Royal Caribbean's 9-month-long cruise hit another setback — a 5 a.m. penguin-viewing excursion got axed

16.01.2024 - 12:39 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Cruises / Long

Royal Caribbean's 9-month-long Ultimate World Cruise hit another setback when a scheduled penguin excursion was called off.

A TikToker on board captured the chaos as passengers woke up at 5 a.m. for the excursion only to find out it wasn't happening.

The stop was at the Falkland Islands to see the emperor penguins, but was called off due to high winds.

Passengers including a couple named Nancy and Mike, and an influencer named Amike Oosthuizen, posted videos explaining that the weather was too bad to launch the small boats they were meant to ride in.

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Marc Sebastian, a TikToker who was sent on board the ship by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, captured the chaos as it happened.

People on social media are gripped by the 9-month-long cruise, which set sail that set sail in December. There appears to be no end of drama and gossip on board.

Sebastian begged a brand to pay for him to spend some time on the cruise to document it, and Atria Books obliged, paying for a room for 18 nights. A representative told Business Insider the company "jumped at the chance to be a part of this viral moment."

The first destination on Sebastian's trip was Antarctica, passing the Falklands along the way. The islands are home to elephant seals, black-browed albatrosses, and five species of penguins.

Sebastian awoke early at 5:30 a.m. to be one of the first passengers to board the tender to take them to the islands.

"I need to go see the penguins," he said. "There was a bunch of scheduling mishaps, excursions got canceled. I need to see the king penguins. If I don't see the king penguins, I'm going to be so, so upset."

who had “form alliance to get off the ship with a retired school teacher” on their bingo card?#ultimateworldcruise #worldcruise #serenadeoftheseas #cruisetok #cruise #9monthcruise #penguins

Sebastian then filmed himself making his way to the queue for the smaller vessels, known as tender boats.

He provided incremental updates while waiting in line, saying "drama" was "ensuing."

"We've been here for an hour," he said. "I hope everyone knows that if someone tries to cut me, I will punch them."

Sebastian said he had formed an "alliance" with a woman in the queue named Kathy, and stood up for her when another person in the queue started shouting at her.

At one point, numbers were called out to get people on board one at a time, but it didn't seem to tamper the commotion.

"I don't know why this is so difficult," Sebastian said. "Did