Meet the Couple Who’s Been on More Than 200 Cruises—and Loves Life on the High Seas So Much That They’re Selling Their Florida Home and Paying $1.7 Million to Live on a Cruise Ship
Norman and Helen D’Silva have been on more than 200 cruises and are far from bored. In fact, they are selling their house in Florida to turn their lives into one long cruise.
The couple, who have been married for forty years, are among the hundreds of high-flyers who buy cabins on the luxury residential cruise ship MV Narrative of the maritime company Storylines.
In 2026, they will board the luxury cruise ship, which will circumnavigate the globe once every three years, making continuous stops at ports around the world.
The couple have just returned from a trip to Antarctica and spoke to MailOnline Travel about their decision to become full-time cruisers.
Helen, 70, and Norman, 63, are preparing to spend their golden years traveling the world on cruise ship MV Narrative. The couple is pictured above in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, in Norway’s Spitsbergen archipelago in 2016
Storylines’ MV Narrative (view above) will set sail in 2026, making continuous stops at ports around the world
Norman claimed there is ‘nothing’ stopping them from enjoying their golden years on a cruise ship.
He said: ‘We have no animals, no fish, no plants, no children.’
Once they come on board, they sell their house New Smyrna Beach. And they are not likely to regret the decision.
Helen added: “We have been adventure traveling for over 35 to 40 years. We enjoy that.’
They’ve visited more than 180 countries and experienced everything from whitewater rafting in Zambia to petting tigers in a jungle outside Bangkok – and now they want to explore every day.
Norman said the decision to live aboard the ship had been a long time in the making, having been inspired by an encounter 20 years ago on a Holland America cruise ship.
He explained: ‘We met someone who lived on the ship. She was an 80-year-old lady and she told us all these details about her life on board the ship, about how everyone takes care of her and she really sold us on the dream.”
He continues: ‘We thought this was a quite unique concept, being able to see beautiful landscapes every day of the week and experience all the facilities on board.’
Decades later, the couple made their dreams come true, spending around $1.7 million (£1.3 million) to secure their place on board MV Narrative.
What MV Narrative will look like in the dock when it sets sail in 2026. It is currently under construction in Croatia
The couple paid $1.7 million (£1.3 million) for their one-bedroom cabin on board the ship
The eye-watering price tag means everything from laundry to doctor visits and food is included.
Since the ship is currently under construction, the pair have yet to set foot in their future home, but a CGI rendering has given them a good idea of what to expect.
Helen said: ‘We will have one bedroom, two bathrooms and a large balcony that extends over the living room.’
And it’s bigger than they’re used to, with Helen adding: ‘Most cabins on cruise ships are relatively small.’
Moving aboard the MV Narrative won’t be a huge adjustment for the couple, as the couple is barely on land.
Where are they now? They just embarked on a nine-month ‘around the world cruise’ with Royal Caribbean.
Their longest stint at sea to date was a six-month cruise with Oceania and a four-month cruise with Holland America.
While they wait for their lifelong journey, the pair gets to know the residents aboard MV Narrative through the ‘Meet Your Neighbor’ program.
Ship Shape: Above is a rendering of an MV Narrative living room
Pictured is a CGI image of a bedroom on board the MV Narrative. The cruise line says most rooms will have a balcony
Here is a luxurious bathroom suite, complete with his and hers sinks and a freestanding bath
Helen and Norman said ‘nothing’ is stopping them from living on a cruise ship full-time. Here they are pictured on CocoCay, an island in the Bahamas reserved exclusively for use by Royal Caribbean cruise ships
Helen said: “Many of the people who will be joining us at Storylines seem to be open-minded. You have to be adventurous. You have to be curious. If you are not flexible, you will be challenged.’
The ship will accommodate 1,000 residents, spread over 547 fully furnished homes, ranging in size from 20 to 1,900 square meters – the ‘vast majority’ of which are balcony homes.
It features 20 food and bar options, a microbrewery, a marina with watercraft, three pools with sundecks, a pet exercise area, a business center and a beauty salon.
There is an onboard medical clinic including a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, nutritionist and physiotherapist, and a 10,000 square meter health and wellness center.
Prices start at $875,000 (£690,418) and rise to $8 million (£6.5 million) for the most luxurious apartments.
MV story is currently under construction in Croatia and will set sail in 2026.