The viral nine-month world cruise is over. But was it worth £42,000?
As Royal Caribbean's nine-month epic global cruise comes to an end, we caught up with passengers who completed the trip to ask if it lived up to expectations.
Royal Caribbean's 'Serenade of the Seas' docking in north China's Tianjin Municipality, during her 275-day global trip. (Getty)
It was billed as the trip of a lifetime - and for the price passengers paid, you’d hope they enjoyed themselves.
Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise, a round-the-globe nine-month odyssey on board the 293m Serenade of the Seas, became an unlikely TikTok viral hit at the start of the year, thanks to its unprecedented scale - and potential for drama on board.
Taking in 60 countries in 274 days, the first few weeks of the cruisers’ journey saw the trip blow up on social media thanks to footage of rough seas, wine shortages, sky-high Wi-Fi charges, changes of route due to political unrest, and even the death of a guest. The passengers themselves even became TikTok stars, gaining huge followings online from viewers back on dry land desperate for gossip.
Around 650 passengers spent the entire nine months (and presumably, their entire life savings) completing the full itinerary. With prices for the full trip having started at an eye-watering $53,999 (£42,462), it’s no surprise the epic voyage became one of 2024’s biggest viral sensations.
Now permanently back on terra firma after the cruise ended on 10 September with its final stop in Miami, Yahoo News UK caught up with a handful of travellers who finished the whole trip to ask them some key questions - including if they thought it was worth the money.
How did you prepare for a world cruise which lasted nine months?
Jenny Hunnicutt, 34, from Florida, was one of many passengers who booked the trip with her husband more than two years before it set off. She was also one of a number of minor TikTok celebrities on board, gaining 167,000 followers in the early months of the journey. Hunnicutt, who also holds a doctorate in health and rehab sciences, said planning ahead was key to making the most of a nine-month holiday.
What Jenny said: "So back in 2021, we sold everything, moved our lives into an RV, and travelled the US until the world cruise. We prepared by downsizing and minimising our lives, yeah, and doing ‘RV living’, which was also small living sort of like a cruise ship, and that prepared us for life on board."
What Anthony said: "The largest part of preparing for the cruise for me was ensuring my health was in a place to feel most comfortable with taking a 9-month journey." "I worked with my primary care doctor to ensure I could be away for so long and coordinated a few health screenings during the journey too. While Royal Caribbean coordinated efforts to support acquiring medicine while on board, I organised mine without Royal Caribbean knowing that they were an option if I ran into any issues."
What Joe said: "It took two years to prepare. We did everything possible to understand it. We sold our car, we brought my nephew in to take care of our house during the nine months. So it's not just getting on the ship, but everything you're leaving at home. We bought some magnetic shelves because they don't give you a lot of storage space. They normally expect people to be on a ship for a week, maybe two weeks."
What Bobbi said: "We booked it about two years before it started. The day they announced it, I was Bob, not Bobbi, so I originally had outfits planned for all my male clothes. Then, last year June, I came out as a trans woman and had to redo my entire wardrobe. And, of course, as a new trans woman, I didn't really know what my look was, so I packed way too much. Other than that, we were just super excited."
What Brandee said: "I gave up my apartment and things, and my job ended. So for me, I didn't have any house to leave, to prepare or make sure someone was looking after anything. So that part was easy. But then the hard part was packing to pack up an apartment and knowing what to pack for the ship. I prepared by thinking about what I would need for the cruise and eliminating even more to make it down to three bags. I travelled with three checked luggage, one rolling carry-on and one backpack."
What was it like making friends on a cruise ship for nine months?
While there was the option for guests to only book certain legs of the cruise, meaning hundreds came and went along the global journey, the core group of travellers completing the entire journey would be stuck with each other for 274 days.
'Anthony Antoine' McWilliams, 54, boarded the Serenade of the Seas alone - but said many of the passengers became friends for life thanks to their close proximity... and shared love of documenting the journey on TikTok.
What Angie said: "We have a group chat called Youthish, so I'm sure that will remain active. We've even started a podcast together that hopefully we will continue, even if it's just an excuse for us to do a Zoom call together."
What Joe said: "We made friends with a lot of other passengers who are lifelong friends now, we have booked future cruises with them. Other ones live not far from us here in Florida and like Bobbi and Tam, Little Rat Brain and her mother. We plan on seeing them on a regular basis. We've been texting with them because we do miss them. We spent nine months with them, and all of a sudden they weren't at breakfast this morning."
What Jenny said: "Yes, the most surprising thing is how, in 9 months, we've met some people who will be lifelong friends. We already have plans to see people right after this cruise. In the very beginning, one thing that really brought us together, me and the fellow TikTokers, was when this cruise blew up online and went viral. Some of us had not even met in person yet, so we started this group chat and said, “Hey, let's meet, maybe make some content together”, and I'm telling you that bonded us so strongly from the beginning, just going viral together was such a surreal experience, so cool."
What Anthony said: “I will surely stay in touch with more than a handful of friends from the journey. I had planned to spend a lot of time alone on this adventure and I did spend quality alone time. But being thrusted into this experience with a group of others on the same journey, it became so easy to make friends and truly bond with each other.”
What Bobbi said: “We've made some lifelong friends on here, either people on some of the legs or doing the full world cruise. There's a small group that we will be friends with forever. There's a small group that we avoid like the plague because they're racist, or they're homophobic or transphobic, or just loud, obnoxious people.”
What was the most memorable sight or location on the cruise?
While the Serenade of the Seas checked in at more than 60 locations, a handful of sights were repeatedly mentioned as the most jaw-dropping experiences on the cruise.
Here's where our group of passengers listed as the most spectacular scenery they visited.
What Jenny said: "Antarctica, hands down. It was a long journey to get there, in that part of the cruise, and Antarctica was a place that is unlike anything else. It's honestly in its own category. It was just so amazing."
What Angie said: "I really loved Norway. It blew my socks off the fjord system was absolutely stunning. I also loved Moorea. The water on the beach was phenomenal. It was just straight out of a movie like it's something I only thought I would see in a movie.”
Bobbi: “Moorea, French Polynesia. Somebody said, ‘create a beautiful tropical island in paradise’, and they came up with Moorea, and it was incredible. We've seen a lot of places around the world that have been beautiful. We have enjoyed seeing all that and got a sense of how people live in different parts of the world.”
Tam: “It looked like it was CGI.”
What Joe said: “Two of them stand out, and one is Antarctica. I think you'll probably get that answer from everybody, because Antarctica was just amazing. The other one was we loved was in Argentina, because we went on an excursion where they opened Iguazu Falls in the morning just for us, and we got to see the sunrise over the falls. It's just so beautiful.”
What was the hardest part about being on a cruise for nine months?
Leaving your home, family and friends back on dry land for nine months obviously doesn't come without its drawbacks. We asked the group what the most challenging element was about being on the cruise ship for so long.
For Joe Matucci, who embarked on the cruise with wife Audrey - both experienced cruisers - but still said upon completion that 'nothing can prepare you for a nine-month cruise'. Here's what the rest of our interviewees said they missed most.
What Joe said: "Our daughter, who lives in Scotland, gave birth to our first grandson, and not being able to be there for that was hard for us. We have four grandchildren, three granddaughters, and then this grandson was born when we were in La Serena Chile, and not being able to be there for our daughter was that was kind of probably one of the hardest part.”
What Jenni said “The hardest part for me was overstimulation, and I mean that in a good way. Like we are seeing the world, there's so much to take in and remember, and they were also selling this cruise as mini segments.” So not only do we have our core group of world cruisers, but we also had people coming and going from the cruise.
“On the one hand, that was amazing as my parents got to come, but on the other hand, the vibe was constantly changing, and the vibe on the ship was often catered toward vacation. So that was super fun, but a 9-month ‘vacation vibe’ is exhausting.”
What Bobbi said: "When we first got on this, we were like we could sail on this thing forever. We could live on a ship if you got to pick the people that you were living with. But because of the diversity of the crowds coming in, you get people that you know are mean to children, are racist, aggressive, homophobic, transphobic people. That was the hardest thing to be on the cruise with - and I think missing our puppy back home.”
What Brandee said: “The thing I missed the most was being able to cook my own food on occasionally. I mean, I loved the ship food, but I love cooking for myself. It's like the act of cooking that I love.”
Was the nine-month cruise worth the money?
Our group of hardy travellers were almost unanimous in stating that the nine-month cruise delivered in its enormous boarding ticket price. Former NASA employee Bobbi Waterman and her partner Tam, from Florida, who gained a substantial following for posting about their experience on board as an LGBTQ+ couple, got a 10% discount for booking early and insisted it was '100% worth it.'
Here's what the rest of the group said when we asked them about the cruise's value for money.
Bobbi: “I'm very happy for what we paid versus what we got.”
Tam: “100% worth it.”
What Joe said: “There's no way anyone who went would say it wasn't worth the money.” “If they did say that, they're lying. Because everything we got to see, everything we got to experience, all the people we got to meet, it was priceless.”
What Anthony said: "The trip was absolutely worth the money. I would make the same decision all over again.” This trip is the greatest travel joy of my life and I will spend the rest of my life working to top this. I doubt I can but who knows what life has in store for me. Maybe I'll get to visit the moon”.
What Brandee said: "It was a gift for me, so it was priceless. I think that even my parents would say yes, definitely. You can't replace those memories or the experiences."
What advice would you give to anyone embarking on a similar cruise?
Passengers who completed the entire cruise will no doubt have learned a significant amount about travelling from their unique experience. Brandee Lake, a 46-year-old podcaster who completed the journey with her sister Shannon and parents, said the best approach before embarking on a similar cruise is to 'pack less'.
See the other words of advice our passengers gave to would-be cruisers below.
What Joe said “Be flexible. There's going to be changes. The world for nine months is not going to stay the same from the time they book it to the time it ends.”
What Jenny said: “I would advise going on a world cruise test run. So that's something my husband and I did before this world cruise. We were lucky enough to book the same cabin on the same ship, and it was so much fun.
“Because then you go into it with a different mindset, right? You go into it like, ‘Yes, I'm here. I'm gonna have a little vacation, but I'm also going to envision living in this place for 9 months’, or however long it may be.”
Tam: “Pack less. You’re going to buy stuff from all over the world, pack less. Like clothes, everywhere you go.”
Bobbi: “I bought this dress from Mauritius, so we picked things up. So we bought way too much for what we needed. So pack less and be prepared.”
What Anthony said: “I don't often give advice, but I would share how helpful it would be to talk to those who have embarked on such a long trip. Speaking with a different mix of people as everyone's experience has been different. Also, speaking with crew members — not just passengers could help.”
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