The real suite life on deck

Peter O'Brien

An 86-year-old woman by the name of Lee Wachtstetter has a permanent home much different than the average person. Wachtstetter lives on the Crystal Serenity, better known as a cruise ship.

USA Today reported that Wachtstetter decided leave her home in Florida after the passing of her husband and became a permanent resident on the Crystal Serenity and has been for the past seven years.

Wachtstetter is well known among the other tenants as Mama Lee, and is no stranger to life on a cruise ship. Before her husband passed away, Wachtstetter and her husband were very fond of going on trips and went on close to 100 cruises together. In a report from USA Today, Wachtstetter said that she had visited over 100 countries and that her love for cruises was instilled in her by her husband.

While being away at sea could make it more difficult to keep in touch with family, technology is on her side. Wachtstetter is able to keep in touch with her family by using her laptop and is able to see them in person when they come back and dock in Miami.

Wachtstetter is very content living a very stress-free lifestyle and still enjoys dancing at night. The Crystal Serenity has been voted as one of the best cruise lines in the world and is known for having a great atmosphere and has lots of dancing. Since Wachtstetter is traveling alone, she enjoys dancing at night with different members of the crew and likes to meet new people while attending dinner.

Going on cruise ships are very fun vacations for families to go on, but they are not cheap. Such a luxurious cruise line such as the Crystal Serenity would not be an inexpensive cruise line for somebody to go on. USA Today reported that in order to remain a permanent tenant on the cruise ship, Wachtstetter must pay an annual fee of $164,000. That cost covers all of her needs on the cruise ship and includes the cost of her room, her food and beverages, and all entertainment costs.

While being able to stay in touch with family and do an activity that she has been doing for the past 50 years, Wachtstetter is living the dream. She has traveled all over the world and spends her time doing fun hobbies while sailing throughout the most beautiful places in the world, does it get much better than that?