Residential Cruise Ship; Retiring to The Sea?

[Luvtoride]

My only question is WHY

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I wouldn't know, as I've only ever been on one cruise - the Inside Passage in Alaska in 2000. There were only 120 passengers. Here is the ship :

YORKTOWN CLIPPER - IMO 8949472 - Callsign WTA4768 - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker

Doesn't look too bad. 1988...almost a classic.

 

[finnski1]

My only question is WHY

+1

 

[Chuckanut]

I wouldn't know, as I've only ever been on one cruise - the Inside Passage in Alaska in 2000. There were only 120 passengers. Here is the ship :

YORKTOWN CLIPPER - IMO 8949472 - Callsign WTA4768 - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker

I did the inside passage on the Alaska Marine Hwy. It was a working ferry boat that spent a lot of time dropping off supplies as well as passengers. Great fun for a landlubber like me except for a few hours when I took some anti-nausea pills and stayed on my bunk. Thankfully, we had a cabin and did not have to endure the treacherous weather in a tent on the deck.

 

[Starsky]

There was a residential cruise ship called the ResidenSea that launched a number of years ago and I see it is still operating. It did a name change in the past and is now called "The World".

https://aboardtheworld.com/our-story/

 

[luckydude]

I doubt a rich guy/gal spending USD $8 million to buy a top-end unit would want to mingle and share common space/same amenities/same level of service with the "proles" spending a lousy USD $380k to lease the cheapest unit. That takes away the exclusivity factor that makes this kind of arrangement appealing for rich folks. It would be akin to a first-class passenger getting the same level of service as an economy class passenger on a flight.

I hate to sound like a snob, but I remember dining in a "fancy" restaurant once in Vegas with DW. We were there celebrating an anniversary and paid USD $500 for prix fix menu for two (no wine). Food was great except right around us were folks spending USD $12 per entree being very loud and noisy. Nothing wrong with that but the ambience just wasn't right for what we were expecting at that price point. The offerings on this ship seem to present the same problem.

 

[oldie]

Residents will also be charged a "living fee," which ranges from $65,000 to $200,000 per unit annually and covers expenses such as food and maintenance.

You can book a world cruise on most lines (120 days) around 15-25k per person. So the "living fee" alone would cover 1-2 world cruises a year for two.

 

[old medic]

I love my wife dearly and treasure our moments together but 539 sq feet just isn’t enough room for the both of us.

We have been living in 244 SQFT of camper over 4 years... aint killed each other yet... I would love a nice sailboat and wander the world, but the big ship aint for me.

 

[qwerty3656]

This has kind of a time share smell to it - where when you look closely at the numbers it doesn't make economic sense, you'll never get your money out and will be stuck paying for life (or have to sell your position out for $1)

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

There was a residential cruise ship called the ResidenSea that launched a number of years ago and I see it is still operating. It did a name change in the past and is now called "The World".

https://aboardtheworld.com/our-story/

I was reading the Wikipedia entry on this ship and noted this:

In March 2020 the ship was emptied of passengers and non-essential crew because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The World returned to service in July 2021.

So, after dropping a pretty big chuck of change, the residents got EVICTED for almost 18 months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_The_World

 

[athena53]

This has kind of a time share smell to it - where when you look closely at the numbers it doesn't make economic sense, you'll never get your money out and will be stuck paying for life (or have to sell your position out for $1)

Yeah, I saw the same risks. No control over how and when maintenance or improvements are done or what happens to the monthly fees, and no certainty that you can resell at a fair price when you want out.

So, after dropping a pretty big chunk of change, the residents got EVICTED for almost 18 months.

Which would not work well for people who raised that chunk of change by selling their house.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Which would not work well for people who raised that chunk of change by selling their house.

And depending on where they evicted the occupants, it could have been quite the challenge to travel back to a home country.

 

[Gumby]

I wonder if you can get insurance that covers the risk of your home sinking to the bottom of the ocean?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I wonder if you can get insurance that covers the risk of your home sinking to the bottom of the ocean?

I think you can insure almost ANY risk but at what cost and what kind of exclusions could there be? I think piracy could be one of those exclusions.

When I was doing flight test, the airplanes were still owned by the government but were in possession by the contractor until we flew and accepted them. Until we "bought" the airplane back, hull losses were insured by Lloyd's of London. I always thought that was interesting.

 

[djsander]

Having spent prolonged periods of time at sea, I don't see the allure.

Same here. No desire to spend more time at sea. Did I see gold dolphins in one of your posts?

 

[aja8888]

I wonder if you can get insurance that covers the risk of your home sinking to the bottom of the ocean?

Insurance wouldn't mean much to you if you were at the bottom of the sea and still on the boat.

 

[Souschef]

DW and I did a 32 day cruise from Buenos Aires up the west coast of South America to Los Angeles. We are veteran cruisers, but agreed that was too long by half.

 

[Sunset]

We cruised on the Carnival Horizon when it was new for a 24 day stretch. It felt weird at the end, as we had become accustomed to it.

I doubt this timeshare type ship would be exactly like a cruise ship, probably wouldn't have shows, and I wonder about the staff motivation.

 

[Gumby]

.... Did I see gold dolphins in one of your posts?

Yes, you did. They were earned aboard USS George Washington (SSBN-598).

 

[djsander]

Yes, you did. They were earned aboard USS George Washington (SSBN-598).

Congrats. I was a surface electrical operator. Qualified at S1W then sent to the Enterprise. Worked at MINSY for 9 years after I got out then went on to other interests.

 

[Souschef]

Yes, you did. They were earned aboard USS George Washington (SSBN-598).

Thank you for your service, Gumby

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Isn't Mark Twain supposed to have said that being at sea is like being in jail with a chance of drowning?

No, I'm pretty sure every person in the Navy has said that.

 

[Koolau]

If I were to consider a life at sea, I think I'd go the route Dory36 did (on his Dory36). I'd probably prefer what RobbieB is looking at (44 footer.) For less than 100K buy in, you can buy a trawler and (SWAG) several hundred per month, dock more-or-less permanently with all hook ups. Of course, you can then go where you want - within limits. Don't think most folks take a 36 footer across the atlantic, but you could do the Bahamas within the weather-windows that often open for such trips. YMMV

 

[Magus]

For us, since we are not "that rich" , a big concern would be the $1.9 Million purchase price for a regular cruise balcony cabin (roughly) would after 30->40 yrs be a rust bucket headed for the scrap yard.

Unlike most properties, I feel this would be a huge depreciating item.

The yearly fee for the size of room I looked at was $95K , so not too bad considering its a built in travel vacation.

I do feel this project may not succeed, as reading about the initial false starts, and the decision to build their own ship, combined with constant design changes to meet demands, shows a serious LACK of planning.

Hmm $95k/yr is $260/day for food/maintenance. Not sure I'd say thats "not so bad." Perhaps not horrible.

 

[Music Lover]

Hmm $95k/yr is $260/day for food/maintenance. Not sure I'd say thats "not so bad." Perhaps not horrible.

$260 a day is $7,800 a month. If I was to spend that much it would be a 2 or 3 bedroom, 1200 - 1500 sq ft rental in a nice location next to the ocean rather than on the ocean.