Experiences of living on a cruise ship

Those of us who’ve been on an ocean cruise generally have sailed for a week before heading for home. Occasionally it’ll be two weeks, and every now and then we have clients who book a round-the-world cruise, which will put them on board for three or more months at a time. But what about actually living on a cruise ship? Can it be done? And, what’s it like?

            Well, Kevin Martin, 48, a Navy veteran and attorney from Missouri, wanted to find out.

            Martin decided to “leave it all behind” in 2019, after sailing on several different cruise lines for trips of more moderate, and traditional, lengths of time. He’s been documenting his life on his YouTube channel, 30 and a Wake Up. He posts regular videos with some intriguing titles, such as “You Can Always Go Back to Your Crappy Life” and “How I Lost 32 Pounds on a Cruise Ship!”

He also occasionally posts monthly summaries of his expenses. Recently he published a video about a 30-day period in which he took three consecutive 10-day cruises on a Princess liner. It was the same cruise each time, through the Caribbean and Panama Canal before returning to Miami. Of course, there’s the cost of the cruise, which he listed as $700 for an inside cabin. He got onboard credit due to his veteran’s status and also because of his purchases of future cruises. On his monthly budget, Martin listed “housing” expenses (the cruises) as $2400. He didn’t spend a dime dining out; all his meals on board were covered, of course, since he never went to the specialty restaurants. He paid $22 for transportation while ashore, $105 for his cell phone service, $15 on health care costs for over-the-counter medications, $30 on snacks and other grocery items that he would store in his cabin, and nothing at all on entertainment or shopping. Total expenses for the month: $2572.

So, Martin doesn’t actually live on a single ship year-round. He mixes and matches his cruises and lines and spends a month or so ashore in exotic places like Thailand and Iceland. Still, the majority of his days and nights are spent on board a cruise ship. Those of us who’ve sailed might take a look at one of the deluxe staterooms and think, “You know, living in one of these wouldn’t be half bad.” Martin, though, favors the cheaper inside cabins, since he rarely spends much time there during the day.

In another recent video, Martin answered questions posed by his viewers:

·         Would you do it again? Martin loves traveling but hates flying, so he would continue to use cruise liners to get from place to place, but he might return home once in a while.

·         What would you do differently? Martin says that “about a month on a ship is the sweet spot.” Going from port to port nearly every day, which is often the top attraction for “traditional” cruisers, can be exhausting, he says, if you’re on board for more than a couple weeks.

·         What was the funniest thing you saw on a cruise ship? In the buffet line one time, he saw a man taking handfuls of shrimp from the buffet and stuffing them in the pockets of his cargo shorts.

·         Did you ever get seasick? After 20 years in the Navy, Martin said he was used to sailing and never had a problem on his cruises. For those who might have an occasional bout, he recommends getting a cabin that’s not very high above the waterline, where the rocking of the ship isn’t as noticeable.

·         Can you travel around the world without flying? Absolutely. The easiest way to do it is on a round-the-world cruise, but these can be expensive. Martin also said the only time he ever had to have a visa was when his cruise ship arrived in Vietnam. He never once had to show his passport while on board and never took it ashore.

·         Did you have any problems with fellow passengers? Occasionally, he said, his neighbors might get a little noisy after a night of partying, but otherwise he got along with everybody.

·         Are there any cruise lines you disliked to the point where you’d never sail with them again? No, every one of the four major lines he sailed was a little different, but all of them were fine and he would gladly sail them again.

·         Did you ever feel unsafe anywhere ashore as a solo traveler? No, just about every port he visited was relatively safe, although there were a handful of places, like Haiti, where cruise passengers were restricted to certain areas, generally a private beach.

·         Was there a point where cruising became redundant and you looked forward to the end of the year? Visiting the “manufactured cruise towns” that some lines have on different islands can be repetitive, he said. Generally, though, Martin enjoyed the shipboard lifestyle—his Navy experience undoubtedly helped him here—and since he started his journeys five years ago, he’s not thought about doing anything else.

Maybe you don’t want to actually live on a cruise ship, but we have a lot of clients who like to sail on them for a week or so. Whether you’re a veteran cruiser or considering your first-ever cruise journey, give us a call! We’ll get you on board, and maybe you’ll run into Kevin! 

Sue Tindell