When Royal Caribbean’s “ Ultimate World Cruise ” sailed out of Miami and into social media virality in December, it promised an unforgettable nine months: For passengers, a once-in-a-lifetime journey to all seven continents. And for viewers, a 360-degree stream of on-board drama, as told from the perspective of a rotating cast of characters (since people could join at any point for one or more segments of the trip ). Many of the roughly 650 full-timers on board started posting videos to TikTok and Instagram, filming their routines at sea and explorations on shore.
And a handful of existing content creators — firmly rooted on land, from New York to California — studied and synthesized those videos to report on the cruise in real time. They recapped the week’s events, introduced new characters, chased down rumors using their onboard contacts and speculated about what kinds of spectacles lay ahead. One even made a bingo card, with squares ranging from an early departure to a pirate takeover.
The potential for drama was so high, and the content so ubiquitous, that fans began referring to the cruise as a “TikTok reality show,” even as some worried that online hype would warp or otherwise worsen passengers’ real lives. Last week — after 274 nights, more than 60 countries and many millions of social media views — the cruise came to an end. Which means it’s finally time to ask: How did it live up to the hype? “This absolutely should have been a reality TV sh.