What do you think of retirement on a cruise?

[stanjj111]

This was sent to me by a friend. Not a bad idea.

 

AN ALTERNATIVE RETIREMENT HOME

 

There will be no nursing home in my future.........

 

When I get old and feeble, I am going to get on a Princess Cruise Ship. The average cost for a nursing home is $200 per day. I have checked on reservations at Princess and I can get a long term discount and senior discount price of $135 per day. That leaves $65 a day for:

 

1. Gratuities which will only be $10 per day.

 

2. I will have as many as 10 meals a day if I can waddle to the restaurant, or I can have room service ( which means I can have breakfast in bed every day of the week).

 

3. Princess has as many as three swimming pools, a workout room, free washers and dryers, and shows every night.

 

4. They have free toothpaste and razors, and free soap and shampoo.

 

5. They will even treat you like a customer, not a patient. An extra $5 worth of tips will have the entire staff scrambling to help you.

 

6. I will get to meet new people every 7or 14 days.

 

7. T.V. broken? Light bulb need changing? Need to have the mattress replaced? No Problem! They will fix everything and apologize for your inconvenience.

 

8. Clean sheets and towels every day, and you don't even have to ask for them.

 

9. If you fall in the nursing home and break a hip you are on Medicare. If you fall and break a hip on the Princess ship they ! will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.

 

Now hold on for the best! Do you want to see South America, the Panama Canal, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, or name where you want to go? Princess will have a ship ready to go. So don't look for me in a nursing home, just call shore to ship.

 

P.S. And don't forget, when you die, they just dump you over the side at no charge.

[hajekfam]

There are actually people who do this - especially the last couple of years when cruising was so inexpensive (cheap). It was much cheaper than the better assisted living centers that can run upwards of $200 or more per day.

[cruiseyguy]

I recall a women who "moved" onto the QE2-inside room at about $50K a year. Don't know if she is still there but not a bad idea. Maybe a better use of the Zenith would be as a floating assisted-use facility.

[HelloSailor]

I'm there with you! What a brilliant idea. My kids have always threatened to put me in a home - now I will be happy to go!

[dublin]

I may retire tomorrow if I can arrange this.

[stanjj111]

Glad you enjoyed the posting. There is more truth in it than you know. It might be a good idea to do this also if you are recovering from a hospitial visit.

[Randyk47]

Actually met a couple on the Oosterdam who claimed they were almost doing exactly what you describe. They had a small mobile home parked in Ft Lauderdale and virtually spend all their time at sea. Occasionally they got off and took care of business...like doctor appointments, etc., and got back on as soon as they could. They were quite proud of the fact they had virtually no bills, no house payment or rent, and only minor utilities only when the mobile home was hooked up. He laid out what it cost he and his wife and it was pretty much break even. They weren't on a ship 100% of the time but I'd say 60-70% and moved from ship to ship so as not to get bored. :) I figured good for them as long as they were happy.

[alpal1993]

Sounds great to me.I wonder if Medicaid could pick up the tab?

[doree]

My dad shared this w/ me, but it wasnt a cruise ship...it was the Holiday Inn!!!!!!! LOLOL We told our kids that we were going to sell the house and get in on one of the "condo ships" and we would let them know where we were at every so often!!!!! LOLOLOL

[gracecarmo]

There are several retirees that spend winters doing B2B cruises. It is cheaper and a lot more fun than renting a condo in Fla.: maid service, food, entertainment, and wake up to a new port almost every day. Can't beat that. We are doing it this Feb. on the Summit.

 

Grace

[OCruisers]

Like many of you have posted -- People Really Do This!!!

 

There's this retired gentleman from England who spends 10 months on cruise ships (Princess) and the other two with his daughter in London. He told us he had been doing it for years ... less expensive and lots more fun than maintaining a house or going into a "home". Said it only cost him about $30,000 US per year. He has two other friends who do the same thing but they were on a different ship at the time.

 

Last year on Zenith in January, met a couple who was spending the winter on the ship rather than rent a condo in Florida. They got the idea from some friends whose children live in Florida and have a bedroom with the children ... but spend almost all of their time on cruise ships.

 

Sounds Good To Us! :D

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Giorgi-one]

I thought of same thing at a party one time when someone mentioned that they were paying $90,000 per year for their father in a nursing home. I figured I could get a balcony cabin for about $1000 per week on a cruise ship and could probably get a better deal if I booked for one year at at a time.

 

As lone as you are ambulatory, this is a definite possibility which I think is definitely preferred to a nursing home.

[RSteele]

The Royal Princess had a couple that lived in one of their suites year round...I think it's a pretty good idea! Got friends who are talking about getting adjoining cabins with us!! :D

[leslee]

It makes sense to me and sounds great. I think I am NOW ready to retire!! Now....to keep on dreaming... I will buy the largest unit on the ResidenSea as soon as I hit the winning Powerball numbers!!!

[brigittetom]

You are all talking about the bright side to retirement. My mom had a stroke and after all was said and done, she had in home care costing $7,200 per month.

 

Mind you she was still paying taxes on the house, maintainence, utility bills, food, home insurance, car insurance for the caregivers, and dealing with inept people who were grossly overpaid.

 

Choosing a cruise ship as a retirement alternative sounds like a good deal when you add it all up. I think someone here should write a script for Hollywood about couples who decided to use the cruise ships for this purpose. I think it would do better than Loveboat because there is not a retired couple that likes to cruise who wouldn't relate to that. :D

[lougee1043]

this subject appeared on the local news tonite ----

[bpear1600]

You are all talking about the bright side to retirement. My mom had a stroke and after all was said and done, she had in home care costing $7,200 per month.

 

Mind you she was still paying taxes on the house, maintainence, utility bills, food, home insurance, car insurance for the caregivers, and dealing with inept people who were grossly overpaid.

 

Choosing a cruise ship as a retirement alternative sounds like a good deal when you add it all up. I think someone here should write a script for Hollywood about couples who decided to use the cruise ships for this purpose. I think it would do better than Loveboat because there is not a retired couple that likes to cruise who wouldn't relate to that. :D

 

We're a retired couple who have enjoyed cruising for 25 years and the LAST thing we would want is to be stuck on a cruise ship the rest of our lives. One week on a ship is plenty for us. The thought of going round and round on the same itinerary with a bunch of tourists sounds worse than prison to us. Of course, we live in a resort area so we are more than a little biased against tourists. And how many tourists want to cruise with a bunch of sickly old people?

 

Sorry, folks but this is one stupid topic.

[WeBeCruisin']

Bpear....I don't think it's fair to call it a "stupid" topic. It's very interesting and something a lot of people would dream of doing. As for living in a resort community and scorning tourists, I'm familiar with where you live (the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina) and I formerly lived in Charleston and on Hilton Head Island, SC, and ironically, when reading of your disdain for tourists, if you moved to Murrell's Inlet from somewhere else to retire, the locals will always consider YOU to still be a tourist. Being old... sigh... and living in Charlotte, I have a lot of friends who have retired to places like Myrtle Beach, Murrell's Inlet, Litchfield, Edisto and Hilton Head who say that no matter how long they live there, they'll always be thought of as "snowbirds" by the locals.

[bpear1600]

Bpear....I don't think it's fair to call it a "stupid" topic. It's very interesting and something a lot of people would dream of doing. As for living in a resort community and scorning tourists' date=' I'm familiar with where you live (the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina) and I formerly lived in Charleston and on Hilton Head Island, SC, and ironically, when reading of your disdain for tourists, if you moved to Murrell's Inlet from somewhere else to retire, the locals will always consider YOU to still be a tourist. Being old... sigh... and living in Charlotte, I have a lot of friends who have retired to places like Myrtle Beach, Murrell's Inlet, Litchfield, Edisto and Hilton Head who say that no matter how long they live there, they'll always be thought of as "snowbirds" by the locals.[/quote']

 

What's stupid to me may not be to other people. That's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

 

The topic is pure fantasy. What would these retirees on the ship do for medical care? I don't think Medicare would cover the costs and how many more doctors and nurses would the cruiselines have to hire and where would they find them?

 

We've owned property on the Strand since 1990 and we retired here in 1998. What locals? We came here from CT and 90% of the people who work here or retired here came from someplace else. There are no locals in our neighborhood. You have to go inland to find natives and they hate everybody, "yankees" like us and tourists alike.

 

We like Charlotte. It's the closest "big city" and we go there several times a year for sporting events.

[WeBeCruisin']

What's stupid to me may not be to other people. That's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

We've owned property on the Strand since 1990 and we retired here in 1998. What locals? We came here from CT and 90% of the people who work here or retired here came from someplace else. There are no locals in our neighborhood. You have to go inland to find natives and they hate everybody, "yankees" like us and tourists alike.

 

QUOTE]

 

 

 

It's just rude in an open forum such as this to call everyone else's opinions "stupid". It's an interesting topic which is provoking a lot of creative responses.

 

There is a big difference between locals, natives, and retirees. Natives were born in the area and if you can only find them inland, it's because they moved there to escape the tourists and retirees. Locals are the people who live there year-round and are part of the financial and cultural infrastructure. They are the people who work at your bank, your grocery store, the local gas station, etc. To them, the retirees and tourists are people who provide them with incomes, but who aren't really a part of "their" community. As for the natives, they don't automatically hate all Yankees and people from outside the south. They generally judge people as individuals, and if they hate you it's because of your attitude or the way you treat them. And they can sense your innate disdain for them and your possible characterization of them as ignorant rednecks. Bless your heart. :)

[Sky Sweet]

Prior to the era of assisted living facilities, living on a cruise would have been a great alternative to a nursing home. However, people who lived in nursing homes years ago that are capable of living on a ship would be in an assisted living facility today. Most people who live in nursing homes today require a level of care that is not available on ships at this point in time. However, I do think it is a great alternative for people who are capable of living in an assisted living facility.

[bpear1600]

QUOTE]

 

 

 

It's just rude in an open forum such as this to call everyone else's opinions "stupid". It's an interesting topic which is provoking a lot of creative responses.

 

There is a big difference between locals, natives, and retirees. Natives were born in the area and if you can only find them inland, it's because they moved there to escape the tourists and retirees. Locals are the people who live there year-round and are part of the financial and cultural infrastructure. They are the people who work at your bank, your grocery store, the local gas station, etc. To them, the retirees and tourists are people who provide them with incomes, but who aren't really a part of "their" community. As for the natives, they don't automatically hate all Yankees and people from outside the south. They generally judge people as individuals, and if they hate you it's because of your attitude or the way you treat them. And they can sense your innate disdain for them and your possible characterization of them as ignorant rednecks. Bless your heart. :)

 

Sorry if I hit a nerve there, We,be. I didn't call anybody's opinion "stupid", just the topic.

 

Although about as far from the truth as possible, those are interesting definition of locals, retirees and natives. You must be a Duke grad. For your information there is no sense of "community" here on the Strand, just a bunch of neighborhoods and a 60 mile long strip mall. As the great philosopher, Lee Trevino, once said when asked how he liked the city: "...Where is it?..."

 

BTW, my neighborhood is made up of working and non-working people of all ages. A few are even from the south. We get along just fine, thank you. You have a nice day. :)

[WeBeCruisin']

QUOTE]

 

Sorry if I hit a nerve there, We,be. I didn't call anybody's opinion "stupid", just the topic.

Although about as far from the truth as possible, those are interesting definition of locals, retirees and natives. You must be a Duke grad. For your information there is no sense of "community" here on the Strand,

 

 

I think it's rude to even call the topic stupid, when over 20 people have responded to it in a positive manner. You are implying quite strongly that anyone participating in the topic is stupid. As for the "touchy" comment, it's amazing how almost every time anyone takes umbrage at another person's rudeness, the rude person always calls the offended person "touchy".

 

If my definition of how Southerners define "locals, retirees, and natives" is "as far from the truth as possible",please tell me how you, as a Northern transplant, would define those terms... so that I may be elucidated.

 

I have no idea why you attempt to insult me by calling me a Duke grad. I do have a master's degree, but it's not from Duke. Duke is an outstanding school with an excellent reputation, as opposed to some other schools such as ... say... UConn? My oldest son's wife is a graduate of Duke Law School and is a very successful attorney, along with her husband here in Charlotte, and Duke has done quite well by her.

 

As for your being unaware of any sense of "community" in Myrtle Beach, of course you're unaware of it.... duh... you're an outsider who, judging from your rudeness and regional chauvinism, has probably alienated all of the natives and locals with whom you've come in contact.

 

You take care now, heah?

[stanjj111]

I think that the manner in which numerous people responded is interesting. We are in our mid fiftoes and would like to do as much as we can while we are physcially able. We talked about moving to Fl for at least part of the year and would return to Metro NY becuase most of the grands kids and kids are here. The thought of keeping a house in FL and not using it for most of the year in our mind does not make sense. I expect that in the future we will spend more time cruising the Carib during the winter. The last several years we did only 1 cruise/year. This year we have a 10 day and a 7 day and will figure out where to go in the end of Feb.

[bpear1600]

Thank you, madam, for your enlightening retort. You still sound like a Dookie to me. Feel free to throw some more insults and erroneous generalizations my way but this is my last response to you. Try to find a sense of humor along the way. And a double Bless Your Heart to you and all the lawyers in your family.