Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise has gone viral on TikTok
A nine-month long cruise has just kicked off and it’s pretty wild to say the least, with social media users “living” for the insane content.
There’s a cruise that’s going viral for a few reasons – it’s nine months long and costs $88,000 a ticket – and social media users are “living” for the insane content from passengers.
It’s called the Ultimate World Cruise and just as the name suggests, it is pretty “ultimate” with the Royal Caribbean cruise travelling to more than 60 countries and 11 world wonders in 274 days.
According to its website, no matter which stateroom you choose, your fare includes complimentary amenities like business class airfare, pre-cruise hotel and gala, a deluxe beverage package, gratuities, internet package, wash and fold laundry service and more.
So, how much does it cost exactly?
The cruise is broken into four segments — Ultimate Americas Cruise, Ultimate Asia Pacific Cruise, Ultimate Middle East & Med Cruise and Ultimate Europe & Beyond Cruise.
Depending on the destination and room you choose, prices can vary from $US13,399 ($19,895) to $US25,099 ($37,268).
But, if you want to do the full nine months, the price tag is a lot heftier. The cheapest is $US59,999 ($88,000) for an interior stateroom, and up to $US760,000 ($1.2 million) per person for a Royal Suite.
Brooklyn Schwetje, a university student from Alabama in the US, is doing the nine-month journey with her family. They paid $US60,000 each and got a 10 per cent discount for paying it in full, early.
Brooklyn has dedicated her entire TikTok to her adventures on board the cruise which officially set sail about a week ago.
She said she is going to finish her studies online while on the trip.
“You guys are probably wondering why we decided to book this,” she told her 114,000 followers.
“My mum has always had a dream to buy a catamaran and sail around the world with my dad but my dad has never been 100 per cent on board with the plan.
“My mum was on TikTok and she saw a TikTok [on the cruise], sent it to my dad and he said ‘sign us up’.”
Brooklyn said she and her sister weren’t keen at first but decided they wanted to be part of the journey with their parents.
She said the price tag included a deluxe drinks package, laundry each week, unlimited Wi-Fi and seven of the world wonders including the Colosseum and Great Wall of China.
Brooklyn added that business class airfares, premium transportation to and from the airport hotel and ship were also included in the fare.
“With us living in Florida we decided not to do the airfare so Royal Caribbean gifted each of us $US1500 off of our cruise fare and by paying in full in January, we got 10 per cent off.”
She also told viewers all food is included and all of the Ultimate World Cruisers receive 50 per cent off all the specialty dining while on board.
TikTok has become awash with clips from passengers showing off their experiences from the meals they’re eating, restaurants they’re visiting, gym classes they’re taking, to glimpses of what their rooms look like and the entertainment and performances they’re attending.
“I am LIVING for your videos. Please pretty please don’t stop. Greedily. I will beg you to post more,” one viewer commented on Brooklyn’s ‘sea day in my life’ clip.
“How does one simply return back to normal life after this experience?” another joked, while a third added: “You are inspiring me to work very hard and save and do this for myself this is amazing. I had no idea RC did these!”
There were also many curious viewers who had a lot of questions for passengers who have been posting about their journey so far.
“Where does everyone work to be gone for 9 months??”one person asked.
“Is there a school on board for the children that are there??” a second person wanted to know.
“How often do cabins get cleaned or do you not have housekeeping?” a third questioned.
“So living vicariously through you! This is awesome.”
According to the UWC site, whether you do the entire nine months or just one segment, you receive the deluxe beverage package for the entire segment, Wi-Fi, gratuities for your entire voyage and wash and fold laundry service for the entire trip.
“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,” the site reads.
But that’s only if you’re doing the epic 274 days.
However, as much as viewers are living vicariously through those on board, there have also been many who have weighed in on all the hilarious things that could possibly happen during the epic voyage.
“I made an Ultimate World Cruise Bingo card for anyone else who is buckling in this nine months TikTok reality show,” US TikToker Kara said in a viral video.
“I have never been on a cruise but I have lived in a dorm room, and I have travelled professionally and I researched a lot of other people’s TikToks to come up what I think is a pretty good Bingo card.
She joked that she would be shocked if someone didn’t get impulsively married at some point.
“Whether they came on as a couple or they met their significant other on the boat, like there’s gonna [sic] be some wedding in Paris where they’re like ‘yolo let’s just get married’.
“[And] I cannot wait for it, it’s going to be amazing. In that vein, I will be shocked if someone didn’t accidentally get knocked up or they’re pregnant right now and don’t know it and were gonna have a little cruise ship baby.”
Others also chimed in the comments section agreeing with Kara.
“There will be at LEAST two long term (or married) couples who split up,” one person wrote, while another joked: “We need a Google Doc of all people who leave early and why.”
Younger people on cruises
Judging by all the TikToks from the passengers on board the UWC, there appears to be a lot of younger people, which is no surprise.
Gavin Smith, vice president and managing director, Royal Caribbean AUNZ, said globally, they’re seeing a growing trend of younger guests taking to the seas.
“Our Caribbean and European cruises are attracting younger Australian guests, with short Caribbean sailings proving immensely popular, including our new Oasis Class ship Utopia of the Seas which launches in July,” he said.
The cruising industry has seen a massive shift over the years with a spike in younger travellers hopping on board, with almost one third of Aussie cruise passengers aged under 40, and almost a quarter aged under 30.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) managing director in Australasia, Joel Katz, said those aged in their 20s currently make up about 8 per cent of cruise guests.
“And we can expect this to increase in coming years as this generation begins to travel more.”
“Younger travellers are showing the strongest interest in cruising in the future.
“CLIA’s consumer research shows that of people who have cruised previously, Millennials are the most likely cruise again with 88 per cent saying they will cruise again, followed by Gen-Xers, 86 per cent.”
Mr Katz said cruising offers a lot of value when compared to many other forms of travel.
“A fare will include all accommodation, all meals, a huge variety of on-board activities and entertainment, and travel among multiple destinations.”
“It’s a very social form of travel and allows groups of friends or families to travel together easily, and the variety of different cruise lines and cruise styles means there are options to suit different tastes.”
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean is launching Icon of the Seas in January and it’s predicted to be “epic”.
It’s the world’s largest cruise ship and it’s been labelled a “monstrosity” — the multi-coloured ship looks like a Barbie dreamhouse on steroids with Mr Smith telling news.com.au young Aussies are already snapping up cabins.
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