Can You Live on a Cruise Ship? 3 Ways to Do It

You’re back from a cruise in the Caribbean and think, “what could be better than this?” and you wonder, can you live on a cruise ship?

I am lucky enough to live part of my life on a cruise ship – between 3 and 6 months a year sailing around different parts of the globe. It is an incredible way to see the world and there are lots of ways to make it happen for you – either part of the year or even full-time if you’d like and have the budget for it.

Can you live on a cruise ship?

If you’re looking for a bit of luxury living on the high seas you can absolutely live on a cruise ship. It just depends on how much you want to spend, and depending how you do it some logistical headaches.

There are three main ways you can live on a cruise ship. The most expensive option is to buy an apartment on a residential cruise ship. The next would be booking many back to back cruises onboard a traditional cruise ship. The last option is the most cost effective but arguably less fun – get a job onboard.

There is one other option though but it is not one to plan on: marry someone, or be in a long term committed relationship with someone that works on a cruise ship and has family sailing privileges. Kind of hard to make that a plan though.

Each of these option offers a very different life experience as well as price tag.

For most folks back-to-back cruises would be the least expensive way to live onboard a cruise ship. Or at least could be a great way to test out if it’s something you truly want to do long term.

Think of it like renting somewhere month to month versus buying. You’ve got a lot more flexibility and less money down than if you were to purchase a residence at sea. Even still that option though has some hurdles to it, too.

How much is it to live on a cruise ship?

How much it is to live on a cruise ship really depends on if you are doing back-to-back-to-back cruises on a traditional cruise ship or if you are buying an apartment on a residential ship.

Option #1: Book many back to back cruises on a traditional cruise

To live on a cruise ship sailing back-to-back voyages for a year on a contemporary or premium line would cost you somewhere between $40,000 and $70,000 per person, double occupancy, not including extra onboard expenses like gratuities, Wi-Fi, and drinks. Up this to a luxury line and you can expect to spend about $110,000-$180,000 per year per person.

You could really do this on most cruise lines and most ships out there.

There’s a lot to consider when choosing which cruise line and ship to live on.

• cost
  • base cost plus additional expenses depending on the line
  • onboard gratuities
  • Wi-Fi
  • excursions/shore-side experiences
  • specialty restaurants/room service
  • drinks
• itinerary
  • lots of repeating ports versus longer more immersive voyages
• onboard amenities
  • roller coasters and water slides vs a more laid back experience
• access to your “regular life” needs such as:
  • health care
  • regular mail (including packages)
  • level of high-speed Wi-Fi

Let’s take a look at three options.

The first is onboard Carnival Magic, sailing 6, 7, and 8 day itineraries in the Caribbean for a year, in an inside cabin would cost you $41,223 per person for your cruise fare, taxes and fees (assuming double occupancy). This does not include onboard gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi, shore excursions and you will be on itineraries just in the Caribbean for the full year.

While this is an older Carnival ship, you will have water slides and a more lively onboard atmosphere.

The second is onboard Holland America’s Volendam from November 2024 to November 2025 would cost about $70,700 per person for your cruise fare, taxes and fees, assuming two people in the room, mostly in an inside stateroom. This also does not includes extra expenses like gratuities, Wi-Fi, shore excursions, drinks.

Onboard Volendam you will sail two Legendary voyages as well as a 133 day Pole to Pole Grand Voyage, visit 44 countries on five continents, including Antarctica. Technically you could visit the Asian side of Istanbul to technically visit six continents in that time.

Another option would be a luxury line such as Seabourn. They are an ultra-luxury line with incredible onboard inclusions. For a year onboard Seabourn Sojourn, including a 90 night Grand Africa voyage would be $180,000. This is in a verandah suite on an all-inclusive line, with gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi, and specialty restaurants included.

You’ll also sail the Voyage of the Vikings, exploring Greenland and Iceland.

It should be noted none of these prices include any discounts the cruise line might give you or various bonuses from their loyalty programs.

As you can see there is a big price difference, but also a big difference in onboard experience and destinations.

Interested in World Cruises – up to 200 days in length?
➡️ 🛳️ Shop World Cruises by Clicking Here

Option #2: Buy an apartment on a resident cruise ship

There are a few “cruise lines” out there that have residential cruise ships where you can buy an apartment to live on. Some of these lines also offer an option where you can buy a time-share for an apartment onboard.

These are not traditional cruise lines with different “cruises” you can take. There are worldwide itineraries and you can somewhat join and disembark with what works for your schedule. There are exceptional restaurants onboard and some entertainment but the entertainment it is much more subdued than a traditional cruise.

The World

The original and most famous residential cruise ship is The World. Touted as residences at sea with studio, one, two, and three bedroom “apartments”. To buy a studio apartment you can expect to spend about 3 million dollars. On top of this expense, you are required to have a net worth of at least 10 million dollars to even be considered to buy one of these apartments.

All of the apartments onboard have at least a balcony and there are only 165 residences on the ship. In addition of the cost of buying there are yearly fees ranging in the hundreds of thousands depending on what level of apartment you own.

Storylines MV Narrative

Storylines ship the MV Narrative operates a bit differently than The World. The residences onboard Storyline can also be rented out when you’re not onboard if you choose or you can opt for a time-share style ownership. It is also a much larger ship with 547 residences onboard compared to The Worlds 165.

The price tag on Storylines says they start at $600,000 with a yearly maintenance fee around $60,000; right now the least expensive option is listed for just over a million for an inside room with a virtual window.

A few interesting elements of the ship is that there are lounge kitchens – kitchen areas available for guests to prepare their own foods if they would like. It also includes wellness visits and check-ups at the medical facility and room service.

Villa Vie

Villa Vie is the newest line to launch a residential ship. This ship it should be noted was not purposefully built for residential cruising and instead is a revamped cruise liner, but the refurbishment was extensive.

Villa Vie will be offering full circumnavigations of the globe very 3.5 years.

Ownership options for Villa Vie start at $99,999. This price tag may sound much more affordable – except there is a monthly fee attached with it starting at $1,750 per person for double occupancy.

This means at minimum, Villa Vie would be $21,000 per year per person, plus the $99,999 initial ownership payment.

Still to Launch: Superyacht Njord in 2027

The highest price-tag option for living on a cruise ship is the yet to launch Superyacht Njord two to six bedroom apartments starting at a cool $8.5 million.

With that kind of price tag there are certain extra amenities – like submarines – that come with it. Other extra amenities include helicopters, fishing boats, onboard zodiacs, sailboats and a dive center.

This ship will only have 117 onboard residences. Each bedroom in each apartment features oceanviews and en-suite bathrooms. Simply put, this is truly a luxury at sea living experience.

There are sometimes you can’t be onboard

Even if you opted to “live” onboard there are times you wouldn’t be allowed on the ship.

Dry-dock

The most common occurrence of this you would be for dry-dock. This is a time when the ship goes in for extensive refurbishments. This usually happens every two to three years.

These dry-dock periods typically last between 10 days and 3 weeks depending on the extent of the refurbishments being done.

Charters

There are also times that ships are bought to be used as a charter for different organizations. When this happens the cabins are not sold to the general public. This does not happen on the residential cruise ships but this does happen on traditional cruise lines.

If you do not want to be affected by this make sure to ask when you are booking or if you spot a week that isn’t available to book, this is probably what is going on.

The unforeseen events like pandemics or unplanned dry-docks

And then there are of course crazy things like global pandemics that can happen shutting down the entire industry and leaving someone living onboard scrambling to figure out where they’re going to live.

During the pandemic the entire cruise industry, including the residential side of the industry shut down completely. This left those living onboard a ship needing to figure out where to go live until restrictions were lifted.

Another unplanned circumstance would be an unplanned dry-dock. If there was a fire, accident, collision, or something substantial enough broke, a ship could be put into an emergency dry-dock.

Option #3: Get a job on a cruise ship

Want to really live onboard a cruise ship? Getting a job onboard will give you a real taste of living onboard a ship.

There are lots of different jobs onboard a cruise ship, from entertainment to engineers and florists, nurses and doctors to accountants. Contracts range from 3 months to 8 or 9 months depending on your function and experience level.

Really love the life onboard? When you are on vacation from the ship you could still be onboard as a passenger on discount cruises that are included as part of your employee compensation package.

Cruise ship crew life isn’t for the faint of heart though, so be sure to read up on it before applying.

How can you live on a cruise ship for free?

There’s only one way to live on a cruise ship for free without working onboard yourself – be the plus one of someone that does work onboard. This is actually how I am able to live onboard the ship – my husband works onboard and his position allows myself and our daughter to sail with him.

Doing this you are able to live onboard when they are working, during their vacations though you’ll have to disembark with them. This means you’ll likely be onboard with them for between 6 and 8 months per year.

Not all cruise lines allow this and it is typically only allowed for spouses, dependent children, and those in a long term committed relationship. The crew member will also need to be a rank that has these different family sailing privileges.

How much does it cost to live on a cruise ship for a month?

To live on a cruise ship for a month you would need to either book a month long cruise or several back to back cruises. A great way to do this would be to book a repositioning cruise and then another cruise with it. This is because repositioning cruises tend to be the most affordable of any type of cruise.

For instance you could do a back to back on MSC Virtuosa for 26 days in April 2025 for $2238 per person. It just depends where and when you want to sail.

Interested in the Best Deals in Cruising?
➡️ 🛳️ Shop Repositioning Cruises by Clicking Here

What other expenses are there?

Regardless of how inclusive even the all-inclusive cruises are, there are still extra expenses that you should consider when thinking about living on a cruise ship.

• travel insurance
• medical
• onboard gratuities
• excursions/adventures/meals ashore
• expenses of getting to and from the ship
• drinks onboard/specialty restaurants
• Wi-Fi

FAQ’s

Can you live on a cruise ship permanently?

Your best option to live on a cruise ship permanently would be on one of the residential cruise ships, such as The World, MV Narrative, or Villa Vie. You would still have to disembark these vessels every few years while they go into dry-dock or their refurbishment time.

Living on a cruise ship? Don’t expect a kitchen

Fire is the biggest risk there is on a ship. Even if you buy a cabin on a residential ship you won’t find a kitchen in your apartment. On Storylines MV Narrative you will find lounge kitchens where residents can cook for themselves. Aside from this though onboard you’ll be enjoying the food prepared for you.

But, what country do you “live” in?

You would still live in whatever country you are from or have residency in. Talk to a tax professional about how your residency situation will impact your taxes. When you go through immigration though they won’t let you say “I live onboard a cruise ship” they want to know which country you technically call “home”.

Conclusion: Can You Live on a Cruise Ship?

Absolutely. If you have the financial means to live on a cruise ship it can be done. Whether that be on a residential cruise ship, sailing lots of voyages back-to-back on a traditional cruise, or if you opt to work onboard, there are absolutely ways to live onboard a cruise ship.