Retiring on a cruise ship

[SecondCor521]

Hi all.

Just watched this:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/11/01/living-on-a-cruise-ship-mh-cprog-orig.cnn

Interested in people's opinions.

I wonder whether I would be OK without a home base. I wonder how to tell whether I would.

I wonder about the budget. $35K a year for two people works out to about $50 per person per day, which seems low for the cruises I've looked at. I've seen repositioning cruises and last minute cruises that low, but the former seems boring and the latter seems a logistics issue if you're doing it full time.

I think it might work for couples in their 40s or 50s. I know when this topic has been discussed before that emergency/good medical care for those in 70s/80s/up would be a concern, and one I find reasonable.

 

[imbatman]

Ha ha sounds awesome if you don't need to see friends/ family frequently and at the "$50" per person daily price point, sleeping in an inside cabin at the bottom of the ship (which all told would be like $100+ per person a day, most cruise lines charge about $20 per person per day for gratuities, separate from the room)............but yeah, free food and new places every day.

I think a round the world cruise is more feasible than retire on a cruise ship. Reality if you are on one of the top 10 cruise lines in the world, they only go to so many ports and after a few years, you would have hit them all.

 

[Onda]

I would not do it for more than 1-2 months even if it cost 10k a year.

Cause it is nice just to park yourself for 4-6 weeks in some place like Seville, Lisbon, Granada, Prague, Amsterdam, Colorado Springs. See trees, palms, birds. Go to same bar in the evening for tapas. Smell spring in the air. Hike in a local countryside. Bike arround the place. Think where to make a daytrip. Then return to some home base in USA and think what is next place where I want to repeat this?


Life is short. Enjoy it. That kind of life on the ship does not sound like a fun to me. I want to hit ports of my choice and on my schedule (And some of them are 1000's of miles from the coast).

 

[ShokWaveRider]

It would drive us nuts!

 

[njhowie]

This comes up periodically as there are a couple of "famous" retired folks who have done it and then the news story gets picked up now and then giving folks the (misleading) idea that they can do it too. Very few folks would be able to do it, and $35k is not a realistic budget. Lots of your time is going to be spent just planning what cruise you're going to be on week-to-week. Then summer prices are higher as well as weeks that have holidays.

imbatman is spot on with all points. Again, $35k/year for a couple is not realistic at all. Certainly not with including the international cruises they mention in the video. Possibly it could be done at $70k/year for a couple, but even then, you'd likely still be in the worst cabins on the ship.

Go and price some cruises and see what you come up with. And remember, just as imbatman points out - you have mandatory daily gratuities on all of the cruise lines. When you add in the daily gratuity I believe it is practically impossible to get down to $50/day/person. Just between port fees, taxes and gratuities I believe that you're already at or above $50/day/person for most cruises.

Most of your time will be spent on the cruise ship. As big as some are, it is still a confined space and you and your one week of clothes are going to be living in a 200 square foot space. Again as imbatman says, at the $50/person/day rate, you are going to have an inside cabin, with no windows and generally be no more than 150 square feet.

Now, how about quality of life? What kind of life are you going to have on a cruise ship where the activities they offer is going to determine what you can do? What kind of hobbies can you have while on a cruise ship? Everything in your life will revolve around what the individual cruises offer and you are living on its schedule, not your own.

Personally, I don't see the draw. It is made to look/sound glamorous and it is attention grabbing. But, I believe that anyone who really thinks about it having all of the facts will quickly come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense for them.

 

[Lewis Clark]

But, I believe that anyone who really thinks about it having all of the facts will quickly come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense for them.

Clearly this lifestyle is not for everyone. The video said they have been doing this for a few years. So, at least in the short term, it clearly does make sense for some folks.

I have met fellow passengers on cruises who do something similar to this. Don't recall if they stayed on ships full time, but they were on ships at least 75% of the time.

 

[SecondCor521]

This comes up periodically as there are a couple of "famous" retired folks who have done it and then the news story gets picked up now and then giving folks the (misleading) idea that they can do it too. Very few folks would be able to do it, and $35k is not a realistic budget. Lots of your time is going to be spent just planning what cruise you're going to be on week-to-week. Then summer prices are higher as well as weeks that have holidays.

imbatman is spot on with all points. Again, $35k/year for a couple is not realistic at all. Certainly not with including the international cruises they mention in the video. Possibly it could be done at $70k/year for a couple, but even then, you'd likely still be in the worst cabins on the ship.

Go and price some cruises and see what you come up with. And remember, just as imbatman points out - you have mandatory daily gratuities on all of the cruise lines. When you add in the daily gratuity I believe it is practically impossible to get down to $50/day/person. Just between port fees, taxes and gratuities I believe that you're already at or above $50/day/person for most cruises.

Most of your time will be spent on the cruise ship. As big as some are, it is still a confined space and you and your one week of clothes are going to be living in a 200 square foot space. Again as imbatman says, at the $50/person/day rate, you are going to have an inside cabin, with no windows and generally be no more than 150 square feet.

Now, how about quality of life? What kind of life are you going to have on a cruise ship where the activities they offer is going to determine what you can do? What kind of hobbies can you have while on a cruise ship? Everything in your life will revolve around what the individual cruises offer and you are living on its schedule, not your own.

Personally, I don't see the draw. It is made to look/sound glamorous and it is attention grabbing. But, I believe that anyone who really thinks about it having all of the facts will quickly come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense for them.

I'm not advocating for the option. But it holds some interest for me just as an option to consider.

If I tried it, I would probably aim for longer cruises. There are many out there that are 2 week plus, although many of those are repositioning cruises or aimed at very high income folks so again out of my comfort price wise.

I agree the budget isn't realistic, especially for a single traveler. I personally don't think I would mind an inside cabin, but I can see it would bother some folks. For me, the cabin is just a place to sleep and retreat to; I would spend most of my time around the ship. Still a confined space but not 150 sq ft.

Good point about hobbies. Most of what's available on the ship is not of interest to me, and some of my current hobbies would not be compatible.

The video mentioned laundry. I would just send it out and include that in the budget. The fact that the couple washed in the sink leads me to think that they either wash their clothes far more than I do, or they are scrimping on the laundry budget either because they're scrimping generally or have an issue with the high cost.

ETA: I think I'd get bored of the lifestyle relatively quickly. I don't need nightly shows/entertainment and 53 restaurants and a wave pool and a water slide to be happy. Visiting all the ports would become boring for me quickly too.

 

[brett]

After 21 days in a balcony cabin on a cruise ship we are ready to get off. Cannot even imagine how it would be in an inside cabin.

The food all starts to taste the same, the room is just a hotel room, the wine is overpriced, etc., etc.

Despite having done 20 or so cruises we would never, ever consider it.

 

[OldShooter]

It would be really cheap for us because we would be dead of boredom within a few weeks.

 

[teej1985]

When I researched it, I could not duplicate their stated expenses. I'm assuming they: 1.) Cruise lines must provide 55+ discounts 2.) got some really steep discounts when cruising started up again during Covid. I'd gladly live that lifestyle, but I don't think it can be done at the price they say they can. I think for me, I'll have a cheap home base but also maybe do an extended cruise every year or every other year.

 

[cathy63]

... The video mentioned laundry. I would just send it out and include that in the budget. The fact that the couple washed in the sink leads me to think that they either wash their clothes far more than I do, or they are scrimping on the laundry budget either because they're scrimping generally or have an issue with the high cost...

I didn't watch the video and don't know what line they sail, but laundry service is usually free for people who sail enough to have elite status, which should take much less than a year to earn. Princess also has self serve laundromats.

 

[marko]

To me this is the equivalent to those people who claim to be "FI" as long as they are living in a van at some campground.

Washing your laundry in a bathroom sink? mmmmm..... no thanks.

There are some cruises that are awesome. Hurtigruten had one for 41 days that went from Oslo, down the coast of the US, through the Panama Canal, eventually to Antarctica with stops all along the way, all for $11k per person all in. But then, as they say, it's time to go home.

 

[gailwinters]

After 21 days in a balcony cabin on a cruise ship we are ready to get off. Cannot even imagine how it would be in an inside cabin.

The food all starts to taste the same, the room is just a hotel room, the wine is overpriced, etc., etc.

Despite having done 20 or so cruises we would never, ever consider it.

Of all the things that would get boring, the inside cabin would be the least problematic for us. Both DH and I suffer from motion sickness. On our first river cruise, we opened the curtains in our cabin to enjoy the sun and the view, got one look at the movement of the water, and immediately got nauseous, even though we had taken preventatives. We never opened those curtains again for the entire cruise.

 

[Luvtoride]

It would be really cheap for us because we would be dead of boredom within a few weeks.

ROFL My thoughts on this exactly. We are on a cruise ship now (boarded yesterday). Between the tiny accommodations, we have a balcony…I can’t even imagine an inside cabin and the crowds, we would go nuts within a short time.
Happy Holidays all.

 

[Dtail]

We like cruises a lot, but would not work for longer than 2 weeks.

 

[CaptTom]

I just looked for cruises over 60 days on vacationstogo dot com. Cheapest daily rate was $72. That's per person, double occupancy. Ouch!

That said, I've seen special deals for a lot less on long-duration cruises. They sent me an ad the other day which actually had me thinking about it, but then reality sunk in and I recycled the ad, so I can't quote the lowest price. IIRC, it did work out to somewhere near $55/day, and I think that was a balcony, since I generally ignore prices on inside or oceanview cabins. But still, that would be ppdo.

 

[FindingForward]

ROFL My thoughts on this exactly. We are on a cruise ship now (boarded yesterday). Between the tiny accommodations, we have a balcony…I can’t even imagine an inside cabin and the crowds, we would go nuts within a short time.
Happy Holidays all.

For me, it would be the food fatigue. What tastes wonderful on day 1 or 5 quickly grows overwhelming by the 2nd week - too much salt, sugar, fat, gravies, overseasoning, etc. It's hard to find enough variety of healthy, natural ingredients on a cruise. By the end of week 2, I'm craving simple, healthy, home-cooked fare.

 

[pacergal]

I could take a cruise or two, but not live on a ship.

 

[brett]

We are the inverse.

We took most of our cruises when we were working. Get on the ship, unpack and that is it.

Since retiring all of our travels have been independent land travels.

We will pick up a last minute cruise while doing land travels if the cruise is attractive to us, if we can get a balcony cabin at a good price, and if it the cruise starts or ends at location that complements our land trips.

The only time we would consider living on a cruise ship would be if the only choice we had was a care home or a cruise ship.

We have been on one or two cruises where it was difficult to discern if the ship was a care home or cruise ship.

 

[kingkarmann]

We cruised once.
To many entitled, self indulgent souls.
Never again.

 

[braumeister]

I've greatly enjoyed our nine cruises, but apart from the first one, the longest one was a bit less than three weeks, and the biggest ship was only 250 passengers. That first one was on an 800-pax ship and it was so huge we said never again. I'm truly amazed (and appalled) at the size of more recently built cruise ships.

There's a very good reason I was in the Air Force instead of the Navy!

 

[Badger]

We like cruises a lot, but would not work for longer than 2 weeks.

After a dozen or so cruises with a couple that were 2 weeks and we feel the same. They were fun but there is a limit before we get bored and tired of some of the passenger behaviors. The best was on a small Celebrity ship in the Galapagos with only 100 people. We would do that again but no more of the 3-4000 passengers.

 

[Nash]

Life in prison would be better than a never-ending cruise.

The penitentiary would certainly have a higher class of humans on the premises.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I hate the nickel and diming on cruise ships. We have taken two so far. I prefer all-inclusive resorts in a vibrant town.

If there was such a thing as real not selective all-inclusive cruises say with 3 or 4 excursions included. We would probably go more. When I say Real I mean NOTHING extra to pay. Living on a cruise ship would be a nightmare for us.

I do not want to be bothered with tipping daily or specialty restaurants etc. I want it all inclusive and would be happy to pay whatever it costs. But no, you can select a drinks package, but it does not include this or that and extra tipping is expected for in room service and a multitude of other things and ending up with an unexpected payment at the end of the cruise.

Till then, we will stick to luxury resorts that probably end up costing us more than cruises, but I do not care about that.

 

[Souschef]

I have been on 47 cruises, from barge cruises with 8 people, to larger ships with over 3000 people.
The longest cruise I have been on was 32 days, and DW and I agreed that was too long.
Being in an inside cabin is like being in a prison cell with no light coming in. As many stated, the $75 per day is absolutely absurd.