“People think we’re rich but we’re not” – living on a cruise ship doesn’t cost what you’d think

• American couple Johan Bodin and Lanette Canen have revealed the secrets of their lifestyle, eight months into their 15-year journey of living on a cruise ship.
• They live and cruise for about $5430 a month on the residential cruise line Ville Vie Residences, however, this isn’t the only way to live at sea.
• Another popular way to do this to book back-to-back cruises, which can also prove cheaper than everyday life in a big city.

American couple Johan Bodin and Lanette Canen have left the United States after purchasing a cabin on Ville Vie Odyssey, where they’re set to live at sea for the next 15 years. 

Already eight months into their journey, the couple has no regrets and due to the ease of having their family members visit, have no immediate plans for an extended stay on land.

They told WGN News: “We love our new lifestyle. It’s just fantastic we couldn’t have wished for anything else.

“Our family can visit free 28-days a year and after that $33 a day. It’s fantastic we’ve already had several visitors.

“We circumnavigate the globe every three-and-a-half years, maybe we’ll take some longer vacations after we’ve seen that.”

They say the affordability of their travels is a huge surprise to people, and don’t consider that being “rich” is a necessary part of living at sea.

“People think we’re rich but we’re not. It makes financial sense and we’re at the right age to do this. We’re curious people.”

While prices differ for different parts of the ship and prices fluctuate, they bought their cabin for approximately AUD$155,000 and locked in an AUD$5430 per month all-inclusive fee for the next 15 years. They note this is “half the price” of the cost of living in Maui, where they resided previously.

A previous Cruise Passenger investigation has also shown that life on Ville Vie is also cheaper than the cost of living in Sydney, even before considering the benefits of having a locked-in rental price, meanwhile the cost of living will rise with inflation.

The benefit of sailing on a residential cruise line such as Ville Vie is that it offers long-term security and is designed specifically for residential passengers. 

Plenty of people are taking up this option, with the couple revealing that around 60% of passengers on the ship own their own cabins, meaning they’re currently set for long-term cruising.

As far as advice for those who are considering trying it out, the couple keeps their advice rather simply.

“If you’re not tied down, just try it out! They have a try-before-you-buy program, so you can test it out and see if you like it.”

Despite the growing popularity and ease of this particular option, it’s not the only way to live at sea.

---

Back-to-back cruising

Back-to-back cruising is another popular way for cruisers to live at sea, with the most famous example being ‘Super Mario’ the cult hero of Royal Caribbean who has been sailing back-to-back for almost 25 years.

This simply involves booking cruises back-to-back, generally on the same cruise line, and spending as long as you want at sea. 

It means more packing and unpacking, but also more flexibility and not such a large up-front commitment.

For more inspiration, read the story of Marty and Jessica Ansen, an Aussie couple who have sailed more than 800 days on Princess cruises since 2022.

Another example is “Living on Cruise Control” or Laura, a solo female traveller who at the start of this year begun to spend her life at sea.

She explains that for less than USD$1000 a month she can live her dream life at sea, and that she even feels healthier and fitter due to all the wellness facilities onboard and her lower stress lifestyle.

Another Cruise Passenger investigation into back-to-back cruising, shows that it can be done out of Australia for as cheaply as $96 per day. While that would involve sailing only with Carnival, and in an interior cabin, as a baseline figure it shows how life at sea doesn’t have to be the financially unattainable dream that it might seem.