455 days. That’s how long they last Marty It is Jess Ansen now on board the Coral Princess Cruise – and therefore much longer than some cruise ship crew. The Australian couple haven’t had enough yet: another eight months on the ship are already booked.
The odyssey began in June 2022, when Marty and Jess Ansen boarded the Coral Princess. Previously they had the same 51 (!) cruises in a row reserved. The two retirees, who were already passionate cruisers before the pandemic, decided to go “full time” after Corona. Australia’s strict lockdown strategy has left them feeling like they’ve missed out on several years of fun. That’s why they wanted to “start.” Furthermore, they are both certain: life at sea is cheaper than life in a nursing home.
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Marty and Jess like “celebrities on board”
Over the past year and a half, they have spent their days dancing, eating, making “friends for life” and seeing the world. On “A Current Affair,” a show on Australia’s Nine Network, the Ansens joke that they welcome captains on board, not the other way around. According to ship manager Ren van Rooyen, Marty and Jess from Australia have become like “celebrities on board”. Others who embark on shorter cruises want to meet the pair, whose story has inspired people in their homeland for 455 days.
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Marty says on the show that they need to stay aboard a cruise ship somehow. Because they are so used to life at sea that they no longer know how to make their bed or prepare their meals, he says with a smile. The couple has all meals included in the ticket price and is able to do without daily chores thanks to an onboard team that cleans the room.
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Family relationships on board
That’s why, Marty said mockingly, the couple now had to “stay on board to stay alive.” The Ansens are now so well known on board the ship that the crew pays special attention to them. So she gave Jess, who celebrated her birthday last month, a special surprise. The relationship between “main tenants” Ansen and the crew became familial, both sides claim in the program.
Although their eight months aboard the Coral Princess are over, it’s not all for the two Australians. They want to spend a few months on dry land before leaving for their next trip around the world.