Hi, I’m Christine. I live half a year on a cruise and share my experience on TikTok (@dutchworld_americangirl).
My husband is the chief engineer of the cruise, so I am his “wife on board” and we live on the ship with a schedule of 3 months in and 3 months out. When we don’t live on board, we live in the Netherlands.
I was a cruise director and between the two of us we have been at sea for over 45 years. For many, our 31-square-meter stateroom is cramped, but for us it’s perfect.
Let me show you inside.
When you walk in, you can see our bed and the built-in wardrobes…
Our crew cabin It’s on deck 7, right at the bow of the ship. Not all crew quarters are the same, and can be divided based on rank and position. Some have their own cabin and others share it. Fortunately, we have the space to ourselves.
Our room has a double bed with storage space underneath and a television in front of it.
There are 2 TVs in the room (the other is on top of the fridge), and the ship offers us hundreds of movies and access to many channels.
We spend many nights here rocked by the waves while watching our favorite shows.
On the ship, room service is free and the menu is on the screen. We regularly ask to be able to have some quiet time away from guests and crew.
Although I am happy with the size of our cabin, the bathroom is quite small.
Our bathroom has the basics: toilet, mirror, shower and sink.
To shave my legs I have to place a towel on the toilet, sit down and extend one leg into the shower.
I stayed in the smallest and cheapest cabin on one of Royal Caribbean’s largest cruise ships: this was my 13.8-square-meter room
The toilet, like most cruise ships, flushes with a loud flushing sound that you will never forget. It’s quite scary at first.
We also have to be very careful with what we put in the toilet so as not to clog it; toilet paper only, no paper towels or sanitary products.
We do not have a dressing room, but we do have a wardrobe, a sofa and a dining table.
Regarding closet space, we have one divided into 3 sections. You can bet I use up most of the closet space.
Steamers and irons are not allowed on board, so I try to keep my clothes hanging and wrinkle-free.
We also have a small dining table with 2 chairs, a desk, a wine fridge, and a window sill big enough for me to use as a vanity for my makeup.
We don’t have a washer or dryer, so our clothes are picked up twice a week.
I put all our laundry in a cloth bag and insert a piece of paper with our name, the room number, the date, and the clothes inside.
Normally our clothes are washed and returned to us within 24 to 48 hours. I tip my room attendant every time he picks up our laundry and drops it off at the onboard dry cleaner.
The clean clothes come back on hangers, so all I have to do is put them back in the closet. The staff also regularly clean our room.
The best thing about our room is the private balcony overlooking the bow of the ship.
The ship’s bridge, which is a kind of control center, is one deck above us, and we have a panoramic balcony below it.
Many days at sea it is too windy to sit outside. When the wind dies down, I am the first to grab my towel and sunbathe.
In my opinion, we have the best stateroom on the entire ship, and without a doubt, the best views.
In general, there are many things I love about living on a cruise ship.
I love not having to cook or do laundry. I also love living debt free and car payments.
Minimalist living is also quite nice, especially since we don’t have the space not to do it.
We are only 4 suitcases, us and the ocean.
