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It seems like cruise ships are always in the news for one thing or another—whether they’re sinking, flipping, or serving up a mass amount of sickness, cruise ships are a popular topic of conversation. Infamous writer David Foster Wallace immortalized his experience aboard with A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again and The Simpson’s took the cruise idea further with their own parody episode.

Recently, cruise ships have been in the news because Lee Wachtstetter, an 86 year old Florida woman, is paying $164,000 to live on one. She’s on the Crystal Serenity ship, where she’s known as Mama Lee. She’d been there since her husband died in 1997.

The ship holds just over 1,000 people and has a chef’s garden, an abundance of retail stores, a movie theater, and a whole bunch of food. Wachtstetter says she’s gained 25 pounds—but at 87, she’s hardly concerned about calories. Instead, she’s attending ship christenings by Dame Julie Andrews and making friends and dancing all of the time.

And, while a bit unusual, Wachtstetter isn’t the only person in the world who does this. There’s actually a private residential ship called The World, which is home to 165. It’s been around since 2002. There’s also a number of people who live aboard other tourist ships, as does Wachtstetter.

Wachtstetter doesn’t know how many countries she has visited because she’s been to so many (she’s been to basically everywhere that has a port) and attributes her love of cruising to her late husband who was a banker and a real estate appraiser. During their 50 year marriage, they went on 89 cruises. Since, she’s been on around a hundred more, 15 of which were World cruises.

While aboard, Wachtstetter definitely misses her family, but technology has been a lifesaver. She’s got a laptop she uses to stay in touch with her three sons and seven grandchildren. Plus, she sees them whenever they dock in Miami. Last year, that happened five times.

She’s shelling out $164,000 to live in a single occupancy stateroom on the seventh deck, but that includes meals, gratuities, and entertainment. Prior to her residency on her Crystal Cruise ship, she lived on Holland America for all of three years. She left when the ship decided to stop offering the dance host program Wachtstetter loves so much.

On the Crystal Cruise ship, there are three other women, but Wachtstetter has been there the longest. Everyone on board loves her—and she loves them right back.

The case for cruise ships

Why exactly would one want to live aboard a cruise ship, you ask? There are quite a few reasons Wachtstetter and others might choose this lifestyle. Everything is contained in one relatively small, safe space. There are malls containing everything a person might need or want to purchase, and endless supply of food (people often joke that most people gain a pound per day aboard a cruise ship) and plenty of entertainment—from movie theaters to fire dancers to swimming in a manmade pool within view of the ocean. There’s a lot to offer.