It’s always hard to walk past the dessert table on a cruise ship. It takes every ounce of my willpower to ignore the piles of flaky pastries and creamy confections.

Around me, fellow passengers happily reach for seconds. And why not, when they’ll soon be back to healthy home cooking?

But there will be no return to the kitchen for me. In fact, I don’t own a single pot or pan. Because three years ago my husband Dan and I, then aged 57 and 49 respectively, sold everything we owned and gave up life on land to live permanently on cruise ships.

It may sound extreme, but this decision is the best thing we’ve ever done for our finances and our marriage. If not my waistline.

I was 18 when I took my first cruise. As we sailed around the Caribbean, hopping from one beautiful beach to the next, I promised myself to do it again one day.

Years later, aged 29, when I married Dan, 37 – a colleague at the computer company where I worked – the two of us began talking about the big adventures we’d have one day. When my job offered us the chance to move from the US to Canada in 2004, we jumped at it.

A house move is never stress-free, but I was overwhelmed by the amount of possessions we had in our three-bedroom home. I was never a hoarder, but a home just accumulates so much stuff.

It was stressful and expensive to shift the furniture, appliances and endless boxes containing everything from clothes to toys for my young daughter Sarah.

'Three years ago my husband Dan and I, then aged 57 and 49 respectively, sold everything we owned and gave up life on land to live permanently on cruise ships,' writes Libby Rome

In 2010, I was offered a job in London, and saw the move as an opportunity for a clear-out. It was incredibly cathartic, and by the time we were done we only had six suitcases of belongings between the three of us. I felt so much lighter now we were no longer literally weighed down by possessions.

By the time we moved back to the US in 2013 – and Sarah had moved to the Netherlands for university – Dan and I had embraced the minimalist lifestyle. I had a new job as an IT consultant, which required constant travel, and as an author and entrepreneur Dan could work from anywhere.

Because of all the travel, it didn’t make financial sense to buy a home I’d rarely be in. We considered a rental so we’d still have a ‘base’. But given my work would pay for my hotels and meals while I was travelling – and Dan could come with me – why waste the money? Instead, we chose to stay in hotels permanently, paying our own way in between assignments.

When I was working we only had to cover the cost for Dan’s meals and things like laundry, which came to around £75 a day. I could also accumulate loyalty points, which we could use to offset the costs of our own stays.

While some might find hotel living soulless, it was freeing not to be surrounded by the years of clutter a home accumulates.

That said, it definitely took some getting used to. While I enjoyed not having to worry about cooking and cleaning, even things like hobbies had to change. I had to leave my much-loved bowling league as I was constantly moving, and had to give up crafting.

I know some might think it’s financially irresponsible not to own your own home, but our friends and family were all supportive – even if they wouldn’t dream of doing it themselves!

I learned to build a community wherever I was, and technology helped me stay in touch with friends, so I was never lonely.

For six years we lived moving from hotel to hotel. While I wasn’t sure how long this lifestyle would last, I was certain of one thing: I never wanted to go back to owning a house in the suburbs.

Libby on deck enjoying the scenery. After 18 months of switching between ships, she and her husband decided to stick with the Sky Princess, a 19-deck ship that cruises the Caribbean in the winter months and between Europe and the Canary Islands the rest of the year

'With cuisine of every kind available 24/7 I am a dress size larger than I was three years ago, but plan to lose weight,' says Libby

In 2019, I needed to travel to Europe for work and I had a brainwave: we should cruise back to America afterwards. Yes, a 15-night cruise would cost us £3,000. But when you compared it to spending £1,965 on flights and then around £1,200 for 15 nights in a hotel during the same period, it was a bargain.

Dan had never been on a cruise before, and I worried he wouldn’t enjoy it. But he loved it; being surrounded by the ocean made him so happy and I was sure we’d be back.

Then the pandemic hit. We spent it holed up in hotels or staying with my sister but finally, in 2022, we decided to spend half the year moving between various cruises in order to enjoy multiple destinations. We could work remotely, and it was wonderful.

Once we were back on land, everything seemed so much harder, more boring and more chaotic. If we wanted to go out for dinner, we needed to book a taxi rather than just walk a few decks. I didn’t feel safe exploring alone compared to being on a ship, and we both desperately missed the ocean.

Then there was money. As the cost-of-living skyrocketed on land, we realised how much more affordable cruise life was. Helped by collecting onboard points that you can put towards your next discounted – or even free – cruise, our average outlay for all-inclusive living while at sea was around £1,500 a month. Even adding in any extra costs for activities while on land and our mobile and data bills, the lifestyle only cost us around £2,460 a month.

Though we had to pay port fees and cruise taxes, it was still much cheaper than paying a monthly mortgage, bills and for food and entertainment. A recent report by The Mail on Sunday’s Wealth team found that two adults living in London needed £4,414 a month to cover the day-to-day essentials, with the average monthly cost for a couple living in Britain being £2,964.

We didn’t own a house or car, and everything we owned could fit in two suitcases and our computer bags. Sarah was happily settled. So why not try living on cruise ships full time? In March 2023, we took the leap.

For the first year we tried different cruise lines, to see which we liked and which offered the best value. To make the most of every penny we picked the cheapest cabins, which meant a small internal one without portholes. If you’re not in a strong relationship and the best of friends, this would be a recipe for disaster.

Luckily, we’ve always been good at communicating and because we treated the cabin as simply a place to sleep and watch TV, it never seemed claustrophobic.

After 18 months I was tired of constantly jumping from one ship to the next. We decided to stick with one ship so we could stay onboard even when everyone else disembarked. We chose the Sky Princess, a 19-deck ship that carries 3,660 passengers. It cruises the Caribbean in the winter months and between Europe and the Canary Islands the rest of the year.

Sarah was supportive from the start, knowing how much we loved adventure, but some friends and relatives thought we were crazy.

While some people say they’d love to do the same, others clearly think it’s horrible and say we’ll be at risk of constant viruses and infections. I’m not sure they believe me when I say that Dan has never been ill onboard, while I’ve only had two colds in the past three years.

'Living onboard, even in a tiny cabin, has improved our marriage,' writes Libby. 'There’s none of the tiring, stressful life admin that can wear a relationship down. The focus of our life is fun.'

Libby in the windowless cabin that she shares with her husband, which she has decorated with photos to make it feel homely

Food is a risk on a cruise, but not for the reasons people think. With cuisine of every kind available 24/7 I am a dress size larger than I was three years ago, but plan to lose weight. I never take the lift and climb at least 15 flights of stairs a day, walking around the decks multiple times. I easily hit 20,000 steps daily.

Living onboard, even in a tiny cabin, has improved our marriage. There’s none of the tiring, stressful life admin that can wear a relationship down, no arguments about whose turn it is to unload the dishwasher or take out the rubbish. The focus of our life is fun.

I also have a lot of independence. I go dancing every evening without worrying about how I’ll get home and can safely explore the ports without Dan whenever I want to.

In March this year, after three years of saving half my salary while working remotely, I was able to retire at 52. It was an amazing feeling – and gave me even more time to enjoy all a cruise ship has to offer.

The only thing we really miss on land is Sarah, now 33, and our granddaughter, who was born in October 2024. In December we all stayed in a holiday home in Bournemouth for two months. It was wonderful to be together, but Dan and I missed cruise life. It felt amazing to step back onboard and float away again.

While a time may come when the inevitable health and mobility issues that come with old age mean that cruise living becomes impractical, for now I’m not worrying about the future.

I’m the freest and the happiest I’ve ever been and hope we can live this way for ever. I just wish we’d done it sooner.

Follow Libby at @libbyrome

As told to KATE GRAHAM