Marty and Jess Ansen believe that living on a cruise ship is less expensive than moving into a retirement home. Last June, they put their theory to the proof by embarking on the first of their 51 consecutive vacations.
Marty told A Current Affair, ” We’re on board longer than anybody else.” The wheels turn, but we remain on board.”
Jess concurred with her companion, stating that they frequently “welcome new captains on board the ship,” including their most recent hotel manager, Ren van Rooyen.
Van Rooyen told the outlet, “We always make a joke that I go away and I come back and it’s like coming to see my family – my mum and dad again – they’re like my second mum and dad on board.”
Reportedly, in addition to the hotel manager, other members of the ship’s crew have come to treat the Ansens as family, with Jess’s birthday being celebrated on board last month.
According to reports, the couple enjoyed cruising for four decades. In 2020, however, after the COVID-19 pandemic halted ship operations, Marty and Jess decided they would no longer waste time on land.
Marty stated, “Eventually I said to my agent, ‘Look, whatever comes, book it,’ and that’s how it got to be such a long cruise.”
Even though the pair is on day 458 of their sea-based odyssey, they claim they never bored of beginning each day with an hour of table tennis.
Jess stated, “We do it together, and it’s a lot of fun,” before adding that the exercise was great for working up an appetite.
The couple docked in Sydney earlier this week as the Coral Princess restocked and prepared for its next round voyage to Hawaii.
After an additional eight months at sea, Marty and Jess will spend a few months on land before embarking on a year-long cruise aboard the Crown Princess.
“We don’t know how to wash up anymore, we don’t know how to make a bed, because we haven’t done it for so long. So now we have to stay on board just to stay alive,” joked Marty.
The Australians told Today a year ago that living aboard a cruise ship was “just wonderful.”
“You have all your meals prepared, you don’t have to cook, you go to a show every evening and go dancing after the show, then you go for supper and head back to your cabin,” said Jess.
Source: tyla.com
