Man who’s lived on cruise ship for 23 years has one necessary tip for doing so
- Mario Salcedo has spent over two decades living on cruise ships
- He finds life at sea to be cheaper and more comfortable than living on land
- As an expert on maritime living, he has a crucial piece of advice for anyone wanting to follow his example
Published on May 23, 2024 at 2:46 PM (UTC+4)
by Andie Reeves
Last updated on May 23, 2024 at 2:46 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Living on a cruise ship for over two decades makes you a bit of an expert.
A man from San Diego has done just that and picked up a few tips along the way
He claims that life at sea is cheaper, and barely spends any time on dry land.
But has one key piece of advice for anyone planning on following his example.
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A growing number of people are uniquely responding to rising rent prices.
There’s the teenager in Germany who pays $6,300 a year to permanently live on trains.
And the Meta employee who figured buying a six-figure apartment on a ship was a better investment than buying one on land.
Or the lucky man who found an entire cruise ship listed for sale on Craigslist and now lives in it with his wife.
Mario Salcedo was way ahead of the curve, having spent the past 23 years of his life ship-hopping.
After testing out 150 different cruises, Salcedo chose Royal Caribbean‘s Voyager of the Seas as his forever home.
He’s officially the cruise’s most loyal customer, known affectionately by the staff as ‘Super Mario’.
Living at sea has its side effects though, and he says he now permanently has sea legs.
Salcedo spends his days managing his investment business and enjoys the ship’s amenities, such as the cigar lounge or scuba diving, in his free time.
But he has advice for anyone tempted to dive into this nomadic lifestyle too.
Rather than jumping into the deep end, first-time cruisers should start small with a three to five-day cruise.
“That way you experience the cruise and if you don’t like it or if there’s something you didn’t anticipate, it’s only three days,” he told Cruise the World A to Z.
He also recommends starting with a smaller ship, such as Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas.
Voyager of the Seas can carry 4,269 passengers, while the Empress sleeps 1,602.
Considering the world’s largest cruise ship carries 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members, the Empress is practically a cozy little rowboat.
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Andie is a content writer from South Africa with a background in broadcasting and journalism. Starting her career in the glossy pages of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, Andie has a broad portfolio, covering everything from sustainability solutions to celebrity car collections. When not at her laptop Andie can be found sewing, recording her podcast, taking board games too seriously or road-tripping in her bright green Kia.
