A cruise ship passenger has gone viral for accidentally dropping a “banned” word on board, and if you’ve ever stepped foot on a ship, you can probably guess what it is. TikToker and content creator Marc Sebastian was on Royal Caribbean’s much-publicised nine-month world cruise last year, documenting his travels during the South America–Antarctica leg.
But one off-hand remark at lunchtime caused more waves than the ship itself. In a now-viral clip, Sebastian recounted the moment he unwittingly broke one of cruising’s most superstitious unwritten rules. He accidentally mentioned the Titanic.
He said: “I brought up to an entire room of people having lunch that our ship is only 100 feet longer than the Titanic.”
He added: “When I tell you that, utensils dropped, okay. Waiters gasped. Dead silent.”
Despite his attempt at a casual fun fact, the mere mention of the ill-fated 1912 ship left fellow passengers visibly shaken. One friend at the table had to discreetly lean in to advise him that Titanic talk is strictly taboo.
Sebastian, baffled by the dramatic response, protested: “Who knew that? I didn’t! The cruise doesn’t come with a f***ing handbook.”
While some might see his faux pas as understandable, others, especially seasoned cruisegoers, sympathised with the eerie superstition. Still, viewers in the comments were divided.
“I’m sorry, if I’m going on a boat, I’m talking about Titanic and OceanGate,” one wrote.
Another added: “Is the Titanic thing for cruises the same as like Macbeth for theatre?”
A third joked: “Not being able to talk about the Titanic would definitely ruin the experience for me.”
The clip, which racked up millions of views, not only exposed an unexpected rule of the seas but also led Sebastian to uncover another quirk of cruise ship tradition, the vessel’s godmother. In this case, it’s none other than Whoopi Goldberg, which Sebastian described as “kind of iconic.”
Love it or hate it, the cruise community has its own codes, and apparently, some things are better left unsaid at sea.