Whold you live on a Cruse ship full time?

[vaccardi]

I posted this on ResidenSea, but there is not a whole lot of traffic there, so I decided to post it on a couple of other areas. I was wondering what you would do given the following cruise residency options.

[fridayeyes]

In a heartbeat! But add a verandah to the 350 sq ft cabin, please ;)

[sail7seas]

I would not want a cruise ship to be my home for longer than the time it takes to complete a World Cruise.

[vaccardi]

You mean literally sail7seas. ;) I assume that means about 60-90 days?

[Aussie Gal]

I would not want a cruise ship to be my home for longer than the time it takes to complete a World Cruise.



I totally agree with Sail. We enjoy our time at sea but also enjoy far too much our life here at home. We love the theatre, ballet, opera, concerts etc and would miss all of these whilst away at sea.

We also enjoy being able to have different types of vacations and I know we would get bored if all our time was spent cruising.

Jennie

[NorthernNeighbour]

I am only truly happy when I am at sea -- sailing around the world forever would be my dream come true!

At sea, no allergies, no pollution (unless near the shore) and you have everything you need to sustain a good life -- food, shelter, entertainment, emergency medical care and lots of time to complete the great novel that is in my head but which is struggling to get out of there onto paper.

When my time comes to die -- may it be on a cruise!!!

[bepsf]

I voted for the 300 sf stateroom

If it's in the range of an SS on a Vista or an S (with a few more drawers and shelves, and better reading lamps, please) I'll be a happy camper!


When my time comes to die -- may it be on a cruise!!!

Ditto!

[jhannah]

As much as I love cruising, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. It's special to savor the anticipation of boarding again. Living there would not be my cup of tea.

[bruce-r]

As much as I love cruising, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. It's special to savor the anticipation of boarding again. Living there would not be my cup of tea.
I with you on this one.

[Starbright]

I love cruising, but if I lived on board then it would cease to be something special. In any case, if I couldn't have my cats with me (I have three) I wouldn't be happy. That's the one thing I hate about being away from home, even on a cruise - I have to leave them behind! :(

[kryos]

I posted this on ResidenSea, but there is not a whole lot of traffic there, so I decided to post it on a couple of other areas. I was wondering what you would do given the following cruise residency options.
At this point in my life, I would have to say no way. I would feel too apart from everything living onboard a cruise ship. But who knows? When I get really up there in years (Lord willing), maybe I'll feel differently. But, I can say one thing ... it would have to be a really small cabin ... maybe an inside on a ship doing a Caribbean itinerary. I couldn't afford anything more elaborate.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Scrumpy]

I couldn't possibly leave our animal family and cruise indefinitely. I have about a three-week limit for being away from the dogs and horses; the other critters would miss me less. But, I cannot imagine being gone for months on end. I think it'd get awfully lonely with out my best buddies - and DH would agree. For us, "home" includes our animals...

[caribbean dreams]

I would as long as the Itenerary changed every once in a while.
Could i take my cat?

[Krazy Kruizers]

We could probably handle about 120 days, but after that we would like to be on land for awhile.

[trubey]

Even a world cruise would be too long for me. We've done a two-week cruise once a year. That's it for me.

I'm not really possession orientated, but I want to live in an area where I have picked out the room colors, where I have chosen the art, and I can hole up absolutely by myself.

Of course, the no pets would be a major problem for me too. I'm in the process of starting a second litter of puppies and I really would miss this opportunity.

Also, as much as I like to cruise, cruising doesn't really give you the opportunity to visit any area in depth. I see it as simply an opportunity to experience a place and decide if you wish to return. susana.

[Navy_Chief]

Been there, done that, but with the "Uncle Sam Grey Line". Longest trip away from Home Port: 115 Days (only 4 port visits the entire time). Best roll: 22 degrees to port followed immediately by 37 to starboard. Biggest wave: Made the 5 inch gun on the forcastle disappear. Logest time lived on the ship: 3 years (before I got hitched to my DW). Most interesting passage: Panama Canal (x2). Best port in the Med: Palma De Mallorca, Worst port in the Med: Naples. Best port in the baltic: Well they were all good (Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn (just after the Russians left), Arhus, Kiel, Bergan...can't be choosy here, realy wish we went to St. Petersberg though :( At any rate, living aboard a ship is not all it's cracked up to be. I like the sea and I like going on cruise ships for vacation but the living on board part I'll leave to the folks who have soo much money they don't know what to do with it.

[Grumpy1]

Having done a world cruise in excess of 100 days, I know I could live at sea for an even longer time. I would want to take a break and return to a land based home for short periods though.... sort of the reverse of living on land and taking a break to cruise.

[FoxyTerrier]

Retirement is still away off for me and DH as we are still in our 40s. We will be empty nesters next year as DS goes off to college so I have been doing a lot of thinking of this next phase of our life.

We plan to stay put until after he is done with college and then reevaluate things - like down sizing.

My idea of retirement is taking up golf again since I don't get to play much now, traveling on land and sea as much as we can afford. And hopefully at least one Grand Baby that I will want to see often!

So given all that I don't think I would like a permanent life at sea.

[Tricia724]

I AM retired and downsized a year ago when I sold my big, old house and moved into a smaller condominium. Even though this condo has an open floor plan, after I signed the agreement I had second thoughts about whether it would be enough space for me. (It is.) When we cruise we do a lot of research to try to get the largest cabin we can reasonably manage, as the space is important to me and to my traveling companion....think we're both slightly claustrophobic....so there is no way I would want to live in one of those cabins....even one of the larger ones.

I love cruising and I'm hoping that I'll be able to cruise for many years, but if I get to the place where I'm a little shaky on my feet, I think I'd like to keep them on solid ground.

[kakalina]

Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I could reverse the lifestyle so easily. Live on the sea, vacation on land.

It would be the ultimate way of life. There is the time and the isolation to write another book, perhaps compose a cantata, learn celestial navagation or astronomy. What a life!!

[vaccardi]

Navy,

I think your stateroom on the grey line was about 15 sq. ft. I would however guess, it was the experience of a life time. Thanks for your service.
PS. No need to swab the decks on this ship. That partially covered by the monthly. :)

Thanks to everyone else. I have seen this concept proposed and fail. I was trying to get a feel for its viability. The fact is, if it would not be attractive to a significant number of CC regulars, it probably is not viable.

[RevNeal]

I would do it in retirement. I'd want a few weeks a year on land to see relatives, take care of business, etc. But, otherwise, I'd be happy seeing the world. Oh, I'd want the ability to change ships ever month or two. :) AND, I'd want to be aboard the World Cruise every few years.

My pension income won't enable it as of right now ... so ... I'll have to really work on piling up extra funds. :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Aside from the cost, I wouldn't want to. I need the security of being planted somewhere.

[RuthC]

I wouldn't want to live in a sea-going condo, a la ResidentSea, but a regular cruise ship? Sure would. Given enough money I would want something akin to an S-suite on an S/R-class ship, doing an itinerary such as the Prinsendam currently does. Oh, and throw in the annual World Cruise, please.
The times the ship's in for wet/dry-dock would be perfect vacation times to head for land for a wee bit.

Oh, why wasn't I born rich instead of beautiful. :rolleyes:

[HALOnlyCruiser]

I guess one never knows how they will handle things until it happens. I've told my kids that if I outlive their dad, give all my money to HAL, and when it runs out, the Captain can pitch me overboard!

[HeatherInFlorida]

.......................
Oh, why wasn't I born rich instead of beautiful. :rolleyes:

Yes, Ruth:) ........ that's a darned shame ........ I feel your pain;).

[mrblack]

I love cruising, but part of the enjoyment is the anticipation and the other part is enjoying the experience knowing it has a termination point. If I lived on a ship it is no longer an out of the ordinary experience, it is everyday life albeit at a high standard of living!

[arzz]

I am not sure that I can answer the survey -- questions not quite applicable -- but given the financial circumstances and about 300 square feet plus verandah -- I could easily reverse my lifestyle and live on the sea, visit the land. I would assume that the ship would do a variety of itineraries including the world cruise type thing so that it doesn't get monotonous, and include some extended stays at US ports (3-4 days) to arrange family visits, doctor visits, etc. It would also be nice to have the ship be a mix of vacationers and full timers -- a core of people who know each other and the influx of "new blood" every couple of weeks. Would the full timers have an input into the itinerary?

[vaccardi]

I have received several replies with a comparison to cruising on a standard cruise line on several of the threads, which I believe is a valid comparison. But I believe that the expectations of cost are probably a little off. The lowest one can expect to get a cabin regularly during the low seasons (60-70% of the time,) is about $60/day/person, or $3600/ month/cabin, plus taxes and the expectation of tips. With those expenses it would probably be closer to $4500/ month for a inside cabin in the 150 sq ft range. The cruise lines are only willing to do this for the low seasons, and if that would not be acceptable, then the monthly average could be as double that.

The itineraries would be similar or the same after a 2 week cycle, during any one of these seasons, unless changing ships is an option. Also, while I did not state this, some items that are normally big income generators for cruise lines, would be significantly less expensive or free (house wine, beer, basic spa services, basic internet and phone, etc.)

I plan on generating a report with the results of all the poll on all the threads and posting it in a couple of days. Thanks to all for your input.

Vince

[pxn748]

We would live on cruise ship in a heartbeat if we could afford it. We really like HAL's Veendam, and 2 people could probably live in a cabin with a verandah for $8000 a month. That would be a lot of months at
Residencesea prices, especially since food is included!
But Holland America is in a different league price-wise than Residencesea. So you will probably get a completely different set of responses on the HAL thread than the Residencesea thread.

Philip