Home Sweet Home at Sea
Alanna and Brian aboard Star Princess in Khios, Greece.
September 11, 2012
by Brian Rohloff
When you travel for work 80 percent of the year, where exactly is home? My wife, Alanna, and I are on the move so much of the time that it makes no sense to buy a house or rent a condo. Who would cut the grass and feed the proverbial cat?
As work puts us on the horizonless road for months at time, we have decided to set up house at sea. Princess Cruises is our domicile of choice, our home sweet home.
Alanna and I help produce some of the world’s most incredible events. The Olympics, the Super Bowl, World Cup soccer and Formula 1 racing. It’s an adrenaline-packed life, filled with late hours and bursts of extreme pressure, but it also rewards with up-close access to newsworthy events.
In the past, we’d fill our occasional downtime with a land-based vacation. Or we would couch surf with Alanna’s family in Winnipeg or mine in Jackson, Minn. After a week of that, we’d feel like we were taking advantage of our families. We also feel a bit old to be relying on our parents since I’m in my 40s and Alanna is in her 30s.
It took a Princess cruise director to suggest to us an alternative, that a cruise ship could also be a home.
We were on a two-month break and had decided to take our “homeless” selves on an official honeymoon/vacation on Star Princess, followed with some backpacking through Europe. We boarded the ship in Fort Lauderdale and were scheduled to disembark in Rome for a month of backpacking.
On board, we became friends with Sammy, the Star Princess cruise director. She’d been a good source of information about what to do and see at the various ports and how best to enjoy our time on board. We told her about our nomadic lives. Living much of the year at sea, Sammy immediately got our situation. She knew we had a few weeks of backpacking coming up, but picked up on how comfortable we had become on the ship. She dropped hints about the great ports after Rome and how relaxed we seemed on the ship.
We started to weigh the pros and cons of continuing with our backpacking plans or staying aboard the ship. Backpacking can be stressful, as you’re always working out the next leg of the journey, how to get there and where to sleep and stop for food. Cruising had been wonderful. In no time, we made our cabin a home with toothbrushes by the sink, clothes in the closet and a shampoo bottle in the shower. That’s big for us as we don’t bother to unpack at work unless we’re staying somewhere longer than two weeks.
Then, there was the daily routine. Sleeping in, followed by breakfast in bed, a visit to the gym (a must as Alanna was an Olympic-caliber gymnast in Canada and we both love our cardio), quiet musings about what to have for dinner, what show to see, what excursion to book. Life at sea was pretty amazing. What would you choose?
With the help of the onboard staff, we were able stay aboard and Sammy was overjoyed when she heard the news. Not only did we love the routine, in our month together, the crew and fellow passengers felt as close as neighbors. We ended up spending 43 days on board before we had to jet off to our next assignment.
Princess was not a one-shot home. We recently spent a two-week layover aboard Coral Princess, taking her through the Panama Canal before setting up for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Now, we’re figuring out where to go on our next work break.
We’ve traveled to over 60 countries together and have always been on the go. We’ve been called jet setters, adventure junkies, gypsies and globetrotters. Are we homeless? Nope! We like to think of it as home free, with the freedom to hop onboard the next Princess ship for a bit of adventure with lots of rest and relaxation.
Maybe cruise ships are a well-kept secret among my peers. We tell them there are all ages and personalities on board and with excursions it’s as adventurous as you make it.
Most of all, it’s nice to feel like we have a place to call home. A Princess Cruises ship is the place we go to relax and unwind in front of Movies Under the Stars, pina colada in hand.
If the day comes that we have a family, maybe a moving ship won’t be our permanent address. But for now, and for us, there’s no place like our Princess home.
Brian and Alanna travel the world for work. They’ve enjoyed four Princess cruises and are Captain’s Circle Platinum members.
Brian and Alanna, we’re so happy that you’ve found a home with us at sea! Thanks for sharing your story!
That sounds so inviting,43 days on a cruise ship how many upgrades and discounts,were you allowed lol. I would love to do that when i retire in just a few years and I cruies Princess already! Thank you for sharing your great adventure.
What a lovely place to call “Home.”
When I retire I may just call Princess my home too as they are some of the finest staff at sea.
Great story Brian and Alanna and may your life’s journeys bring you lots of adventure!
That sounds so fun! I travel w/ my husband for work as well, and we are gone about 80% of the time as well! However, we also have a home (where our son lives when we are gone), and we have grandkids that we want to get home to every once in awhile. Our “breaks, are usually about a week (sometimes less), so a cruise wouldn’t work very well for those, however, we DO get a longer break during the holidays and HAVE been known to go on a cruise, but it has been awhile since we went on a cruise, & we are getting the itch. LOL If we didn’t have a home & grandkids, we would definitely consider a life like yours! Friends & family refer to us as THEIR world travelers, since they live vicariously through our travel stories…our next 4 week location will be Tokyo, Japan!
Our friends we met on a month long B2B Med cruise 2 yrs ago recently started a Grand adventure. They are on a 78 day trip on the Grand Princess, combining 5 B2B cruises. A parent’s illness delayed their travels this year until now. It’ll be interesting to see how the like such a long trip, but what’s not to like about cruising all around Europe and the Mediterrean.
Would really love to be with them. My husband and I have been on 6 cruises along with extensive traveling domestic and international. Our favorite cruise has been a Northern European Baltic cruise. St Petersberg was incredible. With family living in Thialand, Asia has been great as well.
…….but you know how the saying goes, “Travel when you can and are healthy enough to”
Unfortunately, a routine exam this past Spring revealed a cancer for my husband that there were no symptoms for. As I write this, we are in his hospital where he just had surgery last week. After more treatment, we are very hopeful that all will be well in the future and that will include many more cruises.
Next September we will go on a Panama Canal cruise booked on the Island Princess, with at least 18 friends going along. So looking forward to that. It will be for our 47th Anniversary and my birthday so it’s a great way to celebrate.
Here’s good health and many more cruises.
Very best wishes to your husband. Hope you all are enjoying good health and happy times again soon.
Tell your husband that he can beat Cancer. I am a 15 year old cancer survivo at 73 with many cruises under my belt. Leaving on a 60 day(4B2B) OCT 7. HOMELESS AND HAPPY ON A CRUISE SHIP SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD.
Homeless are you single?
Best wishes to you both, I wish your husband Gods speed to cure his cancer and you can continue to enjoy your lives together and keep cruising. Keep the your spirits high and God Bless
Sounds expensive!! I cant even afford a 7 day balcony cruise on Princess cruiseline. I wonder how they can afford this?? Please tell me how to get the discount!!!!
Not that expensive with the 2 of them working most of the year and neither of them having house payments, car payments, auto insurance, gas, food, etc. They can live on per diem and pocket their checks so weeks on a boat is like paying 1 month of rent (instead of 12 like the rest of us).
Absolutely correct! We live on our per diem and reward ourselves by taking a well deserved holiday. Life with no current fixed address! Brian and Alanna
Buy some stock in Carnival Cruise Lines, at least 100 shares – good for onboard credit.
If you want it cheap go to “vacations to go”, they mostly have last minute cruises. At a Discount but make sure your not getting life boats blocking your view from the Bal.
how and where, and to whom may I inquire about retiring to a cruise ship? I will be retiring soon, maybe within 5 years, and I would so much like to be able to spend my time aboard a princess ship. Please respond to included email address, as my access and time at this point is limited to this page. thank you.
I love this idea of having no fixed address. Sounds like freedom. Best wishes to Brian and Alanna.
I have been on only one cruise, it was on a Princess cruise and I loved it. My son-inlaw
bought it for my husband and me, George passed away two years ago in November and
I would love to go on another cruise, but on just an old age pension I know that there are
more priorities than paying for a cruise, however had I been younger I think it would
have been great to join the cabin crew, looking after the guests cabins because I love
people and have a very positive and fun loving outlook on life. So to Brian and Alana, enjoy
it while you still can and always look at the bright side of life……Good luck to you both
Brian and Alanna have the best idea ever. I told my kids that I could live on board rather than an assisted living home! I have sailed for 37 yrs and each time I am as excited as the first time. Leaving Nov 11 for 3rd time thru the Panama Canal. When people ask why go again I tell them each time is different; new ports, the ships are different and my husband of 35 yrs wants to go! We get along better onboard than on dry land. It makes us feel young again. Brian and Alanna, you have many years to look forward to and we even take our kids on special occasions! Enjoy every day on board and I hope someday to meet you on the sea.
On our first cruise in 1986 we discovered our ideal vacation. What a revalation! We enjoyed a glorious week of no worries or cares, just fresh air and fun. Forty-seven cruises later (420 days on Princess) we find ourselves just as excited to step onboard and discover what awaits us. We cherish many wonderful memories of far away places and their challenges such as mastering crossing a traffic-laden street in Ho Chi Minh City, or ordering from a Chinese menu in a Shanghai restaurant where no English is spoken or understood. Best of all are the wonderful people we have interacted with both on the ship and in the ports. It’s been an enriching experience which has made us tolerant of different cultures and their customs. It has made us appreciate our good fortune to be able to sail the seas of our world on beautiful ships where we are safe and well looked after. Happy Sails to you all!
As a widow, I discovered the joys of cruising years ago with my adult daughter. In Rome, we met a delightful woman of a “certain age” who lives aboard ship year round. She seemed so happy with her life that it put a little nugget of possibility in the back of my brain. In 2011, I remarried and this past June introduced my new husband to cruising. He’s already hooked. Before our 8 days were up, he had already come up with his own idea of trading a permanent home on land for one at sea. He can’t stop searching the Internet for Princess cruises to look forward to. I myself would not say no to living on board ship — except for one thing. Princess needs to figure a way to bring pets along. Our 3-year-old Parson Russell Terrier is pretty much the light of our lives, and leaving him for more than a couple of weeks is not an option. With a life expectancy of 15 years, he is going to keep us on land until we’re in our late 70s UNLESS — are you listening, Princess Cruises? — unless they build a ship called Princess Ark. We’ll be waiting!
Yes, Cheryl, that would be perfect!!!
CHERYL, I HAVE BEEN ON SEVERAL CRUISES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THEIR
PETS WITH THEM. THEY SAID THEY HAD MEDICAL REASONS FOR NEEDING THE PET ALTHOUGH THEY SEEMED PERFECTLY HEALTHY TO ME. THE PETS WERE USUALLY IN STROLLERS AND VERY WELL BEHAVED. I DIDN’T GO INTO
ANY DETAILS AS TO HOW THE ANIMALS WERE POTTIED BUT I AM SURE THAT
COULD BE CHECKED IN TO AS WELL. TALK TO YOUR DR AND YOUR TRAVEL
AGENT.
I just returned from an Alaska cruise two weeks ago and one of the headlining acts featured a magician and his beautiful and wonderfully trained *coton de tulear* dog, a fluffy little thing weighing all of five pounds sopping wet. *indy* is in the show and performs incredible tricks. She is five and her little sister, who is two, sails with them, as well. The *cottons* look like a smaller version of a Maltese but with shorter hair. I became friends with the magician and his lovely wife and, being the owner of two miniature pinschers, I asked about the logistics. They cruise in a balcony stateroom and, instead of *piddle pads,* use a similar but larger version designed for hospital beds. These they use outside their stateroom. The dogs are trained to piddle on demand, which Indy does just prior to going on stage. I’d buy stock in a cruise line that allowed our four-legged family members to cruise with us!!
Brian and Alanna,
What a wonderful life for you! I was a flight nurse in the military and was able to travel extensively. I am 55 years old and still love to live out of my suitcase! I have been on multiple cruise lines and Princess is STILL my favorite!!! God Bless and Happy Traveling!
We’ve walked the same deck. My wife and I just returned from our very first cruise, aboard the Star Princess, inside passage to Alaska. Yes, life aboard ship was truly magical. The staff was outstanding in every way. The ship herself, was wonderful. I envy anyone who can call her home, for whatever length of time they may spend with her.
My cruising days have been some of the most wonderful days in my life. However, my cruising partner passed away two years ago and it gets expensive to travel alone when you have to pay double occupancy. I have said many times I would love to live on a cruise ship rather than a retirement home. What more could you ask for? I have scheduled my first two cruises since my partner passed away. They are coming up soon and I am still excited to be going alone to New England/Canada in October and a Transatlantic (20 days) in December, both on Princess. I am 86 years young and hope there will be a lot more cruises in store for me. I love cruising and Princess!
Would a African gray Bird be allowed on board? If so, we would be able to take more cruises.
Is their a monthly fee to live aboard princess ships?
In Feb. 2010 we took a cruise on the Holland America ship Ryndam. We were told that there was a woman who lived on board. She was not pointed out to us, so this story was no more than a rumor. The only thing I can add is that this woman’s idyllic life was going to become complicated, because the Ryndam was scheduled to go into drydock the following month. Obviously, she could merely transfer to a luxury hotel for the period of drydocking.
What a fantastic life you both have. I can only hope that when retirement age arrives for me, I can try this lifestyle also, in the meantime, I will have to settle for my once a year cruise with Princess. We depart on Nov 4th for the Eastern Caribbean aboard the Ruby Princess. We were fortunate enough to sail on thr Ruby’s Inaugural Cruise a few years ago, and are much looking forward to the return to her. Princess is the only way to sail in our book..
Single active seniors 64plus must have partner?
Back in April of 2012 I was to introduce a friend to cruising and she picked the Panama Canal from LA to Fort Lauderdale. One hour before we were to leave for the airport she got cold feet and left me to wonder what should I do My husband and I decided that I should go since I wasn’t quite sure if the insurance would cover that reason. I had a wonderful time meeting some of the nicest people I have ever met on a cruise. The weather was wonderful, the company was even better. It was an experience to go through the canal again but see the construction of the new locks this time around. Princess is the only line we will sail on and if I had any fear about being alone it was dismissed immediately.
Good for you Chris.. I am glad your solo expierence was a good one. And I agree, Princess is the only way to cruise..
The Star Princess is the best and Sammy is the best cruise director of all the Princess ships, so you have been spoiled. My husband and I did a crossing on the Star and were on board for 27 days and I could have kept sailing. I understand how crew can become an extended family.
How much does it cost to live on a cruise ship (with my husband)?
Hi Dee,
In order to best assist you with pricing and availability please call us at 1-800-Princess.
Thank you for your interest.
How much would it be , To live on your cruise ship, I been on 9 of your cruises , I think every one sould go at least onces , It was the best time off my life ,