While the Ultimate World Cruise as a whole has become a social media sensation, one TikToker has ridden the viral wave more than most.
But now that he’s disembarked Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, what will the voyage be like without this influencer’s often controversial critiques?
Controversial TikToker No Longer On Board Ultimate World Cruise
It didn’t take long for Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise to take TikTok by storm as the latest viral sensation.
While many passengers onboard the nine-month cruise have seen their social media followings skyrocket, few have received quite as much attention as Marc Sebastian (@marcsebastianf). His controversial videos have not only stirred up debates in the comment section on TikTok, but also drew attention from major news outlets.
The Tiktoker, who has 1.7 million followers at the time of this publication, is back on dry land after an eventful 18 days onboard Serenade of the Seas – during which he promised to tell his followers “the good, the bad, and the ugly” about his time on board.
But before he was ready to disembark, Marc Sebastian had two important tasks to accomplish: giving some feedback to Whoopi Goldberg, godmother of Serenade of the Seas, and putting on a fashion show to honor the outfits that didn’t get worn on board.
Marc Sebastian recorded a message for Whoopi Goldberg, which she reacted to live on The View, which is a talk show the celebrity co-hosts.
In a video posted on January 25, 2024, the TikToker says that he needs to let Goldberg know what’s been happening on board, to which she replies: “Let me start out by saying, I run a tight ship.”
Three days before on January 22, 2024, Marc Sebastian posted a final shout out at sea to his followers, which has been viewed more than 860,000 times at the time of publication.
“Shout out everyone its been fun,” he wrote in the TikTok caption.
He showed off some of his favorite outfits that he wasn’t able to wear while on board, including a baseball hat with a tiara attached to the front that he wasn’t allowed to wear in the dining room during formal night and a short blonde wig.
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While around 700 of the passengers currently on board will be staying for the duration of the cruise, some are only joining the ship for shorter segments, which is what Marc Sebastian did. His sponsors shelled out $8,500 (USD) for the influencer to join the cruise for the South American and Antarctic segment.
During his time on board, the TikToker posted frequent videos, most of which were critique-filled, consisting of cabin tours, ship reviews, and accounts of his experience and the drama onboard.
The TikToker posted that he was back on land on January 24, 2024, when the ship was docked in La Serena, Chile. As of January 26, Serenade of the Seas had sailed on to Peru, and will next be heading to Ecuador and Puerto Rico.
Although Marc Sebastian will no longer be sharing his cruise saga from on board Serenade of the Seas, there is no sign that the appetite for cruise drama has diminished on TikTok. Only time will tell if the excitement around the cruise on social media will dissipate.
Marc Sebastian’s New Cruise Knowledge
Prior to embarking on The Ultimate World Cruise, Marc Sebastian wasn’t an avid cruise influencer on social media. Most of his videos consist of product reviews and funny videos related to current trends and pop culture.
But even though he had a lot of critiques for Royal Caribbean, and certainly wasn’t always happy with the service or his experience, the TikToker also learned a lot on board.
In a video posted on January 22, 2024, which has been viewed more than 5 million times, Marc Sebastian detailed everything he had learned while cruising on what he calls “a floating retirement home with a Cheesecake Factory attached.”
First, and not surprisingly, the TikToker learned it was taboo to talk about the ill-fated Titanic at sea. Marc Sebastian explained that when he compared the length of Serenade of the Seas to that of Titanic during lunch, utensils dropped, waiters gasped, and the room went awkwardly silent.
The TikToker also discovered the phenomenon of cruising ducks, which is a scavenger hunt many passengers and crew members play where rubber ducks are hidden around the cruise ship for others to find and keep, or to find and re-hide.
Marc Sebastian said people on his ducks were “crazy” about trying to find them, even digging through artificial plants to collect as many as they could – although he personally didn’t understand the appeal.
“Why ducks? Because they float? I just don’t get it,” says Marc Sebastian.
Lastly, he was shocked to find out that cruise ships fill their pools with seawater. However, it is quite common for ships to source pool water from the ocean through a process called reverse osmosis, which allows cruise lines to make their own fresh water at sea, which is safe for swimming and consumption.
