Sea ya later!
Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise that quickly went viral is finally coming back to port after what was the adventure of a lifetime for some 650-some travelers who paid between $59,999 to $117,599.
“Nothing can prepare you for nine months,” Joe Martucci, 67, told USA Today of the grand voyage to 60 countries that hopped across South America, Antarctica, China, Madagascar and many more far-flung destinations. The extended excursion was set to end on Tuesday.
“It’s always been a dream of my family to travel the world,” 26-year-old South African cruise passenger Amike Oosthuizen previously told The Sun.
Even dreams can be tiring, though. Houston voyager Adita Larson described the time at sea as “exhausting.”
Other travelers, like 47-year-old Brandee Lake, said there weren’t too many lulls in the water. She described the three-quarters of a year as rapidly moving.
“It’s a blur,” Lake told USA Today. “We don’t know where we were yesterday; we don’t know where we’re going tomorrow.”
Packing-wise, she even said her three large suitcases plus carryons were too much.
“I pared it down, and it’s still just too much,” Lake said. “It’s kind of like your own closet: you really only wear about 10% to 20% of it.”
Martiucci added that it quickly felt like home as well, and he could even do major tasks like buying a car remotely for use afterward.
“We’ve been able to function,” he said.
The cruise, which departed Miami last December, became a major hit on TikTok as couples like Joe and Audrey Martiucci documented their day-to-day life on board. The couple became a worldwide sensation under their account Spendingourkidsmoney.
“We had people messaging us to say, ‘Thank you so much for taking me along on this journey,’” Audrey told CNN, recalling that fans greeted them during a stop in Halifax, Canada.
Even those who kept up with the happenings from dry land amassed their own TikTok following, like Beth Anne Fletcher of the United Kingdom.
“If you’re interested in travel and you’re also interested in psychology and people, what more could you want?” she told CNN, mentioning that folks on the cruise went out of their way to meet her while in Southampton, England.
@livingmy_bethlife The FINAL DAY of the Nine Month Ultimate World Cruise is HERE!! I’m not ok and yes I did cry my eyes out making this recap for you. But I just want to say Thank you so much to all of you who have followed along, to the new friends that I have made and for the most incredible experience a girl could ever have on social media. NOW WHAT??? Also forgive me if I haven’t tagged everyone 🫣#ultimateworldcruise #ninemonthcruise #cruisetok #royalcaribbean #shiphappens @Royal Caribbean @brooklyntravelstheworld @madisonworldtraveler @Anthony Antoine @Cruisemum&dad @Brandee Lake @Shannon Marie @Bobbi @Angie @Little Rat Brain @Andrew & Ale Kenney @Singing Sailor @Gigi @PMSN @Traveltheworld.withus @the.ultimate.world.cruiser @drjennytravels @✨ND✨ @FrugalVagabond @Adita @PoutineMeetsSushi @Renee @amikeoosthuizen @atseawithashleigh @Marc Sebastian @Christian Hull @Chrissy50andcranky @Nadine Bower @Lindsay @Lauren
“It was such a surreal day because we have been talking about these people for this long, and then to actually spend time with them, it was like being with old friends,” Fletcher said.
Lake agreed that making friends was a bit of a natural process, too. “I mean, obviously, it’s just like any other community,” she said.
“You have the people that you are really close to, some of them are acquaintances, maybe some that are not your people, but nothing wrong. It’s just, you have your group that you naturally gel with.”
Even if things weren’t so hunky-dory and people wanted alone time, “there’s lots of spaces on the ship that you can go and hide,” Audrey Martucci told CNN. Plus, a person’s cabin always got the job done.
The trial cruise — which endured some hardships and hijinks from Hurricane Beryl, a passenger death, rumors of swinging couples and rerouting due to military fighting in the Red Sea — was enough of a hit for Royal Caribbean to announce a new journey, according to RoyalCarribeanBlog.org.
Not only that, but they are preparing for a reunion cruise next summer in Alaska on the same vessel from the global voyage, the Serenade of the Seas.
