Topics: Life, Travel, World News, Cruise ship
Avid cruisers who embarked Royal Caribbean International's nine-month long cruise have shared what the experience was like.
Dubbed ‘The Ultimate World Cruise’, passengers set sail in December 2023 and people on board were quick to start documenting their travels on social media.
Angie Linderman was one person on board the Serenade of the Seas ship and she took to TikTok to reveal the reality of what it was like living on a cruise ship for so long.
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People online shared both the good and the bad things they experienced - including the flooding that ravaged parts of the ship at the beginning of the year.
But after months at sea, those on The Ultimate World Cruise have ended their travels, with the lengthly journey drawing to a close on September 10.
With this in mind, travellers are now reflecting on the amazing experience and issued some well-needed advice to anyone else hoping to do the same thing.
Audrey and Joe Martucci were just two of the hundreds of people on the cruise and, despite being veteran cruisers, Joe admitted that 'nothing can prepare you for nine months'.
Before setting sail, the couple sold their car and had their nephew move into their Florida home to mind the property while they were gone.
One thing many people will wonder is the food situation on the ship and what it's like - something which Joe has lifted the lid on.
"It's just like at home, you open your refrigerator and go, ‘That's all we have,’ and you decide to go out instead of eating (at home)," he told USA Today.
While they got understandably a bit bored of what on offer sometimes, Joe added that the culinary team on Serenade of the Seas 'upped their game' for the nine-month cruise.
Elsewhere Audrey said that they and many others came to love sea days as it meant they could get some rest.
The European leg of the trip was particularly action-packed and port-heavy, but Audrey didn't realize that it was an option to stay on the ship and not go on an excursion.
She admitted that this was 'a huge revelation' for her.
Meanwhile, fellow passenger Adita Larson revealed her favorite moment on the trip was in Antarctica.
She told the news outlet: "You can't video and you can’t photograph how beautiful it is to stand in front of those icebergs and see them right in front of your eyes so close."
Brandee Lake was on board the mammoth cruise too and she gave some very important advice about packing after taking three suitcases with her.
"I pared it down, and it's still just too much,” she revealed. "It's kind of like your own closet: you really only wear about 10 percent to 20 percent of it."
In particular, Brandee said she felt she'd taken too many shoes with her and rarely wore the accessories she packed.
She went on to speak about the neighborly vibe that there is on the ship and hailed it as being 'just like any other community'.
