We save £2,000 a month after swapping our home for cruise ships

Katrina Middleton and her husband Kevin, knew they wanted to leave Scotland behind and travel the world, but they never thought they’d save nearly £2,000 a month while doing it.

The pair sold their £200,000 Arbroath house in February after living on cruise ships since September last year, and have decided to ‘see where life takes them’ as they live full-time at sea.

‘This is the best decision we could’ve made and we’re definitely a lot happier,’ Katrina, 29, says. ‘My love for cruises started a long, long time ago but I think we love the fact you unpack once and get to see the world.

‘It was a bit daunting at first. It’s the fear of the unknown, whereas now I’m really excited to get going.’

Since leaving Scotland five months ago, the couple have visited the Caribbean, Mauritius and Miami, while working remotely from their luxury cabin.

Making savings

Katrina affords this lifestyle by working remotely as a CRM marketing manager, while Kevin, 43, works as an IT consultant, and the pair are pleasantly surprised by how much less they’re spending each month.

‘We realised this is more affordable and we’re actually saving money,’ Katrina explains. ‘Day to day you don’t realise how much you’re actually spending if you’re getting a coffee or lunch or if you’re filling up your car.

‘When you’re in the middle of the ocean you don’t need to buy or spend anything. It’s definitely a lot more affordable for us when you add in all the bills.’

The couple had initially made some money by downsizing from a £310,000 home to a £200,000 house in September last year, which they’ve now also sold.

Their monthly outgoings when living in the UK racked up to a whopping £6,510 a month as it included their £1,300pcm mortgage, £2,500pcm on two cars, and £600 energy bills, not to mention a very generous recreational spending budget.

Now, living full-time on a ship, they claim to spend only around £4,500 a month, which includes the cruise itself, food, wifi, and excursions.

The hidden downside to remote working

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with the couple forced to stick to UK working hours which can mean getting up at ‘silly o’clock’ depending on which time zone they’re in.

The cruise enthusiast revealed she has to make a spreadsheet during each cruise to figure out what time zone the pair will be in, so they can get their work done within the right times.

They also only take annual leave if there is a port stop they really want to see.

‘I think people think you’re not actually working and you’re just sitting by the pool having a cocktail but when you’re working, you’re working,’ Katrina says.

‘People think there’s more distractions but it depends where you place yourself on a cruise ship. There’s always distractions but you find a quiet spot. We’ve found we’re more productive and then when the day is done we feel like we switch off a lot better than when we’re home.

‘On the cruise there’s less stress.’

Katrina adds she used to feel restricted by the amount of annual leave she had when living back home in Scotland, and says she wouldn’t have been able to see half the amount of places she has if she hadn’t begun living on cruises.

‘We really recommend that you plan in advance,’ she says. ‘It takes a bit of adjusting but it’s worth it.’

‘We aren’t going back’

The couple have no plans to return to traditional living and say the misconceptions about cruise holidays aren’t true. They’re even planning their cruises for 2027.

‘I think people have an opinion on cruising when they’ve not even been on a cruise that it’s for older people, it’s boring and you’re stuck on a ship but it’s not like that at all,’ she explains.

‘We went to Mauritius and places that have always been on my bucket list and just never thought I’d actually get to but cruising made it possible.’

That doesn’t mean Katrina doesn’t miss certain things about their old lifestyle though.

‘I’m close with my family so I definitely miss my family and little things like your home comforts,’ she says. ‘Cruise ship food is unreal, but nothing beats a home cooked meal. Even like the coffee and tea and little things like that.’

But that isn’t a lot of negatives for the couple, and they’ve met many ‘amazing people and had amazing experiences’, too.

‘I’d recommend others to follow our path,’ she adds. ‘It’s good we’re encouraging other people to look at it but you still get a lot of people who are still so small minded about it all.

‘We’d always recommend testing [your remote set-up] out on a shorter cruise and making sure it’s for you and you’ve got everything you need.

‘We’re just going to go for it and see where life takes us.’

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