EXCLUSIVE Meet the couple who’ve been on more than 200 cruises – and love life on the high seas so much they’re selling their house in Florida and paying $1.7million to LIVE on a cruise ship
- Helen and Norman D’Silva will spend their golden years on the MV Narrative
- They’ll set sail aboard the cruise liner in 2026 and circumnavigate the globe
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Norman and Helen D’Silva have been on more than 200 cruises, but are far from being bored with them. In fact, they’re selling their home in Florida to turn their life into one long cruise.
The couple, who have been married for 40 years, are among hundreds of high-fliers buying cabins on maritime firm Storylines’ luxury residential cruise ship, MV Narrative.
In 2026, they’ll set sail aboard the luxury cruise liner, which will travel the world once every three years and make continuous stops in ports across the globe.
Having just returned from a voyage in Antarctica, the couple spoke to MailOnline Travel about their decision to become full-time cruisers.
Helen, 70, and Norman, 63, are preparing to spend their golden years travelling the world on cruise ship MV Narrative. The couple are pictured above in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in 2016
Storylines’ MV Narrative (rendering above) will set sail in 2026, making continuous stops in ports across the globe
Norman claimed there is ‘nothing’ holding them back from enjoying their golden years on a cruise liner.
He said: ‘We have no animals, no fish, no plants, no children.’
Once they move on board they’ll sell their house in New Smyrna Beach. And it’s not likely they’ll regret the decision.
Helen added: ‘We’ve been travelling adventurously for over 35 to 40 years. It’s what we enjoy.’
They’ve visited over 180 countries, experiencing everything from white-water rafting in Zambia to petting tigers in a jungle outside Bangkok – and now they want to spend every day exploring.
Norman said the decision to live aboard the ship had been a long time in the making, having been inspired to do so from an encounter 20 years ago on a Holland America cruise ship.
He explained: ‘We met somebody who was living on the ship. She was an 80-year-old lady and she shared all these details to us about her life aboard the ship, about how everyone takes care of her and she really sold us the dream.’
He continued: ‘We thought “this is a pretty unique concept”, being able to see beautiful scenery every day of the week and experience all the facilities on board.’
Decades later, the couple made their dreams a reality and splashed out around $1.7million (£1.3million) to secure their place aboard MV Narrative.
How MV Narrative will look in the dock when it sets sail in 2026. It is currently under construction in Croatia
The couple paid $1.7million (£1.3million) for their one-bedroom cabin aboard the ship
The eye-watering price tag means everything from laundry to doctor visits and food is included.
As the ship is currently under construction, the pair have yet to set foot in their soon-to-be-home, but a CGI rendering has given them a good idea of what to expect.
Helen said: ‘We’ll have one bedroom, two baths and a large balcony that stretches across the living room.’
And it’s bigger than what they’re used to, with Helen adding: ‘Most cruise ship cabins are relatively small.’
Moving aboard the MV Narrative will not be a massive adjustment for the couple, with the pair scarcely on land.
Where are they now? They just boarded a nine-month ‘cruise around the world’ with Royal Caribbean.
Their longest stints at sea so far have been a six-month cruise with Oceania and a four-month Holland America cruise.
While they wait to depart on their life-long voyage, the pair have been getting to know residents aboard MV Narrative via its ‘Meet Your Neighbor’ scheme.
Ship-shape: Above is a rendering of an MV Narrative living room
Pictured is a CGI image of a bedroom aboard the MV Narrative. The cruise line company says most rooms will have a balcony
Here is a luxury bathroom suite complete with his and hers sinks and a free-standing bath
Helen and Norman said there is ‘nothing’ holding them back from living on a cruise ship full-time. Here they are pictured at CocoCay, an island in the Bahamas reserved exclusively for use by Royal Caribbean cruise ships
Helen said: ‘A lot of the people that are going to be with us on Storylines seem to be open-minded. You’ve got to be adventurous. You’ve got to be curious. If you’re not flexible, you’re going to have a challenge.’
The ship will have room for 1,000 residents living in 547 fully furnished residences ranging in size from 237 to 1,970 square feet – the ‘vast majority’ of which are balcony residences.
It boasts 20 dining and bar venues, a microbrewery, a marina with personal watercraft, three pools with sundecks, a pet exercise area, a business centre and a beauty salon.
There is a medical clinic on board that includes a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, nutritionist and physiotherapist and a 10,000-square-foot health and wellness centre.
Prices start at $875,000 (£690,418) and rise to $8million (£6.5million) for the most luxurious apartments.
MV Narrative is currently under construction in Croatia and will set sail in 2026.
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