The Place We’re at Now: The North Atlantic (On a Cruise Ship!)

We’re currently spending two months on board the Caribbean Princess.

This is a regular feature about where we currently are in the world: how we ended up there, what it costs, and exactly what we think.

Cheers to Iceland and Greenland!

Michael and I have written before about how, as nomads, we spend two to three months living on cruise ships every year. Right now, we’re taking four two-week, back-to-back cruises around the UK and the North Atlantic for a total of 56 days at sea.

• The first leg went up to Iceland and Greenland, stopping at multiple destinations on both islands.

• The second leg circled the British Isles, calling at ports in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland.

• The third leg, which we’re on now, heads to mainland Europe, stopping in cities in Northern Europe, including Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Paris.

• The final leg will be a “Northern Lights” cruise, exploring the fjords of Norway and traveling farther north in hopes of seeing the famous Northern Lights.

How did we end up here?

Honestly, I’ve long thought cruise ships can be an incredible “travel” value — especially if you shop with a keen eye on price. A berth on a cruise ship isn’t just lodging; it also includes food, transportation, and various other amenities — like daily housekeeping, a decent gym, entertainment, and nightly fine dining on a white tablecloth — all for one (mostly) all-inclusive price.

But seven years ago, shortly after we set out as nomads, we quickly realized that cruising is an even better value if you’re not paying rent or mortgage back home. These days, we can spend a month on a cruise ship, and the cost is only a little bit more than what we used to pay for just our mortgage, utilities, and maintenance of the house we used to own back in Seattle.

Frankly, living on a cruise ship is a lot less stressful than owning and maintaining that house.

Which brings us to…

Where are we staying? What does it cost?

We’re on the Caribbean Princess, on the Princess line, and we have a standard balcony cabin, which is pretty sizable, with lots of storage and a plush, king-sized bed. Our only real complaint is that the room doesn’t include a sofa. This is mostly fine, especially since we’re spending a lot of time in various other places on the ship, working in the library and reading on the decks and in the lounges; it’s also summer, so we’ve spent a lot of time on our balcony.

For two people, the four back-to-back cruises (including taxes and port fees) cost us: