A woman took a Royal Caribbean cruise. Then she noticed something in the distance that made her pause and record a video in the pool.
Rakia (@rakia.pl) posted a video that received more than 7.5 million views. In it, she showed the small blip in the distance she noticed while relaxing on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, which made her scared. The sight in question was a small ship that commenters speculated was a real-life pirate ship.
After leaving the Royal Caribbean cruise, the TikToker said she would not be coming back.
What Happened On This Royal Caribbean Cruise?
Rakia posted two videos about her encounter with a supposed pirate ship. The first, which documented the encounter, showed the small ship that made the TikToker concerned.
Rakia later reflected that she didn’t recognize the blip in the distance at first, but did once she looked at it closer.
“ I see something in the distance. Now, if you know me, you know I’m blind as a bat,” Rakia said. “ So I get my phone out, I start recording. The first thing that came to mind, of course, it was going to be the pirates, like, the pirates.”
She saw two small vessels traveling on the sea, which scared her.
“ Y’all, I am fine. I made it out alive, and I don’t even know if I’ll be back on a cruise anytime soon,” she said.
Do Pirates Still Navigate The Seas?
Unusual sightings while traveling the sea are uncommon, but they happen. Pirates still exist and navigate the seas, although they don’t typically operate like Jack Sparrow or have large, “Pirates of the Caribbean” ships.
Modern-day pirates raid ships with valuable cargo. Sometimes they take hostages or demand ransoms. Usually, they use boats with smaller footprints such as skiffs and quickly overwhelm their targets.
There haven’t been any recent, major pirating incidents on cruise ships such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Virgin Voyages or other mainstream cruise lines. However, there have been piracy scares. During a scare, a cruise will increase its security measures due to sightings in the area.
In 2025, Fox News reported that a cruise ship traveling from Darwin to Manila increased its security protocols. The ship’s crew allegedly said there was a piracy threat. Crew members asked passengers to turn off their lights and close their blinds for the evening.
Is the Ship A Pirate Ship?
While Rakia feared the other ship that her Royal Caribbean cruise appeared to be approaching, viewers let her know there wasn’t much cause for alarm.
“It can happen to any boat boo it’s the ocean,” one viewer said.
Another viewer said, “Just complaining for nun.”
Generally, cruise ships are very safe. Cruise ship companies are required to follow the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which dictates that cruise ships conduct drills for passengers, maintain emergency facilities and regularly train staff.
Cruise ships also follow the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), which was created to ensure that ships actively engage in risk management. The ISPS breaks down most activity on ships based on security level and recommends certain “appropriate additional protective security measures,” depending on a variety of factors. In essence, ships have guidelines for emergency situations and conduct risk assessments before bringing passengers onboard.
BroBible reached out to Rakia via TikTok direct message and comment, as well as Royal Caribbean via email.