SPENDING half of the year living on a cruise ship isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it is Christine Kesteloo’s.
Seasickness, a pokey room and being hundreds of miles away from the safety of land all come part and parcel, but as does life feeling like a constant holiday, the 43-year-old says.
The former ocean liner director never has to cook dinner, do her own laundry or make her own bed.
That, coupled with seeing all of the beautiful corners of the globe, is her idea of heaven.
“It’s a pretty sweet life that some might judge, but I know it’s truly a privilege to get to enjoy the world in this way,” Christine said.
Not only that, but the content creator doesn’t pay a penny for the pleasure of living out at sea for six months of the year.
Her room and board come as part of her husband’s job, who is a chief engineer that works three months on board and three months off.
She sails for free as a “wife on board”.
The couple, who hail from Vlissingen in the Netherlands, have become accustomed to living in a tiny room together.
“The room we live in is also quite small, but perhaps no tinier than some studio apartments in New York City,” Christine wrote in an essay for Business Insider.
“Our bathroom is super tight and our space has a weird layout. At night, I have to climb over my husband to get out of bed to use the restroom.
“Living in a small space also means my husband and I are used to being together all the time.
“Some couples might not prefer this but we’re only going on three years of marriage and we’re okay with the constant closeness.”
Another reality of living for three months at a time on a cruise ship is struggling to keep track of the days.
Christine keeps on top of this by labeling days based on which city the ship is docked at, and sometimes even misses birthdays due to switching time zones.
She has built up an impressive social media following sharing cruise life on her profiles, gaining 135,000 Instagram followers and a whopping 986,800 on TikTok.
Her content includes ‘day in the life’ videos, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at being a “wife on board” and the type of food options available.
Throughout her life, she has visited a whopping 109 countries, including bucket list destinations like the Amazon river, Alaska and French Polynesia.