One of the more ambitious plans to come out of cruising’s pandemic pause was from Royal Caribbean International: a world cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. It was notable for being an extremely long cruise, at 274 days, and from a contemporary line – a brand not used to the nuances of a lengthy voyage. And not only did Royal Caribbean embark on what it called the Ultimate World Cruise, it took on social media influencers who chronicled the trip on a day-by-day – and even hour by hour – basis.

The cruise wrapped this month in Miami, with Royal Caribbean brass joining the Serenade for its last few days down the eastern seaboard. On this episode, host Rebecca Tobin talks with Royal’s senior vice president of sales, service and trade marketing Vicki Freed about the endeavor: Why it was conceived, how it blossomed into a nearly yearlong cruise, a big advisor sale and lessons learned for a (possible) future world cruise.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by AmaWaterways https://www.amawaterways.com

Related reports:

Royal Caribbean International: www.royalcaribbean.com

A TikTok sensation, Royal Caribbean's world cruise comes to an end https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Royal-Ultimate-World-Cruise-analysis

Cruise Insight: A new era of world cruising https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/Holland-America-world-cruise-new-era

The Ultimate World Cruise is a social media bonanza https://www.travelweekly.com/Richard-Turen/This-might-be-the-worlds-biggest-cruise-story

Michael Bayley talks Icon and the world cruise at CruiseWorld https://www.travelweekly.com/CruiseWorld-Coverage/Bayley-talks-Royal-Caribbean-world-cruise-and-Ikon-of-the-Seas

Travel advisor books top suite on Royal's world cruise https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Travel-advisor-books-top-suite-Royal-Caribbean-world-cruise