This 88-year-old woman traded her home for a cruise ship — and it costs less than a retirement home

When most people imagine retirement, they think of settling into a smaller home, joining a community center, or perhaps moving closer to family. But for 88-year-old Florida native Lee Wachtstetter, retirement meant selling her house, her car, and almost all her belongings, and stepping aboard a cruise ship she never planned to leave. Known simply as "Mama Lee" by crew and fellow passengers, Wachtstetter has lived on the Crystal Serenity for more than eight years, as reported by CBS Mornings. She first began cruising with her husband, Mason, and together they completed nearly 100 voyages before he passed away in 1997.

Just before his death, he told her, "Don’t you quit cruising," and she took those words to heart. After years of frequent sailing and endless packing and unpacking, she realized she never wants to leave the ship again. "I got very, very tired of packing and unpacking. So I said, there’s got to be a better way to do this," she recalled. At first glance, Mama Lee’s decision sounds extravagant. Living full-time on a luxury cruise ship costs her around $175,000 a year, but in Florida, where she lived before, the price tag for senior housing and care isn’t far off.

A private nursing home room averages more than $11,558 per month (about $138,700 per year), based on Genworth's 2024 Cost of Care Survey. Plus, assisted living runs a statewide median of $5,324 per month (about $63,885 per year), with prices going even higher for high-end communities, and that’s before extras like dining packages, outings, and health services are added. When stacked side by side, the cost of her floating home begins to look like a bargain for the lifestyle she gets in return. "I don’t have to clean house. I don’t have to shop, I don’t have to cook, I don’t have to do anything. I do what I want, when I want, if I want," she said.

She speaks to her family every day by phone but doesn’t feel pressured to be present at every gathering. She is now a great-grandmother but says she doesn’t regret choosing the sea over a retirement home. "My grandchildren are having children. But I don’t want to be there every minute for that. I love babies, but they grow up!" Her days are structured around joy — she dances every evening at 5:15, without fail. She has already completed more than 240 cruises and visited hundreds of ports, though she often stays on board when the ship docks.

"Everything is 'been there, done that.; If I’ve been there and done that, I don’t go off the ship. And I love it when everybody goes touring. I got the whole ship to myself with all the help," she said. The crew has become her extended family, and she is beloved by staff and passengers alike. "Everybody knows her, she knows everybody," said Birger Vorland, the Captain of the ship, "She’s a little bit of a diva, in a good way. She gets along with her day, she makes herself busy, and she has her things and her opinions, and she’s a wonderful person." When asked what her life might have been like if she hadn’t chosen the cruise ship, Mama Lee said, "Very boring. I think I live a fairy tale existence. It’s not real life, I realize that. Not everybody does this. But a lot of people could."

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