Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Living life on a cruise ship may seem like an impossible feat–but Mario Salcedo has figured out exactly how to do it. (And so has this couple.) The cruising legend and Miami native celebrated his 1,000th cruise with Royal Caribbean earlier this month, marking over 20 years of living on a cruise ship ship and solidifying his reign as Royal Caribbean's most loyal cruiser.

Nicknamed 'Super Mario', he began cruising in 1994. "When I hit 45, I wanted to start a new chapter in my life traveling around the world—that was my vision,” he told Conde Nast Traveler. “But I didn’t know about the logistics, whether air, train, or sea."


After testing out different cruise lines, he booked a voyage on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas—and never looked back. “It was the biggest cruise ship in the world at the time, and so revolutionary—the first ice skating rink, the first rock climbing wall, so many elements that took cruising to another dimension,” he told the publication.


Since then, he has remained loyal to the cruise line, and shared that he only spends about 15 days on land, averaging 50 weeks a year of cruising. Salcedo found his groove with cruising while continuing to work in the the investment management business from sea. And when he's not working, he's playing.

“I go dancing in the lounges, or enjoy a nice cigar after dinner with a cognac, watching basketball or football games on TV," he told the publication. "Everything I do on the ship provides an opportunity to socialize.”

Cruise danceHappy Dance GIF by The Crab PlaceGiphy

While life at sea may seem like a dream, living permanently on a cruise also comes with its challenges—including its impact on Salcedo's health. "I’ve lost my land legs, so when I’m swaying so much I can’t walk in a straight line,” he told Conde Nast Traveler.

And although he has taken full advantage of Royal Caribbean's loyalty programs—he is a Pinnacle Club member in the line's Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program—he certainly doesn't cruise for free. In 2019, he shared with Cruise the World A to Z exactly how much he spent each year to live full-time on a cruise ship.

Mario Salcedo shares how much it costs to live on a cruise ship.www.youtube.com

Salcedo explained that it costs an average of $185 per day for his interior cabin. "If you do the math, in my case, my budget is $72,093. So the minimum is $72,000," he shared. He added that this is for the most basic of accommodations, and no extras like alcohol or excursions. He explained to Conde Nast Traveler, "I don’t eat like a regular cruiser. I skip one meal a day, and eat smart," he added.

However, Salcedo argues that it's still a deal compared to the average cost of assisted living in the United States, which he shared with Cruise the World A to Z that he also researched. "I looked up the average cost of assisted living in the United States per year and it's $100,380. You can see that if you do an interior cabin, it's cheaper to live on a cruise ship."


More For You

near-death experience, Dannion Brinkley, life after death, consciousness, hospice care, panoramic life review, lightning strike, spiritual awakening, fear of death, tunnel of light, love, kindness, intent, death stories, dying process, afterlife, soul journey, hospice volunteer, fear, transformation

Representative Image: When you've touched death, it leaves its mark.

Photo by Guy Kawasaki via Unsplash

He died 3 times and came back with the same message: love is the only thing that matters

Dannion Brinkley has been clinically dead three times, but each experience gave him the same stunning insight — love, intent, and service are what really matter. His story invites us to see death not as an end, but a profound transformation.

Most people don't come back after death. Dannion Brinkley has done it three times — and what he brought back has changed lives.

Keep ReadingShow less
genuine kindness, signs of good people, character traits, quiet integrity, small acts of kindness, how to be kind, real goodness, everyday goodness

Representative Image: Need to know if they're a good person? See how they treat animals.

Forget big gestures, these 10 tiny acts reveal who’s actually a good person

What makes someone a genuinely good person? It's often not the grand gestures or public declarations of virtue—it’s the quieter moments, the ones no one’s watching, that reveal the most. Kindness and character are often found in the small decisions we make every day: how we treat others, how we show up, and how we behave when there’s nothing to gain.

In a recent conversation filled with personal stories and reflections, people shared the subtle ways they’ve recognized goodness in others. These aren’t loud or flashy traits—they’re quiet, powerful reminders of what it means to be decent and kind. Here are ten understated signs of genuine goodness.

Keep ReadingShow less
women, happy women, smiling women
photo of woman beside another woman at seashore

25 simple things that make women happy, according to women

From small acts of kindness to favorite treats and self-care activities, one thing is for sure: it's truly the little things that make women happy. Sure, the extravagant can too–but thoughtful things can make just as much impact.

If you want to do something to bring a smile to the face of a special woman in your life (a friend, a spouse, a sister or mom) and make her feel loved, these sweet and simple ideas will make her day. These are 25 responses to the question, "What simple things make you happy?", according to women. (And if you're curious, here are 12 things that make guys happy.)

Keep ReadingShow less
Millennial, selfie, duck face, fashion, roasting
woman in black tank top holding white ceramic mug
Photo by Nate Johnston on Unsplash

Millennials are roasting themselves and the internet can’t stop laughing

Every generation has its cringe-worthy moments. Whether it's Tide Pods, Sephora kids, or whatever “brain rot” TikTok trend is making the rounds, it’s just the natural cycle of growing up. But Millennials? We were the first ones to have it all documented online—for better or worse.

Reddit user u/sunkissedgirls, a teacher, recently posed a question to the r/Millennials community: “What is the millennial equivalent to Gen Z’s Tide Pods and Gen Alpha’s Sephora face?”

Keep ReadingShow less
A dad, a dog, a mystery: Goofy’s voice actor clears up decades of fan confusion
Super Festivals, via Wikimedia Commons

A dad, a dog, a mystery: Goofy’s voice actor clears up decades of fan confusion

For generations, fans have lovingly argued about what exactly Goofy is. With his long ears, dog-like snout, and anthropomorphic antics, many have assumed he’s simply a talking dog—Pluto with pants. But as Bill Farmer, the man behind Goofy’s voice since 1987, explains, it’s not quite that simple.

“Pluto is a dog, but Goofy seems to be in the canine family in the same way that a wolf is not a dog, but they also are in the canine family,” Farmer said in a 2020 interview. “I think Canis Goofus is the technical Latin term for what Goofy is. He’s just Goofy.”

Keep ReadingShow less