Man who’s lived on cruise ship for 25 years reveals real cost of living there full-time

This guy has been living on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship – full-time – for over two decades at this point, and he’s not going to stop.

Mario Salcedo, who was given the nickname ‘Super Mario’ by the crew of the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas, has been doing this for a quarter of a century – and he’s thought of everything.

He has to carefully budget for his unusual way of living, but he maintains it is cheaper (and more fun) than living on land.

And he’s recently reached an incredible milestone.

Around 25 years on a cruise ship

Salcedo is adamant that he’s happier at sea than on land.

In an interview with All Things Cruise, Salcedo said at this point he no longer feels comfortable on land.

“I’m so used to being on ships that it feels more comfortable to me than being on land,” he admitted.

His life is fun, clearly, but he did admit that it also takes a lot of planning.

In that same interview, Salcedo said his day-to-day budget is between $100 and $200, but he also said he’s aware that he has to be flexible on that front.

Salcedo said that his yearly budget for a cabin is between $70,000 and $100,000, depending on whether he opts for an inside cabin with no window or a regular suite.

It’s not cheap, but it’s cheaper than living on land when you factor in rent, taxes, transport, and so on.

He’s clearly not stopping.

And he’s recently reached an incredible milestone.

Salcedo has completed 1,000+ cruises

In 2025, Salcedo completed his 1,000th cruise with Royal Caribbean aboard Explorer of the Seas.

Having lived almost continuously on a cruise ship (apart from a short COVID-era gap), Salcedo has spent over 9,000 nights at sea.

Imagine that.

His annual spending is still hovering around the $70,000-$100,000 mark and, in recent interviews, he confirmed he basically has ‘sea legs’ now and can’t really walk on land anymore.

It sounds crazy, but it is far from uncommon.

A while back, we asked Irene Vivaldi, a crew worker who spends around 300 days a year at sea, we interviewed a while back, and she confirmed that, yep, this happens quite a lot.

“There are actually quite a few [people who live on cruises]. Working in the cruise ship spa, I’ve personally met four or five single, mostly retired women who would just hop from one ship to the next without going home for months. They’d easily spend five months straight at sea,” she told Supercar Blondie.

“And I’ve also met several retired, usually childless couples who genuinely choose to live on cruise ships,” she added.

“They do everything from the four-and-a-half-month world cruises to itineraries covering all of Northern Europe for the entire summer.”