In this conversational segment, the speakers discuss the viral Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise—a 274‑night, 60‑country voyage that became a TikTok reality show as passengers and influencers constantly posted onboard experiences. While typical cruise drama and romance were expected, the real challenges stemmed from external disruptions—route changes caused by a war, volcanic activity, and a Taiwan‑proximate earthquake—as well as intense political divisions among passengers tied to the U.S. election. The dialogue then shifts to the psychological and sociological effects of prolonged confinement at sea, likening the formation of onboard communities to a "Lord of the Flies" scenario, and reflecting on the feeling of being trapped with no escape, especially when one does not identify with the emergent community.
Chapters
A viral 9-month world cruise saw plenty of drama, but not the kind you'd expect. There was a Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise which lasted 274 nights and visited over 60 countries. It went viral on social media. A lot of passengers documented the journey on TikTok and Instagram. The cruise was dubbed a TikTok reality show due to its constant sharing of onboard experiences, both dramatic and mundane, by its 650 full-time passengers and online influencers. So there were some expected drama and romance type things, but the actual challenges came from external factors like— The Routing of the ship due to a war, volcanic activity, an earthquake near Taiwan, and political divisions on board regarding the US election.
It makes sense because that was a divisive election. It's a shame how divided a country we are. It's so interesting, the human experience in short stints. Like, if I was on a cruise ship for a week, I don't care about anyone else. If I'm immersed with someone for a long period of time, community is going to form. It's like Lord of the Flies, and that's how community forms. So I'm not surprised by that. I don't know if I would choose to insert myself in that situation because there's no escape. Here in our little town of Boonton, we are in that situation. This is a community. You can get the hell out of here. You're on that boat. You literally physically can't leave.
And what if you just don't like the community? What if there are no communities that you like? You're really, really stuck.
I know. Krista, my wife, says we're never going on a cruise. She has no appeal to it. And I'm like, well, why? She's like, first of all, like, disease spreads like wildfire. One person gets sick, everyone's sick. And then she pointed out, and Aaron pointed this out too, and now I start feeling this, it's gluttony is what it is. It's just like tons of booze and food. That's it. And like, you overeat and you overdrink. To me, I haven't gone on a cruise, so this is so judgy, but that's the elements of life I don't want to participate in. I also understand you're touring, you see things that you wouldn't see otherwise. I would love to go into Alaska and see the icebergs there. Maybe there's a version of cruise where the gluttony is removed.
