A millionaire has not left cruise ships for 25 years: his problem is not money but his legs

Cuban-born entrepreneur Mario Salcedo has been living for the past 25 years on cruise ships, so much so that he has just logged his 1,000th voyage with Royal Caribbean, as reported by the specialized portal All Things Cruise.

Salcedo also known as Super Mario in cruise circles, has revealed that he spends around $101,000 a year on cruises for a balcony cabin, financing his ocean lifestyle through his investment management work. On some ships, the crew has even set up makeshift offices for him.

“Cruises never go out of style. I’m so used to being on ships that I find it more comfortable than being on land,” said this man, who went to sea permanently after ‘getting tired of the business world of suits and ties and long flights to meet international clients,’ as he told the same media outlet.

Life on the ocean waves

After embarking on his first cruise in 1997, he was hooked. Salcedo’s 1,000th cruise was on the 3,286-passenger Explorer of the Seas.

This cruise departed Miami on January 5 for an 11-night voyage to Panama and the southern Caribbean. Mario said he spends about five hours a day working and “has fun” the rest of the time. “It’s stress-free,” he said, adding that it’s ‘the best lifestyle’ one can find.

He has been living on Royal Caribbean ships almost continuously since 2000, spending only a few days a year on land and taking a 15-month break during the pandemia for covid, the same media outlet highlights.

While many would think that the biggest cost of living on a cruise ship for years would be financial, for Salcedo the toll has been physical. After spending more than twenty years sailing, he developed an unusual condition known as “disembarkation syndrome,” which affects the vestibular system, responsible for balance.

This causes him to experience a constant sensation of being on the move when he returns to land, as if he were still on board a ship. He finds it difficult to walk in a straight line and has lost what is known as “the ground leg”, i.e. the ability to steady himself when walking.

“I wobble so much that I can’t walk properly when getting off. I feel more stable on a boat than on land,” he explains.

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