Now that Royal Caribbean’s record-breaking Ultimate World Cruise has ended, the cruise line has released amazingly impressive statistics that ensure the voyage’s place in the history books.
First, the statistics of the ship itself are widely known, and have been since before the cruise set sail on December 10, 2023. The 90,090-gross-ton, Radiance class Serenade of the Seas first joined the Royal Caribbean fleet in 2003, and she can welcome 2,146 passengers at double occupancy. Up to 2,476 guests may be onboard when the ship is fully booked with all berths filled.
The voyage lasted an unprecedented 274 days, the longest world cruise ever offered and fully sailed by Royal Caribbean. To further break that down – that’s 9 months, or just over 39 weeks, or 6,576 hours, or 394,560 minutes, or a whopping 23,673,600 seconds.
In that time, and despite rerouting around Africa due to Red Sea tensions, the ship traveled 75,015 miles and visited a total of 65 unique countries across all 7 continents.
This included many outstanding ports of call that other ships are unable to visit due to time, distance, or simply the challenges of scheduling such a varied and unique itinerary.
Along the way, guests had the opportunity to enjoy 8 World Wonders, including the Great Wall of China in Beijing, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Colosseum in Rome.
The incredible journey has allowed each guest to collect an average of 20 passport stamps, the first being in Brazil after the ship departed PortMiami in the US. To think, I’ve been cruising for 20+ years and have yet to get half as many passport stamps!
But while the voyage itself it nothing short of spectacular, there have been many amazing moments and milestones onboard as well, from simple things to more amazing accomplishments.
The diverse passenger manifest included 103 nationalities, different guests from different cultures who enjoyed sharing their time aboard and making new memories together. Those memories included 5,877 birthdays for guests and crew members, great milestones celebrated around the world.
Even seemingly mundane tasks have added up immensely over such an impressive cruise. In 9 months, for example, I might get 5 haircuts – but onboard Serenade of the Seas, a staggering 1,174 haircuts were given during the Ultimate World Cruise.
A Life-Changing Cruise – And More to Come!
While any cruise can be potentially life-changing – the cruise where a couple gets engaged or married, where a family celebrates a special milestone, or when a traveler reaches a top tier loyalty status – the simple scale of the Ultimate World Cruise has been life-changing in itself.
“What an amazing voyage these brave travelers have made. Over the past days they have shared their stories, many telling of a true life changing experience and sharing such joy and emotion over new relationships formed and bonds created with fellow travelers and crew,” said Michael Bayley, CEO of Royal Caribbean International.
“Serenade of the Seas has become such a warm, friendly community and emotions run deep.”
Bayley joined the ship for the final few days of the sailing and hosted a series of commemorative events celebrating the culmination of the outstanding voyage.
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Special awards were given to both Captain Stig and Captain Kjell for their safe and comprehensive navigation around the world, and a tremendous crew party celebrated the accomplishments of every one of the ship’s 891 crew members.
A very special announcement was also made, a 7-night reunion cruise in Alaska to depart from Vancouver, Canada on September 7, 2025. The roundtrip sailing will include visits to Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, and other ports of call in one remote part of the world that Serenade of the Seas did NOT visit over the last 9 months.
During that special reunion cruise, the announcement for Royal Caribbean’s next Ultimate World Cruise will be made, and the passengers from this voyage will have the special advantage of being the first to book passage.
Are you ready to set sail on such a spectacular voyage? What would you change from this first Ultimate World Cruise? Share your dream world cruise on the Cruise Hive boards!
