are also on board, Brandee keeps in touch with her audience through “ sea day chats .” She made headlines in the first weeks of the cruise after sharing a post about her experience being regularly confused for a staff member, as she and her sister are among the few guests of color on board. “She was like, ‘Oh my God. Is this going to be the case for the next nine months?’” Fletcher said. “That seems to have settled down now, but obviously that leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth.”

Shannon Marie is more inclined to share street art from their on-land excursions. Both sisters answer tons of the public’s questions and dance their way around the ship . If you can’t get enough of their videos, you can also listen to their podcast .

The other sisters

Brooklyn Schwetje: @brooklynschwetje ; Madison Schwetje: @madisonschwetje

Traveling with their parents, Brooklyn and Madison Schwetje take their roles as the eyes and ears on the ship seriously, posting tons of content for their growing audience. They share vlogs of unglamorous sea days, featuring bad weather and laundry duties , as well as the highlights, like what it’s really like to visit a World Wonder .

One of their most popular posts was an extensive tour of the ship Madison took in the wee hours of the night, giving us an eerie and fascinating look at the massive ship almost completely empty.

“They know how to create a post that’s engaging,” Fletcher said. “They’re good at highlighting things that people want to see.”

The wild card

Little Rat Brain: @little_rat_brain

For a dose of Gen Z bizarro comedy, there’s “Little Rat Brain,” whose real name has been kept private. Even the other “cast members” call her that in videos and interviews.

“We love Little Rat Brain,” Martucci said.

Little Rat Brain, who’s traveling with her mother, shares expertly edited, highly silly updates of life on board, from experiencing the “Drake Shake” (the sort of turbulence that comes with crossing the Drake Passage) to itinerary changes .

The influencer

Amike Oosthuizen: @ amike_oosthuizen

A seasoned social media user, Amike Oosthuizen posts highly satisfying day-in-the-life videos that bring you into her world. Since the South African boarded the cruise with her parents and her husband, she’s taken us along for sea day gym sessions , what it’s like to dine on board and how she learned to do gel manicures ahead of the cruise so she could save money.

Her mother, Renske Lammerding , has actual reality TV experience as a cast member on “The Real Housewives of Pretoria” But Oosthuizen told The Washington Post people gravitate most to her everyday experiences.

She knows people are waiting for drama to erupt, but unfortunately (for them, not for her), “all of the people I’ve met on the ship are just so nice, and they’re all here with their loved ones for a vacation or to travel the world,” she said. “I just don’t think that expectation will become a reality, to be honest with you.”

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Four Seasons Just Unveiled the First Itineraries for Its Luxury Cruise Ship

The 679-footer will head to the caribbean and mediterranean at the beginning of 2026., rachel cormack.

Digital Editor

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Four Seasons has already revealed what its first cruise ship will look like. Now, it’s sharing exactly where the gargantuan 679-footer will go.

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The inaugural Mediterranean voyages will begin in March 2026. The adventures will showcase several sun-plenty destinations, such as Croatia, Gibraltar, Montenegro, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. The itinerary will also spotlight the Greek gems of Athens, Santorini, and Milos. More details will be released in the coming months, but Four Seasons says seafarers can expect a variety of experiences that go above and beyond that of the regular cruise or tour.

Four Seasons says all itineraries are crafted with flexibility in mind, meaning guests can tailor their own adventures. In addition, the team offers customizable pre-and-post hotel and overland programs at Four Seasons hotels and resorts so you can make it a long and memorable vacation.

The vessel itself is designed to evoke all the elegance of your favorite Four Seasons. The luxurious interior can accommodate 195 guests across 95 suites and about 210 crew, meaning that the guest-to-crew ratio is definitely in your favor. Four Seasons says the yacht also offers 50 percent more living space per guest than comparable vessels on the seas.

Beyond the suites, seafarers can enjoy 11 dining options, spa and wellness offerings, a transverse marina, and a 65-foot stern pool that will be one of the largest in the industry.

“Our teams are dedicated to innovating and delivering genuine service, ensuring each journey is defined by comfort, elegance, and personalization, setting a new standard for luxury hospitality experiences at sea.” Four Seasons president and CEO Alejandro Reynal said in a statement.

You can visit the Four Seasons Yachts website for more information on the upcoming cruises.

Click here to see more images of the Four Seasons Yacht.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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• Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

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College dancer dies on Easter, months after being diagnosed with rare form of cancer

LEXINGTON, Ky. ( WKYT /Gray News) - A University of Kentucky dancer died months after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, according to her family.

Kate Kaufling, 20, died on Easter Sunday, after battling osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer that mostly affects children, teens and young adults, WKYT reported.

She was diagnosed on June 2, 2023, during her freshman year of college.

Along with being on the UK Dance Team, she was also a nursing student and a member of the Tri Delta sorority.

“Even during her cancer treatments, Kate kept up with her studies, setting an amazing example for her teammates,” said UK Executive Associate Athletics Director Sandy Bell.

UK Dance Head Coach Dawn Walters released a statement saying:

Kate was a joy to coach and to be around. Her smile could light up a room and she was beloved by all of her UKDT teammates. We are all saddened by Kate’s passing. We will remember her for the tough battle she fought with osteosarcoma over the past year.

Kaufling leaves behind her parents Holly and Steve Kaufling and her twin sister Abbey.

Copyright 2024 WKYT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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