‘The world is an incredible place’: Passengers return from viral 9-month cruise

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KPNX) – Passengers of a Royal Caribbean cruise made the ship their home away from home after they embarked on a 9-month-tour.

The vessel Leslie Nilsen and her longtime partner Roy were on traveled to more than 150 destinations.

"Our maximum cruise was seven days before I signed up for 274 days. So this was a huge leap of faith," Nilsen said.

Nilsen said she and Roy had talked about seeing the world for years. When the opportunity came in 2021, she said there seemed to be no better way to make that dream come true.

"This is just historic," she said.

The couple had two years to plan for their trip.

Then, they boarded the vessel and circumnavigated the globe, leaving from Miami and then returning to Miami again months later.

Nilsen said the sights they saw included the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and the Forbidden City and Great Wall of China.

They even traveled to Antarctica.

"It's just hard to get your head around. This is like, this exists," Nilsen said of the experience.

The two spent about 100 "sea days" aboard with the same 600 world cruisers.

"I was worried that I was going to have to hide from people, and in the end, I brought a whole bunch of people back as part of my family," she said.

Nilsen said part of the decision to take the tour was due to her minimalistic lifestyle, and that she did not need a ton of stuff and would rather take the sightseeing experience instead.

She is now encouraging others to take the leap themselves.

"If you have an opportunity to go anywhere, anytime, with anyone, you should absolutely go," she said. "The world is an incredible place."