Passenger reflects on 9 months at sea after embarking on cruise that went viral on TikTok
Jennifer Hunnicutt of Las Vegas, Nevada, was a passenger on Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise, where she spent 274 days with hundreds of people and worked remotely during the trip.
After nine months at sea traveling the world from Australia to Antarctica, passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise have finally reached their home port.
Travelers are now revealing what 274 days on a boat was like and how they made life changes to prepare for the "trip of a lifetime" that went viral on TikTok with millions of views under the hashtag #RoyalCaribbeanUltimateWorldCruise.
Jennifer Hunnicutt, PhD, a medical researcher from Las Vegas, was one of the hundreds of passengers aboard the Royal Caribbean World Cruise and recently returned to normal life back in the U.S.
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Hunnicutt said she and her husband booked the cruise after seeing an announcement of the trip in 2021.
"This is 2021, so we're coming out of the pandemic or at least still in the pandemic, and we had a lot of pent-up energy," Hunnicutt told Fox News Digital.
Jennifer Hunnicutt and 600-plus passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise have finally made it back to land after spending nine months at sea. (Jennifer Hunnicutt)
"We had wanted to travel so bad, and we wanted to see the world [and] were like, ‘Maybe we just do this.’"
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Hunnicutt said she had many questions before packing up and leaving, from work life to internet accessibility. She was happy to learn that internet use was included in the cost.
Hunnicutt and her husband continued to work on the ship and had to navigate the different time zones while maintaining a remote job. (Jennifer Hunnicutt)
Leading up to the trip, Hunnicutt and her husband made arrangements to still be employed while enjoying their time on the water.
They transitioned to owning their own business, which meant the workload was "super flexible" and they got to decide "how much or how little work" they would take on, Hunnicutt said.
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One thing Hunnicutt did not anticipate leading up to her time on the ship was the constant shifting of time zones, she said.
Hunnicutt said she and her husband went on a mini cruise before the 274-day adventure as a "test run" to see what life might be like on a ship. (Jennifer Hunnicutt)
"It's part of being remote and owning your own business and traveling, but it was challenging," Hunnicutt added.
Hunnicutt said she and her husband went on a "world cruise test run" where they booked a similar cabin on another boat to prepare for the longer trip.
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Hunnicutt's favorite part of the trip, and one of the main reasons she decided to go on the trip, was experiencing Antarctica. (Jennifer Hunnicutt)
"We went to the gym. I specifically scheduled work meetings during that time to see if it was possible to take work calls, and it was on that little test run that we were like, ‘All right, we got this.’ We are so stoked to be doing this for nine months," she said.
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Hunnicutt said that as the trip grew closer, she thought about what it would be like to be surrounded by strangers almost 24/7.
"We had the most incredible experiences and learned so much, and it was definitely all worth it."
"I just had a lot of social anxiety about being around all these people who are much older than us, maybe different parts of life than us … and, after the fact, I can say that was not a concern," she added.
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"We met the most amazing people, people who will be lifelong friends … I wasn't expecting that."
Hunnicutt said the highlight of the voyage was seeing Antarctica, but there were eight days of traveling in rough waters through the Drake Passage before the ship finally made it to the continent.
The Ultimate World Cruise passengers stopped at seven continents, 65 countries and world wonders over the course of 274 days. (Amike Oosthuizen)
The cruise’s itinerary was broken up into four geographic "segments" for a total of 17 unique sailings, and guests also had the opportunity to separately pick and choose certain destinations as opposed to traveling the full nine months. Starting prices for the experience range between $60,000 and $117,000 per person, not including excursions, according to the Royal Caribbean website, FOX Business reported.
Amike Oosthuizen, 26, from South Africa, also booked the cruise and went with her parents and her 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.
Amike Oosthuizen (second to the right) was amazed by all the things she learned about the world after 274 days on the Ultimate World Cruise. (Amike Oosthuizen)
"I saw so many places and learned from so many cultures and people from across the world, and it really broadened my perspective [on] the world. I feel really educated, in a sense, because there's so much stuff I didn't know. And I'm like, 'Wow, there's so much out there.'"
Oosthuizen said she and her husband sought out jobs three years before the cruise that would allow them to work remotely during the cruise.
She said she also found friends to stay in her home and take care of her dogs.
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"It was a weird thing to think you're going to pack up your life and just go on this world cruise. And then life is basically going to stop for nine months while you're on the cruise. But, I mean, life goes on. We kept on working. Everything worked out."
Oosthuizen and her husband worked remotely on the ship after specifically finding a job three years ahead of the cruise that allowed them to still work outside of South Africa. (Amike Oosthuizen)
Oosthuizen said the experience allowed her to learn more about herself and the world.
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Not everything went according to plan, Oosthuizen said, as there were some rough seas. She also said packing her belongings for a nine-month trip and keeping weather changes in mind was challenging.
More than 600 passengers took part in the Ultimate World Cruise across the world, and now they are looking back at what it was like spending nine months on the boat. (Jennifer Hunnicutt; Amike Oosthuizen)
"A lot of people would come up to me and, like, say, 'How can you do that? Like, it's nine months of your life.' And now, looking back, the nine months went so quick," Oosthuizen said.
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"I feel like this [was an] experience money really can't buy … It was definitely all worth it," she added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment.
Fox News Digital's Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
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