Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise has set sail! From day-in-the-life videos to cabin tours, we are able to get a glimpse into what this one-of-a-kind voyage is like thanks to social media.
For the next nine months, passengers are going to live onboard Serenade of the Seas and visit more than 150 destinations in 65 countries. They will be able to cross off 11 Great Wonders of the World including the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Great Barrier Reef, and Peta archaeological site in Jordan.
With a capacity for 2,476 guests and a gross registered tonnage of 90,090, Serenade of the Seas is a relatively small cruise ship compared to today's mega-ships like Icon of the Seas and MSC World Europa. That, however, allows the vessel to visit places that cannot accommodate larger ships.
Would you be able to live in a cruise ship cabin for over 270 days? While it might seem doable in a large suite, there are people onboard staying in rooms without any balconies, some even without windows!
Here's how some people are choosing to decorate and organize their home away from home during Royal Caribbean's Ultimate World Cruise.
Andrew & Ale Kenney (@aa.kenney)
Andrew and Ale Kenney are a young married couple who love to travel the world and document their adventures via social media. They posted a tour of their ocean view room on TikTok, which has since received over 2.2 million views.
She shows the small couch provided by Royal Caribbean that they spruced up with a throw blanket from home, as well as some magnetic decor hung above, including her Disney annual pass! In the corner behind the coffee table, there's a laundry hamper and Andrew's golf putter, so he does not have to sacrifice one of his favorite pastimes while abroad.
"Our bathroom is really tiny," Ale says, "but we make it work!" To make the most out of their limited space, they added some storage to the ensuite bathroom, such as a magnetic shelf from Amazon. Underneath the sink, they drammed makeup and other toiletries and medications.
Both brought pictures from home to hang on the walls beside their bed since they will be away from family for so long; however, perhaps the most unique feature of their room is the mattress pad that they asked for. They used it to sit in the window's cubby to look outside. They're able to be comfortable while sailing into port and overlooking the ship's helipad!
Brooklyn Schwetje (@brooklynschwetje)
Brooklyn Schwetje is traveling on the Ultimate World Cruise with her sister and parents. She graduated from the University of Alabama in May 2023 with two degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Sciences, Hospitality Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Information Sciences, Public Relations. While onboard the cruise, she'll be continuing her studies at the University of Alabama to earn her Master of Science in Hospitality Management.
After unpacking, she begins the brief tour outside of her cabin, showing off all the magnets chosen to add personality to the outside of the cabin. Inside, the sisters decorated their inside stateroom with blankets representative of their universities, a banner that reads, "Let's Go Party," a small rug in between their beds, and stuffed animals!
A subsequent TikTok reveals everything that they brought to help them organize their stateroom, including their own hangers, clips for shorts and pants, magnetic clips to hang papers and other important documents on the walls, laundry hampers, collapsible bins for underneath the nightstands and shelves in the closet, hanging organizers, and shoe holders.
Brooklyn noted that Royal Caribbean added special outlets for the World Cruise beside the bed, as older ships tend to have limited charging options. Even with the extra plugs, however, they still decided to bring a European power adapter, so they could take advantage of every outlet possible.
"These magnetic shelves from Amazon work perfectly to hold all of your little things in the bathroom," she says. In addition, they also brought a small cart to help them store nine months of toiletries, as well as suction cups on the mirrors to help store things like razors.
Finally, she mentions how it is important to bring a collapsible bucket for waterproof cameras to rinse the saltwater out.
Adita (@aditaml2759)
Adita and her husband are Pinnacle Club members within Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society, meaning that they have reached the highest tier! She began their stateroom like Brooklyn with a glimpse of the cabin door and their decor, which included a pineapple.
People in the comments began speculating whether she and her husband might be swingers, so she took to TikTok to clear up any rumors in a later video stating, "Sorry to disappoint you, but we are not swingers...We do like pineapples! Here's my pineapple ring; here's my pineapple necklace and earrings."
At first glance, there's nothing too special about their Ultra Spacious Ocean View stateroom. There's a main bedroom area with a small sitting area, closet, and built-in shelves for storage. When she pans to the sitting area, however, Adita reveals that they brought a piece of cardboard to use as a desk.
Typically, there's a second bedroom area in Ultra Spacious staterooms; however, since they're traveling alone, they decided to utilize this area differently and converted it into a walk-in closet. They moved the mattresses and brought a clothing rack from home that they were able to assemble onboard.
All of her jewelry is organized in hanging shelves that are attached to magnetic hooks on the wall, rather than actual jewelry boxes, which would just take up space on the vanity and in the drawers.
She, too, loves the magnetic shelves that she brought, and they seem to have been a must-have for a lot of world cruisers! Not only are they cheap, but they're able to adhere to the cabin's walls with minimal effort. Adita put them both by the vanity and in the bathroom to increase storage.
Read more: Top 25 cruise cabin hacks to improve your stateroom's functionality
Joe (@spendingourkidsmoney)
Joe and his wife splurged on a cabin with a balcony, so they can enjoy the breathtaking scenery from their personal verandah as they sail throughout Asia, Europe, and beyond.
He showed their closet, which was packed with clothes and more shoes than he thought he even owned! The bathroom was standard, with a hanging toiletry organizer above the toilet. Additional shelving can be seen in the corner of their stateroom across from the bed. However, he doesn't state where he purchased it.
The couch has a tartan cover, which makes the cabin feel more homey. His wife brought a pillow from home, too.
"This is...our home away from home for the next nine months as we spend your inheritance," he jokes at the end of the one-minute and seven-second TikTok, "So, sorry you can't come visit us!"
Little Rat Brain (@little_rat_brain)
Like Brooklyn, TikTok user Little Rat Brain is staying in an interior room. She, however, decided to configure the furniture a little differently. Rather than place the twin beds next to each other, one is facing the entrance of the stateroom, while the other is on the opposite wall facing the rear of the cabin.
"We're gonna be in this cabin for nine months, so, obviously, we had to spruce it up, so we weren't looking at the plain walls the entire time," she says at the beginning of the one-minute and nine-second video. To do this, she began creating a wall with custom mail art from each of the ports.
She also purchased two faux greenery pieces from Ikea ahead of time and created custom murals on tapestries to commemorate the world cruise and act like wallpaper. On one wall, there are empty magnetic shelves that she anticipates filling with souvenirs throughout the voyage. Additionally, she brought fabric to cover the sofa to make it seem like it wasn't a basic piece of cruise furniture.
Julieta Martino (@julietamartino)
Julieta Martino is not a passenger on the Ultimate World Cruise. Rather, she is one of the many crew members contracted to travel the world with guests and help make their voyage as memorable as possible. Her living quarters are a tad bit different than even the smallest interior room for paying guests. For instance, she shares her stateroom with another crew member, who resides on the top bunk.
Overall, it's a standard crew cabin. In her TikTok, she describes ways in which she makes the most out of her limited space, including placing magnets and floating shelves on the wall to reduce clutter and purchasing shoe racks from Target to keep footwear organized.
Of course, since she will be away from home for a while, there are family mementos placed throughout. She mentions that previous crew members left clear bins behind, so she's able to use them to store some of her things, too.
In the bathroom, there's a brand-new shower curtain, as well as new hooks on the back of the door to hang towels. She and her roommate also decided to change the shower head.
Read more: Cruise ship crew quarters: what are the areas onboard a cruise ship like for crew only?
Where will Royal Caribbean's Ultimate Cruise sail to?
Serenade of the Seas departed from Miami, Florida on December 10, 2023 to begin a 274-night voyage sailing around the world. From now through September 10, 2024, the ship will sail to all seven continents. With it being such a long cruise, not all passengers are onboard for the entire voyage. Some set sail on December 10 for a single segment or two, whereas others won't join until later in the cruise.
The four different segments include the Ultimate Americas Cruise, Ultimate Asia Pacific Cruise, Ultimate Middle East and Med Cruise, and the Ultimate Europe and Beyond Cruise, each of which lasts a minimum of 60 nights and visits at least 36 different destinations.
The Ultimate World Cruise will sail to ports of call including Subic Bay, Philippines; Jeju Island, South Korea; and Colombo, Sri Lanka; Athens, Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; Venice, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Visby, Sweden; Kristiansand, Norway; Nuuk, Greenland; and, of course, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Embarking on the entire voyage is not for those who are trying to pinch pennies. An interior room for all 274 nights set individuals back at least $58,666. Ocean view staterooms started at $64,999 per person, while balconies started at $82,949. Note that these prices don't include taxes and fees. If you opted to book a balcony, you would have paid over $100,000 by the time all was said and done!
With that, though, you get a more inclusive experience than you would on a standard cruise:
- Round trip business class airfare
- Premium transportation between the airport, hotel, and ship
- Pre-cruise hotel stay and gala
- Included shore excursions to the seven New World Wonders for Crown & Anchor Platinum members and above
- Deluxe Beverage Package for the entire voyage
- Wash and fold laundry service
- Gratuities for the entire voyage
- Voom internet for the entire voyage
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
