Ultimate World Cruise Passengers Prepare for Journey Through the Drake Passage: ‘I’m Just Praying for the Best’

The Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise made waves on TikTok for the duration of the cruise and the sights it will see. Now, passengers are preparing to experience serious ocean waves as the ship is about to sail through the treacherous Drake Passage.

The Drake Passage is a body of water about 600 miles wide between the southernmost part of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, according to Britannica. It reaches an average depth of 11,000 feet, and videos taken from the passage showing enormous waves have garnered millions of views.

Passengers on the Ultimate World Cruise, a 10-month-long cruise that hits all seven continents, 60 countries, and 11 World Wonders, have amassed thousands of views themselves as they document their experience on the cruise. However, several passengers have expressed nervousness about traversing the Drake Passage.

"I'm just hoping [and] praying for the best," Brandee Lake, who is traveling with her sister and parents on the trip, told PEOPLE. "I actually am the one person in our family who gets motion sickness, but I have all my little devices, wristbands, patches, gum."

The cruise’s itinerary was recently adjusted so that they would journey through the passage earlier than expected because of better conditions forecasted in the coming days.

"If they moved it up because it was going to be worse, does that mean it's going to be bad, or does that mean we're going to get lucky because we moved it up, and maybe it'll be not as crazy?" Lake told the outlet. "They did say the swells could get up to, I think, seven meters, which is around 20 feet."

According to a video posted by another one of the passengers, @drjennytravels, the ship left Puerto Madryn, Argentina, on Tuesday and is now on its way to Drake Passage. While the new itinerary means spending less time in the passage, Jenny said they will be in the area for about 22 hours.

“I’m getting nervous, y’all. I’m getting butterflies in my stomach, and not the good kind,” Jenny said on her TikTok.

Several TikTok users not on the trip have expressed concern about the passage after a storm off the coast of Argentina caused flooding on parts of the ship last week, as reported by USA TODAY.

However, Lake told PEOPLE that she believes they are in "good hands" and completely trusts Captain Stig Nilsen, who has more than 40 years of sea-faring experience.