Short of actually living onboard a ship, cruise enthusiasts can spend plenty of time on the water with longer voyages. Last year, Royal Caribbean announced the chance for passengers to embark on a 274-night journey dubbed "the Ultimate World Cruise." The trip boasts an awe-inspiring itinerary, with more than 60 countries and 11 "world wonders" that include the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Great Pyramid at Giza. But despite the potential for creating some unrivaled travel memories, a passenger on the nine-month cruise says there's at least one thing you're not allowed to talk about onboard.
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In a recent video, TikTok user Marc Sebastian posted an update covering the 18 nights he's spent aboard the Serenade of the Seas. But in this installment, he immediately divulged that discussing historic maritime disasters is essentially off-limits as a topic of conversation while at sea.
"I brought it up to an entire room of people having lunch that our ship is only 100 feet longer than the Titanic—when I tell you that utensils dropped. Waiters gasped. It's dead silent."
He then said a friend he had made on the cruise leaned over to him and whispered: "You're not allowed to talk about the Titanic."
Still, Sebastian remains incredulous about the unspoken piece of maritime etiquette. "Well, it wasn't like that was in the [expletive] handbook. Not that I read the handbook, clearly."
@marcsebastianf someone get whoopi on the line girl i have some goss for her #ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #serenadeoftheseas #cruisetok #cruise #9monthcruise #titanic
Other TikTok users jumped into the comments to explain why bringing up the ill-fated ocean liner—which famously sunk after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York over a century ago—was such a faux pas. "When I went on a cruise, my mom told me saying 'Titanic' was equivalent to screaming 'bomb' at an airport," one wrote.
However, some users claimed it would be too hard not to bring up the tragedy. "I'm sorry, if I'm going on a boat, I'm talking about Titanic and OceanGate," another wrote, also referencing the submarine that imploded and claimed the lives of all five occupants onboard during a dive to the liner's shipwreck last June.
Sebastian didn't end his frustrations with taboo talking points, however. During the video, he also cheekily refers to the ship as "a floating retirement home with a Cheesecake Factory attached" and expresses disbelief at cruise liners' practice of filling swimming pools with seawater.
Earlier dispatches from the trip have show that the voyage hasn't been without other more pressing hiccups. On Jan. 2, posts to social media showed flooding in hallways and staircases as water streamed into one of the ship's decks, The Independent reported.
In a statement to the newspaper at the time, a representative for Royal Caribbean said: "On Tuesday, Jan. 2, while sailing to Montevideo, Uruguay, the Serenade of the Seas experienced heavy wind and rain. One set of elevators and six rooms were impacted by some of the rain. Our team on board is managing the minor cleanup and elevator repairs," adding that the ship carried on to its destination and arrived as scheduled.
