Lee Wachtstetter

Last updated

Leona Wachtstetter
BornMay 1928 (1928-05) (age 95)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMama Lee
Known forLiving on a cruise ship for a decade
Notable workI May Be Homeless, But You Should See My Yacht
Children4

Leona Wachtstetter (born May 1928), nicknamed Mama Lee, is an American author and long-term passenger on cruise ships. Wachtstetter worked as a registered nurse, while her husband, Mason Wachtstetter, performed real estate appraisals and worked as a banker. The couple went on their first cruise in 1962 and went on 89 cruises together in total. Mason, who died in 1997, told Leona the day before his death to continue traveling on cruise ships. She initially traveled many times on cruise ships with a friend before becoming a solo traveler. Wachtstetter began living on the Holland America Line cruise ship MS Prinsendam in 2005.

Contents

Wachtstetter, who spends hours dancing on cruise ships, moved in 2008 to living full-time on the Crystal Serenity after Prinsendam stopped providing trained dance partners. It cost her US$164,000 in 2015 to live on the Crystal Serenity. In 2017, she published the book I May Be Homeless, But You Should See My Yacht detailing her life on Crystal Serenity for a decade.

Early and personal life

Leona Wachtstetter [1] was born in May 1928 [2] to Agnes and Joseph W. Davis, a dental surgeon. [3] Her younger brother, Richard, was born in 1936, [4] [5] and the family lived in Freeport, a village on Long Island. [3] She frequently enjoyed accompanying her parents on their cabin cruiser, a 36-foot (11 m) boat with six beds that they routinely used during weekends including going to Jones Beach Island. Wachtstetter took summer school classes immediately after her high school junior year. After completing the classes, Wachtstetter had sufficient credits to immediately be done with high school. With her mother encouraging her to begin university, she did not return to high school so did not attend her senior prom or high school graduation. Wachtstetter enrolled in Adelphi College's pre-nursing curriculum. After her father had an unsuccessful eye surgery, he needed to resign from his dentist job. Her father, mother, and brother relocated to Hollywood, Florida. Wachtstetter continued attending classes at Adelphi but several months later, her father asked her to join them and she visited Hollywood during the Easter break in 1946 for two weeks. She returned to Adelphi, where she completed her spring semester before moving to Florida to enroll in the School of Nursing at University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital. She met her husband, Mason Wachtstetter, on a beach in Hollywood. [3]

Her husband did real estate appraisals and worked as a banker, while she was a registered nurse at South Broward Hospital and Clinic. [6] [7] They lived in a five-bedroom, 10-acre Fort Lauderdale, Florida, house. [6] She went on her first cruise with her husband in 1962 on P&O's cruise ship SS Florida that traveled from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas. [3] [8] Her husband cofounded the Hollywood Playhouse, [9] and in the 1960s, she performed in plays including A Majority of One in 1966 and the comedy Dear Me, the Sky is Falling in 1967. [10] [11] [12] She and her husband went on a three-week cruise and upon returning chose to have him retire in 1976 from Home Federal Savings and Loan Association, where he had been vice president. [13] They were married for 50 years until he died on September 25, 1997, from cancer at age 76. [6] [9] [14] The Wachtstetters went on 89 cruises together. [15] While she was a dancing enthusiast, her husband did not enjoy dancing, so he told her to ask cruise ship dance hosts to dance with her. The couple had four children (three sons and a daughter), who accompanied them on numerous cruises, and seven grandchildren. [6] Her daughter died of cancer in December 2011. [16] In the early 21st century, Lee underwent cataract surgery. [16]

Living on cruise ships

Wachtstetter's husband advised her, "Don't stop cruising," the day before his death. [6] Following his advice, Wachtstetter initially traveled numerous times on cruise ships with a friend before boarding ships as a solo traveler. A friend maintained the house while she was away for as much as 11 months in the year. [17] After her daughter proposed that she do so, Wachtstetter sold the house along with her car and nearly all her possessions. [18] [19] In 2008, the friend who was maintaining the house purchased it from Wachtstetter. [17] [18]

Beginning in 2005 when Wachtstetter was 76, she lived on the Holland America Line cruise ship MS Prinsendam. Wachtstetter is a dancing enthusiast. After Prinsendam stopped providing trained dance partners, she moved in 2008 to living full-time on the Crystal Serenity . [17] Crystal Serenity has 13 decks and 535 rooms and accommodates 1,070 passengers and 655 crew. [18] [20] [21] Wachtstetter liked that Crystal Serenity provided dance partners. Each evening, she spends two hours dancing on the ship's Palm Court lounge while the Crystal Sextet band performs music. Multiple times every week, the ship's dancing teachers give her and other passengers free lessons. [18] In a sign of deep respect for her based on their customs, the Filipino crew gave her the nickname Mama Lee. [16]

In 2015, Wachtstetter spent US$164,000 to live in cabin 7080, a one-person window room on the seventh deck of Crystal Serenity that is 276 sq ft (25.6 m2). [6] [22] [23] She funds her cruises and lifestyle through assets her late husband left to her. [24] Wachtstetter eats both meals that were included in the base price and upcharge options. [6] During dinner, she meets people while seated at an eight-person table. After going on cruises, she gained 25 lb (11 kg) and attempted to lose weight through maintaining a liquid diet consisting of fruits and vegetables for four months. [2] [6] For entertainment, she attends performances, lectures, the captain's cocktail celebrations, and film showings, and ballroom dancing every night with dance partners provided by the cruise line. She needlepoints for a substantial amount of time on the ship's Palm Court lounge, and gifts the embroidered work to the ship's staff. [6] Items she makes for the staff include toys, tablecloths, and handbags. [18]

Wachtstetter seldom leaves the ship when it docks since she probably previously has been to the ports, but when the ship docks at Istanbul, she visits the Grand Bazaar, which offers a lot of fancy clothing that she likes. While cruising, Wachtstetter uses her laptop to remain in contact with her children and grandchildren, one of whom she reportedly speaks with every day. [6] Her family joins her for dinners when the ship docks in Miami. [16] Wachtstetter visits her family whenever her cruise ship stops in Miami, which happens around five times per year. [6] [25] Every year during Christmas, she spends several weeks on land with her children and grandchildren. She views it as a good opportunity not to be on the ship, as numerous guests are often children. [18]

Wachtstetter wrote a book about her experience living on Crystal Serenity titled I May Be Homeless, But You Should See My Yacht. [26] [27] Published in 2017, [28] the book discusses her decision to sell her large house after her husband's death and become a full-time cruise ship resident rather than relocating to an assisted living facility. [29] CNN said her memoir describes "her cruising shenanigans" such as a Thailand auto rickshaw driver's kidnap of her and her encountering a Mediterranean "rogue wave". [30] CNBC called the book "a much-read memoir". [31]

Before becoming a long-term passenger on Crystal Serenity, Wachtstetter had been on about 200 cruises. [22] By January 2016, she had been on the ship for seven and a half years, which amounted to 215 cruises. [22]

Works

Related Research Articles

Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, to recommence operations in 2023, with headquarters in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The new company has announced major refurbishments and enhancements for the two ships in a Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy, including increasing the number of butler suites and reducing guest capacity, and resumed service in July 2023 with shore excursions organized by Abercrombie & Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Caribbean Group</span> Cruise holding company

Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & plc. As of 2023, Royal Caribbean Group fully owns three cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. They also hold a 50% stake in TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

<i>Carnival Ecstasy</i> Cruise ship

Carnival Ecstasy was a Fantasy-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on January 6, 1991, and christened by television hostess, entertainer and long time Carnival spokesperson Kathie Lee Gifford. Her inaugural voyage began on April 2, 1991. During 2007, in common with all of her Fantasy-class sisters, she had the prefix Carnival added to her name. With the departure of the Carnival Fantasy in 2020, the Carnival Ecstasy became the oldest ship in the fleet until her retirement in October 2022. She was replaced by Carnival Spirit out of Mobile, Alabama in October 2023.

MS <i>Sovereign</i> Cruise ship (1987–2020)

MS Sovereign was one of three large cruise ships of the Sovereign class operated by Pullmantur Cruises and formerly by Royal Caribbean International. When she was completed in 1987, Sovereign of the Seas was the world's largest passenger ship. On 24 June 2020, due to economic losses caused by COVID-19 pandemic, Sovereign arrived and was beached at Aliağa, Turkey, where she was dismantled.

<i>Crystal Symphony</i>

Crystal Symphony was a cruise ship owned and operated by Crystal Cruises before the line went out of business. She was built in 1995 at Kværner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland. She was the oldest vessel in the Crystal Cruises fleet.

<i>Crystal Serenity</i> Cruise ship built in 2003

Crystal Serenity is a cruise ship owned by Crystal Cruises. Crystal Serenity was built in 2003 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in St. Nazaire. She operated together with her older fleetmate, Crystal Symphony, offering around the world voyages.

The MS Jubilee was a cruise ship that was originally built for Carnival Cruise Line. She was the second of three ships to be built for Carnival's Holiday class. She was last owned by the Chinese company HNA Cruise Company, Limited, for service in the West Pacific region. The ship was retired and scrapped in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Viking Line</span>

The Royal Viking Line was a luxury cruise line that operated from 1972 until 1998. The company was the brainchild of Warren Titus and had its headquarters at One Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.

Silversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Monaco. Founded in 1994 by the Vlasov Group of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome, it pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, Silver Cloud. Since July 2020, it has been owned by Royal Caribbean Group.

MS <i>Prinsendam</i> (1972) Ship

MS Prinsendam, was a Holland-America Line cruise ship built at Shipyard de Merwede in the Netherlands in 1973. She was 427 feet (130 m) long and typically carried about 350 passengers and 200 crew members.

MS <i>Asuka II</i>

MS Asuka II (飛鳥II) is a cruise ship owned and operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. She was originally built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan, as Crystal Harmony for Crystal Cruises. In 2006, Crystal Harmony was transferred from the fleet of Crystal Cruises to that of Crystal's parent company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and entered service under her current name. As of August 2022, she was the largest cruise ship in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice Muller</span> American author and cruise passenger

Beatrice DuMont Muller (1919–2013) was an American author and long-term passenger on cruise ships. Muller was born in 1919 and raised in Somerville, New Jersey, during the Great Depression. In 1940 or 1941, she married Robert Arthur Muller, a chemical engineer, and they raised two sons in a house in Bound Brook, New Jersey. The couple went on a world cruise on the Cunard Line ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1995, the year Robert retired. As they enjoyed the experience, they returned every subsequent year for the ship's world cruise. During the 1999 world cruise, Robert died on the ship. In 10 months, Muller sold all her possessions and relocated to the Queen Elizabeth 2 to be a full-time passenger.

<i>Disney Dream</i> Cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line

The Disney Dream is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. The first of the Dream-class, she is the third ship of the overall fleet, the other four ships in the fleet being the Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish. She currently sails four-day and five-day cruises to the Bahamas and the Western Caribbean calling at Cozumel and Grand Cayman, as well as Disney's private island Castaway Cay. In May 2023, the Disney Dream sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and began sailings in Europe. She entered service in 2011; her sister ship, Disney Fantasy, was deployed in 2012.

<i>Silver Spirit</i> (ship) Luxury cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises

Silver Spirit is a luxury cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises. The sixth ship of the Silversea fleet, she entered service in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edie Rodriguez</span> American businesswoman (born 1961)

Edie Rodriguez is an American businesswoman and Member of the Board of Directors of various companies and works in executive leadership in the global luxury travel, technology, marketing and sales sectors. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's Saudi Tourism Authority where she is the Chairwoman of the Nominating and Remuneration Committee. Concurrently, she is a Member of the board of directors for publicly traded Gaucho Group Holdings, where she is Chairwoman of the Compensation Committee.

Carnival Celebration is the flagship of Carnival Cruise Line. She is Carnival's second vessel of the fleet's Excel class, a subclass of Carnival Corporation & plc's Excellence class. At 183,521 GT, she is the largest ship in Carnival's fleet. Unlike her sister ship, Mardi Gras, as well as the original Celebration, this ship is named Carnival Celebration using the Carnival prefix. Her name was announced on 21 August 2020. She was ordered on 6 November 2016 from the Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku. She features the worlds first roller coaster at sea, named Bolt.Construction started on 13 January 2021 and was completed on 2 November 2022.

<i>Silver Endeavour</i> Megayacht operated by Crystal Cruises

Silver Endeavour is a cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises. Originally built for Crystal Cruises by MV Werften in Stralsund, Germany, she was laid down in 2018 and completed in June 2021. She is the world's largest ice class expedition yacht, bearing a Polar Class rating of PC6.

Kathleen Suzanne Phang is an American lawyer, political commentator, podcaster, and television host. She hosts The Katie Phang Show, which airs on the weekends on MSNBC and Thursdays to Fridays on Peacock.

Mario Salcedo, nicknamed Super Mario, is an American businessman and a long-term passenger on cruise ships. He has continuously lived on Royal Caribbean International cruise ships since 2000, aside from about 15 days on land a year and a 15-month gap during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara MacBeth</span> American heiress and cruise passenger

Clara Louise MacBeth was an American heiress and long-term passenger on cruise ships. In 1971, the Guinness World Records listed her as the "Most Indefatigable Cruise Passenger". For 14 years, she lived on the RMS Caronia between 1949 and 1963. It cost her $396 in daily fare to live on the ship with her traveling companion Madoline Frank. Without accounting for inflation, Cunard Line received $4 million from her in tickets.

References

  1. ↑ Noronha, Charmaine (February 7, 2014). "Luxury voyage promises adventure". The Columbus Dispatch . Associated Press. ProQuest   1773617560. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Wachtstetter, Lee (March 7, 2016). "What it's like to live on a cruise ship for 8 years". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wachtstetter, Mama Lee; Kita, Joe (2017). I May Be Homeless, But You Should See My Yacht. K-S Publishing. ISBN   978-0-692-93256-8.
  4. ↑ Blakeman, Karen (March 2, 2002). "Rick Davis, stock expert and magazine publisher". The Honolulu Advertiser . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Lynch, Russ (March 2, 2002). "Richard "Rick Davis" / Publisher and Stockbroker. Publisher brought Hawaii to mainland and islanders". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Liberman, Si (January 19, 2015). "Woman pays $164K per year to live on luxury cruise ship". Asbury Park Press . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Shook Up Nurses See 'The Peeper'". Fort Lauderdale News . December 16, 1960. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "15 pessoas e famílias que vivem em casas inusitadas" [15 people and families living in unusual houses] (in Portuguese). Universo Online. November 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  9. 1 2 King, Jonathan (September 29, 1997). "Guy Mason Wachtstetter, active in Davie, Hollywood". South Florida Sun Sentinel . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Mascola, Pat (February 8, 1967). "Muriel Zeitlin Great In Comedy At HLT". Sun-Tattler. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Taylor, Ed (March 29, 1966). "'Majority Of One' Is Bright". Sun-Tattler. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Behrens, David S. (March 27, 1966). "Samurai Meets Jewish Lady". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Foster, Alice (October 10, 1976). "On Bridal Parties, Alaska Cruises". Miami Herald . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Verde, Tom (February 24, 2017). "Calling a Cruise Ship Home: See the World, Then See It Again". The New York Times . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  15. ↑ Turen, Richard (March 12, 2015). "Shopping, cruising, debauchery and making babies". Travel Weekly. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Podolak, Janet (November 10, 2012). "Miami woman lives and dances aboard the Crystal Serenity (with videos)". The News-Herald . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 "Welche Texte gefälscht sind - und welche nicht. Der SPIEGEL arbeitet den Fall Relotius auf. Dazu gehört auch, alle Texte zu überprüfen, die von dem früheren Redakteur erschienen sind. Hier ist der Überblick" [Which texts are fake - and which are not. Der Spiegel is working on the Relotius case. This also includes checking all texts published by the previous editor. Here is the overview.]. Der Spiegel (in German). January 24, 2019. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haw, Penny (June 17, 2012). "Dancing queen". Sunday Times . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Penny Haw.
  19. ↑ Greenberg, Peter (August 22, 2016). "Cruise ship living: Retiring to a life at sea". CBS News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  20. ↑ Kim, Susanna (January 20, 2015). "What It's Like for 86-Year Old Woman Living Aboard Luxury Cruise Ship". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  21. ↑ Heigl, Alex (January 20, 2015). "Florida Woman, 86, Pays $164,000 Per Year to Live on a Luxury Cruise Ship". People . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  22. 1 2 3 Stephens, Edward (January 9, 2016). "A serene time on the seas". Birmingham Mail . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022– via The Free Library.
  23. ↑ "Hitting the high seas for life: How to ditch the house for full time living at sea". WFTX-TV. May 13, 2019. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  24. ↑ Quirk, Joe; Friedman, Patri (2017). Seasteading: How Floating Nations Will Restore the Environment, Enrich the Poor, Cure the Sick, and Liberate Humanity from Politicians. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN   978-1-4516-9928-9 . Retrieved August 7, 2022– via Google Books.
  25. ↑ Pantazi, Chloe (January 19, 2015). "An Old Lady Has Lived on This Cruise Ship for 7 Years". Thrillist . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  26. ↑ Black, Andrea (August 15, 2015). "Ships that let people cruise the world, forever". Escape. Nationwide News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  27. ↑ Buchanan, Gary (May 30, 2022). "Why it could be cheaper to swap gloomy Britain for life on a cruise ship". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  28. ↑ Halliwell, Elle (July 19, 2022). "Meet the Aussies who live on cruise ships". The Australian . Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  29. ↑ Bandoim, Lana (May 29, 2019). "Are luxury cruise ships the new retirement homes?". The Week . Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  30. ↑ Ward, Terry (April 15, 2022). "Meet the people who want to spend the rest of their lives on cruise ships". CNN. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  31. ↑ Kaufman, David (May 8, 2022). "Your new 'retirement' home could be a cruise ship". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.