Living 350 days a year at sea: this has been Mario Salcedo’s daily life for over 25 years. This former businessman turned Royal Caribbean ships into a permanent home. With more than 1,000 cruises to his credit, he embodies a radical form of maritime nomadism.
For more than 25 years, Mario Salcedo has chosen an atypical lifestyle that questions our relationship to traditional housing. This 60-year-old former businessman resides almost permanently aboard Royal Caribbean ships, spending an average of 350 days per year at sea. With more than 1,000 cruises under his belt, he now holds the highest status in the company’s loyalty program, a record which illustrates the emergence of a new category of travelers: permanent maritime residents. This phenomenon, still marginal, nevertheless raises economic and sociological questions about alternatives to a sedentary life. For Mario Salcedo, this choice represents a considerable investment estimated at around 101,000 dollars annually, or nearly 88,000 euros, which would total around 2.5 million dollars since the beginning of the 2000s. An expense which, according to him, remains comparable or even lower than the cost of fixed accommodation combined with regular travel, while offering him freedom of movement and a living environment that he considers superior.
With the exception of around fifteen days spent on land each year, and a forced fifteen-month hiatus during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Mario Salcedo literally lives at sea. The sixty-year-old has become a true floating legend, known to the entire crew who nickname him “Super Mario”, a nod to his endurance and inexhaustible energy. He does a series of stopovers, meetings and sunsets on the deck just as others do a series of home-to-work journeys.
Before becoming the famous “Super Mario” who enjoys life aboard XXL ships, Mario Salcedo was a wise businessman. His career in finance has long led him to increase the number of business trips to Latin America. Even today, he continues to manage his investments from his cabin, transformed into a real floating office with a view of the ocean. A healthy lifestyle which, according to Mario Salcedo, costs him around $101,000 per year, or around 88,000 euros! He has spent around $2.5 million since the start of the 2000s.
Over the years, Mario Salcedo has literally adopted the rhythm of the waves to the point of being able to boast of knowing almost all of the company’s ships inside out, from the “Liberty of the Seas” to the “Majesty of the Seas”, including the “Navigator of the Seas” and the “Explorer of the Seas”.
The sea has become his natural element, to the point that dry land now seems foreign to him. “I lost my balance on dry land, so when I sway so much, I can’t walk straight anymore. I’m so used to being on boats that I feel more comfortable there than on land.” he told Conde Nast. “With so many friends and memories made over the years, I plan to continue cruising as long as my health allows and I enjoy it..”
