For more than 25 years, Mario Salcedo, known affectionately as Super Mario in cruise circles, has embraced an extraordinary lifestyle that few dare to imagine.
Choosing the open ocean over a permanent address on land, Salcedo has lived almost exclusively aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships, celebrating his 1,000th voyage earlier this year.
His decision to abandon traditional life stemmed from a deep dissatisfaction with the “suit-and-tie business world” and the exhaustive international travel it demanded.
After stepping aboard his first cruise in 1997, Salcedo was hooked, setting sail into a life of constant movement and maritime adventure.
Finding a New Home at Sea
Following a trial run with different cruise lines, Salcedo quickly determined that Royal Caribbean offered the ships that suited his vision of an ideal life.
Since 2000, he has spent nearly every day aboard their fleet, pausing only during the global shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, when cruising was temporarily halted for 15 months, reports Daily Mail.
His commitment to life at sea is not just symbolic; he has lived it continuously, stepping onto dry land only briefly each year to handle essentials like managing his Miami apartment or transitioning between cruises. Each new voyage reaffirms his belief that “cruising never gets old.”
Blending Work and Leisure on the Waves
Despite what many might assume about a life at sea, Salcedo maintains a disciplined work schedule, dedicating about five hours each day to his career as an investment manager.
This work sustains his lifestyle, enabling him to spend approximately $101,000 per year on cruises. Unlike casual passengers, Salcedo often books a balcony cabin, although he considers the cabin secondary to the ship’s amenities.
Onboard, crew members have affectionately created makeshift setups labeled “Super Mario’s Office,” featuring cordoned-off tables and handwritten signs, allowing him to manage his business while overlooking the endless blue horizon.
The Unexpected Challenges of a Sea-Based Life
The transition from a land-based existence to one permanently at sea comes with unexpected consequences. Over the decades, Salcedo developed mal de débarquement syndrome (MdDS), a rare disorder affecting the inner ear that makes solid ground feel unstable.
“I’m so used to being on ships that it feels more comfortable to me than being on land,” he explained.
Typically, this sensation fades after a few days on land for ordinary cruisers, but for Salcedo, whose body is now fully attuned to the motion of the ocean, walking straight on dry ground has become a genuine struggle.
Nevertheless, he sees this condition as a small price to pay for a lifestyle he describes as “zero stress” and “the best lifestyle I can find.”
Celebrating Milestones and Looking Ahead
Salcedo’s loyalty to Royal Caribbean is well-known among crew and frequent passengers alike. His 1,000th cruise took place aboard the Explorer of the Seas, a 3,286-passenger vessel that set sail from Miami on January 5 for an 11-night journey to Panama and the southern Caribbean.
Even after thousands of nights spent at sea, his enthusiasm remains undiminished. Whether working at his deck-side office or simply enjoying the sun-drenched vistas from the ship’s railings, Mario Salcedo’s journey continues, charting a unique course few could envision and even fewer could sustain.
To use a worn phrase, “Whatever floats his boat”. Personally, although I never had a job that I could have done what he does, I cannot ever see staying aboard a cruise ship 24/7/365. I’m not averse to boating as I did it on my own for several decades, and I imagine that yachting aboard something of size might be something I might be drawn to there is an aura with cruise ships that has diminished to a tarnished lustre. Mario obviously has a different perspective, but I remember from my cruising years (about 14 in a 10 year span in the 90’s) one of the most annoying part was dealing with the “other people”. I always cruised RCL to avoid the Carnival crowd, but even RCL then and especially all cruising now, attracts the very people I would seriously try to avoid.
That said, as they say in NYC, “Mazel Tov”
How boring, give me a jumbo any day
The cruise ship life I always admire that kind of life though It seen impossible for me to leave such life after all the life we only can leave once nobody knows what will happen to us when we die, there’s only routers about waiting in the grace for the christ return when and how nobody know. If anyone can sponsor ne I’ll be very glad to leave in she even if it mean can be for one week
WTF???
Agree, budget. Offers attracts a different group of manners. Stay in your lane.
Very great, my dream too.. am chef and I wish to work there tooo.