It only took two weeks into a nine-month global cruise for it to go viral on TikTok.
The Ultimate World Cruise, a 274-night voyage aboard the Serenade of the Seas by Royal Caribbean Cruises, departed from Miami on Dec. 10. The cruise, which promises passengers travel to more than 60 countries and almost a dozen world wonders during its course, was intended to give those aboard the opportunity to spend the months “bonding with like-minded explorers over global discoveries across all seven continents,” according to Royal Caribbean’s website.
Shortly after its departure, many aboard the Serenade of the Seas began documenting their time on the ship. Some showed off cabins in the style of the MTV show “Cribs” while others opted to give tours of the entire ship. One couple made videos onboard joking about how they spent their children’s inheritances on the price of the cruise.
As people began to share their experiences on board, those on dry land were already reveling in the reality show that they believed would soon unfold on the Serenade of the Seas. On TikTok, the #UltimateWorldCruise tag has more than 54.8 million views as users obsess over what they speculate will turn into seaside drama.
One person began tracking all the content creators on board so that others could easily follow along. Another offered advice to those on the ship on how to stay safe and healthy.
“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.
“There’s going to be mutiny,” said one TikTok user. “There’s going to be blood. Someone is going overboard. I want to watch. Bravo, where are you? I need eyes,” the person said. “We’re witnessing Fyre Festival, Alabama Rush and no one is rushing there.”
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.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruises did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment regarding the rumors, as well as the virality of the cruise itself.
Although no major drama has unfolded aboard the ship, those following along on social media appear eager for reality TV-style turmoil to unfold.
Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media at the University of Alabama where Bama Rush takes place each year, said she knows first-hand how morally gray it can be to wish drama onto the lives of real people.
“For the world cruise TikTok, I think it’s OK to think of the content we consume on TikTok as reality television,” she said. “But I think it’s important to remember these are real people, and that even reality television is scripted and coerced and is forced drama.”
Here’s everything we know.
Where is the cruise going and how much did it cost?
There are four legs of the cruise. The first traverses North America and South America over 67 nights and includes stops in Brazil, the Caribbean and Antarctica.
The next leg of the cruise heads to the Pacific, stopping at 87 destinations in 87 nights. These stops include New Zealand, Japan, Australia, China and India, among other countries.
The penultimate leg of the trip heads to the Mediterranean and Middle East destinations over the course of another 67 days. The stops include Egypt, Greece, Italy and Turkey.
Finally, the last leg sees passengers touring Europe, with stops in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway over the final 63 nights.
Some said they cannot fathom what being on the cruise, traveling to that many locations while eating and drinking the days away, would do to a person physically.
“Imagine eating unlimited cruise food for nine months, like what that’s going to do to your body. I just worry people aren’t going to pace themselves and it’s going to be really hard on their bodies. They’re vacationing for nine months. Like, you can’t vacation for nine months! You need to have balance,” one TikToker said in a video about concerns for the passengers aboard the ship.
But travelers were not required to book the entire nine-month duration of the cruise. Instead, they were able to purchase either a nine- to 28-night duration aboard the ship or one of the four segments of the trip, rather than booking the entire trip, Royal Caribbean’s website states.
Those who chose the full trip, prices started at $53,999, according to the Royal Caribbean website.
What’s really happening onboard?
The passengers on the Serenade of the Seas so far seem to be enjoying the cruise, according to several who spoke to “TODAY.”
Sisters Brandee and Shannon Lake, who are Black, said they’re sharing a cabin and said that quarantining together during the pandemic prepared them to live in close quarters on the ship for nine months.
Brandee Lake, 46, said the staff and passengers have been “so friendly, so kind, so much energy,” quashing some of the online chatter that there’s tension among different travelers.
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.
“If I get asked if I work on this ship one more time,” she said in the video. “After I said I was not working, then I was asked if I was independently wealthy — like, basically, how did you afford this?
But she told “TODAY” that after she posted her TikTok, the cruise’s hotel manager made it a point to greet her during dinner. She and Shannon Lake, 42, said that nothing has happened yet on the ship that would be worthy of reality TV.
Brandee Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment made by NBC News.
Other passengers told “TODAY” they were on the cruise to celebrate wedding anniversaries. One traveler, Angie Linderman, said she took the trip because she is at a higher risk for developing cancer in her lifetime and wanted to check off bucket list items while she is healthy.
“Retirement age is not a guarantee. 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.
So is there drama and why is social media obsessed?
Well, not really.
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. This doesn’t appear to be out of the norm for a cruise, Maddox said.
But there have been some suggestions that people of different backgrounds might be experiencing different treatment on the ship.
One person claimed that American and non-American guests were being treated differently on board the ship.
Beyond that, those documenting their time on the ship have yet to report any reality TV-worthy drama for TikTok to consume. The posts from those on land have mostly consisted of documenting who is aboard the ship, creating “bingo cards” for events on the ship, and cheering on drama.
“I don’t love the idea of people dubbing themselves ‘gossip director’ or ‘content curator,’ which I’ve seen to describe, like, talking about viral trends and events on the ship,” Maddox said. “These are real people with real lives on the other side of the screen.”
Like Maddox, many likened the cruise to the viral BamaRushTok — the time of year when sororities recruit new members at The University of Alabama, which is often shared by potential recruits on TikTok. Maddox, who has taught some of the women who became stars of the Bama Rush phenomenon, said she’s seen first-hand how real people being treated like figures on reality TV can be damaging and stressful.
“There’s definitely this fascination that’s baked into TikTok that we see exacerbated in things like Bama Rush and the world cruise of ‘I could never live this life, so I’m now going to live vicariously through these people,’” Maddox said.
Maddox said it makes sense that people are trying to use the language of reality TV to understand what they see on TikTok, where “storytime” posts and drama are often posted episodically. Still, she urged viewers to remember that where reality TV is often scripted and planned behind the scenes, those on the Ultimate World Cruise are real people living their real lives.
“It’s an ethical issue to hope and wish drama upon people who are just trying to do this fun thing with their lives and decided to share it with us,” Maddox said. “So I hope everybody, including the people who are enjoying watching this content, take a pause and remember that ethical social media use applies to them too.”
