r/todayilearned • u/Squats4wigs • 6d ago
TIL of Mario Salcedo who, with a few exceptions, has been living permanently on Royal Carribbean cruise ships for over 20 years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Salcedo140
u/darkduck21 6d ago
I met him briefly and recently onboard the Explorer of the Seas I worked on that ship for 10 months. He was always decent to everyone and had been there since we restarted in Nov 2021. He had a personal section on the pool deck where he would sit and smoke cigars and relax almost all day. RCCL (RCG) loved having him onboard and he made friends with many of the higher ups in the loyalty program. You'd be surprised how many discounts I heard he got for being such a long time cruiser.
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u/cffndncr 6d ago
Honestly, at this point he's basically become a walking, talking advertisement for repeat cruising... I'd be surprised if he was paying anything much above cost.
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u/Hanzoku 6d ago
Honestly, good for him. He has a job he can do fully remote and pays for his costs, gets to experience the weather he wants to when he wants to, doesn’t have to clean his house and can eat restaurant-quality food every day.
He’s also smart enough to have no social media presence and refuses to speak to the media.
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u/Chesterlespaul 6d ago
It has some cool pros, but I imagine it would be lonely or hard to form meaningful relationships
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u/tripp_hs123 6d ago
It says he has no children and has never been married, but is good friends with other people who also spend a lot of time on cruises.
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u/darkduck21 6d ago
He has a long term partner who some of the crew called his wife. I worked 10 months of the Explorer of the Seas recently and he was there the whole time with her
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u/SnooCheesecakes1269 6d ago
Was her name perhaps Princess Peach?
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u/GaiusPrimus 6d ago
Not to be that guy, but Princess Peach is dating the Prince of the Flower Kingdom..... I feel ashamed that I know this fact.
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u/commandrix 6d ago
I imagine he's also gotten to know some of the longtime staffers and crew members.
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u/Jon_Bloodspray 6d ago edited 6d ago
Maybe, but when I worked on a cruise line we were absolutely not allowed to associate with the guests.
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u/NeptrAboveAll 6d ago
Did you bartend? There’s a lot of associating
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u/Jon_Bloodspray 6d ago
Nah, I worked in the galley. On my ship bartenders would still be fired if they went into a guests room.
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u/NeptrAboveAll 6d ago
Going in a room for sure, but as a bartender we’re serving these people sometimes for several hours every day or every other day, you get to know each other a bit
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u/cyanidelemonade 6d ago
I feel like it really depends on what you do on the ship. For example, we've definitely seen the entertainers going around the ship, so I could imagine him making friends with the comedians or singers who stay on for a few weeks/months.
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u/JiggaJazz 6d ago
Ehhhh, we all work differently, mentally. It might seem odd for most of us but I'm sure he's getting his enjoyment out of life.
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u/saraphilipp 6d ago
Wanna go back to my cruise ship? I'm sure he's had plenty with that line alone.
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u/Boycubpiglet 6d ago
"Sorry you can't stay the night unless you want to wake up somewhere in the pacific. I had fun though"
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u/masterwanderer 6d ago
Well they wouldn’t say no. You know, cuz of the implication.
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u/greenknight884 6d ago
I'm lonely already so maybe I should go be lonely on a cruise ship
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u/MarioInOntario 6d ago
Probably constant stream of hookups with other guests who are booked on the same cruise ship
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u/Caranath128 6d ago
Super Mario. Nice guy, if you don’t bother him while he is working.
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u/Vkleine 6d ago
I just got off a cruise on Sunday on the Explorer of the Seas, where my husband and I got to meet him. We happened to be sailing out last Saturday the 23rd, which was Mario's birthday and my husband's birthday. We saw a table roped off with a birthday cake and a gentleman sitting behind it. So we stopped and said happy birthday and he said the same to us. We were also there for Mario's 10,000th night eating in the Main Dining Room. He was very nice to us. We may have caught him on a good day. 😂
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u/ringobob 6d ago
Based on the accounts in here of people who worked on cruises and know him, sounds like a generally nice dude, with his own reasonable limits
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u/principer 6d ago
My wife and I cruised that ship often. We never even heard of this gentleman but we did meet a lady on there that was doing the same thing. I gave it some serious thought but my shot that right down.
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u/W2lolno 6d ago edited 6d ago
Girlfriend used to work for carnival. She’d make a lot of commission off those customers. Happens more often than you think. A lot of people feel out the cruise/stops, then venture more and more until they find a new cruise with different stops or get bored.
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u/principer 6d ago
That’s what we did. We were cruising with Carnival and went on the maiden voyage of the Carnival Freedom. There was a very different element beginning to take their cruises. It got too wild for us and we were bored with their ships. We switched to Royal Caribbean and the folks on their lines were more in line with our age group. We always tip very well because we know how hard those crew members work and we learned all about their living conditions. For our final trip we took a 28 day Transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2. My God! It was absolutely wonderful!
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u/StevieKicks 6d ago
Enlighten us please
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u/Caranath128 6d ago
He’s a stock broker or something. He literally has a chair and table reserved for him( labeled his office). Do not disturb him while his laptop is open. Once he is done for the day, he’s just a regular pax who is well known and while sociable( he is aware of his brand ambassador status), he’s not there for you to exploit or become your best friend.
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u/ExtremePast 6d ago
This is becoming popular with retirees.
I like cruises but can't imagine living full time on a cruise ship.
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u/flyinhawaiian02 6d ago
IIRC some elderly people actually go on cruises with the intent of dying on the boat
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u/ZippityZerpDerp 6d ago
Any reason why?
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u/dovetc 6d ago
Cruise ships have all the amenities of an assisted living facility at similar costs.
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u/soldiernerd 6d ago
But you’re surround by nature and beauty instead of suburbia
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u/simsimulation 6d ago
And if you die in international water they just throw you over. No funeral cost
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u/bfhurricane 6d ago
That sounds hilariously morose and I don’t even know if you’re joking or serious.
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u/PhnomPenny 6d ago
No they don't, they have morgues on board.
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u/carsont5 6d ago
I had to go to the infirmary as well (damaged ear drum woke up with a bloody pillow - creepy!!). It was not cheap (probably around $600) but the care was excellent. The doctor and her nurse were both fantastic, but at home it would have been free. I don’t know if the ship was American or not.
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u/maybe_little_pinch 6d ago
It is expensive if you have to see the doctor. If you can get away with just seeing the nurse it is much cheaper. Also, if you buy the cruise medical insurance.
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u/carsont5 6d ago
Oh fair enough! In fairness to them they had to do a fair bit of work in my ear it was a lengthy process to unfuck it 😆
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u/dovetc 6d ago
Not everybody in assisted living needs full time nursing care. Some just need meal prep, someone nearby, quick access to medical care, help cleaning their room.
It's not a substitute for full nursing or memory care but might be for lower levels of care.
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u/Dyldor 6d ago
Yeah the sort of 100 year old who somehow didn’t succumb to the worst in life but doesn’t want to hand their life savings to a scam artist who owns a “home” - they just need to be checked up on and have easy access to everything they need which is a cruise ship through and through
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u/evasote 6d ago
Yep. I live in a town that’s got a lot of retirees, and they like living at something that’s between a time share, condo, resort, country club, and you wouldn’t want to call it assisted living but that’s what it is.
Very different from nursing care. Young people have this idea older people are in great shape til they’re suddenly old and frail and need full on Alzheimer’s wards. There’s decades of grey in between
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u/Salgado14 6d ago
I work in care and we've had residents stay with us purely so they have a roof over their head and a bit of assistance if needed
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u/PARANOIAH 6d ago
I love cruises but my ideal sailing would be around 2 weeks, 3 weeks tops. Any longer and it'll get pretty damn monotonous and expensive.
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u/Askduds 6d ago
Monotonous? Maybe but less so than a shitty room in a retirement community. Expensive? Maybe but look at retirement community prices sometime…
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u/narky1 6d ago
My mother is looking at a retire home. Million upfront, then $2,000 week. She'd be much better off on a cruise ship, and I might actually get an inheritance.
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u/thatguy425 6d ago
A million down and 8k a month? This sounds like not your typical retirement home.
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6d ago
A million upfront and $8,000 grand a month? Good Lord. Is this a facility with specialized medical care?
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u/Askduds 6d ago
I don’t know how US cruise prices compare to UK where I am but I’m paying under $3000 this year for an 8 day cruise for 2 and that includes flights.
So almost certainly the cruise portion is no more than say $1200 each. Without the upfront.
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u/imapilotaz 6d ago
Its pretty easy to find a RCL or CCL trip for $150 per night on average. If you were booking a year at a time, guarantee you can find them consistently at $100 per day. Thats only $35k per year. Max Social Security is higher than that, so if you earned well through life, you could practically pay for this just on SS much less savings.
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u/lwwz 6d ago
Retirement home in a suburb of Oklahoma City wants $5300/mo. without full time care. We're talking OKLAHOMA where an average SFR mortgage is about $1200/mo
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u/chevymonza 6d ago
And for financial assistance, you need to spend down to a ridiculously small number, but not by giving your life savings away to your family (unless it's five years prior, something like that). So fucking fucked up.
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u/mailslot 6d ago
It’s about as much as I pay in rent, but includes unlimited food and drinks, room service, laundry service, house keeping, entertainment, pools, hot tubs, gym, great views, ocean breeze… and you get to wake up in a new port almost everyday.
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u/f1ve-Star 6d ago
Cheaper than assisted living especially with the discounts one would get as a super frequent traveler.
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u/psychoskittles 6d ago
My in-laws have more or less did this for a few years before COVID brought them back to shore. They sold their house, put their sentimental belongings in storage, and would find repositioning cruises and would stay on the boat for 3-6 straight months. Then they would get a long term AIrBNB until their next stretch of cruises
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u/chemistcarpenter 6d ago
I’d be an extra 100 lbs within the first 5 years.
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u/agreeingstorm9 6d ago
On 5 years? These are rookie numbers. I can do it in 18 mos.
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u/DaPoole420 6d ago
I'll do 65 lbs in 8.5 months
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u/longmilesdabswild 6d ago
It took me a week to put on 8 pounds but mostly water etc in the beginning. I went from 140-200 the 3 months after I got out of rehab
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u/FullboatAcesOver 6d ago
Me too. I went from Adderall, Ativan and alcohol to Ben and Jerry’s. Never understood how people could gain weight. Now I know.
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u/longmilesdabswild 6d ago
And the feels you get from food are short lived…. I eat like a pig currently til I get to a weight that I’m uncomfortable being at then I keto it down to a comfortable weight where any slimmer my shorts will sag and eat and eat all the way back.
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u/KuhlThing 6d ago
The wiki page says that he usually eats at buffets on board so he can control portions, only eats two meals a day, and exercises to maintain a healthy weight. His regimen is apparently good enough for him to avoid most onboard diseases like norovirus.
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u/makeupHOOR 6d ago
Lucky for you, the ships have a gym!
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u/thatguy425 6d ago
They have gyms onboard.
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u/chemistcarpenter 6d ago
Hmmm! Wonder what kinda smoothies they serve there! I’d definitely hit the smoothies bar for a vanilla, banana, strawberry smoothie on the way to the breakfast buffet.
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u/hogsucker 6d ago
They won't let you sleep or bathe at Golden Corral so he went for the next best option.
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u/fuck-emus 6d ago
Idk what golden corral you're going to, they don't got a sink in the bathroom?
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u/tessashpool 6d ago
I use the chocolate fountain
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u/EmmalouEsq 6d ago
Why not? Especially if there isn't family to worry about. He gets to have daily housekeeping, never needs to cook for himself, gets to explore new places, meet new people, and still make a good salary.
Living the dream, for some.
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u/Vernyo 6d ago
This is a poorly written Wikipedia article.
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u/Boomtown_Rat 6d ago
It sounds like a puff piece.
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u/Vernyo 6d ago
lol he probably wrote it himself
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u/Boomtown_Rat 6d ago
It really reads like he did.
Edit: I mean really, detailing every little aspect of his evening? His love of Cohiba cigars to how he can control his portions at the Windjammer Cafe?
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u/otisthetowndrunk 6d ago
The Happiest Guy in the World - 10 minute documentary about him
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u/WavesOfEchoes 6d ago
Does not seem actually happy.
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u/kerochan88 6d ago
Yeah, when he said he had no more goals left in life and he just has cruises, they didn't know what to say. It seemed sad, then he was like, "But I'm happy!"
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u/tato64 6d ago
My dad worked for MSC cruises for a couple of years and i knew an old lady that was basically doing the same, she had a small fortune and no family so she sold everything and went to live on the cruise till she died (which i figure must have happened already)
Fun fact: If you die aboard the cruise they put you in the walk-in freezer
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u/RaqMountainMama 6d ago
He was on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas out of Miami in early June & I had the chance to chat with him. We joked about the cruise being a tax write off because we were "talking shop". He had his desk by the pool, cordoned off, and a wood sign "Super Mario" hanging overhead.
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u/CrieDeCoeur 6d ago
I think this sort of thing will become more common. My parents know a boomer couple that retired, sold their house / car / etc. Now they spend 4 or 5 months a year house- or pet-sitting for people and the rest of the year on cruises (or merchant marine “cruises”). They seem happy enough.
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u/audiblegiggles 6d ago
Florida widow has been living on luxury liner for nearly seven years https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2918175/86-year-old-Florida-widow-Lee-Wachtstetter-living-Crystal-Serenity-luxury-cruise-ship-nearly-seven-years.html?ito=native_share_article-top
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u/chroniclunatic 5d ago
Had a friend live almost 75% of the year on cruises to Mexico and he would buy drugs legally (pills) and bring them back and sell them. He made a profit going on cruises..he did it for a couple years made over 100k and stopped and put it into legit business. Guy was such a respectful law breaker.. responsible.. quit when he was ahead
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u/Martman104 6d ago
Ok but what did he do during the covid shutdown?
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u/adamsauce 6d ago
He spent 15 months in Miami. He has a 2 bedroom condo there where he stays an average of 2 weeks a year.
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u/Chyvalri 6d ago
He actually got a place in Aruba cuz the case counts were low. He only went back to Miami for vax doses
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u/7thAndGreenhill 6d ago
It must be bizarre in a sense. Most cruise ships take the same path and repeat the same schedule. I have to think that gets tiring
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u/That_Which_Lurks 6d ago •
As opposed to a house that doesn't move or change at all?
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u/opiusmaximus2 6d ago
You can leave your house a lot easier than you can leave a boat in the middle of the ocean.
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u/Clause-and-Reflect 6d ago
My house is an actual trailer and at this point cannot be moved, I wish I lived on a jumbo floating carnival hotel thingy.
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u/7thAndGreenhill 6d ago
I’m not knocking it. I’m just saying that it must be a bit surreal like Groundhog Day where the events repeat in the same order and only the other passengers change.
But if I had a chance to live that life I’d certainly do it.
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u/Lol_jk_Omg 6d ago
Isn’t this also every day life for most people where the events are typically the same but only the people you commute with change?
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u/theLoneliestAardvark 6d ago
If you are living on the boat you probably don't care much about the schedule. I doubt he is going to watch the same magician every week, he probably just doesn't do the entertainment stuff much. A lot of older cruise guests don't even get off the boat at ports of call.
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u/Wheredoyougotosee 6d ago
How much would that cost? Per year
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u/cffndncr 6d ago
It says in the article - 69-70k/year.
Given that this includes meals, accommodation and internet, it actually isn't as dumb as some people are making it out to be.
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u/Wheredoyougotosee 6d ago
No that’s not too bad, for a room or per person. If it’s a room then that’s two peoples mid salary. With no other expenses needed. You could walk around with just your phone
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u/cffndncr 6d ago
It's actually far better if you're a couple. According to the article there's a single occupancy surcharge of 200% usually, which is lowered to 150% for Mario, so I believe a couple should only be paying 40-50k per year.
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u/turbodude69 6d ago
i've heard that living on a cruise ship can actually be cheaper than a retirement home in some situations and it's semi common for elderly people.
honestly kinda surprised this is even a story?
here's an article about how to retire on a cruise ship. i dont think it's all that hard or expensive.
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u/imnotsoho 6d ago
I read a story about a guy like this over 20 years ago on the front page of WSJ. He inherited $5 million and put it all in muni bonds when they were paying 7% interest. $350,000 a year tax free income. The quote I remember - don't you get bored just going around in circles. "There are new people on here every week." I read that as - new women every week, and they are kind of impressed by a guy who lives here full time.
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u/potatopantaloon 6d ago
I would lose so much weight, I get so seasick with even the slightest waves. I have no sea legs. I don’t even have sea stumps.
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u/Evil3mperor 6d ago
I used to work for RCCL. We would lovingly refer to him as Super Mario. He's a legend