This multi-year cruise around the world costs less than living in Toronto. Would retiring at sea be a better plan?

If a weeklong getaway cruise is simply not enough, Life at Sea has an itinerary for you.

The travel brand, owned by cruise line Miray International, is introducing a three-year world cruise that will cover more than 200,000 kilometres across 135 countries and all seven continents.

The epic journey, launching from Istanbul on Nov. 1, will be hosted on Life at Sea’s MV Gemini ship, which can accommodate 1,074 passengers in some 400 rooms. There are 375 ports of call on the planned 1,095-day itinerary, charting a course around the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and even to Antarctica.

The cruise starts at US$29,999 per year for an inside stateroom and is billed as all-inclusive, with the price covering all meals, beverages, on-board activities and Wi-Fi.

Retiring at sea gaining more popularity

With cruise lines offering new multi-month — and in this case multi-year — itineraries, some retirees are seriously considering selling their homes and living permanently at sea.

The idea has gained traction recently, as the cost of living continues to increase and budget travel becomes more accessible and affordable than before.

Some individuals who have chosen to transform their retirement into a constant sea voyage have made headlines and gone viral over the past few years.

Lee Wachtstetter, a widow from Florida, wrote a 2017 memoir, titled “I May Be Homeless But You Should See My Yacht,” which follows how she spent more than a decade living on cruise ships after her husband died.

Then, there’s Angelyn Burk, a former accountant from Seattle who, along with her husband Richard, retired early, sold their house and lived on cruise ships full-time for about US$43 per day.

Burk said an early retirement at sea made financial sense and cost less than a mortgage.

“We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense,” she told Australian news outlet 7News in 2022. “We have been frugal all our lives to save and invest in order to achieve our goal. We are not into materialistic things but experiences.”

But is that retirement plan feasible for most retirees who love to travel?

Some cruise packages are “pretty competitive” compared to GTA living

Ian Calvert, vice-president and principal of wealth planning at HighView Financial Group, said this type of retirement plan is “pretty rare.” Though he doesn’t know anyone who has chosen to permanently live on cruise ships while retired, he knows of some who are doing a full-year, around-the-world itinerary.

“It’s not offered everywhere, but there are select cruise lines that can put together a full-year package,” he said. “And when you look at the average cost per day, in some cases it’s actually pretty competitive compared to the cost of living in Toronto or the GTA right now.”

As a general rule, most experts agree that retirees need about 70 per cent of their current annual income to live comfortably in retirement.

If you earn $100,000 per year, for example, you will need roughly $70,000 for retirement.

In addition to those personal savings, most Canadians will also be supported by government benefits and pensions once they leave the workforce.

Though not all retirees rent, a one-bedroom rental in Toronto, for example, costs roughly $2,500 per month, up 21.5 per cent from last year, according to data published by Rentals.ca. In a year, that works out to about $30,000.

Though the cost of the Miray cruise converts to about $41,000 Canadian per year, considering it includes meals and other on-board services, the yearly expenses on the ship could ultimately cost less than living in Toronto.

Important to consider personal and financial costs

But before setting sail so quickly, Calvert cautioned that retirees thinking of this option need to have a comprehensive plan and a solid understanding of how this decision will impact their income and assets throughout their retirement.

In addition to these financial considerations, he also noted these individuals should weigh the personal costs and benefits of this lifestyle change.

“Although you may be gaining a new place to call home and even a new set of social networks, there are also things that you’re giving up embarking on this process,” he said. “You need to have a financial as well as a personal plan to make this happen.”

SHARE: