As many of you know, we lived in Michigan for 14 years.
Overall, I liked Michigan (after all I grew up in Iowa, so my expectations of life were low) except for one thing: the weather was the worst!
Now some people might chime in with “but the summers are great”. Last I checked, summer was three months.
Yes, summers there are nice. But the other nine months, not so much.
Anywhere from November 1 until sometime in April was when the weather was at its worst (on average). We had several years where snowfall was over 100 inches. And don’t even get me started on the percent of sunshine — I think it was like 3% in winter.
The first winter there our son asked my wife, “Mommy, where did the sun go?”
Our Cruising Experiences
After we had lived there several years, the winters started to wear on us. That’s when I got the brilliant idea of breaking up each winter by taking a cruise.
It took some work getting the idea through the approval process with my wife since 1) we had never been on a cruise so she didn’t know if she’d like it and 2) it was fairly expensive (and she doesn’t do expensive).
Eventually I wore her down and we decided to try one out. We took our first cruise in January 2012 on Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL). I believe it was nine days. We left out of Miami (we flew in a couple days early to enjoy the sun) and hit some of what are now our favorite Caribbean islands. It was an amazing trip and gave us the strength we needed to make it through the rest of the winter.
Since that trip was such a success, we took another one the next January. It was on NCL as well but this time the cruise was 12 days out of New York City. It was awesome — the best trip we’ve ever taken. We spent a couple days sightseeing in NYC, then got on the ship (it was so cool pulling out to sea — we sailed by the Statue of Liberty while it was starting to snow — so pretty!). We sailed three days down to the Caribbean (BTW, it was warm when we woke up the day after leaving), hit six islands in the eastern Caribbean, and sailed back three days. We hit rough seas one day on the way home and had 20-30 foot waves (it was kind of dicey), but for 11 of the 12 days it was the best. My parents went with us which made the trip extra special.
We took a couple years off from cruising as I went through a job change and we moved to Oklahoma. But in 2015 we took another NCL cruise with my parents. This time it was a week cruise on the western side of the Caribbean (Mexico, Belize, Honduras/Roatan). It was fine, but I didn’t like the islands as much. We did get a day in New Orleans before the cruise which was nice.
Finally, as you know, we had another cruise booked for this year that was placed in doubt because of the hurricane damage last summer. We canceled that trip and instead ended up going to Grand Cayman. BTW, there’s probably a 75% chance that we’ll go back there next winter, this time for longer than nine days.
I love cruising for a variety of reasons. My wife is not as thrilled about it (basically the cost and the fear that we’ll see 20-30 foot waves again makes it less than ideal for her). But I’ve always wondered what living on a cruise ship would be like.
People Who Live on Cruise Ships
From time-to-time I see articles about people doing just that.
Not long ago someone shared this story on Twitter. It details the life of a guy who’s lived on a cruise ship for 20 years. There’s also a 10-minute video about him.
Then here’s one about a lady who does the same which I recall reading some time ago.
Here’s a short video on her life aboard ship:
And finally, here’s a third article which covers the two people above and some more.
So there are people doing it. But what are the financial implications of doing so? I had to find out!
Costs of Living on a Cruise Ship
The articles above did include some cost information, so I could work out if living on a cruise ship is a realistic option.
The first piece covered a gentleman cruiser known as “Super Mario” and gave the following cost details:
On a typical day, Salcedo works from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then closes shop to take a dip in the pool or spend time with friends — ship-based friends, because he’s lost touch with most friends on land.
Salcedo spends about $65,000 a year sailing on a mix of Caribbean cruises and transatlantic crossings, always booking lower-priced interior cabins to keep his budget in check.
Ok, that gets us the “low end” on costs. It also shows that just because you live on a cruise ship you don’t have to stop working. As long as you have internet access you can do almost and location-independent job.
Next let’s go to USA Today for the high-cost option. This article highlights the story of a lady (also listed above) who lives on the Crystal Serenity and includes the following:
She estimates living the good life on the Serenity this year will cost her $164,000. That’ll cover costs of her single-occupancy seventh deck stateroom, regular and specialty restaurant meals with available lunch and dinner beverages, gratuities, nightly ballroom dancing with dance hosts and Broadway-caliber entertainment — as well as the captain’s frequent co*cktail parties, movies, lectures, plus other scheduled daily activities.
Ok, so cost-wise we’re talking somewhere between $65k and $164k to live on a cruise ship for a year. Much of that difference could be the cruise line (Royal Caribbean versus Crystal) as well as the cabin type (inside versus outside). But the articles don’t give much info on the type of cabin she has, so it’s only speculation.
What we do know from this NY Times article is that living on a cruise ship is not a crazy idea and at least some people can afford it. Crystal is creating three ships with live-on passengers:
Eyeing a wealthy portion within that demographic, Crystal Cruises will introduce the first of three planned vessels in 2022 that will include 48 privately-leased “Crystal Residence” apartments, including a 10,000-square-foot, upper-deck luxury accommodation with a 270 degree view, the largest “interior living area for a luxury vessel on the high seas,” according to the cruise line.
The new residences, said Edie Rodriguez, the chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, will be sold under a 40-year lease and will be aimed at people who want to live in quarters similar to those on the residential floors of some hotels.
It doesn’t say how much those would run, but I’m sure they are not cheap, which was not what I was looking for. I’m more interested in cost-effective options for the “regular” person like me.
More on Living on a Ship
I was loving all the cost information about living on a cruise ship, so I Googled around and found even more articles.
Here’s one from CNBC with the following thoughts:
Depending on their home city and income level, retirees may find living aboard a cruise ship makes financial sense when compared to other retirement living options, especially in expensive locales.
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that when considered over a 20-year span, “cruises were comparably priced to assisted living centers and offered a better quality of life, “though land-based assisted living can vary greatly by facility, location and needs.”
Fox News chimed in with this:
Cruise experts say while costs vary widely, it’s reasonable to figure on average $100 a day to cruise including lodging, transportation from port to port, food and entertainment. Think $3,000 a month total, which isn’t too bad considering a lot of people pay larger mortgages or rent.
A genuine bargain would be between $50-75 a day, says Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com. That’s equal or less than what senior independent living would cost, suggests Financial Planner Richard Kahler, president of the Kahler Financial Group.
The piece goes on to say that there are ways to make living on a cruise ship more affordable:
The more someone cruises on the same line, the more loyalty programs will reward him or her with upgrades or free perks, like a meal in a specialty restaurant, free laundry or transfers. But for those who cruise often – or those taking longer journeys like a round-the-world cruise – the rewards could be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars saved on things like free cruise days, Spencer Brown says.
One of the guys above gets free internet service from being a frequent sailor. It allows him to do business from the ship.
Next, here’s a post from Investopedia that digs into the numbers more than the other articles:
Spending a chunk of your savings on permanent quarters aboard a residential cruise ship may seem like a good option, but it won’t come cheap. The World, for example, is a private residential ship that launched in 2002. The ship offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, starting at $600,000. That doesn’t include annual ship fees, which can run into the thousands.
If you’ve got less than $1 million set aside for retirement, booking individual cruises is, needless to say, the cheaper (and more realistic) way to go. That could mean jumping ship once a month or even more often, if you can’t find a way to book lots of long cruises. But if you’re only traveling with the necessities, you may get good at these transfers. It does, however, take extraordinarily careful planning. And you’ll likely need some kind of land-based permanent address.
In terms of what you’ll spend, it all comes down to how you book and which lines you’re cruising with. Princess Cruise Lines, for example, offers last-minute deals from $79 a day per person. For a 15-day cruise, that works out to a base rate of $1,185. Book back-to-back cruises at that rate and you’d pay $2,370 for the month. If you can keep your fares that low on a consistent basis, you’re looking at spending less than $30,000 a year – and, of course, that means food as well as housing and no need for your own furniture or car.
I’m thinking there are ways of cutting costs if you have the right mind-set. My guess is that the lady above is paying full retail price (or close to it). Sounds like she has the money, so why not spend it? For me, I’d have to get a deal simply on principle. 🙂 But more on that later.
Cruise Ship Versus Retirement Home
Before we get to working out the numbers, I wanted to include a line of thinking that I ran into along the way.
The Times article above took an interesting slant and compared the cost of living on a cruise ship to living in a retirement home:
A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society concluded that 20 years in a retirement home for someone entering at age 65 would cost an average of $228,075, as opposed to $230,497 for the same amount of time aboard a cruise ship.
Naturally, the costs of assisted-living facilities and cruising have risen since 2004, yet cruising may still be affordable for some. Depending on the location, annual fees for assisted living can range from $36,000 to $72,000, according to 2013 data compiled at LongTermCare.gov. For about a hundred dollars a day more than the top end of that range, seniors can spend their retirement years in pampered comfort while visiting ports of call across the globe.
“You can go on a world cruise for under $300 a day, per person, double-occupancy” said Mara Hargarther, a travel agent and cruise vacation specialist at Dream Vacations in Ponte Vedra, Fla. That fare, she said, isn’t a huge premium over the costs of some high-end assisted living facilities.
This line of thinking is also supported by this article which states:
A reservation on Princess Cruises averages $135 per day, while the average cost of a private room in a nursing home averages $229 per day.
Investopedia compares cruising to care facilities as well:
To live on a cruise ship, you’ll need to be reasonably healthy and not in need of the kind of assistance you get in assisted living. But it does offer a useful financial comparison. When you have limited financial resources, assisted living could drain your savings much faster than you’d like – and much faster than living on cruise ships. The national monthly median cost of assisted living is $3,628 or $43,536 annually. That’s approximately $119 and change on a daily basis.
Living on a cruise ship could let you hang on to more of your savings. To keep the cost of cruising lower than the cost of assisted living, you’d just need your average daily spending to be below that $119 cutoff.
How much money would you need to make that work? Let’s say you’ve reached full retirement age and you’re receiving Social Security benefits. As of August 2017, the average monthly benefit was $1,360, according to the Social Security Administration. That’s $16,320 for the year, so you still need another $27,216 to make up the difference.
That means you need a big-enough portfolio to be able to withdraw at least $2,300 a month. If you anticipate spending 20 years in retirement and adhere to a conservative investment strategy, you could make cruise-ship living work with savings of $600,000. You’d be able to withdraw $2,400 a month the first year in retirement, with subsequent withdrawals adjusted for inflation. That income, together with your Social Security benefits, could be enough to keep you afloat. In fact, you’re unlikely to spend that whole 20 years at sea. In advanced old age, you will likely need to make other plans.
My financial plans include zero reliance on Social Security, but this piece makes a great point about how it can be used to afford living at sea.
Of course there’s a big difference in one retirement home versus another — both in terms of costs and services. The option to live on a ship instead of going into a home are valid for people in generally good health and able to take care of themselves. Those who can’t get around and need special medical care don’t have the option.
These points are detailed in this post which also argues that the comparison is not valid. And Money magazine echoes much of this in listing 12 reasons you shouldn’t retire on a cruise ship.
I’m not really that interested in the “cruise versus long-term care home” debate at this point in my life. Hopefully that trade-off is far down the road for me. But it’s an interesting concept that some might want to consider.
To round out this section, I ran into a post at Snopes, the site that tells fact from fiction. They quote much of the information above and say whether it’s a good or bad idea (or even a cost trade-off) depends on a lot of circ*mstances. Their response was interesting to me because they are the first ones to pooh-pooh an idea if it’s even close to unworkable. Their thoughts:
Although Lindquist’s findings would seem to support the premise of it being cheaper to live on a luxury liner than in a retirement home, we’d want to examine her research vis-a-vis the types of care facilities she looked at and the cruise-ship costs she factored in before we’d feel comfortable about offering an opinion on her assessment. (She might have compared only very expensive retirement homes against the cheapest accommodations offered on ships that are less than well thought of, for example.)
So it appears the idea could have merit. This made me even more curious.
Cruise-Living Financials
Now it’s time to do some number crunching.
It’s worth noting that I’m not really concerned about the “is it a good idea?” question — people can decide that for themselves.
My main focus is simply “Is retiring on a cruise ship an affordable option for me and others?” I’ll run through my numbers and thinking to provide an example. Others can then use this info to run their numbers and inform their decisions.
I’m going to start with assuming it would cost me $100k to live on a cruise ship for a year. That’s an all-in number — including all living expenses. I pick it because I do not want to live in an inside cabin ($65k), but I also don’t need a luxury room on a luxury liner ($164k).
If you’ve been reading this blog for more than 15 seconds you know that I could afford $100k per year. I have more than enough income and assets to cover this amount (I’ll spell out the details specifically later in this post).
But instead of leaving it there, I want to explore the process in detail. What should I consider financially if I was really serious about living on a cruise ship? What should I do if I wanted to get a “good deal” and make sure I was making prudent financial moves along the way? Or what if I didn’t have excess funds and needed to be a bit more practical? I want to address these questions for me as well as the benefit of others.
What are the Costs of Living on a Cruise Ship?
If the ship costs are $100k all-in, what are your total living costs?
Because, you know there are going to be other, non-ship-related costs, right?
To get the answer for my family, I started with the obvious: reviewing my spending numbers from last year.
Turns out I get rid of far more of my costs than I keep, so let’s look at them.
Here are the costs from last year that would go away (or at least be severely limited) if I lived on a ship:
- Travel: $14,427
- Food: $7,766
- Utilities: $5,653
- Car Repairs: $2,688
- Entertainment: $2,444
- Car Insurance: $2,404
- House Insurance: $2,301
- Eating Out: $2,237
- Property Taxes: $2,060
- Clothes: $1,704
- Gas: $1,327
- Home Repair: $743
- Total: $45,754
In addition, we would probably lose half of our miscellaneous costs, which would be $2k. So the final cost-savings tally is $47,754.
So my actual annual costs of living on a ship are $124,588. This breaks down into the $100k for the ship costs plus the $24,588 in spending I can’t get rid of. Of course we’d also have income similar to last year in addition to the expenses, but we’ll get to that momentarily.
Ways to Cut Costs and Grow Income on a Ship
We’re at a cost of $125k, but let’s see if we can get it lower.
There are likely ways to cut costs to make cruising more attractive. For instance:
- Pick the right cruise line. It’s well-known that sailing on some lines is cheaper than sailing on others. Look for the more affordable lines and you could save some big bucks.
- Pick the right ship. I’m guessing that some ships within the same cruise line are less expensive than others (probably the older ones are less expensive). Go with the ones that cost less.
- Pick the right itineraries. Sailing to a more exotic place is going to be pricier than one that’s more common. Also sailing on re-positioning cruises is much more cost-effective.
- Pick the right room type. If you can live with an inside room, that’s going to cost a whole lot less than a balcony suite.
- Be willing to switch ships. It would be a hassle, but you could book your arrangements to switch ships at each return, going where the deals are.
- Ask for a quantity discount. Couldn’t you negotiate a room rate if you committed to booking a room for an entire year? I would think so.
- Take full advantage of frequent customer rewards. I’d be looking for ways to milk these for all they are worth.
- Ask for a discount for paying in cash. If they won’t give one, use credit cards to earn some decent cash back.
Any other ideas out there for cutting costs?
If these ideas could add up to save 20% of costs or so, that could go a long way to making living on a cruise ship much more affordable.
The Really Big Opportunity
In addition to saving the costs above, we’d have one less very big asset if we were at sea — our house. If we could move the money we have invested in our home to becoming income-producing, it could change the entire outcome.
Our house is in the ballpark of $400k after selling expenses. Let’s run through some scenarios of what $400k could do for us:
- If we put it in a “high yield” account and earned 2% a year, that would be an extra $8,000 in income.
- If we put it in dividend funds/stocks and earned 4% a year (or simply withdrew it at 4%), that would be an extra $16,000.
- If we put it in real estate and earned 8% to 10% a year, that would be an extra $32,000 to $40,000.
- If we used it to buy a web business and earned 20% to 50% a year, that would be an extra $80,000 to $200,000.
In addition to the house, there are several other items we would not need that could be sold and converted to income-producing assets — cars, personal belongings, home furnishings, etc. It’s small compared to the house, but could be another $50k easily.
How to Make it Worth It
Let’s summarize what I think we’ve learned, first in a general sense, then more specific.
If the question is how to make cruising “worth it” versus living on land, here are some guidelines:
- Get costs of the cruise(s) as low as possible.
- Eliminate as many current costs as possible (if you own a home, these can be some big ones).
- Look for ways to add income (through investing home proceeds or other ways).
Any other suggestions?
If we’re looking at specifics, here’s what we know:
- The high end of a decent cruise-living existence (to me) is about $125k annually.
- With some cost saving measures we might be able to get this down to $100k to $110k.
- Now it’s just a question if we have or can create the income we need to cover these costs.
Let’s get into my numbers to find out the answer.
Could We Afford to Live on a Cruise Ship?
I’m going to start with high costs just in case there’s someone out there who wants to complain that I’ve low-balled them.
If we think actual costs would be in the $100k range, let’s double them for argument’s sake to $200k per year. It’s a bit high, but you know I like to go for the gusto where vacations are concerned and living on a cruise ship is as much of a vacation as a living location.
Where would we get our income to cover these costs?
Here’s my list:
- $60k per year from real estate investments.
- $85k per year from my current web businesses. This could be higher, but let’s be conservative.
- $100k per year from the $450k house/possessions money invested into web businesses. Since most websites sell for two times annual profits, this number could be as high as $225k (50% of $450k) but again, let’s be conservative.
- $106k per year from asset withdrawal at 4% (just from current, liquid assets)
In addition to this, I think I could actually earn more if I lived on a cruise ship. Would someone pay me to blog about my adventures, even if that was a big discount on a room? Perhaps. NCL, want to make me an offer I can’t refuse? 🙂
That gives us an income of $351k+.
Should I book now? Maybe even just try it out for a year? It would make for some great posts! 🙂
Consider the Differences
As we wrap up, it’s worth noting the obvious lifestyle differences between living on land and on a cruise ship.
For instance, residing in a 3,700 square foot house versus a 350 square foot cabin is about as different as you can get.
And, of course, there’s the “land life” versus “ship life” with pros and cons on each side.
One major consideration of moving to a ship would be the time you’d get back. Living on a cruise ship eliminates time spent:
- Cooking and doing dishes
- Cleaning
- Maintenance
- Yard work
- Snow removal
- Shopping
And probably much more…
I’ll leave the dreaming from here on to you. But I am interested in what you think — of the idea overall as well as my thinking around it.
Let’s chat in the comments below!
Don’t Miss a Post
ESI Money is about helping you grow your net worth. The path to get there involves three simple steps starting with the letters E-S-I. You can read more about the site, the author, and keys to becoming wealthy here.
You can sign up to receive ESI Money articles via email or by RSS. For email newsletter subscriptions or RSS updates updates, visit this link.
Comments
K D saysAn interesting post. I don’t think it is fair to compare assisted living to cruise living. People in assisted living would likely be unable to cruise due to the lack of “assistance” they’d receive on a ship.
I think that I would miss seeing friends and family on a regular basis if I gave up my landlubber life. Also, what will you do with all that freed up time that you have all day? I think most people do best with a purpose, especially when it involves helping others.
Maybe cruising is special because it is a break from the every day.
Reply
- Martin says
I’ve heard from several friends who have been on cruises out of Australia, and internet access on a cruise ship is stupidly expensive.
That would severely limit your options for any internet-based remote work while living on a cruise ship!Reply
- PW saysSee AlsoHow Much Money Do You Need To Retire in Canada in 2024?What Your Financial Advisor Isn't Telling You: The 10 Essential Truths You Need to Know About Your Money|PaperbackWithholding Tax on RRSP Withdrawals: What You Need to KnowOperation Old-Age Finances – Sorting Out A Pension – The Money Whisperer
We last Nov. 2017 took our 1st cruise on the Harmony to the Caribbean eastern islands left from the storm. I was not in favor much like your wife. We went because my husband is a private pilot and the cruise was for pilots where they got educational credits in lectures and we were to spend time at airplane beach which was cancelled. We ended up talking to a retired cop from Virginia and all the staff stopped and talked to him. He left VA got a tiny apartment in Lauderdale and is a full time cruiser or “professional cruiser”. He gets the best deals at the last minute and is gone most of the time, at very cheap rates and uses his tiny apartment as a base. He said he does help security on the ship but he said his cost of living is so low. He will stay in his apartment for a week as he checks out other cruise opportunities, gets last minute deals and lives on $35,000 a year as cruising costs so little $ and is fun and he has been all over the world. There were a lot of older people on scooters, walkers and canes and wheelchairs. A lot. Some were with caregivers others with a family member. 1 in a wheelchair was from Chicago had a small condo had a caregiver that lived with her, and they rented out apt in winter and cruised all winter, win win. Anther said she lived in an attached apt with her kids which cost her nothing and she also had a caregiver that in the winter cruised with her, win win. I believe they said the ship had a few showers for wheelchair bound. It was quite an experience talking to people. The ship had almost a full hospital and they have access to fly sick out on a helicopter if needed. Something to think about.
Reply
- Mike H says
Way to think outside the box, ESI!
I’d appreciate it if you could help be find a few internet based businesses that are trading at 2X earnings- I’d be all over them!
I was also wondering about the costs of internet and communication while cruising. Would that raise expenses substantially?
-Mike
Reply
- ESI says
Check out the options here:
I’m sure there are other options but this is one I look at now and then.
2X is my general guideline. Some might be 3X but even then, that’s three years to get your money back — no too bad.
Apparently the cost of internet on cruises out of Australia is terrible, so ax that off your list.
I paid for internet each time we sailed from the Caribbean and it was pretty decent — and that was several years ago.
Also, as noted in one of the pieces above, once you get to a certain rewards level (which you would do quickly if you lived on the ship), you can get free internet.
Alternatively, I would guess that if you called up a cruise line and told them you wanted to book for a year straight that 1) you could negotiate a lower (maybe much lower) price and/or 2) get some free things thrown in like free internet.
Reply
- Mike H says
Thanks for the link, ESI! The listings are pretty interesting.
-Mike
Reply
- Jeff B says
Every port has WiFi and if you are on a long enough cruise, you can do WiFi once a week or it might be included. We are doing 14 days from Barcelona to Florida with six days at sea. I will see if I can decompress from the world since we don’t plan on getting the WiFi.
Reply
- Brad says
If documenting the adventures for a profitable web business could you deduct some or all of the cruising as research/content costs? It may not be as great as the hope of getting paid directly by NCL but still another potential improvement to the costs.
Reply
- ESI says
Sooooooooo…I’ve actually asked my CPA about this.
If the purpose of the trip is primarily business-related, you can deduct it.
If the purpose of the trip is not primarily business-related, you can’t deduct it.
So, it’s a gray area. I asked when we went to Grand Cayman. 😉
Reply
- Martin says
Depending on your local tax laws, you may be able to deduct some of the cruising costs if it’s partly related to your web business.
Reply
- The Demon Slick says
Great article. Off topic a bit I’m still trying to get my head around a 3700 square foot house for 400k with only w/only 2200/yr in property tax. Man. I can just cash out and move to Oklahoma! Where I live in the northeast we pay so much more for so much less and then get jammed so much more on taxes. I keep trying to tell these dummies to stop voting that way but they never listen. On topic I came across this article because I am intrigued by the cruise retirement idea. It seems ideal if I can get out of work in my 60s. I been working hard saving up and a retirement home just seems sad. Plus seeing all the stuff I only read about in books is sort of priceless sounding.
Reply
- ESI says
We’re actually in CO. My guess is that OK would be even cheaper. 😉
When we lived in Michigan it was a 3,500 sq ft house for $200k. Can’t remember the property taxes.
Reply
- Phillip says
I mused about this idea too but my current thinking is that once we retire, we will book lots of cruises ad-hoc when convenient and when we find good deals. In the meantime, we will book Airbnb stays at “exotic” locations (or hotels if they will give us a good longer-term stay rate) instead of living off a ship. With multi-week and monthly stays, you get a bigger place at better rates than cruise ships and it typically comes out cheaper all-in from my research. Plus, you get better variety of food (a big thing for us) as cruise ship options get boring after a while.
Reply
- Matt says
I don’t understand the third bullet of income. Isn’t the money you invested in the web businesses a sunk cost and you just get the web income every year. Either way you have plenty of income to do it and are doing fantastic.
Reply
- ESI says
Do you mean this point:
“$100k per year from the $450k house/possessions money invested into web businesses. Since most websites sell for two times annual profits, this number could be as high as $225k (50% of $450k) but again, let’s be conservative.”
Reply
- Matt says
Yes. Maybe I am slow on the weekend here, but I don’t understand how that is yearly income.
Reply
- ESI says
How about if I explain it this way:
1. Take the $450k generated from selling the house and possessions
2. Buy new websites that generate annual income
3. If we use 2X annual profits as a guide, this means the $450k could generate $225k in annual income
4. To be conservative, I counted $100k in annual income from the $450k invested in web businesses
Make sense now?
Reply
- Matt says
Got yeah. Thanks.
Reply
This is a very interesting post. I’ve enjoyed the cruises I’ve been on, but even if my health and finances permitted it (which they don’t), I don’t think I’d want to live full-time (or even near full-time) on a cruise ship. The small living space, constant movement, being away from family and friends would make that unappealing for me. The time you’d get back does sound nice though!
And under the expenses you’d eliminate by living on a cruise ship, I’m not so sure about clothing, unless it’s a nudist cruise ship!
Reply
- ESI says
I don’t think clothing would go away completely, that’s why I said:
“Here are the costs from last year that would go away (or at least be severely limited)”
Clothing costs would be severely limited. T-shirt, swim trunks, and flip flops go a long way…
Reply
- Jeff B. says
You have a whole ship to walk around. You don’t have to stay in your cabin the whole time.
Reply
- Trish Davis says
I am a big cruiser and very little time in my cabin. I do inside, solo traveler, and the ship as a whole is my balcony.
Reply
- Bruce Stott says
I had never thought about living on a boat for an extended time before. One way to make this work is when downsizing. If I am going to sell the big house and move into a small one, I could sell the big house, go on an extended vacation, like a full year, and buy the small house when I get back. (Or stay on the cruise ship.) All my lovely stuff could be stored in a storage unit while gone. Living costs would be slightly elevated or similar. It’s worth looking into. Thanks for sharing the analysis and links.
Reply
This is actually my dream. If we were rolling in the bucks (and I was able to convince the family to do it), I’d absolutely love to live on a cruise ship. You get to wake up everyday in a different place and a new adventure. How cool is that? Now you got me all excited for my cruise coming up this fall!
If you decide to make this happen, please be sure to include me living with you guys in your costs. 😉
— Jim
Reply
- ESI says
Actually, I MAY include you. We can chat about it at FinCon… 🙂
Reply
Ooh, now I’m excited. I think this makes sense – a cruise where people can come to see me… they’ll pay millions!!
— Jim
Reply
- Dr. Cory S Fawcett says
Here’s another way to save on cruises, give lectures. I had a guest post on my blog from someone who did just that. He gets free cruises to give 45 min lectures, on sea days only. He talks about the wildlife of the area. You can read about it here.
https://drcorysfawcett.com/how-to-travel-free-as-a-cruise-line-lecturer/
Reply
Such a detailed break out!! $200k a year on the higher end wouldn’t be bad for someone who is fatFIREd. I hate to be a home owner so that takes care of that expense. A big concern for me is what if there was a medical emergency? Either self or inflicted by others. How does insurance and medical coverage work on a cruise ship?
Reply
- ESI says
That’s a very good question — and something to check out in advance.
Reply
- Kristy says
As said above, as in the lectures on sea days — I know a yoga instructor who is planning to do something similar at resorts, in her retirement. She told our class that she and her husband could stay for free at some, (maybe, “all-inclusive”) resorts for teaching 2 classes a day. She currently works full time, and in addition teaches yoga 5X a week! Because she enjoys yoga so much!
Reply
- Janet says
I have met some people who retired on a cruise ship during my last cruise. Like you mentioned in this post, it actually seems like a nice option because you’re constantly moving and meeting new people. And at least you are interacting daily with people of all ages rather than just other old people lol.
Reply
- JoeHx says
I’ve heard of people living on cruise ships. I think I’d feel a bit trapped, though, since I couldn’t arbitrarily decide to leave and go somewhere if I wanted to, especially if I happened to be in the middle of the ocean at the time!
My wife doesn’t do expensive, either. That’s a good thing, though!
Reply
- getagrip says
With respect to trading the size of the home versus a cruise cabin, seems no different to me than folks who sell their homes and spend their time RVing around the country for years, only real difference is land versus water once you subtract the kitchen needed for cooking in the RV space. Interesting analysis, it’s nice to see options out there, from RV, to owning your own boat, to cruising, plenty of possibilities and who says you have to do just one instead of trying one or the other for a few years? I could honestly see myself trying cruising for a few years, then maybe switch it up and trying RVing for some years, then settling into some area of the country I found I liked.
Reply
- Jeff B M20 says
We are going on 14 day cruise. I can’t see being on the same ship with the same people for more than a month with limited TV, slow WiFi. All the food will get boring after a few weeks. I think the most I could handle is 45 days.
Reply
- Dr. Cory S. Fawcett says
Jeff B,
I felt the same as you until I went on a long cruise. Long cruises are different than short cruises. Short is 21 days or less.
I went on a 31 day cruise, hopped on in the middle of a 68 day cruise. I loved it so much I didn’t want off at the end and I was ready to get off my 14 day cruise before.
Short cruises are filled with working people on vacation trying to cram everything they can into the week.
Long cruises are all retired people who are living on the boat for a while. They are not cramming anything. They are enjoying the day and the journey. They aren’t interested in having another picture taken by the ship’s photographer. It really was a different atmosphere.We only watched 2 movies on the TV in the entire month, and that was a sick day.
You don’t need WiFi for anything except e-mail and it is good enough for that. I bought a WiFi package and used 30 min a day and I was posting on a business. If I wasn’t trying to do business, I would log on about 10 minutes every other day or so to stay connected with my friends back home.There is plenty to do. There is a full library of books to read (Instead of TV and Internet) and it was fantastic to get away from all the news stations, which wasn’t missed. There is rarely a news article you needed to see. It would be good if we got rid of the 24 hour news on 5 stations and went back to 30 minutes each evening. Then they could just tell you the news that is important and not tell you what they think of the news.
After experiencing my first long cruise, I am wanting to do a world cruise now. Before that, I was thinking I would be ready to get off in two weeks.
Since getting off the boat is so far away, you are not thinking about it. You just begin to enjoy the new life on board. It is a very refreshing change. I did a video a day on my Facebook page documenting what it was like on my travels.
Dr. Cory S. Fawcett
Prescription for Financial SuccessReply
- JeffB M20 says
Agree on the mind set change of being retired and having no where to be once done and be ‘pressured’ to relax. I will assume once I get settled, I will be a better reader. I have ADD at home and can’t sit still long enough to read a good book. We will probably do a long cruise of over 100 days at some point.
Reply
- ESI says
Where would you find long cruises (50 days+)? I just looked on NCL and RC for long cruises in the Caribbean and found 15 days to be the max.
Reply
- JeffB M20 says
Just google repositioning cruises or look at the higher end cruise lines. They do more of the longer cruises. Windstar and Oceania does long cruises. If you get on the email lists and just look at websites, they are usuallyl out there, but they are limited. Some only do the long ones once a year. We are looking at a Japan to Canada that is 26 days in a couple of years. https://www.oceaniacruises.com/cruise-finder/#cruiseLengths=OverTwentyTwo
Reply
- ESI says
Thanks! I’m now off to waste 3 hours looking at cruise options! 😉
Reply
- JeffB M20 says
I have been down many rabbit holes looking at long cruises. Some are reasonably affordable. We plan to do a few transatlantic as a cheap way to get to Europe and spend a couple months over there once retired. I saw an 85 day cruise round trip from Miami to the Mediterranean and they had a separate drink package at like $60 a day. I don’t think I could ever drink that much booze 85 days in a row. We are hoping to lose a few pounds on our TA cruise in December since there isn’t much of a view in the middel of the Atlantic for six days. Viking has a cruise that startes in Switzerland on the river and you change to an ocean cruise in Amesterdam and go to Barcelona.
Reply
- Dr. Cory S. Fawcett says
Long cruises often have a different title. For example, Holland America calls them Grand Voyages. They offer one around South America that runs about 70 days. Their world grand voyage is about 4 months long. You can search for cruise length and you usually get 17+ days or so.
Dr. Cory S. Fawcett
Prescription For Financial SuccessReply
- Dr. Cory S. Fawcett says
The Caribbean is too small for long cruises. Those cruises go thousands of miles.
Reply
- ESI says
According to Quora there are 28 island nations and 7,000 individual islands in the Caribbean.
Even if you took the 28 island nations and hit each for two days (56 days) then added in travel time (10 days?) you could make a pretty nice, long trip out of it.
Maybe I need to start my own cruise line…
Reply
- JeffB says
Just do 3 15 days cruises? 🙂 They do tend to hit the same islands each time.
Reply
Fascinating idea! Speaking from experience on Navy ships being at sea for extended periods defInitely gets mundane, but it’s not as hard to get used to as you might think. I’d much rather be stuck on a ship for six months where I can drink and have a room of my own rather than a six-foot coffin locker!
Reply
- JeffB M20 says
I imagine the food is much better on a cruise ship. 🙂 As long as there are port stops at least once a week, I am sure I would be fine. It is just a mindset that forces you to slow down.
Reply
- Bernz JP says
Wow! Didn’t know people do this. I wonder if there was a study on the number of retirees who are actually doing this. If I can afford it, I would love to do it at least for 2-3 months/year and do as you suggested, jump from one ship to another to save money and experience other cruises. The toughest part would be to convince my wife to do it.
Reply
- Dr. Cory S. Fawcett says
Bernz, you don’t need to jump from one ship to another. Some ships do not repeat last weeks journey, but keep wandering all over the world. You can stay on those ships all year long and continually stop at new ports.
Dr. Cory S. Fawcett
Prescription for Financial SuccessReply
- JeffB M20 says
There are a few articles about people living on cruise ships if you google it. Many love it. Maids everyday, new people to chat with all the time. The staff are always looking out for you. The cabins aren’t with all the other people that are on and off all the time. If you like the water and going to new or the same ports, it isn’t much different than being in an RV. It isn’t for everyone, but certainly not unattainable.
Reply
- Physician on FIRE says
Consider an around the world cruise to try it out for a few months. It’s tough to use a one or two-week vacation and extrapolate that to living full-time on a boat. But a few months on a ship would give you a better idea. We may try this with our family in the next few years. Would be a great adventure, I think.
Cheers!
-PoFReply
- Physician on FIRE says
Worldcruises.com is one place to find them. I’m sure there are others. https://www.worldcruises.com/world_cruises.cfm
Reply
- Melissa says
This is a great post! My Mom actually brought this up the last time I visited her, so thanks for doing that research for me 😉 The ONLY thing I could see being a challenge is the “assisted” part of assisted living… it sounds like cruise ships, obviously, can’t help with those challenges, so eventually Mom would need to become “land based” and go to a facility or have hired help.
That said, while my Mom has no where near the income you have, I could see a 60-65 year old with a modest income (and Social Security) making cruising work for most of the year, especially if you get creative with booking and get discounts. Plus, thinking about my Mom at least, she could downsize to a condo and rent it out on Airbnb or Homeaway while she’s cruising, which would bring her additional income.
For comparison, my parents live in a very desirable part of the country for retired people (think Florida, AZ, etc.) and have access to good assisted living facilities… the best assisted living facility near my parents (the ones where the fancy, rich older folks go) costs minimum $60k a year.
Plus, something people don’t know, the assisted living facilities (at least in this part of the country) take your house – you either have to sell it or deed it to the facility, so they can sell it and use the money to take care of you IF you don’t have enough income (from SS, pension, etc.) to pay for your care.
So as long as you’re healthy, I could definitely see the argument for cruise ships. Very cool analysis, thank you!
Reply
- SJF in 312 says
Vacations to Go has a great search and sort capability that answers a lot of the questions about daily cost per person, cruise duration and area of travel.
Reply
- Dylin says
Great post! This is something my wife and I have contemplated for awhile. We’ve been on many cruises — SE Asia, Mediterranean, several Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Hawaii, Mexico, and Alaska.
I like the idea one poster mentioned about staying in Airbnb’s in between cruises. Our plan is to do something similar for about a year — piece together several long cruises with stays at Airbnb’s in places we find interesting.
Reply
- Waiting2Bzapped says
Very interesting, thanks for sharing this post. I think non-traditional/ nomadic retirement options are too often dismissed as unaffordable. A key factor, which you’ve highlighted nicely, is that capital otherwise tied up in a home can be earning and defraying costs. I don’t think nomadic retirements are as risky as first appears, worst case you sell your house, it sucks, and you just roll your money back into a house. Like downsizing with a gap year.
Reply
- Jeff B says
http://www.worldwidewaftage.com/?m=1
Here is a couple that sold everything and post their travel budget
Reply
- Pat Ecclestone says
This is a great article, but it assumes that everyone has a cruise partner. Costs would be significantly higher for a single cruise, right???
Reply
- ESI says
I’m not sure. I haven’t gotten that far in the process to see what the prices might actually be. I’m afraid if I did I’d make the leap! 😉
Reply
- Lee Ann says
How about the possibility of Renting a cruise ship suite or cabin from an owner who wishes to do so for an extended period of time? is there a website for that?
Reply
- ESI says
Not that I know of, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find one.
Reply
- Sheila T says
It is completely inappropriate to compare living on a cruise ship to assisted living, as has been mentioned somewhat tangentally. If you’re on a lot of medications, if you need help in getting dressed or bathing, typical assisted living things, you’re not going to get the help and oversight you need on a ship. A far better comparison would be to independent living.
My income is vastly more modest than the sums generally quoted for living full time on a cruise ship, although the person that maintains a very small apartment in or near a port city and goes for last minute deals has the right idea.
I am going to be taking my second ever cruise next year from San Diego to Hawaii and back. 17 days and I’m looking forward to it. If I could afford a much longer cruise I’d do one in a heartbeat, but I’m not sure I’d want to leave my small home unoccupied for a month or more, nor leave my car just sitting in the garage for that length of time either. How do some of the cruisers who’ve posted here manage those things? I live alone more than 800 miles from any family, and I’m not sure I’d want to rent out my place to a stranger. I suppose I could pack up all of my personal stuff, but that seems like a huge hassle.
Reply
- Bill says
FYI as of Mar. 2019 the woman mentioned above as living on a Crystal ship is no longer living on a ship due to medical reasons.
Reply
- Mark says
I would never put my life 100% depending by money invested…you know.. the market… You may have money to live on a cruise one two ore more years but pray nothing will happen or you’ll lose all you have. And of course all is nice until you are heathy. Pray to stay healthy until your last day of life.
You plan to live and work on a cruise? +/-100k year to live into an inside stateroom? I would die after 1 monthReply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
