How I went from working on cruise ships to taking more than 20 a year as a guest — and make a living doing it

• J. Alexander of “The Shiplife” was working on cruise ships when he started his YouTube account.
• Now he takes around 20 cruises a year and works on his channel full-time.
• “My work is literally vacationing,” he says, adding that “the hardest part is finding a balance.”

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with J. Alexander, a former cruise ship crew member-turned-YouTuber who runs the channel The Shiplife, which has more than 195,000 subscribers. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.

I never expected any of this to happen. Originally I’m from the south side of Chicago, and I didn’t go to college. I had always wanted to travel as a kid, but my parents never had the money to do it. But back in high school, I became a professional break dancer.