A woman who spends her life living on cruise ships has revealed the dark sides that others may not have considered.
Lynnelle, a 53-year-old content creator behind the YouTube channel Poverty to Paradise, decided in 2024 to trade in her toxic job, broken marriage, house, and car for life on the open sea.
Now, with over 70,000 subscribers tuning in, she’s sharing the unfiltered truth about what full-time cruising really looks like — and it’s not all umbrella drinks and ocean views.
“So you’ve been watching all the YouTube videos and you’ve seen all these people living on the cruise ships and you are just about ready to sell your house, pack everything up and come live on a cruise ship,” Lynnelle says.
“Before you do that there are some things you need to know. It’s not all paradise and glitz and glamour but there are some things that might make you pause.”
She originally planned just 90 days at sea.
“When I first started doing this I was not planning to live on cruise ships. I was going through a transition and I saw some deals here and I thought let me go through this for 90 days while I think about what I’m going to do with my life and it turned out this is perfect for me.”
But even though it works for her, Lynnelle warns that there are eight major realities would-be sea nomads need to come to terms with first.
1. Space: Say Goodbye to RoominessIf you think cruise cabins are cute and cozy, try living in one permanently.
“Take your current bedroom, cut it in half and squeeze a queen-size bed a couple of night stands and everything you need to live into that half of a bedroom,” Lynnelle explains. “That’s what your cabin is going to look like.”
2. Noise: Thin Walls, Loud NeighboursThe cruise ship soundtrack isn’t just the ocean breeze — it’s karaoke, theatre shows, scraping pool chairs, and other guests’ private activities.
“The cabins on cruise ships are paper thin so if you are the type of person who wants to spend a significant amount of time in your cabin you need to think about that,” Lynnelle warns.
“I have heard so many things that were disturbing to me that I pulled the pillow over my head and put ear plugs in.”
“You hear everything, depending what deck you are on. You might hear noise from the theatre, karaoke singing, one time I heard the scraping of pool chairs up on the Lido deck because I was right below it. Also, the neighbours when you can hear their ‘extra-curricular activities, their snoring, their arguments, their TV blasting.”
If you're the type who enjoys solitude, cruising might test your patience.
“I am not a shy person but I am very quiet and introverted … so a lot of times I just enjoy my own company and enjoy being by myself,” she says.
“If you are an introverted person and you don’t like to be socially interactive you might want to rethink living on a cruise ship because you are going to be in places and people are going to talk to you."
“Even if you get a private table somebody is going to come and say ‘hey, how you doing’ and strike up a conversation with you."
“You are on a ship so unless you sit in your room the whole time, which I don’t suggest you do, you’re going to see that same chatty couple at breakfast, lunch, dinner and you cannot escape them.”
4. Seasickness: The Ocean Has No ChillLocation on the ship and seasonal weather can make a huge difference in how your stomach handles the motion.
“Depending on where you are on the ship – particularly at the very front of the ship or the very back – you are going to feel the motion of the ship from the waves,” she says.
“If there’s a storm, forget it, you’re going to feel it wherever you are on the ship."
“If the motion of the ocean bothers you then that’s something you definitely want to think about.”
Higher decks = more motion, and possibly more nausea.
Living at sea isn’t necessarily a money-saver — at least not unless you play it smart.
“Living on a cruise ship can be upwards of (USD) $80,000 to (USD) $100,000 or more and that’s just for the cruise itself,” Lynnelle explains.
“That’s not including any of the extras you want to get like specialty dining, pictures, souvenirs. All that other stuff adds into the cost of cruising.”
She’s managed to reduce her own expenses dramatically. “My average is USD $2000 per month,” she says — which adds up to about USD $24,000 annually, thanks to her cruise loyalty perks and savvy deal-hunting.
6. Healthcare: Prepare to Pay Out of PocketNeed to see a doctor at sea? Get ready to open your wallet.
“I am 53 and I am pretty much healthy but a lot of people have health issues where they can’t live on a cruise ship or they can but they are going to need special care,” Lynnelle explains.
“If you have some pre-existing health conditions where you need to go to your doctors on a regular basis then living on a cruise ship is probably going to cause some drawbacks for you.”
She once had to get treatment for an infection on board — the appointment alone cost $150, not including medication.
7. Food: Not As Varied As It SeemsSure, cruise food is a highlight… until it’s not.
“I hear a lot of people complain about the food being monotonous,” Lynnelle says.
“I was on one cruise ship for two months straight and even though there was a variety of food … it can be monotonous and so if you are not into eating the same food and you get bored easily that is something you need to take into consideration.”
Cruise menus tend to repeat on a weekly cycle — and after months at sea, you’ll likely be able to recite them by heart.
Connectivity at sea is expensive — and not always reliable.
“If you are a person who, on a regular basis, is Facetiming people and you’re on social media all the time, the Wi-Fi on cruise ships is not very reliable,” she admits.
“About 75 per cent of the time it is great but the other 25 per cent of the time you want to pull your hair out because it’s like ‘ah, I have paid for this Wi-Fi but I am not getting coverage’.”
But the biggest challenge of all? Emotional isolation.
“It’s hard to make lasting friendships because the nature of cruising is transient, so those people will only be on the ship with you for maybe 10 days but after that they move on their merry way,” Lynnelle explains.
“I’m not saying you can’t make friends on cruise ships but, for the most part, especially if you are cruising solo like I am, you need to find people you click with but it is difficult."
“If you are a social butterfly or someone who needs to have deep connections with a person all the time then this might not be the lifestyle for you.”