After nine months of sailing from Australia to Antarctica, passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise have finally arrived at their final port.
Passengers are now describing what 274 days on the boat were like and how they made life changes to prepare for the “trip of a lifetime”, which has gone viral on TikTok with millions of views under the hashtag #RoyalCaribbeanUltimateWorldCruise.
Jennifer Honeycutt, PhD, a medical researcher in Las Vegas, was one of hundreds of passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean World Cruise and recently returned to normal life in the U.S.
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Honeycutt said she and her husband booked the cruise after seeing the travel announcement in 2021.
“It’s 2021, so we’re coming out of the pandemic or at least still in it pandemic“We had a lot of energy and we were so full of energy,” Hunnicutt told Fox News Digital.
Jennifer Honeycutt and the more than 600 passengers of the Ultimate World Cruise are finally back on land after spending nine months at sea. (Jennifer Honeycutt)
“We wanted travel It was pretty bad, and we wanted to see the world (and) were like, ‘Maybe we should do this.'”
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Honeycutt said he had a lot of questions before packing up and leaving, from work life to internet access. He was happy to learn that internet access was included in the cost.
Hunnicutt and her husband remained on the ship and had to work in different time zones while working remote jobs. (Jennifer Honeycutt)
Beginning the journey, Honeycutt and her husband He made arrangements to enjoy his time on the water while also finding employment.
Honeycutt said he started his own business, which meant the workload was “extremely flexible” and he had the freedom to decide “how much or how little work” he would take on.
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Hunnicutt said one thing he didn’t anticipate before living on the ship was that time zones were constantly changing.
Honeycutt said she and her husband went on a short cruise before the 274-day trip to see what life was like on a ship. (Jennifer Honeycutt)
“It’s part and parcel of living remotely, running your own business and traveling, but it was challenging,” Hunnicutt said.
Hunnicutt said she and her husband went on a “world cruise test trip” where they booked a similar cabin on another boat in preparation for the longer trip.
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Hunnicutt’s favorite part of the trip, and one of the main reasons for going on the trip, was experiencing Antarctica. (Jennifer Honeycutt)
“We went For exercise. “I specifically scheduled work meetings during that time to see if it was possible to take work calls, and during that little test run we thought, ‘OK, we did it.’ We’re very excited to be doing this for nine months,” he said.
Honeycutt said as the trip got closer, she began to wonder what it would be like to be surrounded by strangers nearly 24 hours a day.
“We had incredible experiences and learned so much, and it was all definitely worthwhile.”
She said, “I used to have a lot of social anxiety being around all these people who were much older than us, maybe from different walks of life than us… and, after the fact, I can say it wasn’t a concern.”
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“We met the most amazing people who Become a lifelong friend … I was not expecting that.”
Hunnicutt said the highlight of the trip was seeing Antarctica, but the ship finally reached Antarctica only after eight days of traveling through rough waters through the Drake Passage.
Passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise stop at seven continents, 65 countries and wonders of the world during the 274-day voyage. (Amieke Oosthuizen)
The cruise’s itinerary was divided into four geographic “segments” for a total of 17 unique sailings, and guests also had the opportunity to choose individual destinations rather than the entire nine-month journey. According to the Royal Caribbean website, starting prices for this experience range from $60,000 to $117,000 per person, not including excursions. Fox Business reported.
Amieke Oosthuizen, 26, from South Africa also booked a cruise and went with her parents and husband.
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“It was definitely the trip of a lifetime. It was really a dream come true,” Oosthuizen told Fox News Digital.
Amieke Oosthuijn (second from right) was amazed at what she learned about the world after 274 days on the Ultimate World Cruise. (Amieke Oosthuizen)
“I got to see a lot of places and learn from a lot of cultures and people from around the world, and it really broadened my view of the world. I feel really educated in a way, because there’s a lot of things I didn’t know. And I think, ‘Wow, there’s a lot out there.'”
Oosthuizen said she and her husband looked for a job He received a contract three years prior to the cruise that would allow him to work remotely during the cruise.
He told that he has also found friends who stay at his house and take care of him. His dogs.
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“It was a weird thing to think that you’re going to pack up your life and go on this world tour. And then life basically stops for nine months while you’re on tour. But, I mean, life goes on. We kept working. Everything went well.”
Oosthuijn and her husband worked remotely on the ship, as they had already found a job three years before the voyage that allowed them to work outside South Africa. (Amieke Oosthuizen)
Oosthuizen said the experience allowed him to learn more about himself and the world.
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Oosthuizen said not everything went as planned as there were some rough seas. He also said packing for the nine-month journey and keeping up with weather changes was challenging.
More than 600 passengers took part in the Ultimate World Cruise around the world, and now they’re looking back at what it was like to spend nine months on a boat. (Jennifer Honeycutt; Amike Oosthuizen)
“A lot of people would come up to me and say, ‘How can you do that? That’s nine months of your life.’ And now, looking back, I see that nine months went by really quickly,” Oosthuizen said.
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“I think it was an experience that money can’t buy… it was definitely worth it,” he said.
Fox News Digital has contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
