Passengers on world’s longest cruise shared thoughts on return to dry land

Passengers who spent the last nine months traveling on a cruise shared their thoughts about heading back to dry land.

Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise set sail in December 2023, with hundreds of passengers set to head to more than 65 destinations. 

The unusually lengthy cruise generated a fair amount of interest from the public, with many people shocked how long passengers would spend at sea. 

Now, nine months on, the passengers have finally stepped back on dry land. 

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Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise lasted nine months

It turns out that some of them were a bit apprehensive about how they’d feel returning home after so long at sea. 

“You can’t go away for nine months and stick your head in the sand like an ostrich and say, ‘Yeah, I’ll worry about it when I get home,’” passenger Joe Martucci told CNN. 

“Because the world keeps changing so fast.”

Joe, who joined the cruise with his wife Audrey and posted about their adventures on TikTok, went on to say he wouldn’t take on such a trip again. 

He told CNN that while he and his wife could not ‘ask for a better trip and a better opportunity’ they did ‘get a little tired of being on vacation’. 

“I wouldn’t do a nine-month straight cruise again,” he added. 

“It’s just way too long away from family, away from everyone and we started to feel burned out.”

Audrey chipped in to say that they ‘couldn’t really catch up with sleep’ while onboard. 

Some passengers were apprehensive about returning to dry land

Fellow passenger Brandee Lake gave up the lease on her rented home in California to go on the trip and admitted that she tried to live in a ‘bubble’ during her time on the cruise. 

But now with real life fast approaching she was feeling a little concerned. 

“It was liberating to give up everything before I came,” she told the publication. “Now I’m like, ‘Oh, shoot.’” 

Lake also worried that so long away from home may have a negative impact on her friendships.

“Some will stay strong and maintain after – some might fall away,” she commented.

While nine months is a long time for a landlubber to spend at sea, it pales in comparison to the amount of time Mario Salcedo has spent on ships. 

Salcedo has lived aboard Royal Caribbean International cruise ships since 2000 – earning himself the nickname ‘Super Mario’ in the process.

But spending so much time on the water has had an impact on Super Mario. 

“I’ve lost my land legs. So when I’m swaying so much I can’t walk in a straight line,” he said during an interview with Conde Nast Traveler.

Here’s hoping the passengers from the Ultimate World Cruise settle a little more quickly.