TIP 1: Overcoming Anxiety: Some people are so adjusted to a hectic fast-paced lifestyle that the idea of switching off for any more than a few days makes them a nervous wreck. If this is you then we suggest you consider this cruise as you would a summer home, take some work with you, do some work on your laptop. If you have no work you can do then find some blogs to post in and be active in those spaces, blog about your time at sea. If this is you then I suggest a shorter cruise, we offer 3 month to 5 year cruises or cabin purchases options.

TIP 2: Overcoming boredom: Following from the point above somewhat some people feel living on a cruise ship for months to be a type of hell, well yes there are some adjustments to be made but to overcome boredom make sure you take some hobbies with you. Lets not forget the cruise lines offer an amazing array of entertainment daily and each day or so is a new destination, and with that comes your personal preparation of this shore time, what will you do? What to see? Do you follow the other cruisers on the shore excursion or do you go your own way?

TIP 3: Conversation: You will be on a ship with mostly the same people for months, we can assure you, you will find a clicky group of like-minded people that will become your friends on this trip, soon you will find lunch dates and shore excursion preparation time will be a group activity and your explorations and market finds will be the talk of the dinner table that night and beyond.

TIP 4: Missing everyone back home: Ok granted this can be a tough one for some people, however, most cruise ships today offer great connectivity so you can remain connected and in communication with all your loved ones back home 24/7. On a Storylines ship, you will have high-speed access to the Internet so calling home to see the kids is not an issue.

TIP 5: I just want some home cooking: It doesn’t have to be all seafood buffets and open bars, after all that is pretty far removed from just about everyone’s daily life so yes it would be an adjustment. You will find some great little eateries onboard that serve you up some good old-fashioned food maybe like you make back home and if you’re really nice to the staff they might be able to make something up just for you. All Storylines ships have the ability to use self-cooking stations where you can cook and entertain your friends and family anytime.

TIP 6: Choosing an Itinerary: Make sure you choose an itinerary that will be suitable for your personal tastes and likes. Do your research on the ports, countries and sights in those areas, have you been there before? Will you want to get off the ship at that port or stay onboard? Mind you some of the best times on a cruise ship can be when the vessel is at port and she is almost empty, 500 staff and half a dozen passengers, great ratios you will agree. We allow our passengers to choose the itineraries weekly via our voting app PLUS we stay in port days at a time and commonly 4-5 days so you can really get to experience the culture of the local area on and off the ship.

A long term cruise or living on a cruise ship may not be for everyone, but, if done right with the right mindset you will have an absolute ball. This article was written by Alister Punton of storylines.com who now offer the worlds first full-time liveaboard cruise options with cruise ship cabin purchases and long term tickered experience from 3 months to 5 years available.

About the Company: Storylines buy and convert older cruise ships as they come of regular cruise ship charters with other larger cruise ship companies then sell these newly renovated cruise ship cabins and condos into newly emerging markets such as retirees wanting to retire on a cruise ship and enjoy a better quality retirement while travelling the globe or remote working staff and tech-based companies, incubators and startups.