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cruise ship retirement

Joy

Couple lives permanently on cruise ships because it costs ‘half’ the price of life on land

"We now have a telephone bill, a ship bill and a few credit card bills for when we go ashore, but that's it.”

via George Desirpis/Pexels

A white cruise ship crosses the sea.

Given the rapidly changing cost of living in the United States, lifestyle options that once seemed luxurious are now starting to look like good deals. A growing trend is that retirees are choosing to spend their golden years on cruise ships instead of living in a retirement community.

The latest examples of this trend are John, 76, and Melody Hennessee, 64. Before retiring, John was a doctor and the couple also owned an art gallery in Stuart, Florida. In 2021, the couple sold everything and purchased an RV to see the country, but after a few years, they were exhausted.

“The constant maintenance, fueling, and planning,” he told Realtor.com.

So, instead, the couple, who had extensive boating experience, decided to cruise the world. In March 2021, they began boat hopping, moving from one cruise ship to another. “I've been a sailor all my life, and we love cruising and traveling,” John told The Daily Mail.

Every day, they wake up in a new location. According to Realtor.com, their favorite spots are Bora Bora, Santorini and Croatia.

The couple even found that it was cheaper to cruise-ship hop than live on land.

"We now have a telephone bill, a ship bill, and a few credit card bills for when we go ashore, but that's it," John told SkyNews. "We no longer have a mortgage or the expense of homes. We no longer have vehicle insurance, property insurance, or utility bills. The list goes on. We are certain cruising is cheaper."

"Right now, it is probably close to half of what it was when we lived on land,” he added. The couple is currently booked on cruises through December 2024, and in 2027, they will embark on the cruise of a lifetime. They have purchased a $2.9 million 600-square-foot cabin on the MV Narrative, a residential cruise ship. They will own the cabin as long as the ship is afloat.

Single 225-square-foot studio residencies on the boat start as low as $597,000.

The ship boasts 20 dining and bar concepts, a theater, 18 decks, laundry service, gyms, and hobby areas and it has a doctor and dentist on hand for emergencies.

The couple loves the hassle-free convenience of living on a cruise ship and they also get to see the world as well. “[The MV Narrative] is gonna take three and a half years to go around the world and every stop, they'll spend at least three to five days, which on a cruise ship you have just a few hours. We really love that concept,” John said.

Life is easy for residents of the NV Narrative because it’s all-inclusive. You never have to pull out your wallet, except for the occasional special meal. The all-inclusive fees start at around $2500 per month per adult.

“We're so excited. We just love the idea of having our own residence on a residential ship,” Melody told The Daily Mail. We are beside ourselves. We're really, really looking forward to it because, like we said, we're cruising now; we have 45 more cruises booked.”

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Joy

28-year-old buys cruise ship apartment because it's less than renting and he can see the world

An all-expenses-paid life for about $50,000 a year? Sounds like a deal.

via Pixabay

A cruise ship floating on azure waters.

Living the rest of your life on a cruise ship seems like the dream of the ultra-rich. You wake up every morning and have an all-you-can-eat breakfast. Spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool or touring a fantastic city such as Rome or Dubrovnik.

At night, have a drink in the lounge watching a comedian or a jazz band, then hit the sack and do it all over again the next day. Seems too good to be true for the average person, right? Think again.

Twenty-eight-year-old Austin Wells of San Diego told CNBC that he can make it happen because it’s cheaper than living onshore in Southern California and he gets to see the world. “The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world,” Wells told CNBC.


“I’m going from this model where you want to go somewhere, you pack a bag, you get on a flight, you rent a room, to now my condo, my gym, my doctors and dentists, all of my grocery stores travel the world with me,” he added.

Wells purchased an apartment on the MV Narrative, which is currently being built in Croatia and sets sail in 2025.

The rough math for Wells' dream makes perfect sense. He purchased a 12-year lease on the ship for $300,000. That comes to about $2,100 a month if he didn’t have to take out a loan. By comparison, most apartments in San Diego cost more than $2,100 per month in rent.

The ship charges an additional $2,100 a month for all-inclusive services, which include food, drinks, alcohol, gym membership, routine healthcare check-ups, onboard entertainment and laundry.

So, it could cost Wells as little as $4,200 a month to live an all-expenses-paid life. Plus, there’s no need to pay for a car or waste time shopping for groceries or traveling anywhere. It’s all on the ship.

Wells can work from the ship because his job with Meta is fully remote.

"What I'm probably most excited about is going to places that ships can only uniquely go,” he told CNBC, adding that cruise ships can travel to “unique ecological parts of the world or beautiful dive spots that are a few miles off land or caves to dive through and the ship will do a number of overnight stays in those areas."

Wells isn’t the only person who’s decided to live on a permanent vacation. Upworthy spoke with a couple in their 50s earlier this year who live on cruise ships because it’s cheaper than their mortgage.

Richard Burk and his wife, Angelyn, are living their best life hopping from ship to ship for around $100 a night, depending on the cruise. "Cruise costs vary quite a bit, our goal is to average about $100 per night, for the couple, or less across an entire calendar year," Richard told Upworthy.

The Burks keep the costs of cruising down through loyalty memberships. “We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense,” Angelyn told 7 News.

People like Wells and the Burks may be outliers in society. They’ve chosen to give up the comforts of home for the comfort of living a life being catered to 24/7. While most of us probably won’t opt to make the big leap and live life out at the sea, their stories are a wonderful reminder that with a little creative thinking, we can create the perfect lives for ourselves whether on land or at sea.

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