Grandmother Lives On Cruise Ship For $164,000 A Year, Sails Through Golden Years Beautifully

An 86-year-old grandmother is living the good life on the high seas.

Florida widow Lee Wachtstetter has lived the last seven years on the luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity, shelling out $164,000 annually for her state room and all the perks, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Wachtstetter and her husband were big cruise fans so she took a dying request to heart. "The day before my husband died of cancer in 1997, he told me, 'Don't stop cruising.' So here I am today living a stress-free, fairy-tale life," she told the outlet.

The permanent passenger visits her three sons and seven grandchildren when the boat docks in Miami several times a year, the Press wrote, but she also considers the ship's crew and staff, who call her "Mama Lee," to be her family.

Wachtstetter's home at sea, the Crystal Serenity.

She picked her shipboard digs wisely. Travel & Leisure puts Crystal Cruises at the top of its "large ship cruise line" rankings.

ABC News noted that Wachtstetter is among a "small group of people" to sail into the sunset permanently on a cruise ship. A private residential cruise ship was launched in 2002 and has 165 homes.

Read the full story on Wachtstetter at The Asbury Park Press.

H/T Laughing Squid