'Nothing can prepare you for 9 months': Guests reflect on Royal Caribbean world cruise

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Audrey Martucci had never been on a cruise before booking a nine-month sailing with Royal Caribbean International.

The travel was one appeal, but the 60-year-old had another motivation. Her husband, Joe, had “no intention” of retiring, according to Audrey. “And so when the travel agent contacted us, and he called me, my first thought was, ‘Well, this will mean that you'll retire, so I'll say yes to this cruise,’” she said, laughing.

She and Joe – an avid cruiser – took a few sailings to warm up for the Ultimate World Cruise, which departed from Miami in December. “But nothing can prepare you for nine months,” said Joe, 67.

The Orlando, Florida, couple, who are now both retired, dove into travel. They sold their car, and their nephew moved into their house while they made the Serenade of the Seas ship their home.

The 274-night cruise visiting more than 60 countries garnered widespread attention in the weeks following its departure. Dispatches from passengers went viral on TikTok, amplified by other users recapping the latest developments and subsequent media reports.

Ahead of the sailing’s conclusion on Tuesday, USA TODAY spoke with several guests about what it was like spending nearly a year sailing around the world.

‘This ship was going places that I’d never been’

The length of the cruise allowed the ship to visit a wide range of destinations. That was a big draw even for guests like Joe Martucci, who had traveled extensively for work. “This ship was going places that I’d never been,” he said. Those included Buenos Aires, Argentina – allowing him and Audrey to see the sun rise over Iguazu Falls – and Copacabana Beach in Brazil.

Adita Larson, a guest from Houston, said Antarctica was her favorite destination. “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,” said the 64-year-old.

Royal Caribbean also curated experiences for passengers. Brandee Lake, 47, had been to the Great Wall of China before, but the cruise line offered an exclusive tour of the Badaling section this time around. “So, it was super exciting to have it basically private for our group,” said Lake, who was previously based in Los Angeles. “Like, when does that happen?”

She also seized opportunities to set out on her own. When the ship skipped a stop in Madagascar due to a storm, for example, Lake flew there herself for a brief visit.

But visiting even the most exciting places can take a toll after a while. The ship’s Europe segment that began in July was quite port-heavy, with only a handful of sea days in the first couple of months. Larson said many folks on board complained of being “exhausted.”

“It’s a blur,” she said. “We don’t know where we were yesterday; we don’t know where we’re going tomorrow.”

The Martuccis echoed the sentiment. At one point during the cruise, a friend of theirs stayed behind while their partner took a shore excursion. “And I remember coming back and saying to Joe, ‘You can do that? We don’t have to go?’ ” Audrey recalled. “That was, like, a huge revelation to me.”

At the beginning of the cruise, they said many guests “hated” days without any stops. “Now we’re all like, ‘Oh my god, a sea day. This is so good,’ ” she said.

The trip didn’t always go as originally planned, either. Royal Caribbean rerouted the vessel earlier this year amid continued attacks in the Red Sea, for example. Rather than transiting through the Suez Canal, the ship sailed an alternate path around Africa.

Lake said canceled ports during the voyage served as a “reminder to be flexible.”

“I think if I learned anything, it’s to expect the unexpected,” she said.

The ship also saw flooding in parts of the ship amid rough weather off the coast of South America in January, and the line confirmed the death of a passenger in February.

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‘Just like any other community’

Cruise ships are often described as cities at sea, and the Ultimate World Cruise fostered a neighborly sense of camaraderie, passengers said.

“I mean, obviously, it’s just like any other community,” said Lake. “You have the people that you are really close to, some of them are acquaintances, maybe some that are not your people, but nothing wrong. It’s just, you have your group that you naturally gel with.”

Outside of roughly 650 Ultimate World Cruise guests, the sailing was also sold in segments, bringing new folks into the mix every couple of months or so. If passengers ever need space, Audrey Martucci said, they can find solace in their cabins. “Or there’s lots of spaces on the ship that you can go and hide,” she said.

And while the Martuccis took pains to prepare themselves for the trip – they even scoped out the ship during one of their practice cruises – spending so much time with one another was a change. “We went from him working full time to all of a sudden, we're in these small quarters together all the time, and we've done it,” she said. “So, anything else is going to be a breeze now.”

“And you haven’t tossed me overboard,” Joe added.

Guests help each other out, too. Larson said there is a group chat on Facebook where passengers can ask for items they need or post things they no longer want to exchange with one another.

Lake advised anyone thinking about taking a world cruise to pack light – a lesson she learned from experience. She brought three large suitcases, a rolling carry-on bag and a backpack. “I pared it down, and it's still just too much,” she said. “It's kind of like your own closet: you really only wear about 10% to 20% of it.”

While she felt she had too many shoes and rarely wore her accessories, other items like cubbies for the closet came in handy.

Still, the logistics of managing life can be more complex on a ship. Larson pointed to her condominium, which suffered minor damage during Hurricane Beryl. “So not being there to deal with things like that,” she said. “Of course, we could have gone home, but it wasn't that huge of an emergency.” She found other tasks, like paying bills, easy to keep up with online.

The Martuccis even managed to buy a car remotely, so they’ll have one when the cruise ends, and a home in Audrey’s native Scotland, where they plan to spend summers. “We’ve been able to function,” said Joe.

As for whether they got tired of the food, Joe said, “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). You kind of get that feeling sometimes.” But he emphasized that compared to the earlier cruise they took on Serenade of the Seas, the culinary team “upped their game” for the nine-month sailing.

What is a world cruise?: It's not a 'shoot-from-the-hip decision'

Going viral

The attention the cruise received online caught passengers like the Martuccis off guard. They originally planned to share videos with their kids, who suggested they post on TikTok. Their follower count jumped from “almost none” to nearly 100,000 within a week, according to Joe.

“We fell into it, and we got caught up in this daily video,” Audrey said. “But it’s been great.”

Lake, who has been chronicling her trip online as well, echoed that, calling the experience a “surprise.” She and the Martuccis both noted they had been recognized by strangers on board.

Larson didn’t have a TikTok account when she boarded the ship, but she’s had fun sharing videos from the trip. She hopes to continue doing so back on land, “especially after we get home, the adjustment after nine months of being away from home, and sleeping on a bed that's not rocking anymore.”

Nine months at sea hasn’t soured them on travel. Larson has nearly 30 cruises booked, the first of which takes place in October. Lake, who gave up her apartment and a job in advertising and marketing to travel full-time, plans to start a new profession, organizing group trips.

The Martuccis also have many travel plans, including a family cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas in January. “We're not going to let the grass grow under our feet,” said Joe.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Life aboard the Ultimate World Cruise: Insights from a 9-month sailing