Ultimate World Cruise: An Epic Journey Around the World

Table Of Content

• It's not too late to sail on TikTok's favorite 9-month Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise — but it won't be cheap
• Matador's Newsletter
• Carnival Ship Rescues 27 People Adrift at Sea in the Caribbean
• Seabourn’s Latest Expedition Ship Brings a Safari Sensibility to Antarctica. We Hopped on Board.
• Passengers Open Up About What It’s Like to Go on a 9-Month Cruise Around the World
• Getting ready to live on a ship for nine months

Although she has traveled extensively and lived abroad, Linderman went on her first cruise after booking the world cruise and surprisingly enjoyed herself. "I’ve always really loved to travel and always wanted that to be how I spend my time and money," she said. The world's longest cruise, as some have called it, set sail just a little over a week ago.

It's not too late to sail on TikTok's favorite 9-month Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise — but it won't be cheap

Or, pick one of the 17 sailings (ranging from nine to 29 nights) that make up the cruise and visit the sites that are most exciting to you. This week, Royal Caribbean International announced its Ultimate World Cruise that will take passengers to all seven continents in the span of 274 days. The immersive experience will embark on its roundtrip course from Miami on December 10, 2023 and return on September 10, 2024. The sailing has already had an itinerary change due to weather conditions near Antarctica, and undoubtedly there will be further itinerary adjustments in the months to come. Hopefully, tensions will ease and no such dramatic change as skipping an entire portion of the cruise route will be necessary. It’s one thing to go on a cruise for four or five nights, but guests currently traveling on the Serenade of the Seas have committed themselves to sailing around the world for nine months straight.

Matador's Newsletter

And with top-notch restaurants onboard, every meal turns into a global taste-tour that’s as immersive as your Ultimate World Cruise. 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. "This is more of a marathon than a sprint," Linderman said of the nine months she's spending in a cabin. With 650 guests on board, Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise departed from Miami on Dec. 10.

Carnival Ship Rescues 27 People Adrift at Sea in the Caribbean

Even if you're cruising outside of hurricane season, flexibility is of utmost importance, as you never know when your ship might miss a port or two. If Immersive Africa is chosen, guests will receive 25% off the pro-rated segment 3 cruise fare in the form of a refundable onboard credit. According to TikTok user drjennytravels, Royal Caribbean is calling the "Immersive Africa" itinerary the "scenic route," while "Africa & Greece" has been dubbed the "highway." Due to the conflict in the Red Sea, Royal Caribbean is opting to change the third segment of the Ultimate World Cruise, and they're letting guests have a say in the new itinerary.

Finally, experience another natural marvel — the other-worldly geothermal seawater at The Blue Lagoon in Iceland before stopping in New York and Perfect Day at CocoCay on your way back to Miami. Then your journey continues to even more destinations known for their storied history — like the fortified walls of Split, Croatia and the cobblestoned streets of Barcelona, Cannes and Provence.

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

Royal Caribbean Addresses Fate of 9-Month World Cruise - Cruise Hive

Royal Caribbean Addresses Fate of 9-Month World Cruise.

Posted: Fri, 19 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Royal Caribbean first announced the Ultimate World Cruise on Serenade of the Seas in late 2021, and it opened for bookings in early 2022. Serenade of the Seas will sail roundtrip from Miami on Dec. 10, 2023 and through Sept. 10, 2024. Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas departed Miami to begin a 9-month Ultimate World Cruise on December 10, and TikTok has seen a flurry of interest for this kind of a cruise.

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. One person began tracking all the content creators on board so that others could easily follow along. "We just received word that it is option one. 'Immersive Africa' here we come!" she exclaims at the beginning of the video. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to an additional question about how much passengers would be compensated. Royal Caribbean International has responded to the rumors and confirmed that at this time, there are no changes to the planned Ultimate World Cruise itinerary. “I don’t like putting rumors out there, but I think we also, the passengers that invested so much money and so much time to see the world, we deserve to know what is going on, what the plans are, what Plan B is,” she said.

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The buzz generated by the world cruise at its launch points to a lot of excitement surrounding the cruise, as well as a lot of people naive about how cruise ships operate wrapping their minds around going on a cruise for quite that long. Even as a seasoned cruiser, taking a cruise quite that long is hard to fathom. In viewing all the TikToks posted, creators have seemingly created a real-time view of the cruise and given they'll be on the ship for 9 months, TikTok has become obsessed with what they're calling "a reality show". Because the entire voyage did not sell out, the cruise line opened up smaller segments.

Getting ready to live on a ship for nine months

For little_rat_brain, another passenger, the cruise functioned as a little life intermission, while also serving her travel goals. 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. "This is the world cruise of world cruises," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International.

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

They’re not just people you might run into at dinner once or twice during the week, they’re semi-permanent fixtures of your world for nine months, with whom you’ll have the time to form actual relationships. The cruise differs from a typical seven-night voyage in several crucial ways. Mainly – you’re not just on a short-lived vacation with your fellow passengers. You’ve essentially moved into a floating apartment building with them for almost a full year. You’re also putting your real life, relationships, and potentially careers, on hold. Who can just depart from their everyday responsibilities for a 9-month jaunt around the world?

Experiencing the beautiful cultures, delicious food, and kind people has been priceless, but today, we aren’t stopping in any ports. Lake and her fellow passengers, who are currently on their way to the Oceania and Asia portion of their trip, had a deadline of Feb. 20 to submit any questions about the reroute options. As you can imagine, this once-in-a-lifetime epic journey around the world is highly customizable. The ticket price for the 274-night journey ranges from $59,999 per person for an interior stateroom to $117,599 for a junior suite on the 2,476-passenger Serenade of the Seas®. Royal Caribbean has charted the seas for over 50 years, crafting popular itineraries to more than 270 destinations in 72 countries on six continents.

"To travelers asking themselves where they should go next, we say everywhere." 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. 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. This cruise has "felt like the light at the end of the tunnel” for the Oregon-based social media manager. One person claimed that American and non-American guests were being treated differently on board the ship. The passengers on the Serenade of the Seas so far seem to be enjoying the cruise, according to several who spoke to "TODAY."

Those onboard the Ultimate World Cruise will visit one less World Wonder than they anticipated. Since it's no longer feasible to sail through the Red Sea, ports like Safaga, Egypt and Petra, Jordan will be removed from the itinerary. The cover of the book was different from my original copy, so I had to get it. I am now able to reread one of my favorite stories, and I have a very special memory of finding this copy.

The penultimate leg of the trip heads to the Mediterranean and Middle East destinations over the course of another 67 days. “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. Guests onboard Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise were alerted with their new cruise itinerary after it was announced that they'd no longer cruise through the Red Sea due to unrest in the area. Many other lines, including Virgin Voyages, MSC Cruises and Silversea Cruises, have recently canceled or rerouted sailings away from the area. It should be noted that Serenade of the Seas is not scheduled to enter the Red Sea until mid-May.

You might feel like an explorer as you explore the ruins of Chichén Itzá in Mexico on foot, then opt to take a camel when you reach the Pyramids of Giza. The very first scheduled port—Devil's Island (off the coast of French Guiana in South America)—was scrapped due to bad weather, as seen in TikToks compiled by TODAY. Otherwise, Brandee added, "everything has been great" and the passengers were turning into "one growing family." The first leg, the Ultimate Americas, ran from Dec. 10 until Feb. 11 and took passengers around North America, South America, the Caribbean and Antarctica. World wonders on the to-see list included the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro and Machu Pichu. But if even the very idea of a 274-night cruise has you reaching for Dramamine, you can always just stay on land and scroll TikTok.