A TikToker has shared how he was left less than impressed on a world cruise.
Influencer Marc Sebastian had begged to be sent on the nine-month voyage operated by Royal Caribbean.
The cruise is the Ultimate World Cruise ‘never-before-offered’ by Royal Caribbean and it took off for its 274-night journey around the globe on December 10, 2023 and is set to return on September 10, 2024.
It has been drawing a lot of attention online, with people being obsessed with what is happening on board the ship.
Eventually, the TikToker’s wish was granted when Atria Books offered to send him on the cruise, though for 18 nights rather than the full nine-month marathon.
But after starting his trip at the weekend, it seems that 18 nights is already proving more than enough for Marc, who has posted updates saying bluntly: “I hate it here.”
He captioned a video touring his room by writing: “For 18 nights? fine. But for 9 months? No can do babe.”
In the clip, he explained that the room cost a whopping $8,500 for 18 nights on the leg covering South America and Antarctica.
Marc also noted the shower was ‘super small’ and ‘the water only comes in three temperatures – which is freezing, scolding hot, or third-degree burns’.
But it was the alleged repeated cancellations of excursions which began to get to him, not to mention other the passengers.
One video documented a 5.30am start for an excursion to see penguins on the Falkland Islands.
He described forming alliances with other passengers to make sure they could get onto a tender to see the penguins.
For those who don’t know, a tender is a small boat which passengers use to get to the dock so the main ship doesn’t have to dock, like on Pirates of the Caribbean where they get into the small rowing boat to go ashore.
He said: “I need to go see the penguins. There were a bunch of schedule mishaps. Excursions got canceled. I need to see the king penguins!”
@marcsebastianf for 18 nights? fine. But for 9 months? No can do babe #ultimateworldcruise #marcreadsabook #worldcruise #serenadeoftheseas #royalcaribbean #cruisetok #cruise #9monthcruise ♬ original sound – Marc Sebastian
But things soon got tense as more people began turning up for the trip, with arguments apparently ensuing over who would get to board.
At one point, Marc claimed he bluntly told another passenger: “Alright we’re not going to have anyone yelling. It’s not our fault you didn’t get here early enough.”
Despite the tension and the drama, an announcement soon put paid to everyone’s hopes, as the weather was too rough.
He said: “After all that, we are not even going to the Falkland Islands because it’s too rough outside. I hate it here.”
People took to the comments to share their thoughts on the video.
One said: “Maybe the real tender was the friends we made along the way.”
A second asked why there didn’t seem to be a system for deciding who could go on the trip, writing: “There’s not like a ticket system? Y’know those things that you pull at like a dmv or something?”
A third was thoroughly unimpressed with the whole ordeal, replying: “Honestly with how much plans change for what you pay, I don’t ever wanna go on a cruise tbh.”
While someone else commented: “This is the best anti-ad for a cruise I’ve ever seen.”
Marc has also shared more positive experiences of the cruise on his TikTok.
UNILAD has reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment.
Mom who fell off Royal Caribbean cruise ship confirmed dead by her family
A mom who fell from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has been confirmed dead.
Reeta Sahani, 64, had been traveling with her husband, Jakesh Sahani, 70, from Malaysia to Singapore when she went missing on Monday (31 July).
Tragically, Reeta’s family confirmed the news on Tuesday (1 August) which would have been her birthday.
It’s unclear what caused Reeta to fall from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
According to the Straits Times, her husband, Jakesh, grew concerned after the woman vanished from their cabin onboard the Spectrum of the Seas in the middle of the night.
The ship’s overboard detection system recorded something going overboard and and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was notified about 7:50 am local time. A search was then launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
At the time, the organisation gave a statement which read: “MRCC Singapore is coordinating the search and immediately issued navigational safety broadcast to vessels in the Singapore Strait and vessels in port to keep a lookout for the missing person and report any sightings to MRCC Singapore.”
Sadly though, Reeta’s family confirmed that she had tragically died less than 24 hours later.
It was after the family was shown surveillance footage, which confirmed that Sahani had fallen from the ship.
Shortly after this, her son Apoorv Sahani shared a tragic update on Twitter.
The 39-year-old wrote: “The cruise liner finally did share the footage with us and a search is also underway. With the footage we have unfortunately learnt that my mother has passed away.”
He added: “Would request you guys to give us some privacy as we mourn her loss. Ironically, today is also her birthday.”
Apoorv did not reveal what footage had been shown, but he had tweeted earlier that ‘cruise staff are saying she jumped’.
In an interview with the Straits Times, Apoorv spoke about the family’s concern for his mother as she could not swim and their desperate search for her.
“Eventually my father was told to get down from the ship because there was another cruise that was going to take place, but we think she may still be on the ship, stuck somewhere,” he told the publication, adding: “She was on a holiday enjoying herself and then this whole thing happened. It doesn’t make sense.”
Before Apoorv announced the death, Royal Caribbean gave a statement to The Post, detailing the search.
It read: “The ship and crew immediately reported the incident to local authorities and launched a search and rescue operation.
“The shipboard team is working with local authorities, and our Care team is now offering assistance and support to the family.”
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