Man Spends 24 Years Living on a Cruise Ship

Royal Caribbean celebrated its loyalest passenger earlier this month, a Cuban national named Mario Salcedo who’s been living on the company’s cruise ships permanently for nearly 25 years.

“Super Mario,” as he is known among Royal Caribbean staff members, took his 1000th cruise with the company on January 13, marking “another incredible milestone in his cruising life,” Royal Caribbean wrote on Instagram.

Newsweek contacted Royal Caribbean for comment by email on Thursday morning.

What to Know

Before deciding to live on the high seas, Salcedo reportedly had a stressful job as an international finance director at a successful American company, which led him to spend more time in hotels than in his Miami home.

After taking a first cruise and enjoying it, Salcedo handed in his resignation at the age of 47 and went on another cruise. And then another one. And another.

According to Royal Caribbean, “legendary cruiser” Salcedo started cruising in 1994 but began living on the high seas in 2000 and now spends around 50 weeks a year on the company’s cruise ships.

While he has spent most time on the ships Liberty and Navigator of the Seas, Salcedo’s 1000th cruise in mid-January was on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas. He has taken 54 cruises on the vesselnsince 1994.

Salcedo reportedly runs his investment management business remotely while cruising but still has a flat in Miami, though he doesn’t spend much time there.

In a 2016 interview with Condé Nast Traveller, Salcedo said he was so used to living on ships that “it feels more comfortable to me than being on land.” He said he’d continue living on ship cruises “indefinitely so long as I’m in good health and having fun.”

Salcedo decided to stop talking to news media in 2022.

Can You Technically Live on a Cruise Ship?

You can absolutely live on a cruise ship if you can handle a life at sea—and in fact, this is an option that’s especially appealing to retirees, who might choose it as a cost-saving alternative to paying off a mortgage.

“A cruise ship retirement has the potential to be more affordable than a standard retirement if you were comparing it to living in a retirement home or assisted living community,” Tricia Tetreault, a financial analyst for Fit Small Business, told SmartAsset.

Those choosing to live like Salcedo could either book back-to-back cruises or even purchase an onboard apartment or condo from cruise lines that allow it—though this might be a more expensive option.

Are Cruise Ships Cheaper Than Living on Land?

According to SmartAsset, what you spend on a cruise depends on several decisions around what food you eat, which cruises you book, what comfort you want and how much entertainment. The total cost of living on a cruise ship might range from around $90 per day to millions per year, the website writes.

Cruzely, a website focused on cruising, has calculated that it would cost two people living for a year aboard the cruise ship Carnival Celebration a total of $193,907, considering the cruise fare, port fees and taxes, and gratuities.

Salcedo told Condé Nast Traveller in 2016 that his budget for traveling on cruises was around $60,000-70,000 per year (considering inflation, his budget should now be a lot higher). Thanks to his status with the Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society loyalty club, Salcedo is able to bag some extra savings: in 2022, he hit the 10,000 points milestone with the club, which allows him to enjoy benefits such as free internet, daily free breakfasts and priority embarkation.

As mortgages are still ticking up in the U.S., with the 30-year fixed rate having passed the 7 percent mark last week, and home prices remaining near their pandemic peak, living on a cruise might, in some cases, be cheaper than buying and owning a home on land in much of the U.S.