More than 100 men found themselves unexpectedly dressed alike aboard Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas earlier in 2026 after their partners and families coordinated a large-scale matching shirt prank.
Credit: Katelyn Gensler on Facebook
The passengers were persuaded to wear the same distinctive red Hawaiian-style shirt before making their way to The Pearl, the dramatic multi-storey structure at the heart of the ship’s Royal Promenade.
What initially appeared to be an unfortunate coincidence became increasingly difficult to explain as more men wearing exactly the same shirt arrived.
The participants had not independently stumbled across the same piece of holiday clothing. Their partners and relatives had coordinated the outfits in advance, leaving many of the men unaware of what was happening until they encountered their matching counterparts onboard.
Eventually, more than 100 men wearing the red shirts gathered together at The Pearl, turning a relatively simple practical joke into a sizeable group event.
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A Cruise Prank That Relies On Keeping A Secret
The matching-shirt trick has become an increasingly familiar cruise prank, with passengers using sailing-specific social media groups to organise it before departure.
The basic idea is straightforward. Partners or relatives agree on one shirt and separately persuade the men travelling with them to wear it at a particular time during the cruise. Provided the plan remains secret, each participant initially believes there is nothing unusual about his clothing.
The joke gradually reveals itself onboard as another passenger appears in the same shirt, followed by another and then potentially dozens more.
Similar attempts have taken place on other cruise ships, although the scale of the Star of the Seas gathering appears particularly large.
In July 2025, for example, more than 60 men were brought together in matching Hawaiian-style Disney shirts during a Disney cruise. The prank had been coordinated by passengers before the sailing, with the unsuspecting participants discovering the arrangement as the matching outfits began appearing onboard.
Passengers on several other Disney Cruise Line ships have subsequently shared examples of the same idea. A March 2026 sailing aboard Disney Wish featured another coordinated Hawaiian shirt gathering, while cruisers reported that similar versions had previously taken place aboard Disney Wonder and Disney Magic.
The concept itself is not limited to cruise ships. Matching-shirt pranks have circulated online for several years, including a widely shared 2022 example in which four brothers were independently given identical green plaid shirts by their wives before attending the same family gathering.
Cruise Passengers Have Plenty Of Their Own Traditions
The matching-shirt trick is part of a wider collection of passenger-led tr
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