We talked to TikTokers aboard the cruise and, yes, they answered all of our burning questions.
If you ’ve been scrollingthrough TikTokin the last hebdomad , you ’ve likely been served up telecasting content around the nine - month - longRoyal Caribbean voyagethat set forth on December 10 . About 15 people onboard the ship have become documentarians of the experience , which has quickly charm public imaging . Case in percentage point , the hashtag # 9monthcruise has already squeeze up over 14 million views on the societal weapons platform .
In addition to ongoing vlogs from the police car themselves , there are already interminable videos dedicated to " fan theories " hypothesizing what could go wrong , what drama is happening below decks , and the overall logistic maze that come with embarking on a nine - month sail . From all of this surmise , some of these TikTokers have even been fan - vomit in aWhite Lotus : Nine Month Cruisefantasy show by other overly invested , non - cruising TikTokers .
Putting all the collective conjecture by , we had to wonder what was actually happening aboard Royal Caribbean ’s Serenade of the Seas . To get to the bottom of this , Thrillist spoke with two of the TikTok principal aboard the sail line ’s Ultimate World Cruise , Angie Linderman ( @angielinderman ) and the woman only known as Little Rat Brain ( @little_rat_brain ) . Truthfully , that ’s how she is known to the universe outside of the cruise , as her family has quest that she does not share her name for privacy reasons . For briefness , she ’ll be look up to as LRB throughout this fib .
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By the time we speak , Linderman and LRB had already been to six stops in nine Clarence Day , include a visit tothe Chichen Itza ruin . So , we asked them some of our most burning questions about sprightliness at ocean .
The first question: Why?
Some of the preparation for the nine - month sail — whichcostsbetween $ 59,999 and $ 117,599 per person , depending on fitting , plus taxes and fee — were very mundane and similar , especially for two people who are accustomed to traveling . " Prior to this sail , I ’d already been to all seven continents , " Linderman say . " I ’ve been lucky enough to be capable to travel . I ’ve lived overseas a few times . Travel is how I wish to spend my meter and money . "
For LRB , her class made a goal in her early puerility to chatter all seven continents and all 50 state of matter . They ’ve been working toward that goal ever since — this sail is go to get them to the ending pedigree . Both Linderman and LRB set up autopay for their bills and get trusted people to last in their homes while they were on the sail . Linderman has a dog , and she has friends and syndicate helping out with his care while he lives with the person staying in her dwelling while she ’s off .
Linderman also had to ensure to set up a slew of doctor appointments so that she could persist on top of a aesculapian consideration . While there are physician and dentists onboard the ship , she created a plan with her aesculapian providers that accommodated the sail path . LRB ’s family arranged to pick up nine - calendar month prescriptions they could pack onboard — there is a ship pharmacy too , but the prescriptions would n’t have been see if they go that route . They also blame up large size of it of Anacin III and vitamin before their passing .
For the lighter but still authoritative logistics of wadding , LRB enunciate that her family have a very exact approaching . " Our trip road follows the sun . We leave the Northern Hemisphere just before the beginning of wintertime and are sailing south to the kickoff of summertime , so theoretically , we should have clean similar temperature ranges at all of the port , " LRB explains . This approach permit her family to obviate wad cold - weather wearable " which allowed for more space to pack for theme dark , sea day , and still be able to embrace in gym wear . "
One situation that has set up question among the armchair cruiser on TikTok is the visa process for cruise guests . There are more than 60 countries on the itinerary , and each will need different visas for accounting entry . Passengers are also of many nationalities , so Royal Caribbean was n’t capable to dispatch a one - size - scene - all guide for client . " Could they have done more ? Probably , but could they have done less ? Also yes , " Linderman summarizes .
Instead it ’s been a lot of take as you go . LRB note that Royal Caribbean suggested a company that could file visas for guest , but that her family opted to file away the paperwork themselves .
" There was unquestionably a learning curve with the first visa , but we finally produce a document with all the required information to have when filling the respite of them out , " LRB explain . " It was quite exciting to receive each email tell that our visa was grant to visit another state . "
What’s it like aboard the ship?
LRB discover the first 24 hour on the Royal Caribbean ship as a " whirlwind experience . "
" When we generate onboard , our baggage was already in our rooms , so come at our cabin had the same look and excitement of moving into a hall room , " LRB say . " I would say the first 24 hours , for us in person , were really spend finding a space for every packing cube , bottle of sunblock and my art supplies . However , less than 16 hr after sailing , we were fend on the beach of our first land . "
After the excitement of the first daytime , world set in . They were aboard a ship for nine calendar month , in a fresh routine , with a always changing yet also stagnant environment , with a bunch of new people to meet . Some of their fellow passenger would be there for the entire nine months , but others would only be traveling in segments . The misstep itself is made of 17 exist Royal Caribbean routes , each a mates of weeks long . So every few calendar week , there will be a cohort of unexampled passengers to get to be intimate .
For Linderman and LRB , they ’ve already take on and seek out other mass in their age group . Given the nature of the cruise , a lot of hoi polloi aboard are in older demographic groups . But it was sluttish to find and befriend each , especially with how promptly TikTok amplified their content . The day we speak , Linderman and LRB joined the other TikTokers on dining table to make a few very television of themselves together .
Being aboard the ship so far has felt much like any other cruise . Like they say inLove Island , it ’s early days . But Linderman is go in cognize that this ca n’t merely be a nine - calendar month holiday .
" I ’ve been telling myself it ’s not vacation for nine month because if I was on holiday , I ’d have a crank of wine at lunch and I ’d have a cocktail at dinner , " Linderman say . " I ca n’t do that for nine months every day . So I do n’t really view it as nine month of vacation . I view this as nine months of life , but getting to do spirit in very cool lieu with novel people . "
alternatively , Linderman has figure out a system to maintain a residual . Ship days are like home Clarence Day : Go to the gym , corrode sizeable ( " salads for lunch and dinner " ) , go to bed early , and incline to general living giving medication . shoring days will have more of a holiday vibration . " I want to enjoy the 9th calendar month as much as I did the first month , " Linderman articulate . " And so I know that I need to be pacing myself , just keeping it in perspective . "
What do they think of TikTok’s predictions?
On TikTok , users are foretell that a nine - month sail will be a facts of life ground for drama : unwitting pregnancies , cheating , betrayals , Real Housewives - style confrontation . Both LRB and Linderman have see some of the TikToks , but LRB and Linderman are n’t so convinced that actual life will mirror the dramatic social media takes .
" There is always a hypothesis for drama , since play is a part of every community and we are a very , very small biotic community , in a unique situation , " LRB says .
Mostly , all the guess has been a form of entertainment , though Linderman establish theWhite Lotuscasting , in exceptional , a act troubling .
" I hope there ’s no murder , " Linderman says . " It ’s incredibly fascinating to watch from this side . But no , I do n’t see the drama popping off like people do . I do n’t know . I hope I ’m not wrong . I hope it ’s not full of drama . "
What’s the best part of ship life?
TikTok dramatic event apart , both LRB and Linderman had plenty to say when asked about the upside of life story at sea so far .
For Linderman , the highlight has been spending timbre time with her house penis — her nieces , nephews , brother , and sister - in - law — who do n’t live near each other . LRB has enjoyed making association with people on the ship , an experience that has been unseamed .
" If you remark and congratulate someone ’s necklace [ in the hallway ] , it easily leads to a conversation because we all have the clip to stop and chat , " LRB says . " We are not dashing to the entrepot or former for a meeting . We are all experiencing the same things , so it does n’t count if you ’re eight or 80 , you have a foundation to start a connection . "
