A man who spent a year living on cruise ships has shed light on what it was really like – from his monthly living costs to the strangest things he saw on board.
Kevin Martin48, from Missouri, spent 20 years in the military and worked as a corporate lawyer before becoming a full-time YouTube creator focused on travel.
For his latest experiment, he spent 12 months testing a variety of cruise ships, with his preferred companies being MSC, NCL, Princess and Royal Caribbean.
Each month, he said he spent about $1,300 on cheap cruise deals, with additional costs including phone bill, insurance, medical care and dining out, bringing the overall total to about $2,000.
In his latest YouTube clip, Kevin shares some of the “realities” of living offshore and begins by stating that he wouldn’t go back to work “a year in a row,” admitting that 45 days to six weeks is the “sweet spot.”
Kevin Martin, 48, from Missouri, spent 20 years in the military and worked as a corporate lawyer before becoming a full-time YouTube creator focused on travel.
For his latest experiment, he spent 12 months testing a variety of cruise ships, with his preferred companies being MSC, NCL, Princess and Royal Caribbean.
When one of his fans asked him what was the strangest thing he had seen while on a cruise, Kevin told the story of a passenger who filled his short pockets with “handfuls” of cold, peeled prawns.
He added: ‘I mean his pockets were full of shrimp. Then he just left the buffet… I thought it was very funny.’
As for food, Kevin says being continually fed is “dangerous” on ships when it comes to staying in shape.
Detailing the abundant culinary selections he witnessed, he said: ‘You have as much food as your heart desires.
‘You can enjoy an elegant dining experience in the main dining room, you can go to the buffet and choose whatever you want, as much as you want.
‘You can go to all the specialty restaurants. You can go to an amazing steak dinner, you can go to an Italian restaurant, a sushi bar… all that kind of stuff.
‘It’s really great. You have an unlimited amount of food. You can eat healthy if you want, there are tons of healthy options. You can eat all the cake you want, if you only want to eat desserts.
“There are so many food options on a cruise ship.”
In his latest YouTube clip, Kevin shares some of the “realities” of living on the high seas. He said that he loved the fact that he never had to do any homework.
In a bid to keep his weight under control, Kevin made sure to watch what he ate and worked hard to maintain his daily step count.
As a result, he even managed to lose weight while surfing.
The avid traveler revealed: ‘So… when I started my 100 days on the Ruby Princess I wanted to lose 35 pounds.
‘That equated to about a pound every three days and I achieved that goal. I lost 35 pounds (and) went from 210 pounds to 175 pounds. That’s where I am now, I’m 175 pounds. I’m very happy with the results.’
Throughout the year, Kevin traveled around the world to various destinations.
He said his favorite port was Tallinn in Estonia as it is “beautiful” with “cobblestone walkways (and) old buildings”.
Meanwhile, the best itinerary was the ‘Fire and Ice’ trip with Princess.
Explaining the route, Kevin said: “It left Fort Lauderdale and went to Halifax, Canada, and then we circumnavigated Iceland and went to three different Icelandic ports and because I was on a small ship, the Island Princess, we were able to go to a lot of places that larger ships cannot.
‘These little towns of like 600 inhabitants, deep in these Icelandic fjords. “It was incredible… it was impressive.”
Each month, he spent about $1,300 on cheap cruise deals with additional costs, including his phone bill and dining out, bringing the grand total to about $2,000.
As for food and drink, Kevin says that continuous feeding is “dangerous” on ships when it comes to staying fit.
After his cruise experience, Kevin says he plans to “work” cruises into his travel plans so he can hop from place to place without flying.
While sailing, Kevin said he had no problems other than contracting norovirus while aboard the Caribbean Princess, which made him “violently” sick for more than four days.
Some of his fans asked him if the cabins were loud, but he said the only thing he really heard was people making noise when they were drunk and walking by.
As for his favorite cruise, Kevin says he enjoyed them all, but MSC had the best private island, while Princess has the best “fluffy mattresses.”
Besides eating large amounts of food and visiting a variety of places, Kevin said the biggest advantage of cruising was not having to do any chores.
He told his viewers: ‘Neither cooking nor cleaning.
‘I don’t have to make my bed. I don’t have to clean a shower or a bathroom. All of that is done by me. “I can just relax and enjoy the cruise.”
When it came to his favorite travel item, Kevin says his phone wallet came in handy as he could keep his room card, money, and phone all in one place.
On the contrary, his least favorite item in his carry-on was his sports jacket, as it was bulky and not really necessary.
After his cruise experience, Kevin says he plans to “work” cruises into his travel plans so he can hop from place to place without flying.
Summing up his year at sea, he concludes: ‘I don’t regret doing it, I definitely loved my year on cruises.
‘Everyone gets along, everyone has this shared experience of sailing and they bond over it. It’s really beautiful. I wish the rest of the world would learn from that.”
