US woman who lives full-time on a cruise ship shares how much it costs to live on one as she breaks down monthly bills
Published on Jun 04, 2026 at 1:57 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jun 04, 2026 at 1:57 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
An American woman who lives her life on a cruise ship has revealed how much her monthly costs amount to.
Lynnelle, the host of YouTube channel Poverty to Paradise, gave up her corporate job to live life on her own terms.
For her, that meant living her life on cruise ships.
That lifestyle might strike some people as sounding expensive – but how much was she actually spending?
The expenses that come with living on a cruise ship
Lynnelle’s channel is geared towards ‘[helping] everyday people redesign their lives using geography, math, and mindset’.
And living your life on a cruise ship is a very bold way of redesigning your life.
In fact, it sounds downright idyllic, doesn’t it?
But what sort of costs come attached to this way of living?
In a recent video, Lynnelle did some number crunching to let her viewers know the ins and outs of her lifestyle.
Excluding variable expenses like healthcare, cell phone plans or streaming services, she was transparent about how much she’d spent in the month of April.
Across the month, she’d spent 23 days onboard cruise ships and seven days in hotels.
The figures will stun you.
Royal Caribbean, the company she was cruising with, had a casino program which gave out onboard credits.
This significantly lowered out-of-pocket costs, to the point where she only paid $799 for 23 days out at sea.
That is extraordinary, especially when you consider people living in apartments will pay more than that for their rent.
She stayed in a mix of hotels, with one night in Baltimore and six nights in Rome.
Brand loyalty with IHG hotels helped her out massively, meaning she saved a ton of money.
She ultimately paid $915 for her seven nights in a hotel.
“You can see that the hotels cost me $915 for six days in hotels [whereas] my cruises including the gratuities and everything else that I spend on the cruises,” Lynnelle said.
“23 days on cruises for $799 and seven days in hotels for $915. Mind blown. Wow, that’s crazy.”
Factor in transportation ($825 for flights from Baltimore to Rome), food ($183, spent mostly at hotels or airports), and travel insurance ($510), and you’ve got $2,721 per month in total living expenses.
And how much is Lynnelle earning a month? A comfortable $5,100.
With income sources like her YouTube ad revenue, affiliate commissions, and selling courses, she is very comfortable.
Lynnelle isn’t the first person to live out at sea
Lynnelle certainly seems to have the living on a cruise ship thing down to a fine art.
But she isn’t the only one who decided that she wanted to live life out on the seas.
For one woman in Tennessee, selling everything she owned to live the high life on a cruise ship was a dream come true.
And sea living is only set to get easier, should this $16 billion floating city get the go-ahead.
Maybe us land-dwellers are missing a trick, huh?
Ben joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025 after being published by international organizations including LADbible, The Sun, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. He covers supercars, rare and collectible vehicles, aviation, luxury assets, and the fascinating people behind them. His reporting has explored everything from seven-figure supercars and historic Ferrari collections to unusual aircraft adventures and extraordinary automotive discoveries from around the world. Ben has also gained first-hand insight into vehicle craftsmanship and customization, including visiting specialist workshops to see bespoke vehicles up close.
