On the Royal Caribbean website there is a nine month cruise officially called the Ultimate World Cruise, and is advertised as the most epic cruise to ever set sail. The cruise set sail on Dec. 10 and will end on Sep. 10. So that means the people who have booked the entire voyage will be on the ship for 274 nights and travel to over 60 countries including Antarctica. Some people chose to go on the trip’s segments which means you won’t be on the ship the entire 9 months but still means you would be on the ship for entire months at a time.
To go on this cruise is not cheap. 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. According to the Royal Caribbean website. 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.
A part 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?” a user 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, from different angles, perspectives.” And if you were wondering what you would do on this cruise, you can watch all the “day in the life” videos the passengers have been posting.
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. For people tracking the day-to-day lives of the cruise ship passengers, many have predicted that the nine 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.
And so far, #CruiseTok has delivered the drama. There are already allegations of a class system emerging, a flood, allegations of racism and outrage at the cramped conditions. One creator who refers to herself as TikTok’s “sea tea director” updates her followers with “breaking news,” claiming that someone had already left the cruise. If you’re wondering just how entertaining a group of tech-illiterate retirees could be, think again. Part of the fun of the UWC is that it has attracted everyone from social media-savvy Gen-Zers and Millennials to Boomers and the elderly. One couple made videos on board joking about how they spent their children’s inheritances on the trip.
Of course, part of the fascination with #CruiseTok is an obsession with the ridiculous lives of the super-rich and what they choose to spend their money on. Especially watching them do room tours and showing off their relatively small living conditions, have gone particularly viral.
The main point of tension, however, has been an apparent class system that has emerged. The cruise is divided into four segments: Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Mediterranean and Europe & Beyond,each is available to book individually, so not everyone on board is going the full distance. There have been rumors of animosity between the “segmenters” and those on board for nine months, with the segmenters reportedly receiving different treatment to the full-boarders.
My opinion on the cruise itself is that it would be a really fun and interesting experience. Getting to experience going to all those countries would be amazing for someone who wants adventure and wants to explore the world. I also like how the cruise is split into segments, so that people like me don’t wanna be on a cruise for nine straight months, and go for a little while at a time. So I think if you are in the position to be away for months at a time and can afford the cruise it would be a really great experience. And if there is drama aboard at least you can get a view on Tik Tok.
