Why cruise ships are sailing to a phantom destination that doesn’t appear on any map | CNN

It was a bright, clear April morning when Russell and Gail Lee visited Null Island for the first time. The couple was aboard a 2023-2024 Viking World Cruise, about 380 miles off the coast of West Africa, approaching the coordinates at 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, where the equator and prime meridian intersect. Russell stood on the bridge with the captain, while Gail and a shipload of fellow cruisers gathered on the bow. “Everyone had their geolocators out, counting down … 0.01… 0.005 … 0.0001,” Gail Lee tells CNN Travel. “We were all comparing phones. Whoever took a selfie closest to 0, 0 got bragging rights.” When they learned the ship would make a “stop” at Null Island, the Lees, who work as enrichment lecturers on cruises, even offered to deliver scenic commentary. The only problem? There was nothing to see but open ocean in every direction. That’s because Null Island isn’t actually a place at all. It’s a long-running inside joke born from mapping errors and embraced over the years by geospatial professionals — people who work with mapping software and location data. Everything from Strava runs and Airbnb listings to hotels and crime repo