Gerrard Kaonga
A bold Florida man has explained how he traded in typical city apartment living for a permanent cruise, which is surprisingly the cheaper option.
Ryan Gutridge, an IT cloud-solution engineer, started working remotely from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2021.
Since then, he has spent almost every week on the same cruise ship, and with a slew of perks for being a loyal customer, he is set to continue his unorthodox living arrangement.
Speaking to Insider about what drove him to switch up his life so dramatically, Gutridge said 300 nights on a cruise ship is neck-and-neck with what he pays to keep his apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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He also said he plans to sell his apartment by 2025 and fully commit to his cruise ship living.
Before making the life-changing decision, Gutridge said that he had to get his finances in order and weigh up the pros and cons of his new living arrangement.
“I wanted to really look at the cost of cruising full-time before I began. I have a spreadsheet that automatically records all my expenses, which helps,” he told Insider.
“I also set a budget every year. This year, my base fare budget is about $30,000, and last year when I started really looking at the numbers and evaluating how much base fare I paid to be on a ship for 300 nights, I found it was almost neck-and-neck with what I paid for rent and trash service for an apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.”
Speaking about his future plans, Gutridge indicated he was fully committed to cruise living and was taking steps to sell his apartment and car.
“I've scaled back my cruising budget for next year because of inflation, but by 2025 I'd like to get rid of my apartment, sell my car, and purchase a scooter that I'll store at a friend's garage. When I'm home, I'll have groceries delivered, and if I need to go somewhere farther away, I'll be happy to just take an Uber or Lyft.”
For those looking to emulate his lifestyle choice, Gutridge has said its important to try different brands, but once you have found one you like, stick with it in order to take full advantage of the loyalty perks.
“My drinks and internet are free. I found that Royal Caribbean has, by far, the most valuable benefits to me — discounts, free internet, and free drinks,” he said.
“Because of the loyalty program, I'll actually spend less money cruising this year than I did last year, even though I cruised more.”