When my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he and my mom “bought” a room on the QE2, and travelled until he was no longer able to - I think they were on there for just under four years.
I normally think cruise ships are a stain on humanity for the environmental damage they cause, but every now and then I read stories like this one and it makes me think. Probably made a difficult condition a little bit easier
When CrossFit was getting big (maybe 2011-2012) the owner of my gym left for six months. He found a posting where Carnival wanted to have CrossFit classes on their boat, like twice a day (which isn’t much) and he did that. They paid him like $50/day but the room and food was free, and he got a decent cabin too. The classes were one at like 8am and one at 6pm so he had most of the day to go off the boat and do things. It was wild-he said he would never do that again and CrossFit on a boat was the single worst idea ever but still
Any gig that gives you room and board has a huge advantage. Just don't blow all your cash on booze (which is usually what happens, or a Camaro if you're in the military) and you can end up in pretty good shape by the time you're done.
I ran a youth program on a ship. I made between 50-65$ a day depending on The contract (in the early 2000’s). I worked every day, but some days it was an hour, some days it was 10. I was generally allowed to go onshore at port, because we didn’t really have enough youth on board to run a program on shore days. It was a fun experience, but I can’t imagine I would ever go on a cruise ship ever again.
Why was it the worst? Genuinely curious… seems like a fantastic way to live for a couple months. Like an extended vacation where u spend next to nothing.
did he just have the one job? when we went on a ship we noticed the star performer from the previous nights show manning the tender vessells, he said everyone pretty much works multiple jobs
I had an offer for a similar gig. 6 months on a cruise ship teaching classes on Microsoft Office, internet basics, and some Photoshop Elements if I felt like it. Room and board covered, food covered. Only expenses were what I incurred ashore while we were anchored, and alcohol. It was about 4 hour-long classes a day 4 days a week. $300 stipend/week for 16 hours work. Also, I got free internet and sat phone access (though this was time limited) while on board because I needed to keep the computers updated. And - best part, got to bring my gf along for free. She got all the same perks (minus the stipend).
I tried running on the treadmill on my last cruise. I think I lasted about 45 seconds before I was too dizzy even though I could see out the windows. I love exercising but not on a cruise.
Oh my god. I recently reread A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again and I’m just imagining how terrible a cruise truly is, I can’t imagine the type of person that would be appealing to. To each their own of course, everybody has their thing. But man, if anything it just makes me appreciative of how good DFW’s writing is
There was a story years ago about an old lady who did this. She had her room, she had maid service, all of her food provided, and… THERE’S A DOCTOR 24/7! She said it was cheaper than a nursing home.
Yep, my aunt and uncle-in-laws went on a round the world cruise that lasted several months. There was an old, rich woman who essentially lived on the boat. The uncle gave her the nickname "The Queen" which quite delighted her. She had all her meals, companionship, round the clock care, and out of her family's hair.
I sailed on a very expensive 6 star cruise ship several years ago and there was a full-time tenant. She was fabulously wealthy and her home was in San Francisco, but she spent about 9 months on the ship. She was treated like royalty. Accompanied by various staff everywhere. Always invited to eat at the captain’s table. Best seats reserved for all events. My mom got to know her a little during the cruise. Said she seemed very sweet. She had no immediate family and felt very safe and welcomed on the ship. She’s been around the world many times. Ever since I’ve thought about what it would be like to retire on a cruise ship.
I had a coworker whose family did this with her mother. They put her on as many cruises as they could and she lived with one of the kids between cruises.
A wee Clydeside man, who has worked in the shipyards all his life, wins on the Pools and decides to do something they could never have dreamed of doing - take a trip on one of the ships he helped build - the QE2.
My husband and I were looking into a world cruise. I mentioned that there are folks who legit live on cruise ships. We're considering it, but we have to wait for our four pawed pack member to move on as pets aren't generally allowed on cruise ships.
It's a terrible idea as the ship whilst having a doctor, is not set up for elder care and ships are notorious for off loading patients at the next port. If you're no longer on the ship you are no longer their liability.
They also book private rooms for guest travelers on some freighters and oil tankers. The buffet and entertainment are nowhere near as grand, but one can ride through the Suez or Panama canals and see the world.
These are also the only ‘ferry’ options you can get to/from Australia these days. Really popular with around the world cyclists/motorcyclists as you can crate your bike/bike on the ship cheapish too, plus it’s not too expensive or slow if you’re just trying to get from Darwin to like Jakarta or somewhere
I looked into this for moving home to the States from Europe but it seemed very time intensive and boring. Wound up booking a 10 day repositioning cruise on Celebrity instead. The ship was less than half-full, mostly retirees (kid-free pools!) But at sea for most of the journey. It was a nice transition home, and cheaper than airfare and all our luggage was included.
Can confirm, I was an engineer in the merchant fleet for 6 years. They had these rooms on every ship I sailed on, but I never once saw anyone book them.
I met a lady that lived on a Holland America ship on our 2017 cruise to Alaska. This article was written in 2018 and it makes me wonder what the cruise lines did with these folks when they had to empty the ships for covid.
Years ago, I talked with a guy at the roulette table that lived on the cruise ship for the last few months. Mr Lee lost around $8k over the weekend that I talked with him. He seemed to like living on the boat.
I would wander around everywhere in my jammies robe and slippers and take huge steam trays of shrimp from the dining room and take it back to my cabin. I would play video games all day. It would be stupid.
My girlfriend’s 90 year old father pays about $4k per month at an assisted living facility in Georgia. Has his own room, gets all meals, cleaning, laundry, etc. Kind of like a 1 story Hampton Inn, except the common space areas are larger.
My grandmother in law? Pays 7000$ at Brookdale (fuck brookdale) and she hates it. When the pandemic hit all they were being fed was sandwiches. Their little condos don't have kitchens so she ate just sandwiches for weeks. To get a ride anywhere she has to make a reservation 2 weeks in advance, and other shitty things. Fuck Brookdale.
Have you actually been to the assisted living facility? These facilities are far less glorious than you make it out to be by comparing it to a Hampton 🧐
If I've learned anything by being on my HOA board it's that none of those residents will vote for which ports to stop at and they'll simply drift at sea until the boat disintegrates into the ocean.
I checked the link provided and it only takes you to an artist's rendering for the future cruise ship. I think it's rather telling that 4 years after the article was first printed (2018) there still are no actual photos of the cruise ship or the cabins onboard.
I mean, even if the cruise ship in the article isn't built yet, you can still live on a cruise ship year round. One example is the world cruise ship, which is exclusively live-aboards.
The yearly service charge for the cheapest cabin, based on two persons sharing is $114,480, that's astronomical. I don't get why it's so expensive if housekeeping etc us included in the cost, surely it doesn't cost almost $10,000 a month to maintain an internal cabin
For a single passenger it’s only $4770/mo which is very competitive with upscale retirement homes. I would say this is pretty appealing for widows/widowers who no longer have/need a permanent residence and are still independent enough to travel and don’t want to go to a retirement home just yet. This isn’t really meant for your everyday couple/family (unless you’re fabulously wealthy).
A nursing home with a view that sucks, with lousy food and a bad smell, in a cold state costs $6k a month or more. Why not spend a few bucks, sit in the sun for a few hours a day and perhaps have some entertainment?
Keep in mind, you have to buy the cabin too. According to the website, the cheapest cabin you can lease (not actually own) is $450,000. The good news is, the monthly fees are lower than the article stated and are $2,600 per person based on double occupancy (for now - I’m sure those will increase over time).
Sir boats move around and they use fuel to do that. Now fuel isn't free these days so you have to buy it using money. Now as we all know money doesn't grow on trees so the money has to be collected from somewhere
I thought the same, but I think one difference is that you'd have to disembark and "move out" every do often on a normal cruise, which would mean it wouldn't feel much like home, you couldn't really decorate, etc.
The catch is you better not get sick or need to see a specialist on a timely basis. There is a doctor on board each ship but he is more of an ER type than a Primary Care Provider. That story circulating of a women retiring to a cruise ship doesn't show (I don't think) the last chapter of that story which is that she got sick, very sick, and had to leave the cruise ship for good for proper care. Also be sure your health insurance includes emergency helicopter ambulance service or you will have to pay that cost, too. I have been on 8 cruises and 2 of them had to stop north of the Caribbean to take someone (and their family) off the ship via helicopter ambulance.
Well aren’t you just a Debbie downer.. all of us here had the old “Sail Off Into the Sunset” vibes going on and you’re here talking about “getting sick”. My recollection from The Love Boat is that everyone is happy and healthy in the end. “Getting sick”... pssshhh, they just throw them overboard if they do. /s
Yeah, they are also not going to help you to the toilet and wipe after. You will stay in your cabin, soil yourself and sit in "it". Then they will call a ambulance and have you removed at the next stop. People believing a ship is a alternative to a nursing home, hilarious
as a side note: nearly no country besides the us has taxes tied to citizenship so as long as internet is fast enough this could be a simple way for digital nomads that earn a lot to go tax free
Read about these and apparently the actual number of guests onboard varies a lot. When they're going someplace interesting or warm everybody flies in, if not, it gets down to the hardcore boat dwellers.
I decided I would join in on a culinary class on the ship. I met an older lady that said she and her husband live two weeks on the ship and two weeks off. They pick wherever they want to get off and stay there and explore until another ship comes by to pick them up. Not sure how that really works but it sounded very sophisticated and exciting 10 years ago when I met her.
Uh, the monthly Service Fee for the lowest tier plan (Tier 1 ($155,000 – $400,000) is $4770 per person (per cabin, based on double occupancy). I mean, not exactly "affordable".
I worked on cruise ships for a few years, mainly doing the grand voyages (2-6 months cruises around either the pacific or circumnavigation) and there are plenty of people that do this. Mostly old money folk from what I could tell, seems like a great life to live!
There have been a few times where people tried to create libertarian countries at sea on cruise ships. They kept failing because they kept accidentally inventing government.
What would drive me crazy is having to eat with people where you have to have nothing but shallow conversations, or you have to hear monologues that go on and on about their grandchildren.
The monthly fee is where it gets expensive….. my elderly parents in a pricy living situation in assisted care pays just a little more than that s month and that includes ass wiping ……. I’m not sure that is amenity here
I thought your were talking about Spaceship Earth, as in, we're all on a ship traveling through space already, but no, there is a boat on Spaceship Earth called "The World."
A lot of musicians take this deal for a couple two three years. I almost did but it's lonely as hell unless you like transient sex hookup relationships...
Not a cruise ship but sort of similar: I met an older couple, probably in their 70s, at an all inclusive in Mexico. Said they sold their home and bought a small modular in the desert. They live at 2 different all inclusive in Mexico and just return to their modular occasionally each year. They said living at the all inclusive was less expensive than living / retiring in the states since everything is provided for them at the all inclusives.
Most people don't know, cruise ships are like the number 1 polluting industry. The laws in the oceans aren't always clear or even present. So they dump garbage and human waste in the ocean, and they use really dirty diesel. It's really awful what these companies do.
Calling it diesel is a disservice to diesel. It's bunker fuel, which is way way worse. Bunker fuel is like diesels dirty ass, VD having, toilet wine drinking, just out of prison cousin who hasn't bathed in a year and sleeps in a dumpster full of shit and used needles.
Cruises make up 0.2% of all CO2 emissions. I don’t really get why they’re so so vilified. People don’t think twice about driving their cars or their weekly trash load being buried in the earth but you go on an occasional cruise ship and Reddit grabs the environmental pitch forks
If the book 2030 by Albert Brooks comes to fruition, this is how most of us spend our retirement from age 70 till the end. They just staff nurses instead of bartenders and stock the booze in soda fountains.
Save you a click; the monthly fee for a cabin is just under $10,000, which includes all amenities (food, drink, etc.) The $150,000 purchase price sounds tantalizing, but an effective “rent” of $10,000 on top of that is nothing to sneeze at.
Watched a documentary on youtube about this retired guy who lives on cruise ships. It was him and a whole community of people who do it, stay a month or so on one ship then hop on different one. he had been doing it like 10 years or so, bonus was he knew most of the people running the ship. He said get in food with them and they make sure you are taken care of. It was neat.
I met a lady on a cruise who was doing just that for retirement. She was assigned to my dinner table. She said it was only a little more than living in a nice assisted living place so why not.
So the cheapest one they offer is only $4,770 per month per person? Wonderful, I thought it would be something insane and out of reach for working class people.
actually read the article, was set to sail in august 2019. The cheapest apartment still expected almost a $10,000 monthly service fee on top of the $155,000-$400,000 upfront cost. Would be about 183-248 sq. ft.
I've spent over 100 days at sea on cruise ships. This feels more like a time-share type scenario. You could easily find cruises with nicer accommodations plus entertainment on an ad-hoc basis that would be more affordable than this. This is also a smaller/older ship with no balcony rooms, and cruise ships do not have a long serviceable lifespan.
Yeah I met two lovely ladies once who lived on the carnival Elation for the last two years. They even described me the embarkation debarkation in full details. They traveled from CA to Mexico 2x a week and had been there over a year.
After entering the Grand Canal in Venice for the fuckin 627th time I did not gave a fuck anymore and went straight to the thankfully very empty bar on the 4th floor.
That's funny that the website is called cruissfever after the chaos that happened on cruise ships at the start of the pandemic. Cruise liner profits have gotta have taken a massive beating ever since being jn the news for being unable to take shelter at any port and being floating covid hellholes.
I watched a documentary the other day about cruise ships post covid and how they were trying to encourage elderly people living on their ships to leave mostly because they were not able to give them the constant help they required and also their medical setup is not designed to cater for the needs of old people. I always thought it would be cool to live on a ship as well but after watching that show I kinda see their point.
The minimum monthly service charge is $4770 per person for the ship in the article. Almost $5k per month per person. And this is for a cabin that's 183 sq•ft. – 248 sq•ft in size (so around $1k/sq•ft) and intended for double-occupancy. So almost $10k/month for what's essentially a tiny studio. The $155k "buy in" price is only a small portion of total running costs.
It’s targeted towards old people waiting to die that don’t know what to do with themselves. Basically a floating retirement home with way more liquor and amenities.
Yes, my wife and I took an Alaska Inside Passage cruise some years back. There was a profoundly disabled young woman who lived, with an attendant, on the ship. Now and then, she would transfer to a different Princess ship, but she found that her needs were much better taken care of than any land based solution would have supplied.
Seriously fuck the cruise ship industry they are horrible for the environment. in 2019 cruise ships produced 10x more pollution then all 260 millions cars in europe combined.
When my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he and my mom “bought” a room on the QE2, and travelled until he was no longer able to - I think they were on there for just under four years.
At least they went out the way they wanted to go out, in leisure and enjoying the company of each other.
How expensive was that I wonder
Wow, that's really beautiful. We can't change how long we're here but we can change how we live while we are here. Glad they got to enjoy their time.
Wow, your mom should write a book.
I normally think cruise ships are a stain on humanity for the environmental damage they cause, but every now and then I read stories like this one and it makes me think. Probably made a difficult condition a little bit easier
Better than what my family did lol. Told our grandpa with dementia that the nursing home was really a seniors cruise and that's why he couldn't leave.
Read Love in the Time of Cholera by Garcia Marquez
When CrossFit was getting big (maybe 2011-2012) the owner of my gym left for six months. He found a posting where Carnival wanted to have CrossFit classes on their boat, like twice a day (which isn’t much) and he did that. They paid him like $50/day but the room and food was free, and he got a decent cabin too. The classes were one at like 8am and one at 6pm so he had most of the day to go off the boat and do things. It was wild-he said he would never do that again and CrossFit on a boat was the single worst idea ever but still
Any gig that gives you room and board has a huge advantage. Just don't blow all your cash on booze (which is usually what happens, or a Camaro if you're in the military) and you can end up in pretty good shape by the time you're done.
I'm just sitting here imagining the olympic lifts while the boat rocks. Although they probably kept it to things without barbells.
My sister DJ'd on a couple of cruise ships. Paid $100/day + room & board. Worked 5 nights a week.
I ran a youth program on a ship. I made between 50-65$ a day depending on The contract (in the early 2000’s). I worked every day, but some days it was an hour, some days it was 10. I was generally allowed to go onshore at port, because we didn’t really have enough youth on board to run a program on shore days. It was a fun experience, but I can’t imagine I would ever go on a cruise ship ever again.
Why was it the worst? Genuinely curious… seems like a fantastic way to live for a couple months. Like an extended vacation where u spend next to nothing.
did he just have the one job? when we went on a ship we noticed the star performer from the previous nights show manning the tender vessells, he said everyone pretty much works multiple jobs
I had an offer for a similar gig. 6 months on a cruise ship teaching classes on Microsoft Office, internet basics, and some Photoshop Elements if I felt like it. Room and board covered, food covered. Only expenses were what I incurred ashore while we were anchored, and alcohol. It was about 4 hour-long classes a day 4 days a week. $300 stipend/week for 16 hours work. Also, I got free internet and sat phone access (though this was time limited) while on board because I needed to keep the computers updated. And - best part, got to bring my gf along for free. She got all the same perks (minus the stipend).
I feel like there are a lot of things in life that fall into the “it was wild, I’ll never do it again, single worst idea, but still…” category.
I was in the third round of interviews to work on a cruise ship before Covid hit.
I tried running on the treadmill on my last cruise. I think I lasted about 45 seconds before I was too dizzy even though I could see out the windows. I love exercising but not on a cruise.
Oh my god. I recently reread A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again and I’m just imagining how terrible a cruise truly is, I can’t imagine the type of person that would be appealing to. To each their own of course, everybody has their thing. But man, if anything it just makes me appreciative of how good DFW’s writing is
Kettle bell swings in turbulence
They literally did a CrossFit cruise once. WOD on the waves. Everyone I know who went had a blast
“What do things”? You’re basically trapped on a floating prison.
Sounds like a great deal. $15k/year straight to your retirement fund for nothing more than teaching a morning and evening class.
A person should still be paid a decent wage even if board is included, when in places you literally can't live somewhere else.
There was a story years ago about an old lady who did this. She had her room, she had maid service, all of her food provided, and… THERE’S A DOCTOR 24/7! She said it was cheaper than a nursing home.
Yep, my aunt and uncle-in-laws went on a round the world cruise that lasted several months. There was an old, rich woman who essentially lived on the boat. The uncle gave her the nickname "The Queen" which quite delighted her. She had all her meals, companionship, round the clock care, and out of her family's hair.
I sailed on a very expensive 6 star cruise ship several years ago and there was a full-time tenant. She was fabulously wealthy and her home was in San Francisco, but she spent about 9 months on the ship. She was treated like royalty. Accompanied by various staff everywhere. Always invited to eat at the captain’s table. Best seats reserved for all events. My mom got to know her a little during the cruise. Said she seemed very sweet. She had no immediate family and felt very safe and welcomed on the ship. She’s been around the world many times. Ever since I’ve thought about what it would be like to retire on a cruise ship.
I had a coworker whose family did this with her mother. They put her on as many cruises as they could and she lived with one of the kids between cruises.
https://www.cruiselinehistory.com/the-woman-who-lives-on-the-qe-2-makes-final-voyage-and-sails-with-the-famous-liner-into-cruise-ship-history/
"yep looks like your gallbladder just exploded, here's some pain meds" - 24/7 doc
Iirc, cruise ships try to discourage this because there's no way the crew can provide the services of an assisted living facility.
Yeah, fuck it, man. If my options are assisted living or a cruise ship, I’m taking the cruise ship.
A wee Clydeside man, who has worked in the shipyards all his life, wins on the Pools and decides to do something they could never have dreamed of doing - take a trip on one of the ships he helped build - the QE2.
Yes, the fees are about the same.
It's actually relitively common for just that reason.
Must have been great until 2020
My husband and I were looking into a world cruise. I mentioned that there are folks who legit live on cruise ships. We're considering it, but we have to wait for our four pawed pack member to move on as pets aren't generally allowed on cruise ships.
It's a terrible idea as the ship whilst having a doctor, is not set up for elder care and ships are notorious for off loading patients at the next port. If you're no longer on the ship you are no longer their liability.
This ain't that. $5,000 monthly service fee forever?!?!! That's $60k in service fees A YEAR!
Yeah. A “doctor.”
They also book private rooms for guest travelers on some freighters and oil tankers. The buffet and entertainment are nowhere near as grand, but one can ride through the Suez or Panama canals and see the world.
These are also the only ‘ferry’ options you can get to/from Australia these days. Really popular with around the world cyclists/motorcyclists as you can crate your bike/bike on the ship cheapish too, plus it’s not too expensive or slow if you’re just trying to get from Darwin to like Jakarta or somewhere
Depending on how you book, you may have enough of a layover in the Suez Canal to visit Giza and Alexandria.
How does one do this?
“The buffet and entertainment are nowhere near as grand.” I got a good laugh out of that.
This is often romanticized but in practice it's still rather expensive and a very mediocre way to travel.
Any links or know what to search to look into this? It sounds pretty damn interesting. Although I probably could never go though
I looked into this for moving home to the States from Europe but it seemed very time intensive and boring. Wound up booking a 10 day repositioning cruise on Celebrity instead. The ship was less than half-full, mostly retirees (kid-free pools!) But at sea for most of the journey. It was a nice transition home, and cheaper than airfare and all our luggage was included.
I looked into it. From NYC to London was not cheap at all.
Can confirm, I was an engineer in the merchant fleet for 6 years. They had these rooms on every ship I sailed on, but I never once saw anyone book them.
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this actually sounds kinda neat, always been obsessed with large industrial ships
My dad did something similar to this. He got a free cabin and food in exchange for ballroom dancing with the single ladies every evening.
Seems like a great deal for him.
Is your dad a…prostitute?
Walter Matthau or Jack Lemmon?
Is your dad Walter Matthau and/or Jack Lemmon from "Out to Sea"?
Only place on earth where real estate got cheaper during the pandemic....
You’d be surprised at how expensive this (and cruising in general) remains. I certainly was when I looked it up over Xmas.
Well, estate was cheap at the beginning... Until, here, spring where everyone could do remote work and has enough of city...
You didn't read article, $5,000 monthly HOA forever?!?!! That's $60k in service fees A YEAR!
$5000+ service fee a month on top of $150,000+ upfront cost. Not exactly cheaper.
I met a lady that lived on a Holland America ship on our 2017 cruise to Alaska. This article was written in 2018 and it makes me wonder what the cruise lines did with these folks when they had to empty the ships for covid.
Here is a good video about that
Years ago, I talked with a guy at the roulette table that lived on the cruise ship for the last few months. Mr Lee lost around $8k over the weekend that I talked with him. He seemed to like living on the boat.
And company like yours was likely a part of the attraction for him.
Yeah, but what about when he won 8k only to lose 16k the following weekend?
I would wander around everywhere in my jammies robe and slippers and take huge steam trays of shrimp from the dining room and take it back to my cabin. I would play video games all day. It would be stupid.
Does this sound like a man who had "all he could eat"?
Stupid fun
I've always wanted to just go on a cruise with a stack of books and just chill and disconnect. Basically do what you described
Data out there is slow and expensive, unless starlink takes off.
please, don't take the steam tray! Sir!
My girlfriend’s 90 year old father pays about $4k per month at an assisted living facility in Georgia. Has his own room, gets all meals, cleaning, laundry, etc. Kind of like a 1 story Hampton Inn, except the common space areas are larger.
My grandmother in law? Pays 7000$ at Brookdale (fuck brookdale) and she hates it. When the pandemic hit all they were being fed was sandwiches. Their little condos don't have kitchens so she ate just sandwiches for weeks. To get a ride anywhere she has to make a reservation 2 weeks in advance, and other shitty things. Fuck Brookdale.
That's insanely expensive.
Have you actually been to the assisted living facility? These facilities are far less glorious than you make it out to be by comparing it to a Hampton 🧐
If I've learned anything by being on my HOA board it's that none of those residents will vote for which ports to stop at and they'll simply drift at sea until the boat disintegrates into the ocean.
Like a Viking funeral
Here's the comment I was looking for. And they will bitch about it non stop but not offer any solutions
I checked the link provided and it only takes you to an artist's rendering for the future cruise ship. I think it's rather telling that 4 years after the article was first printed (2018) there still are no actual photos of the cruise ship or the cabins onboard.
I mean, even if the cruise ship in the article isn't built yet, you can still live on a cruise ship year round. One example is the world cruise ship, which is exclusively live-aboards.
I guess OP never saw Suite Life On Deck
My first thought.
Back when I went on Semester at Sea, there was a nice older lady living on the board as a “life long leaner.”
Would you recommend Semester at Sea to others? I've always been intrigued.
The yearly service charge for the cheapest cabin, based on two persons sharing is $114,480, that's astronomical. I don't get why it's so expensive if housekeeping etc us included in the cost, surely it doesn't cost almost $10,000 a month to maintain an internal cabin
For a single passenger it’s only $4770/mo which is very competitive with upscale retirement homes. I would say this is pretty appealing for widows/widowers who no longer have/need a permanent residence and are still independent enough to travel and don’t want to go to a retirement home just yet. This isn’t really meant for your everyday couple/family (unless you’re fabulously wealthy).
A nursing home with a view that sucks, with lousy food and a bad smell, in a cold state costs $6k a month or more. Why not spend a few bucks, sit in the sun for a few hours a day and perhaps have some entertainment?
As someone who maintains big ships for a living, I tell you big ships are expensive.
Keep in mind, you have to buy the cabin too. According to the website, the cheapest cabin you can lease (not actually own) is $450,000. The good news is, the monthly fees are lower than the article stated and are $2,600 per person based on double occupancy (for now - I’m sure those will increase over time).
Sir boats move around and they use fuel to do that. Now fuel isn't free these days so you have to buy it using money. Now as we all know money doesn't grow on trees so the money has to be collected from somewhere
Let's do some rough math:
I thought the same, but I think one difference is that you'd have to disembark and "move out" every do often on a normal cruise, which would mean it wouldn't feel much like home, you couldn't really decorate, etc.
It does mean you have to pack and unpack constantly but for those savings, it seems worth it.
That fee is per person based on double occupancy; realistically you owe them $155k plus $4,770 X 2 = $9540/mo or $114,480 a year.
Damn, you could buy a whole ass Coast Guard Cutter for less than that
The catch is you better not get sick or need to see a specialist on a timely basis. There is a doctor on board each ship but he is more of an ER type than a Primary Care Provider. That story circulating of a women retiring to a cruise ship doesn't show (I don't think) the last chapter of that story which is that she got sick, very sick, and had to leave the cruise ship for good for proper care. Also be sure your health insurance includes emergency helicopter ambulance service or you will have to pay that cost, too. I have been on 8 cruises and 2 of them had to stop north of the Caribbean to take someone (and their family) off the ship via helicopter ambulance.
Well aren’t you just a Debbie downer.. all of us here had the old “Sail Off Into the Sunset” vibes going on and you’re here talking about “getting sick”. My recollection from The Love Boat is that everyone is happy and healthy in the end. “Getting sick”... pssshhh, they just throw them overboard if they do. /s
Yeah, they are also not going to help you to the toilet and wipe after. You will stay in your cabin, soil yourself and sit in "it". Then they will call a ambulance and have you removed at the next stop. People believing a ship is a alternative to a nursing home, hilarious
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as a side note: nearly no country besides the us has taxes tied to citizenship so as long as internet is fast enough this could be a simple way for digital nomads that earn a lot to go tax free
Interesting point. Although Canada has health care tied to time in the country, so you need to spend 6 months plus a day in the country to get it.
Read about these and apparently the actual number of guests onboard varies a lot. When they're going someplace interesting or warm everybody flies in, if not, it gets down to the hardcore boat dwellers.
I decided I would join in on a culinary class on the ship. I met an older lady that said she and her husband live two weeks on the ship and two weeks off. They pick wherever they want to get off and stay there and explore until another ship comes by to pick them up. Not sure how that really works but it sounded very sophisticated and exciting 10 years ago when I met her.
Uh, the monthly Service Fee for the lowest tier plan (Tier 1 ($155,000 – $400,000) is $4770 per person (per cabin, based on double occupancy). I mean, not exactly "affordable".
I worked on cruise ships for a few years, mainly doing the grand voyages (2-6 months cruises around either the pacific or circumnavigation) and there are plenty of people that do this. Mostly old money folk from what I could tell, seems like a great life to live!
I’ve thought about this as a retirement plan but you couldn’t keep any pets.
I wouldn't put that on slickdeals.
There have been a few times where people tried to create libertarian countries at sea on cruise ships. They kept failing because they kept accidentally inventing government.
It's almost as if government is a necessary evil or something.
bioshock vibes intensify
If there is a hell for me, this would be it.
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A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again.
Oof. This sounds heavenly to me, were it not for all the pollution that cruise ships cause.
Considering the monthly fee, it's likely this won't be as trashy as most cruise ships.
What would drive me crazy is having to eat with people where you have to have nothing but shallow conversations, or you have to hear monologues that go on and on about their grandchildren.
The monthly fee is where it gets expensive….. my elderly parents in a pricy living situation in assisted care pays just a little more than that s month and that includes ass wiping ……. I’m not sure that is amenity here
The only ship already doing this exists, it's called "The World" and was docked in San Diego a couple of weeks ago.
I thought your were talking about Spaceship Earth, as in, we're all on a ship traveling through space already, but no, there is a boat on Spaceship Earth called "The World."
That one is all for-purchase units, like condos. One can also effectively lease a suite/room on a "normal" cruise ship as well.
Yeah but I feel like it's impossible to get anything delivered there
A lot of musicians take this deal for a couple two three years. I almost did but it's lonely as hell unless you like transient sex hookup relationships...
Did you grow up in NEPA?
I would buy this but my Warzone lag would be too bad so nah
ahahaha my first thought. Online gaming would be limited to turned-based games only
I can finally be a pirate
This is every overweight Midwesterner's dream
Monthly service fee, $5,000. What?
Plus you get every single new pandemic virus in a timely manner!
Not a cruise ship but sort of similar: I met an older couple, probably in their 70s, at an all inclusive in Mexico. Said they sold their home and bought a small modular in the desert. They live at 2 different all inclusive in Mexico and just return to their modular occasionally each year. They said living at the all inclusive was less expensive than living / retiring in the states since everything is provided for them at the all inclusives.
$10k a month service fee is “affordable”? Lol k
Most people don't know, cruise ships are like the number 1 polluting industry. The laws in the oceans aren't always clear or even present. So they dump garbage and human waste in the ocean, and they use really dirty diesel. It's really awful what these companies do.
Calling it diesel is a disservice to diesel. It's bunker fuel, which is way way worse. Bunker fuel is like diesels dirty ass, VD having, toilet wine drinking, just out of prison cousin who hasn't bathed in a year and sleeps in a dumpster full of shit and used needles.
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Most people don’t know that because it’s not true lol
Cruises make up 0.2% of all CO2 emissions. I don’t really get why they’re so so vilified. People don’t think twice about driving their cars or their weekly trash load being buried in the earth but you go on an occasional cruise ship and Reddit grabs the environmental pitch forks
yea, let me just reach in my wallet and pull out that $155k that's been burning a hole in my pocket.
Don't forget the $4700 per month per person maintenance fee.
LPT: never do this
But what if you really love norovirus and destroying the planet?
If the book 2030 by Albert Brooks comes to fruition, this is how most of us spend our retirement from age 70 till the end. They just staff nurses instead of bartenders and stock the booze in soda fountains.
Yeah but that crossfit class really gets in the way of the second buffet of the morning.
Save you a click; the monthly fee for a cabin is just under $10,000, which includes all amenities (food, drink, etc.) The $150,000 purchase price sounds tantalizing, but an effective “rent” of $10,000 on top of that is nothing to sneeze at.
I learned this decades ago from "The Love Boat" TV series.
Watched a documentary on youtube about this retired guy who lives on cruise ships. It was him and a whole community of people who do it, stay a month or so on one ship then hop on different one. he had been doing it like 10 years or so, bonus was he knew most of the people running the ship. He said get in food with them and they make sure you are taken care of. It was neat.
Most people don't know that there's actually a ship you buy a room on.
I met a lady on a cruise who was doing just that for retirement. She was assigned to my dinner table. She said it was only a little more than living in a nice assisted living place so why not.
This is the start of Wall-E
So the cheapest one they offer is only $4,770 per month per person? Wonderful, I thought it would be something insane and out of reach for working class people.
Pretty sure that's how that movie Wall-E started.
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[cue Firefly theme tune]
actually read the article, was set to sail in august 2019. The cheapest apartment still expected almost a $10,000 monthly service fee on top of the $155,000-$400,000 upfront cost. Would be about 183-248 sq. ft.
I like Bill Burr's plans for cruise ships.
That had to be an interesting lockdown situation.
This article is pre-Covid. Is this still a thing?
I've known some elderly folks that did this. Seems better than a retirement community, if you don't get seasick.
I've spent over 100 days at sea on cruise ships. This feels more like a time-share type scenario. You could easily find cruises with nicer accommodations plus entertainment on an ad-hoc basis that would be more affordable than this. This is also a smaller/older ship with no balcony rooms, and cruise ships do not have a long serviceable lifespan.
Year-round COVID!
Almost $10k per month service fee per cabin? That’s a big no from me.
Yeah I met two lovely ladies once who lived on the carnival Elation for the last two years. They even described me the embarkation debarkation in full details. They traveled from CA to Mexico 2x a week and had been there over a year.
After entering the Grand Canal in Venice for the fuckin 627th time I did not gave a fuck anymore and went straight to the thankfully very empty bar on the 4th floor.
The article is from 2018, I wonder how it’s going for them? Initially, and then after COVID
Sounds like fun if you are healthy and rich, and have other options once you get sick to death of cruising.
Yeah. This rich guy tried to lure us back to his room on a cruise ship and fuck my brother and I when we were 15 and 13.
Amd you said yes, right? Because of the implication.
They had one of those vessels on TV in Australia last week.
That's funny that the website is called cruissfever after the chaos that happened on cruise ships at the start of the pandemic. Cruise liner profits have gotta have taken a massive beating ever since being jn the news for being unable to take shelter at any port and being floating covid hellholes.
Good try, Navy recruiter. I’m wise to your ways!
Watch out for the $5k montly service fee...
I heard somewhere that’s it’s cheaper for old folks to retire and live on those cruise ships than stay at a nursing home…
I watched a documentary the other day about cruise ships post covid and how they were trying to encourage elderly people living on their ships to leave mostly because they were not able to give them the constant help they required and also their medical setup is not designed to cater for the needs of old people. I always thought it would be cool to live on a ship as well but after watching that show I kinda see their point.
Don't forget the extra $60K year for all the amenities
Boomers are mad that Millenialls are circumventing the housing market with one simple trick…
There are cheaper decisions to regret
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The minimum monthly service charge is $4770 per person for the ship in the article. Almost $5k per month per person. And this is for a cabin that's 183 sq•ft. – 248 sq•ft in size (so around $1k/sq•ft) and intended for double-occupancy. So almost $10k/month for what's essentially a tiny studio. The $155k "buy in" price is only a small portion of total running costs.
Cheapest room is 150k with a 10k monthly for 2 people
Sounds horrible
It’s targeted towards old people waiting to die that don’t know what to do with themselves. Basically a floating retirement home with way more liquor and amenities.
Yeah why would I rent an apartment when I can rent an apartment and get a bonus floating panic attack.
If it weren't for the fact that cruise ships are an environmental travesty, this would almost be tempting.
You ain't ever been on a cruise if you believe all amenities are provided. LOL
you'd really get your money's worth out of the "all you can drink" soda cup though!
Yes, my wife and I took an Alaska Inside Passage cruise some years back. There was a profoundly disabled young woman who lived, with an attendant, on the ship. Now and then, she would transfer to a different Princess ship, but she found that her needs were much better taken care of than any land based solution would have supplied.
Seriously fuck the cruise ship industry they are horrible for the environment. in 2019 cruise ships produced 10x more pollution then all 260 millions cars in europe combined.