A retired married couple has found it’s cheaper to stay in a state of a permanent holiday aboard cruise ships than invest in a retirement home.
Pensioners Marty and Jess Ansen booked 51 back-to-back cruises on the Coral Princess in June 2022 and have been aboard ever since.
Passionate cruise-goers, the couple were itching to get back on after the COVID-19 pandemic – claiming they’d spend the rest of their life on a cruise if they could.
“Eventually I said to my agent, ‘Look, whatever comes, book it’ and that’s how it got to be such a long cruise,” Mr Ansen told A Current Affair on day 455 of their voyage.
Ms Ansen added the couple are there to welcome the different captains on board with each changeover.
The Ansens believe cruising is cheaper than being in a retirement home or village as the couple have all their meals included and their room cleaned daily aboard the Coral Princess.
The crew has become like family to the pensioners who still try to maintain a routine while on their never-ending holiday.
To keep healthy, the couple start every day playing an hour of table tennis together.
After docking briefly in Sydney at the end of September for the ship to restock, the Ansens have already left again on a round-the-world trip to Hawaii for eight months.
After that, the Ansens will only be back on land for a few months before they head off again for a year-long cruise on the Crown Princess.
Does this sound like the ultimate retirement dream? Let us know in the comments!
The ship’s doctor is not sufficient for medical emergencies and is super expensive. So this is fine whilst they both remain healthy. Could get boring after 6 months. Obviously no family commitments either.