Ultimate World Cruise sails on despite conflict in the Red Sea and passenger criticism
Royal Caribbean’s nine-month-long, round-the-world cruise has no plans to end early, despite facing criticism from passengers and difficulties following its planned route through the Middle East.
The Ultimate World Cruise set sail on Dec. 10 and is scheduled for four blocks of travel through the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and Mediterranean, and Europe. The cruise is planned to last a total of 274 nights and to cover more than 60 countries before ending in Miami on Sept. 10.
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But content creator Adita, who is currently on board the cruise, posted a TikTok Tuesday sharing her suspicions that the cruise may end early given its planned course through the Red Sea. The region is currently experiencing several escalating conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war and strikes exchanged between the U.S. military and the Yemen-based Houthis.
Will the Ultimate World Cruise end early?
The conflict in the Middle East has already caused at least one cruise ship to change its itinerary. According to Travel Weekly, Royal Caribbean-owned cruise line Silversea recently redirected one of its ships and wrapped its trip early in order to avoid passing through potentially dangerous waters.
However, Royal Caribbean released a statement to People Wednesday that denied rumors of the cruise’s cancellation and affirmed the company’s intention to have the long journey continue as planned.
“The Ultimate World Cruise has given guests the opportunity to see the world in a unique way, and we have loved watching their reactions to this incredible experience,” the statement says. “This adventure will complete its first segment in February, and we can’t wait to kick off the next part of the journey shortly after and begin exploring Asia.”
What have passengers said about the Ultimate World Cruise?
The Ultimate World Cruise has garnered other types of negative attention on social media over the past two weeks, stemming, in part, from TikTok creator Marc Sebastian’s posts about the ship. He has been on the cruise since Jan. 5 and has been sharing his (often negative) critiques of the journey to millions of viewers.
Sebastian’s trip was sponsored by publishing group Atria Books, and he has clarified that he has not received anything directly from Royal Caribbean. Although Sebastian has shared that he has enjoyed the day excursions, his videos detail his frustration with schedule mishaps, cancelled excursions and the perceived loud volume of activities on board.
Other passengers have shared more positive reviews of the trip thus far, including TikTok creator Brandee Lake, who is scheduled to remain on board for the duration of the cruise. In her videos, Lake has praised the ship’s captain and the cruise’s activities.
