Divorce, death, arrests, medical emergencies, mean girls, and pregnancy have all rippled through the Ultimate World Cruise, according to one TikToker.
Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise onboard Serenade of the Seas continues to be a hot topic on social media over the last 7 months. The 9-month expedition set sail from Florida in December 2023 and has been traversing around the globe ever since. The voyage is more than halfway complete, slotted to conclude in September 2024.
The latest viral video from the Ultimate World Cruise comes from Abby Cooper (@the.coopercrew) on TikTok. Cooper just returned from sailing on a segment of the Ultimate World Cruise from Rome to Barcelona. Although she has not been sailing for the entirety of the world cruise, Cooper’s mom and aunt are onboard for the full voyage.
Cooper shares some of the most interesting information she learned while sailing on the world cruise.
“Back home and ready to spill the tea,” she captioned her TikTok. The video, which has over 2 million views on TikTok, was posted earlier this week. More than 1,000 viewers have commented on the TikTok, along with 270k likes and 13k shares.
“Since I am off the Ultimate World Cruise, there’s one more secret I have to share with you,” starts the video.
Cooper continues, “There have been FOUR DIVORCES and TWO DEATHS.”
In a follow-up video, Cooper shares more details about her time onboard the Ultimate World Cruise. More importantly, the TikToker is unveiling some of the most interesting stories she heard while visiting her mom and aunt.
First, Cooper shares she was onboard Serenade of the Seas for a 9-night itinerary, which was sold as an individual segment of the Ultimate World Cruise.
“I was only on for 10 days because they did not sell out the cruise for all of the cabins to be full for 9 months,” explains Cooper. She claims about 800 people started the voyage with the intent to sail the full 9 months. “I think they’re down to about 750 [guests],” she shares.
For clarification, Cooper says she booked this segment of the Ultimate World Cruise to visit her mom and aunt, whom she hasn’t seen in 7 months.
“I got lots of information from lots of different sources, and not just from my mother and not just my aunt. I met lots of world cruisers. But, while I was there, there were more people on the ship that were not world cruisers,” Cooper shares.
Divorce
First, Cooper shares what she learned about couples divorcing on the world cruise. During her time onboard Serenade of the Seas, Cooper says she learned that four separate couples have divorced during the world cruise.
“Four separate couples got on [the ship] together, and one of them has now gone home. I don’t know if it was a male or female… I don’t know,” shares Cooper in her follow-up TikTok.
Moreover, she says there has been a similar situation on the ship with best friends who boarded the world cruise together. “They got on together, now only one of them remains,” explains Cooper.
Perhaps unsurprising, the 9-month cruise put some marriages to the test. Sharing a small cabin for months, along with traveling constantly together, has been too much for some couples.
As anticipated, the comment section is flooded with remarks regarding divorce on the world cruise.
“This is huge. Divorce on the world cruise WAS, in fact, on my 2024 bingo card,” reads the top comment on Cooper’s TikTok. Receiving 47k likes and 24 responses, many agree that they anticipated some marriages would not survive the world cruise.
“This. This is the tea we were waiting for. We want the good stuff, not cocktail hour coverage,” proclaims one viewer.
Another viewer commented, “Wait, do the divorces still have to continue sharing a room?” In which Cooper responded, “One person went home from each couple. Voted off the island!”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of divorces. That’s hilarious,” writes one viewer. In response, one commenter explains, “Honestly, can you imagine being stuck on a boat with your soon-to-be ex-spouse?”
Deaths
Along with divorce, Cooper continues to share in her TikTok how two individuals have allegedly died during the world cruise.
“There have been two deaths, neither of which are under suspicious circumstances,” says Cooper. In this way, she explains how the world cruisers skew towards older demographics.
Cooper states, “It’s normal for cruisers to be of an older age group, which means they are more likely to kick the bucket.”
Back in February, Royal Caribbean confirmed that one passenger had passed away during the world cruise. Cruisers on social media confirmed the death, with many reporting that the passenger who passed was an elderly woman. However, Royal Caribbean has not announced any further deaths.
Many of the commenters were actually surprised that the death count was not higher considering the duration of the voyage. “Two [deaths] seems remarkably low,” states one of the top comments. A flood of comments agreed, stating how death is not uncommon even on shorter voyages.
“I was on a 4-day cruise and someone died,” writes one commenter. “I went on a 12-day cruise several years ago and two people passed. There were two hearses waiting when we disembarked,” responded another viewer.
Pregnancy
In the viral TikTok, Cooper continues to share the information she learned about while sailing onboard the Ultimate World Cruise. In addition to death and divorce, she claims one passenger got pregnant and had to leave the voyage.
“There was someone that got pregnant, like right away or maybe even before they got on the cruise. They were kicked off at 5 months because they do not provide prenatal care on the ship,” states Cooper.
All cruise ships have rules regarding pregnancy, with Royal Caribbean having restrictions for pregnant women in place. The website states that Royal Caribbean does not accept guests who are more than 23 weeks pregnant. This is because there is limited medical availability onboard. Royal Caribbean warns pregnant guests that ships do not have OBGYN doctors available; as such, any unstable or poorly controlled pregnancies are potentially life-threatening.
“That baby has now been born,” concludes Cooper.
Some of the commenters were confused about how the pregnant passenger received any prenatal care while cruising. “They’d have no prenatal care for 4 months,” questions one viewer.
Arrest
As if pregnancy, death, and divorce weren’t interesting enough, Cooper drops another bomb: One guest was also arrested during the 9-month world cruise.
“There has been someone that was arrested. He was arrested in India in customs,” says Cooper. Although Cooper does not have many details about the arrest in her video, she claims the passenger was allowed back onboard.
She shares, “They did not hold him in India. They just sent him back to the ship.”
While the passenger was arrested by customs in India, Cooper says she learned that the man was allowed to continue cruising. “The ship has allowed him to stay and continue his journey,” she says.
One user commented, “Was this Serenade of the Seas? If so, we just got off July 11th and there was definitely some drama!!”
“…I want to know why he was arrested?” commented one viewer on the video.
In response, one person commented with more information allegedly regarding the arrest. “Love the tea, thank you! The individual in India was arrested for having a satellite phone, which are outlawed without prior government authorization,” wrote one person in the comment section.
Medical Emergencies
Perhaps the most unsurprising information shared in the video was regarding medical emergencies. With thousands of people onboard a cruise ship, it’s not uncommon to have medical emergencies while sailing. The Ultimate World Cruise has been no exception to this!
According to Cooper, “There have been a couple of different medical emergencies. At one point, they called for everyone that was a certain blood type to come down and donate blood.”
The blood was apparently needed for one passenger who was having internal bleeding issues and was hemorrhaging. “They needed blood and they were in the middle of nowhere,” continues Cooper in the viral video.
Because medical emergencies can happen while cruising, all cruise ships are equipped with a medical center, along with doctors and nurses for urgent care. Cruise ships are actually very prepared for a multitude of medical emergencies. Those that cannot be handled onboard the ship are evacuated, sometimes by helicopter.
One viewer commented, “Internally bleeding on a world cruise is so crazy and unfortunate, [for real].”
Drama and “Mean Girls”
At the conclusion of her TikTok, Cooper shares how there is plenty of drama onboard the Ultimate World Cruise. In particular, there are “mean girls” on the world cruise, claims Cooper.
“There are mean girls. People will put on a front online and act like they’re all nice, and they’re not necessarily,” claims Cooper in her video. The comment section was flooded with speculation regarding who Cooper might be referring to in the TikTok.
One person commented, “Need more details on the mean girls!” In response, another said, “Mean girls?! And cliques? I am so nosey, please spill!” However, Cooper never specifies in the video or in the comment section who she was referring to with these remarks.
Finally, Cooper explains how the world cruise apparently has a Facebook group that most of the cruisers are active on. She explains the group is more like a “Reddit thread” where everyone complains about “this, that, and the other.”
In the video, Cooper shares, “I saw a post that someone was complaining about the windows not being clean enough in the dining room… There was too much saltwater on the window apparently.”
Fear not, Cooper remarks at the end of her viral TikTok that she, indeed, had a great time on her Ultimate World Cruise segment. She claims she liked around 90% of the people she interacted with during her cruise.
Most importantly, Cooper was able to see her mom for the first time in 7 months, and this was the highlight for her. “The cruise isn’t done until September, and that covers most of what I know,” concludes Cooper.
