Woman who lives on a cruise ship shares how she does it for just $20 a week
A woman who lives on a cruise ship has shared how she does it on the cheap.
In recent years, it's more increasingly more common for people to ditch the lives on land to live a life at sea - largely because it's cheaper.
Ryan Gutridge lives on a cruise ship for 300 days of the year as he found he was able to save money by doing so, while Austin Wells bought an apartment on the MV Narrative as it cost less than buying a property in the city he lived in.
And Christine Kesteloo has also reaped the rewards that comes with cruise ship living, and pays just $20 a week to do so.
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But how? I hear you ask.
Christine, who goes by @dutchworld_americangirl on TikTok, revealed all to UNILAD.
The 42-year-old travels round the world a cruise ship, and typically lives on board the ship for three months at a time, before spending another three months on land.
Christine's husband, Piet, is an engineer on the ship and rather than her being apart from him for six months of the year, she decided to come along with him.
And for Christine, joining her hubby on board was a no-brainer.
"My marriage comes first," she told us.
"Being away from my husband six months out of the year is not healthy and was never an option for me.
"I started social media to share our life and I hoped eventually I would bring in income for my family."
After only 18 months of documenting her life on social media, Christine says she already makes three times as much as her husband's engineering wage.
An added bonus is that she gets to keep a lot of that money as, while living on the ship, she only has to pay $20 a week.
When asked if she has to pay towards living on the ship, Christine said: "I do pay $20.00 per week for internet."
Other than that, the pair don't have to pay a thing.
When asked how much she think she saves on average, Christine explained: "I don’t have an exact figure but, think of how much money you spend per month on food, gas, electricity, cable, internet, and mortgage or rent."
Noting that the couple have manage to pay off their home in the Netherlands, she added: "That is how much we save."
As well as being able to purchase their home with the money they've saved, Christine said that they've recently paid cash for a new car.
With their other savings, Piet and Christine hope to extend their Netherlands home as well as purchase a US-based property too.
In addition to saving cash, Christine said that the best thing about living on a cruise ship is being able to travel the world.
"The best thing is I’m in a new place everyday," she told UNILAD.
"My parents say I’m doing retirement in reverse. Most people work until 65 and then travel. I am 42 and have already been to 108 countries."
As to what the worst part is, Christine said: "The worst thing about living on a ship is missing holidays with family and dealing with medical issues in different countries."
I think we can all agree that the positives probably outweigh the negatives, though.
BRB - off to find a partner who works on a cruise ship.
Niamh Shackleton