How to Live the Laptop Lifestyle – The Man who Lives on a Cruise Ship

byHenri-III

316 followers

Updated 6 years ago

In January, my wife and I were fortunate enough to take a brief ocean cruise. We kicked-back, enjoyed our time on the Coral Sea and cherished the pristine islands of the Great Barrier Reef – many are undeveloped. Nevertheless, this blog post was inspired by the story of a fellow passenger, a man who lived on the ship, and how he could benefit from an education in affiliate marketing..

No, he wasn’t a crew member. He was a retiree from Sydney who lived on a fixed income. Another couple we met, who cruise three or four times a year, were acquainted with the man and knew his story well.

If you know anything about property values and rental rates in Sydney, you won’t be surprised to learn that $600 per week will get you a home, but it won’t be anything special or located even close to the best side of town.

However, if you book ahead, you can cruise year round for not too much more than that. In fact, you can live more cheaply than you would in a $600 apartment if you take into account the following facts:

1. The fare includes all meals – except those in a celebrity chef culinary experience restaurant. On our ship, the Italian, Asian and a la carte restaurants, as well as an international food court were all included in the fare.

2. Rooms are cleaned twice a day, and linen and towels are replaced at your whim. On most cruises departing from Australian ports, tipping is optional, and crew are remunerated with that in mind. However, we did tip.

3. You get to enjoy free use of the gymnasium, sauna, swimming pools, tennis courts and other recreational facilities.

4. You have no car payments, petrol costs, parking fees, insurance charges, tolls or car maintenance expenses.

5. All entertainment is free – movies, stage shows, comedians, magicians, as well as four musical bands and two solo artists.

6. There are bonus points for frequent travellers which can be used for upgrades and other benefits. I guess you might call them frequent floater points.

There are also further lifestyle considerations:

1. You can go for a walk at any time of the day or night without fear.

2. You get to enjoy magnificent ocean, island and harbour views.

3. There is no need to cook, wash the car or mow the lawn.

4. There is no traffic.

5. You make new friends frequently – it’s in the nature of cruising – and they often keep in touch.

6. The ship drops anchor in Sydney Harbour on the 31st December and 26th January – in fact all five ships of the line do – so passengers get to enjoy the New Years Eve and Australia Day celebrations and the fireworks spectacular from the harbour itself. It's much cooler than being one of the million and half locals and tourists crowded about the foreshore.

One point I should make clear is that our fare was adjusted on a twin share basis – two people per cabin – and we were privileged to enjoy the luxury of an ocean view room. They have windows these days, not at all like the portholes of old. Although, some interior cabins have no windows at all.

For privacy, our room was separated into three sections by curtains that could be opened or closed, which is useful if someone is napping. We entered our cabin to find a bathroom to the right (with both a bath and shower) and ample closet space to the left. The next compartment had a lounge, desk, mini-refrigerator and a flat screen TV. Beyond this area was the queen size bed, two bedside tables and, of course, the ocean view. Our room wan't huge, but it was cleverly conceived.

Throughout the cruise, the weather remained perfect, and the sea was calm and cobalt blue. At times, you could easily forget that the ship was moving at all.

What about family and friends?

I’ve given this some thought,and I’m not sure whether the permanent resident of our ship spends time with family and friends when he’s in port. He could certainly organise a lunch if he does.

He could also leave the ship to spend time ashore in any number of ports and then re-board that ship, or another from the same line, two to five days later – or longer if it so pleased him. In the case of this particular cruise line, there are five ships that operate from Australian ports. Of course, any such initiative would require forward planning.

So,what do you think?

In my view, spending an extended period at sea is a definite option for a professional affiliate marketer. One issue is the internet. It’s not cheap or particularly reliable. However, for affiliate marketing purposes, it will serve.