There are countless corners of TikTok out there, from viral challenges and dance trends to ‘house girlfriend’ and Farm Tok videos.
And one rather popular algorithm is cruise ship content, including the likes of what life is like living on them to getting a peak at some of the most expensive cabins on the biggest boats.
But there’s also the somewhat darker features of cruises that are shown too, like the morgues on board.
Or there’s this handy thing staff do that TikTok viewers say is a sign of their ‘worst nightmare’.
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Cruise ship lover and content creator ‘Emma Cruises’ shared a clip saying: “It’s never nice to find that your cruise line has put out these sick bags.”
She showed a labelled bag of sick bags hung over a rail on the staircase as she explained that’s a sign ‘the weather is going to be rough’.
And that’s not the worst part of it as Emma added: “But there is one thing worse than that, and that is when you find these sick bag bags empty because that means they’ve been used.”
Ah yes, a lovely cruise ship holiday filled with people throwing up.
And plenty of users commented to say it’s exactly why they can’t go on a cruise because their ‘emetophobia wouldn’t be able to handle this’.
So what on earth does that even mean?
Well, in case you couldn’t guess, emetophobia is a fear of vomiting or seeing others being sick.
Anxiety UK says that those who experience it might also fear ‘being out of control’ while they vomit or are scared of doing it while they’re in public.
The NHS say a fear of vomiting is estimated to affect up to 8% of the UK’s population.
But it seems like it’s pretty common among TikTok users as one commented on the cruise ship clip to say: “TikTok really taught me that so many of us have emetophobia and I’ve felt more validated.”
Plenty write: “My emetophobia could never.”
Making it even worse, one adds about the sick bags: “Never a good sign! I’ve also seen them out when a stomach bug broke out on the ship.”
Others bonded as they realised how many others are similar to them: “Our emetophobia group in the comments.”
With many saying they ‘would faint as soon as I got on there’.
And one put: “This is showing me I’m not alone with my emetophobia.”
Are you one of the 8 per cent of people with emetophobia?
Jess Battison