Residential Cruise Ship; Retiring to The Sea?

[ExFlyBoy5]

I saw this article and while this is certainly not for me, I could see some that would like to blow that dough signing up.

...a new "residential community at sea" named Storylines is hoping to change that by offering a "more affordable" opportunity to live on a cruise ship for an extended period of time, or even permanently.

Launching in 2024, Storylines is offering up fully furnished one-to-four-bedroom residences, along with studios and two-story penthouses, on board its upcoming ship, with prices starting at $400,000 and rising to $8 million.

Oh, and this "small" fee...

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.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/storylines-residential-cruise-ship-concept/index.html

 

[pacergal]

wow, looks very nice, but not sure I would want to be on a ship year round.
Plus, if it can be rented, how will it not start to feel like a "cruise ship". If I Was to buy in, I would want to know and enjoy my neighbors, so to speak.

 

[aja8888]

Living on a ship forever? Thought comes to mind of burial at sea when the time comes. I wonder if that is included in the fees?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

wow, looks very nice, but not sure I would want to be on a ship year round.
Plus, if it can be rented, how will it not start to feel like a "cruise ship". If I Was to buy in, I would want to know and enjoy my neighbors, so to speak.

I am kinda curious how things would work with health breakout issues...such as COVID or norovirus? And medical emergencies? Seems like a lot of diversions could happen because of things like this. And insurance? What if it sinks? Is highjacked?

I could also see HOA type issues. More people/more problems especially since they will allow children. Way too many variables for me to consider...not that I would consider, anyway.

 

[Sunset]

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.

 

[MichaelB]

Interesting concept. Thanks for the link. Kind of a RV / time share combo on the water. The website shows the floor plans and prices (here). 538 sq ft costs 1484K

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

 

[braumeister]

"Medical emergency! This man needs to get to an ER stat!"

"Well, we're halfway between New Zealand and Chile, so it may take a little while. I'll tell the chief engineer to crank it up to 20 knots. Meanwhile, here are a couple of aspirin, no charge."

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Interesting concept. Thanks for the link. Kind of a RV / time share combo on the water. The website shows the floor plans and prices (here). 538 sq ft costs 1484K

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

Maybe that is why there are 20 bars/restaurants and a microbrewery on board.

Very fancy brochure they have there. I see that it is scheduled to make it around the world every 3.5 years.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

"Medical emergency! This man needs to get to an ER stat!"

"Well, we're halfway between New Zealand and Chile, so it may take a little while. I'll tell the chief engineer to crank it up to 20 knots. Meanwhile, here are a couple of aspirin, no charge."

Yes. My Mom had a medical episode while on a cruise in the Caribbean back in 1995. They got the ship as close to the Dominican Republic as they could and had to bring a tug boat out to lower her and my Dad off the ship. Then had to make it through town in an ambulance while stopping often to "pay off" the locals. Then a private jet to MIA where she eventually made it to Mount Sinai Hospital. She was there for about a week before she was diagnosed with....well, they never figured it out. Somehow she survived a several hour trip while CPR was done almost continually. NOT my idea of a fun cruise!

 

[athena53]

My grandchildren live in Des Moines. Does it ever stop at Des Moines?

Not for me- I MIGHT be able to be persuaded to be one of those people who lives on a regular cruise ship (maybe just during the winter months in North America), but buying into one leaves you open to increases in the annual fees, someone else is making decisions about how and when to upgrade and maintain the ship and whom to hire, and if the day comes that health problems make this impractical, it may be hard to resell.

 

[Gumby]

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

 

[MichaelB]

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

Here’s the Allure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allure_of_the_Seas

 

[Alan]

Here’s the Allure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allure_of_the_Seas

<rimshot>

 

[braumeister]

Here’s the Allure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allure_of_the_Seas

Currently moored at Port Everglades, since 3 days ago, if you want to go look at it.

 

[Gumby]

Such an astonishingly ugly ship.

 

[Chuckanut]

If you buy in make sure there is an easily enforceable rental cap so it doesn't turn into a rich person's rental-able party ship. And make sure no short term AirBnB type rentals are allowed. Period.

 

[Jenna]

Don 't some people do this themselves by buying multiple vacation weeks onboard? I know the college at Sea Programs have spots for Older Couples to do the trip with them-several months at a time

 

[Lewis Clark]

"Medical emergency! This man needs to get to an ER stat!"

"Well, we're halfway between New Zealand and Chile, so it may take a little while. I'll tell the chief engineer to crank it up to 20 knots. Meanwhile, here are a couple of aspirin, no charge."

I've been on two cruises where sick passengers needed to be helicoptered off the ship, once in the Caribbean and once in the Galapagos. Not uncommon on Caribbean cruises from what I have been told.

 

[Lewis Clark]

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

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

 

[Walt34]

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

Maybe that's 'cause your boat didn't have any windows?

I suppose it's also a downer when half the world wants hunt you down and blow you up.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I love cruising. The longest Ive done was 24 days in a row. That was probably about as long as I would want to do. Of course that was on a “normal” cruise ship. Nice concept. But not my desired long term life style.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Such an astonishingly ugly ship.

Aren't all the newer cruise ships? Talk about an "appliance."

 

[Aerides]

I can understand those articles every now and then about some widow who cruises all the time, basically doing this on a regular cruise ship. They get the activities and fun and all the plus sides (assuming you like cruises). But they also get rotating other guests. Some good some bad - but never next door for long - and there to have fun and relax.

Being on a cruise for years with the same people, who are just all there like you, I think would feel like a floating condo rather than a floating resort.

 

[Gumby]

Aren't all the newer cruise ships? Talk about an "appliance."

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

 

[Dtail]

Can't afford it, but would not be my cup of tea anyway.