A woman says that she got a free $10,000 cruise, only to later learn that it was a “cult.”
In a video with over 8.3 million views, TikTok user Francesca Keller (@badgalfrancesca) shows herself and two other people in what appears to be an airport.
“Accidentally went on a $10,000 cruise for free that happened to be a cult and just barely came out in tact,” she writes in the text overlaying the video. The video has her and her two companions looking stoic.
In the caption, she adds, “And we documented the entire thing”—hinting that there’s more to the story that she’s ready to share. She also adds the hashtags “#storytime” and “#cults.”
So, what happened here?
She’s Cagey With Details
While the TikToker initially seemed eager to share details about her cruise, subsequent videos contain scant updates.
In one video, she says she’s “nervous to share anything, cause when you’re dealing with very rich, powerful people—you know.”
“I’m just gonna figure out if I can start sharing some clips,” she says. “It’s nothing super dangerous, but definitely a g—— cult, I’ll tell you that much.”
She adds that she’s “been Googling” the group behind the cruise to see if anyone has called them a cult and she has not found success.
“So, we’re about to do some research to ask other people we know who know this program if they know anything,” she concludes.
Her Tone Suddenly (And Suspiciously) Changes
A short time later, she posted another update. However, in this one, she had a markedly different tone.
“Truth is, we had a really fun time,” she says of her experience on the cruise. “We made some good friends. I just think [the] reason that video happened is because we felt like the odd ones out on this boat the entire time. Like, really couldn’t connect with very many people.”
“When you’re on a boat where the sole purpose is people connecting and meeting, and you feel like you can’t, that’ll immediately disorient you—left us coming home feeling kind of just… drained,” she continues. “So the ‘cult’ caption was almost making fun of ourselves to comfort ourselves. It’s really not worth a storytime.”
This left many commenters confused.
“Oh they got to you,” a user wrote.
“They sent you that cease & desist, huh????” added another.
While she’s posted other videos since, she has not revealed the alleged “cult.”
Was She Really On-Board A ‘Cult’ Cruise?
It doesn’t look like it.
Commenters were quick to name a variety of cruise ships—some with rather lurid pasts. However, looking at the TikToker’s Instagram, she’s recently posted pictures from the Virgin Voyages “Scarlet Lady.” She does not post evidence of any other recent cruise voyages.
This boat usually goes on cruise trips organized by Virgin Voyages. Recently, however, it played host to an event called Summit At Sea. This is evidenced in the legal information on the Summit website.
For context, the Summit At Sea advertises itself as “a gathering of 2,500 thought leaders, business entrepreneurs, and world-changing creatives from across the globe who gather for four immersive days of thought leadership, entertainment, and health and longevity modalities all centered around community connection.”
If this is, in fact, the cruise to which she’s referring, this also explains how she came to the high price tag. While prices for this year’s event are no longer public, previous iterations of Summit At Sea started at $5,000 per person.
Has Summit Faced Cult Accusations Before?
Keller says in her video that she was unable to find cult accusations about the cruise group. Similarly, there are no real “cult” accusations about Summit.
Attendees have jokingly or insincerely referred to it as a “cult,” and a blogger claimed an early iteration had “all the earmarks of a cult.” Still, that’s not enough to claim that Summit itself is a “cult.”
There’s no widely accepted definition of a cult. However, in general, cults are often defined as organized groups that seek to dominate their members through pressure and manipulation. This can involve taking money from them, isolating them from wider society, and more.
Detractors could say that people going to an ideas festival on a boat with speakers advertised as “universal spiritual educators” or “mindfulness teachers” are engaging in “cult-like” behavior. However, that does not inherently mean that they are taking part in a cult.
@badgalfrancesca And we documented the entire thing. #storytime #tea #cults #cultdoc #cruise
BroBible reached out to Keller via Instagram direct message and email, and Summit via email.