Meet these retired sisters in their 60s who live on cruises full-time. They’ve already spent over 1,500 days at sea.

They said the money they made from selling their homes — and the savings from not having to upkeep them — help fund their cruises.

After all, the lifestyle isn’t cheap — rates for next year’s 133-Day Grand Voyage: Pole to Pole start at $31,199 a person and rates for the 124-day Grand World Voyage start at $27,354 a person.

To be fair, these fares include essentials like food, housing, utilities, and entertainment — expenses the sisters would’ve had to budget for on land.

“At one time, I had a big house with a pool and three cars. Without all of that, I have a lot more money to spend on travel,” Johnston told BI.

They also budget carefully and use loyalty perks to continue to cruise

Johnston said it’s hard to say if living on cruise ships is more cost-effective than maintaining a traditional home.

After all, if she wanted to cruise on a tighter budget, she could choose her sailings solely based on cost. This would mean doing a lot of the same short mega-cruises around the Caribbean — but she prefers smaller ships with long sailings.

Durham also said she’s been able to make this lifestyle work because she’s been debt-free for the last 20 years. When she decided to sell her house, she ran the numbers, set goals, lived on less, and created a five-year plan that she still reassesses and adjusts annually.

The sisters also stretch their budgets by earning and using loyalty perks — they’ve sailed with Holland America so much that they’ve gotten access to complimentary specialty dining and laundry.

Johnston said she also cuts back on her travel expenses “by choosing less-expensive staterooms, such as obstructed ocean view.”

Parts of this lifestyle can be difficult, but it’s all worth it for the sisters

In 2023 alone, Johnston spent 300 days on cruises throughout Europe, Canada, and New England — that’s a lot of time away from friends and family.

“I stay in touch with friends through email, social media and even calling over WiFi,” she said. “Lately, I’ve used Zoom to join a book club with friends from high school. The biggest challenge has been the time difference some months.”

For Johnston, one of the hardest parts of living at sea is stocking up on essential prescriptions, which she tries to do in between sailings.

“I frequently have breaks of a few weeks between cruises and can get 90-day supplies then,” she said. “I use a mail service designed for full-time RV-ers.”

Another challenge for the sisters is voting, as it can require a lot of planning to get absentee ballots while abroad in changing locations. But, Johnston said, they adjust and adapt to their new normal as needed.

“Long cruises become a way of life, not a vacation,” said Johnston. “The ship is home.”