Leona Wachtstetter | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1928 (age 96) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Mama Lee |
| Known for | Living on a cruise ship for a decade |
| Notable work | I May Be Homeless, But You Should See My Yacht |
| Children | 4 |
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.
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.