Spending months aboard a cruise ship might be something people dream of having the time and disposable income to do in retirement, but it turns out some people are taking to the high seas earlier - as it's cheaper for them than living on land.
Going on a cruise can seem like a pricey luxury, but those that get to do it can see many different places on their voyage - all while returning to the same cozy cabin every night.
With the cost of living crisis pushing up rents and making mortgage payments ever more unaffordable - if you can get on the property ladder in the first place - some people have traded it all in to live in luxury on the water, for less than they were paying on dry land.
Among those that have made the change are Ryan Gutridge, who spends 300 days of the year on a cruise ship, after realizing he was able to work remotely while on board.
Ryan first began staying on Royal Caribbean cruise ships in 2021 after finding the cost of his rent and ever-increasing bills worked out far higher than paying for his place on the boat.
He revealed to Insider: "I work in IT as a cloud-solution engineer for a cloud-solution provider and started working from home in 2012.
"But because of the pandemic, my team was able to work from home and access the data they needed from anywhere.
"At that time, cruise lines hadn't announced when or if they were coming back. I thought that if they returned, I'd want to try taking my job with me on a short cruise. I wanted to see how the WiFi would work and if I could access some elements of my job with heavy security."
He initially booked two four-night cruises on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas in September 2021 to test out whether he'd have access to the systems he needed and a reliable enough connection to WiFi to be able to do his job just like he would at home.
"Everything worked great, and since then, I've been on a cruise pretty much every week, except for a few weeks due to the holidays," he revealed.
Originally from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Ryan found that the cost of living at sea for 300 nights was "almost neck-and-neck" with what he was paying for his apartment and trash service back home - plus it came with the chance to see some amazing places and to socialize with people.
He admitted he'd found the pandemic to be isolating as he did not have children or pets to keep him company, and loved having the chance to meet many different people who came aboard the ship.
And while his base fare budget is $30,000 for the year, the cruise comes with extra perks including free WiFi and free drinks, meaning he is saving money on those expenses.
He revealed that the trick to making it the most cost-effective is to work out which cruise line offers the best benefits for what you need and to make the most of their loyalty programs - and he will have reached the highest level after two years, meaning this year's travel will cost him a lot less than last year did, despite being on board for longer.
Ryan did not reveal what he does for food, but Royal Caribbean's website state that the price of cruise tickets includes "most meals onboard" too.
He also revealed that he has a great relationship with the crew on board, having remained on the ship for so long, and is planning to get rid of his apartment in Florida permanently by 2025, as he only spends a short time on land to see friends and have doctor and dentist appointments.
Ryan is not the only person who's traded in being a landlubber for living on board a ship, as 28-year-old Austin Wells last year revealed that he'd moved from his home in San Diego to buy a 12-year lease of an apartment on board the mega cruise ship the MV Narrative.
He told CNBC that he spent $300,000 on the 237 square feet apartment which will belong to him for the duration of the 12-year lease onboard.
His new home will not be ready until 2025, however, as it is still in construction on the docks of Croatia at this time.
Austin said: "This is probably the first time ever that there is even the ability to have a standard job and even consider working and living from a floating apartment complex.”
He plans to spend three years of his 12-year lease living on board and working remotely while traveling the globe, with access to a private gym, a farmer’s market, a cinema, and a swimming pool on the ship.
The ship hopes to amass 1,000 residents and will also feature a school and a library, and hopes to visit locations including Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Greece, and even the Arctic Circle.
Those behind the MV Narrative, Alister Punton and Shannon Lee, say that the concept of cruise living came from them "wanting to offer more affordable apartments for life at sea."
According to RentCafe, the average monthly rent in San Diego is $2,916, while living on the MV Narrative will save Austin almost $1,000 a month as his lease works out at $2,000 a month.
Luckily, he is able to work his job around his new lifestyle, as Austin added: "The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world. My working hours will be shifted towards evenings, nights, and very early mornings, but that does open up the ability for me to see a city midday to afternoon."
Angelyn and Richard Burk, who are originally from Seattle, also made the choice to move onto a ship full-time after realizing it worked out cheaper than their mortgage payments.
In May 2021, they bid farewell to their jobs and embarked on a new life at sea, armed with just a single suitcase each after finding they could live on the ship for as little as $43.92 a day.
Angelyn, 53, told 7News: "We love to travel, and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense."
The couple had initially planned to begin their cruising life when they retired but devised a financial plan that meant they could start their dream life earlier than anticipated.
They adopt a frugal lifestyle, capitalizing on sales and loyalty memberships to secure the best deals, and by using their savings and selling their home, they achieved early retirement.
Angelyn revealed: "We have been frugal all our lives to save and invest in order to achieve our goal. We are not into materialistic things but experiences."
She told CNN in April 2022 that the average daily cost of living on a cruise ship amounts to $89, which includes the room, transportation, tips, entertainment, as well as port fees and taxes.
Luckily for the couple, this was "well within" their retirement budget, and they set off almost immediately, and have spent just a handful of nights on dry land since.
Anyone else got a sudden urge to do the maths and see if living on a cruise ship is cheaper - because we have.
