Mario Salcedo does n’t remember precisely when it bulge out — it could ’ve been after the first 100 cruises , or 500 , or 900 — but it ’s still a minute of a problem . On one of the rarefied days he find himself on dry acres , his peg carry involuntarily , bracing for the drift of the ship they ’re accustomed to having underfoot .
“ When I take the air from my kitchen to my support room , I stumble , ” Salcedo , 66 , tellsmental_floss . “ I ca n’t take the air a unbent line . I ’ll run into the wall . I spill coffee . ”
He has ego - diagnose the yield : “ I ’ve lose my land legs . ”
More than 7000 days at sea will do that to you . For the past two X , Salcedo has been a full - time occupant on cruise ships , spend less than two weeks out of the twelvemonth at his condo in Miami , Florida . The rest of the time , he ’s take up a float , lasting mansion on the legion megaton sail ships sailing out of Florida on the regal Caribbean fleet . He dances . He scuba dives . He answer endless questions about the best restaurants on board . He operate a small business from his cabin . And he could n’t be happier .
When Salcedo was 7 years old , his parentsfledthe uncongenial political climate of Cuba to relocate in Florida . In college , he canvass finance and political economy , putting down ascendant at a Miami transnational corp . The corporate ravel was delineate with thenar tree , but he was never in the place for very long .
“ I racked up three million frequent broadside miles , ” he says . The company sent him all over the world . After 21 years , 90 pct of which he estimate was spent travel , an exhausted Salcedo decided he was finished . He walked into his boss ’ office and declared he ’d be leaving his well - paying job .
“ Maybe you ’ve been travel too much , ” his executive program enounce . “ Why not take some time off ? ”
“ You do n’t understand , ” Salcedo told him . “ I desire to deepen my whole lifestyle . ”
“ Well , take a year off . ”
“ You do n’t get it , ” Salcedo said , and wave goodbye .
He experience he wanted to travel , but not by melodic line . “ I was sick and tired of planer , ” he says . With a home base in Miami and frequent visit to the Caribbean , he had ensure cruise ships in port wine always and had always been queer . In 1997 , he boarded his first ship .
“ That was it , ” he say . “ I knew I wanted to cruise for the rest of my liveliness . ”
For the next three year , Salcedo sampled almost every cruise logical argument and ship that he could reserve , search for the right combination of amenities , atmosphere , and consolation . He sailed to Scandinavia , South America , and Europe , nibbled on the food , and interact with crews . In January 2000 , he stepped foot on theVoyager of the Seas , at the time the great ship offered by Royal Caribbean : next to Carnival , it ’s one of the industry’stwo biggestcruise line . It had innovative attractor ( like a rock climbing wall ) , generous reward for loyal cruisers , and a staff that treated Salcedo warmly .
“ I needed stability , ” he say . “ I pick the sail job I thought was the good one , and it bechance to be Royal . ”
By this clip , Salcedo had put the last touches on a fiscal consulting business sector that could be run remotely and still provide enough income to yield the $ 65,000 annually he needed for cruise expenses . After tussling a bite with house and friends—“They thought I was nuts to bedevil away my career”—he became a full - time passenger , or what the industry advert to as a “ frequent vagrant , ” booking over 800 voyages with Royal and counting .
When discussing his preferred lifestyle , Salcedo like to referenceThe Love Boat — a show he believes will help the fair farming - locked single understand why he has opt to take up cruising full - time . “ keep an eye on the rerun , ” he says . “ Everybody ’s happy . Everyone ’s defenses are down . Everyone wants to have a good clock time and socialize . ”
A distinctive day for Salcedo might begin with a four- or five - hour work shift , often from a deck chairman near the puddle and overlooking the ocean . After clocking out , he might go for a swim before heading to one of the ship ’s many waiting area for some salsa dancing . On every cruise , he say , there are commonly 15 or 20 people he befriended on a preceding ocean trip , many of them “ frequent spots ” themselves .
“ We share stories , talk about where we ’re pass next , ” he says . He follows up with some via electronic mail so they can adjudicate and organise get together or barter suggestions for thing to do during destination cruises to Jamaica or Grand Cayman .
In between , Salcedo gets peppered with questions from first - time cruisers who have heard through the grapevine about his permanent installation . With multiple eatery on card all Royal ship – there are 22 on his current home , Empress of the Seas – they require to know where to go consume .
“ I can not eat like they do , ” he articulate . “ A unconstipated cruiser will stuff themselves for seven whole days . ” Salcedo keep his weight under ascendence by skipping meal and loading up on vegetables and lean proteins . If the skipper tempt him for dinner party , he might splurge on a steak .
walk , dancing , and scuba dive keep him primed . In 20 year , he ’s never see the inside of the aesculapian bay on any ship . “ I ’ve never been tired of a single day , ” he says . “ Never had norovirus , none of it . I eat smart , use , and I have no stress . Zero emphasis ! ”
Perhaps not coincidentally , Salcedo is a womb-to-tomb bachelor . While a ephemeral life-style of cruising does n’t appear to lend itself to relationships , he say he ’s subject . “ I have it off to come across single ladies , and there ’s plenty of them on cruise ship nowadays .
“ Sometimes it goes beyond friendly relationship . Two calendar month later , they might come back to visit me . ”
Salcedo has been on 23 of Royal ’s 25 ships . Two are newfangled to the fleet , and he has n’t had a chance to pace on deck yet . His cruise are usually booked six months in procession so he can attempt to keep the same cabin without having to transfer his luggage to another room . In October , he ’ll fly to Barcelona to meet a ship that will queer back over to Florida .
The Miami condominium — where he sometimes sways on the trading floor — is empty most of the metre , used only when he ’s transition from one ship to another ; his railroad car sits in Royal ’s terminal , waiting for one of his infrequent layovers so he can take the 15 moment home . There are no friends to take it out for a maintenance drive .
“ Any of the admirer I had on landed estate pretty much turn over up on me , ” he says . “ It ’s one of the downside . I ’m never home , so they just kind of wither aside . ” At sea , it does n’t really matter who Miami ’s city manager might be , or which new business has move in down the street . “ You wind up lose trace . ”
Although Salcedo has become something of a public recounting gift for Royal , he says he does n’t have any compensation or rebate beyond whatever ’s offer to high - rank allegiance program members . As a single occupier , he avoid a 200 percent mug - up of his cabin : it ’s 150 per centum . And the company is willing to hear him out when it total to suggestions . It would be decent , he once told them , if frequent floaters could have barren wireless access . At $ 20 a day , it adds up .
They said yes . He ’s still assay to get more channels on the cabin television system . “ I ’d like to watch over Fox News , ” he says . “ But there is no Fox News on Royal . ”
It ’s a small-scale incommodiousness . Salcedo is book for thenext two yearsand has no plans to for good disembark anytime before long . “ I feel better at 66 than I did in the collective rotter race in my 30s . I ’ll keep cruising as long as I ’m healthy and as long as I ’m give birth play .
“ I ’m probably the happy person in the humans . ”
