The internet has officially found a new Roman Empire in the Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise aboard the Serenade of the Seas. As the cruise is only a few weeks into its travels, it holds the potential to satisfy our thirst for drama and entertainment well into 2024.
World cruises aren’t anything new but the decision to launch one in 2023 is an interesting choice. This year doesn’t have the best track record of successful nautical adventures. Earlier this year, the Titan submersible imploded while taking several passengers to visit the Titanic wreckage. The incident captured the attention of the whole world due to the submersible’s unconventional design and the absurdity of the entire thing. For most of us, it seemed like a sign to stop forgoing safety while pushing the limits of exploration. Given that the submersible’s passengers were all millionaires or billionaires, it also reminded us that just because you can afford something doesn’t mean you should do it.
Then, in November, Life at Sea Cruises called off a planned 3-year cruise after passengers had already booked 111 cabins. Many of these passengers had quit jobs and sold their homes to prepare for the 3-year trip. Some were left stranded in Istanbul, where the ship was set to launch, for days while waiting for their refunds to hit. Even when, or if, the refunds came in, some of these passengers might not have anywhere to go since they planned to be on a boat for three years.
After these incidents, I thought that maybe rich people would take a break from paying absurd amounts of money to risk their lives on wild seafaring adventures. However, here we go again, as a bunch of passengers just took off for a 247-day cruise.
Why is everyone obsessed with the Ultimate World Cruise?
It’s not just that the Ultimate World Cruise seems to be pushing its luck amid those recent events that’s capturing our attention. The biggest reason we’re intrigued by the cruise is, of course, for the drama. It almost feels like some kind of social experiment to put 700 strangers on a boat together for nearly a year and see what happens.
The best thing about the cruise is we now have TikTok to help us keep up with the lives of these people. Even though the boat only departed on December 10, TikTok has already been dishing on the drama. The first problem that Serenade of the Seas ran into was that it was underbooked. Most passengers had to pay over $60,000 (at least) for the nine-month trip when booking it back in 2022. However, in order to fill up extra space, the Royal Caribbean started selling individual segments of the cruise for a lot cheaper. So, obviously, those who missed the deal aren’t happy.
On the flip side, there are allegations that those along for the entire nine-month trip are getting better treatment than temporary passengers. Some passengers seem not to understand how loyalty rewards programs work and are also upset that the top loyalty rewards members are getting better treatment than them.
It’s all rather silly, but we have to remember this is ultra-rich people drama we’re talking about. Insiders claim some passengers are already leaving the cruise early, though the reasons for these departures are unclear.
There could be some more severe conflict on the ship soon, as one TikToker, Brandee Lake, has called out the passengers and crew for assuming she must be an employee rather than a passenger because she’s a Black woman.
A bingo card has started circling the internet, too. Kara Harms made the card so we can keep up with the ship’s drama. It has spaces that can be checked off if something like “mass norovirus,” “2nd COVID outbreak,” or a “fistfight” happens on the ship.
So far, we’ve already been able to check off “someone going home early,” “a weather mishap,” “cliques forming,” and a “COVID outbreak.” It’s not a full-fledged outbreak, but one passenger already has COVID.
Many of the spaces on the bingo card sound probable. Having 700 people on a nine-month cruise sounds like the perfect recipe for affairs, fist fights, neighbor drama, breakups, and who knows what else. If you think things are chaotic now, how do you think it will be six months from now when those people are painfully bored and absolutely tired of each other?
This world cruise is the perfect premise for a reality show. If the tea keeps coming on social media, we might have a nine-month reality show to get wholly invested in throughout 2024.
(featured image: Kevin Lkine / Getty)
