Royal Caribbean is bringing back a popular event

While the first Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise had its fair share of drama, it has to be considered a massive success. In addition to being an epic adventure that took passengers to over 60 countries, it was also a giant social media event.

It seemed like most of the passengers on board were influencers, or at least trying to be, and that brought the cruise line incredible attention on social media. This is very important as Royal Caribbean looks to add new cruises from younger demographics.

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The cruise was a huge success, but it was also “extremely complicated” and “extremely expensive,” according to Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley. He shared his thoughts on the World Cruise in a TikTok video.

“The answer is yes, we’re going to do another Ultimate World cruise,” he said, though he doesn’t know exactly when that will happen. “The next part of the question is well, when the hell is the Ultimate World Cruise?”

However, he said the cruise line will host an Ultimate World Cruise reunion on Serenade of the Seas, the same ship that hosted the epic event on Sept. 7.

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The Ultimate World Cruise was a big hit when it came to social media.

Image source: Daniel Kline/Come Cruise With Me

Royal Caribbean is bringing back the World Cruise

In previous public statements, Bayley has spoken about the challenging logistics of the Ultimate World Cruise. This included navigating political issues that forced the ship to change routes and make several stops, to more mundane concerns such as keeping menus fresh.

Those challenges have prevented the cruise line from setting an exact plan for the next cruise, but he did share some news.

“We are announcing today that we will be holding (an) Ultimate World Cruise reunion cruise. And when we have the reunion cruise, we will announce the next world cruise,” he said, in news that was first reported by the Royal Caribbean Blog.

He also said that original cruisers will have the chance to book the second Ultimate World Cruise before others.

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“And when we announce the next world cruise on the reunion cruise, we will only open it up for sale to those people who are on the reunion cruise,” Bayley said.

The reunion cruise will sail on Serenade of the Seas on September 7, 2025 from Alaska (ports the first cruise did not call). That means the second Ultimate World Cruise will set sail more than a year after the return of the first — probably a lot more than a year if its date won’t be announced for nearly a full year.

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