He rocked the boat.
A person named Mario Salcedo who has lived on cruise ships for the past 25 years revealed a bizarre health effect that he’s developed from being at sea for therefore long.
“I’ve lost my land legs. I’m swaying a lot I can’t walk in a straight line,” the Cuban-born businessman told Conde Nast Traveler in a recent interview.
“I’m so used to being on ships that it feels more comfortable to me than being on land,” he added.
Salcedo, who’s nicknamed “Super Mario” in cruise circles, recently did his 1,000th voyage with Royal Caribbean. The 11-night voyage was on the three,286-passenger Explorer of the Sea which left Miami on Jan. 5 and traveled to Panama and the southern Caribbean.
Salcedo said he spends around $101,000 on cruises per yr and only works about five hours a day, devoting the remaining of his time to relaxing and having fun on the ship.
Elaine Warren, the founder and CEO of The Family Cruise Companion, spoke to the Every day Mail about Salcedo losing his “land legs” — a condition generally known as Mal de débarquement syndrome.
“Spending prolonged time on a cruise ship feels like a dream for a lot of families. The convenience, entertainment, and all-inclusive nature of the experience make it a beautiful idea,” said Warren. “But while you shift from a vacation mindset to truly living at sea, a number of unexpected things occur — especially to your body.”
“I’ve spent years helping families plan cruise vacations, and while short-term trips are one thing, staying on board long-term is a special experience entirely,” she continued. “The primary adjustment is to constant motion. The body adapts to the ship’s movement over time, but that doesn’t at all times mean in an excellent way.”
Warren went on, “Many long-term cruisers find that they develop ‘sea legs,’ where they get so used to the ship’s slight sway that walking on land feels strange. I’ve spoken to individuals who lived at sea for months, they usually say that stepping back onto solid ground may be disorienting — almost just like the land itself is moving.”
In response to the Cleveland Clinic, Mal de débarquement syndrome (MdDS) is a rare vestibular disorder that makes you’re feeling such as you’re moving even while you’re not.
MdDS symptoms go away inside 24 hours, but in some cases, they’ll linger for months and even years.
Salcedo previously told Conde Naste Traveler that he went on his first cruise in 1997 and fell in love with life at sea.
“Nothing could lure me away from them, because I get treated like royalty,” he said about his journeys with Royal Caribbean. “The captains all know me.”
Salcedo only briefly moved back to land for 15 months resulting from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.