A long time ago at age 18 I was offered a Cadetship with P&O. The same week I also landed a flying scholarship which funded a substantial amount of my CPL. I already had a PPL so I took the soft option. I did not want to chip rust and learn to paint and all the other hard graft that went with going to sea back then. I was a lazy little bugger. Flying was much cleaner and was something even then I never really had to work at. Flying theory was far easier then and is even more so now.
Now retired, having been through a couple of airline bankruptcies and a revolution that saw me redundant with money saved seriously devalued, I know with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight that I should have gone with the ships.
I have met several retired sea captains and they are WAY ahead on the finances. Certainly the guys I know could easily afford their own light aircraft if they wanted to fly for fun. Many of the ex airline pilots I know can barely afford the cars they drive. One or two divorces and airlines going belly up can have that effect. Sure, occasionally shipping lines fold, but not nearly as often as airlines, it seems. Also, I don't think being at sea would be any worse for collecting ex wives. Less opportunity could be a good thing....