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Monica Brzoska, 32, and Jorrell Conley, 36 travel the world cruising, renting out their home to pay for it. Picture: Instagram/(@life_by_any_means)
More and more younger couples are opting for the cruise-ship life, joining the superwealthy and the retired in heading off on open sea voyages.
And what’s attracting these adventurers is the option of a long-term cruise, when almost everything is taken care of as you travel the world – and the possibility of paying it all off and essentially travelling for free by renting out your home.
More and more cruise lines are offering extended cruises to some of the world’s most beautiful places including Mexico, Belize, Turks and Caicos, the Pacific and the Caribbean.
It gives young couples and other cruise ship lovers the chance to embrace a more flexible lifestyle, where almost everything is included in the cost of the travel, without having to worry about the usual day-to-day or week-to-week worries such as groceries, a car and a mortgage.
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Long term cruising is taking off. Photo – MSC
According to The Sun, two savvy US schoolteachers have been travelling the high seas in style for a while now, trading their jobs and renting out their home for a the cruise ship life at a cost of around $16,000 for eight months.
Monica Brzoska, 32, and Jorrell Conley, 36, fell in love with cruising after travelling to Grand Cayman, Belize, Mexico and almost a decade ago.
The couple’s almost instant obsession with cruising followed with trips to Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal, Costa Rica and Turks and Caicos.
After a week long cruise in 2023, the duo stumbled upon an in idea.
“Instead of coming back, why not keep booking consecutive cruises for as long as we could afford to?” Brzoska told The Sun.
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The couple have visited almost 50 countries. Picture: Instagram/(@life_by_any_means)
“It sounds mad, but the numbers made sense. Accommodation, food and entertainment would be included – we’d only need spending money.
“And because we’d been on so many Carnival cruises, we’d earned access to some amazing offers.
“If we chose the cheapest cabins, our savings from the pandemic would allow us to book eight months of cruising for $16,000 – some trips paid for in full, others with deposits.
“We could then use the rent from our three-bedroom house in Memphis to make extra payments as needed. Many cruises start and end in the same ports, so we knew we’d be able to disembark and easily board our next ship, or otherwise fly to the port.”
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The cruise ship life. Photo – Viking
Easy to get used to this. Photo – Diego Toapanta Garcia/World Expeditions
The pair quit their jobs, sold most of their possession and headed out for the high seas, renting out their three-bedroom home in Memphis to pay for it all.
Brzoska said it was also her mother who inspired her to travel, telling her after her father fell ill: “Don’t wait for retirement, follow your dreams.”
Since making the move the couple have been cruising for almost two years and have visited almost 50 countries.
“I instantly felt free,” Brzoska told The Sun.
“We didn’t know how long our money would last, but in the meantime we decided to make the most of every minute.
“We quickly fell into the rhythm of our new life. Before, there had always been lesson plans, cooking and cleaning – but all of that was gone.
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“As we floated from the Bahamas to Honduras, I kept pinching myself. At first, our cabins were always small and without windows, but on a huge ship that didn’t bother us. My day always started with the 9am craft activity, plus I also loved the quizzes and never missed the comedy show.
“Meanwhile, Jorell would relax, watch cooking shows or sit at the bar and chat to people. Without the daily stresses of life, we rarely argued, but always told each other if we needed space or more time together. We ensured we got dressed up for a date night each week at one of the fancier onboard restaurants.
“People are amazed when they hear we live on ships, and I’m always happy to share the tricks we’ve learned to save money. We’ve won excursion tickets, jewellery and spa treatments in onboard raffles, while on land, we do our own tours, using local transport to explore.
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Nothing but plain sailing. Picture: Cruise News
However, it’s not all plain sailing.
“There are challenges, of course,” Brzoska said.
“We miss our families, but know we can fly home if there’s an emergency. With at least six months of cruises ahead of us, visiting the Caribbean and Australia, there is no end in sight. “In our old life we’d have moments we called ‘glimmers’, when everything seemed magical. Now I feel like my whole life is a glimmer – it really is a dream come true.”
