Has Anyone Found A Way to Do An Extended Cruise (many weeks)?

May seem like a dumb question, I can assure you this is a real question. I'm wondering if anyone has found a way to do an extended cruise (6-8 weeks) without going completely broke. It's for medical purposes. I can't open my door for 6-8 weeks a year without going into anaphalaxis, in the fall (ragweed) nor can I stand up without my heart rate hitting over 200. I've had 2 doctors suggest I try and do an extended cruise every fall, for my health. Ha, wouldn't that be nice?! Right! I have a family, who wouldn't be able to come with me. But my doctors are dead serious. Well, it got me thinking, maybe there is some way to do it, no idea how. I'm guessing they don't give a discount for a single passenger on a back-to-back-to-back-to-back etc? I would even be willing to work for 8 weeks for free passage away from land, but somehow I don't see anyone getting a job on a cruise ship for only 8 weeks, I think they have multi-month contracts. So as dumb as this post may seem, I'm serious. Trying to figure out if it's possible to live on a cruise ship for 6-8 weeks without going broke.

While sometimes there are good prices in the fall, past that, I do not think you will get any discounts. And going solo can be expensive. You could look for cabin mates to cut the cost if you are willing to sacrifice privacy (another website does some matching, but cannot be jammed here).

Really does it have to be a cruise to get away from allergies? If you live near DC you have a rather moderate climate, so couldn't you go further south for a three weeks or so (where weather is still warm) them fly north to spend about three more weeks (where it pollen season has passed)? Or some variation thereof depending upon your specific allergens. Maybe you could stay with friends or maybe house sit/ pet sit / baby sit/ do handyman work/ do art work/ or whatever might suit in exchange for room and board....that seems more likely than short term cruise employment.

When you find a way to do this, please let us know! :)

If you live near DC you have a rather moderate climate, so couldn't you go further south for a three weeks or so (where weather is still warm) them fly north to spend about three more weeks (where it pollen season has passed)?

Moving south probably won't help. I live in Alabama and have a horrible time with fall allergies. I have some congestion, but my biggest symptoms are aches and pains, including almost debilitating headaches. An 8 week cruise would certainly be a great cure, but I can't afford that nor can I afford the time away from my job, so one 7-nighter will have to do as best as it can! :)

If you have heart issues (and it sounds like you do..) then "working" for your passage is out!

Surely there must be some antihistamine that will work for your allergies!

Thanks all. Well I may have to be creative here. I was told at sea or on the beach, not 2 blocks from it. And yes, you would think I would have found an antihistamine that works, but no lol :(

We have considered the same thing, I was going to talk to one of the bigger cruiseline travel agencys and book like 2 years ahead or as far out as you can if they would give you some low rates. The problem these days is they push the prices of the inside cabins up to encourage people to book ocean view or balconys and don't drop the inside cabins until late dates. Perhaps even talk to the group people at the cruiselines maybe they will help. WE have met many people on board that do the long stays on board. There was a couple on the Serenade of the seas this spring transatlantic that were staying until September.

Good luck

Brian J

Can I ask what the elevated heart rate has to do with allergies?...I would think being on a ship would be dangerous if one day you stood up and your rate was 3 or 4 hundred!... find yourself a small apt on the beach in fl for a lot less money and good medical care nearby....I also suffer with the fall allergies and them compounded it with skin cancer surgery .....booming headache until we have a frost and the site heals more....had I known the northeast would have 6 more weeks of summer i'd have picked another season!...hope you find some relief....

Why not just stay in an extended stay hotel in a location that doesn't have ragweed?

Thanks all. Well I may have to be creative here. I was told at sea or on the beach, not 2 blocks from it. And yes, you would think I would have found an antihistamine that works, but no lol :(

Beach rentals in our buildings go for 2 grand a month in the fall. Maybe less with a 2 month commitment. Hey, but definitely on the beach.

I think you have to have lots of money. I cruised solo on MJ last March and when I cruised again in August he was still there! He won't be getting off until December! 42 B2B's!!! Well there is a 3 day break when he was having a basal cell melanoma removed from his face and again 2 weeks later when it will be time to take out the stitches but still. In March I was 3rd high cruiser...I had beaten him by 30 some pts...this August, he was 3rd high cruiser, beating me. He's going to blow through the 400's but he still won't be Pinnacle when he gets off. He has booked nothing but a JS and sometimes his wife sails with him and sometimes he's solo. What a life!!!

May seem like a dumb question, I can assure you this is a real question. I'm wondering if anyone has found a way to do an extended cruise (6-8 weeks) without going completely broke. It's for medical purposes. I can't open my door for 6-8 weeks a year without going into anaphalaxis, in the fall (ragweed) nor can I stand up without my heart rate hitting over 200. I've had 2 doctors suggest I try and do an extended cruise every fall, for my health. Ha, wouldn't that be nice?! Right! I have a family, who wouldn't be able to come with me. But my doctors are dead serious. Well, it got me thinking, maybe there is some way to do it, no idea how. I'm guessing they don't give a discount for a single passenger on a back-to-back-to-back-to-back etc? I would even be willing to work for 8 weeks for free passage away from land, but somehow I don't see anyone getting a job on a cruise ship for only 8 weeks, I think they have multi-month contracts. So as dumb as this post may seem, I'm serious. Trying to figure out if it's possible to live on a cruise ship for 6-8 weeks without going broke.

a 6-8 week cruise is gong to cost you, it's about that simple, obvously you can bring the price down

Inside cabin

Not spend much on board (go with free drinks, avoid casino, shops, specialty restaurants etc.

But it will still cost.

We're about to go on a 5 week cruise and it cost a little bit.

By the same token it was only about three times the price of last years one week cruise.

Thank you, some great info here! I'm not sure how to send a message but will keep trying! Looks like a few others are attempting longer term voyages. Should be like Disney park tix, the more days you buy, the more the daily rate decreases. Would be nice anyway.

Thank you, some great info here! I'm not sure how to send a message but will keep trying! Looks like a few others are attempting longer term voyages. Should be like Disney park tix, the more days you buy, the more the daily rate decreases. Would be nice anyway.

If you men a private message, they are disabled on CC

Sometimes the daily rate on longer cruises is less, sometimes more, basically its supply and demand.

Beach rentals in our buildings go for 2 grand a month in the fall. Maybe less with a 2 month commitment. Hey, but definitely on the beach.

WANT! where is that? beautiful view.

Call the cruise line and see if they will give you a discount. There was a lady that lived aboard the QE2 in an inside cabin and she was paying about $50,000, a year with discounts. It still might be cheaper to get an apartment on land, though.

What about a dry climate? Vegas or Arizona?

From a purely financial point of view you are better off finding an apartment near the sea or in a location you can live with. It is a big world out there, if a cruise is suitable, then a land location somewhere will be! If it's somewhere you're going to be spending 8 weeks every year finding a small place you can buy and renting it out the rest of the year would make the most financial sense (not cheap, but since we're talking about 6 weeks of cruising per year I assume there's some financial leeway here). Depending on the location and your credit rating a bit of smart buying could leave you with the mortgage paid from holiday rentals.

You won't get a job on a cruise line for that period nor with your health problems; unless you could land something as a guest lecturer if you were well known in your field and good at public speaking. Less and less cruises seem to have lecturers on board these days anyway, but I do have a friend who works the season as a lecturer on a galapagos cruise boat, but then he is a reptile specialist and does talks on the native wildlife for the tours.

But the short answer to your original question is in my opinion is no, unfortunately, it's probably not feasible to do 8 weeks of cruising per year without going broke for an average person. I don't see any short cuts to paying for it, cruises have no incentives really to bring in the tiny amount of long-term passengers there are since they invariably fill the cabins anyway and short term tourists are the ones spending money on gifts and speciality restaurants and drinks.

Check Holland America. They have a lot of extended cruises you might be able to find a deal on. Honestly, the fall always has huge discounts. I would wait until last minute and go from ship to ship. You could book with the next cruise person and/or have someone on land working for you (a trusted TA). Also look at Transatlantics. I know you have to pay for flights overseas but again, the fall is a good for 'cheaper' airfare.

I have found myself in the hospital more than once from allergies. I know how bad it can be. When people complain about sneezing and watery eyes I can be sympathetic but I know that at least it is not life threatening. I always enjoy cruising for exactly the reason you are stating....I know that the allergies will be kept at bay.

Let us know if you find something out!

A fall TA coupled with a few B2Bs would do the trick. You'd have to settle for an older ship with fewer amenities, an inside cabin and perhaps less desirable itinerary. Take the Vision for example, the TA would have been about $1000 and subsequent Caribbean sailings at $1000-1500 each. So 6-8 weeks would be $6,000-8,000, or what some people pay for a single cruise in a suite.

When you find a way to do this, please let us know! :)

 

 

 

Moving south probably won't help. I live in Alabama and have a horrible time with fall allergies. I have some congestion, but my biggest symptoms are aches and pains, including almost debilitating headaches. An 8 week cruise would certainly be a great cure, but I can't afford that nor can I afford the time away from my job, so one 7-nighter will have to do as best as it can! :)

clearly, the north and middle and south all have allergy seasons...but the timing of fall season is expected to be different and one might try to play those timing differences if one can leave home for 7 weeks. But now the op has come back to say the beach is an option,too. If so, a condo rental might make most sense.b or op might be try to wait to try to last minute fall cruises from FL, selecting the cheaper ones and filling in between cruises as needed with beach hotels. Still not dirt cheap.

WANT! where is that? beautiful view.

Royal Towers, Cocoa Beach

3 building complex between the Doubletree and the Hilton

Some units have min 30 day rentals, most have 60. Very popular with Canadians, some have been renting same unit more than 10 years

My parents had a great condo.... down the street from the hilton...penthouse with 360 degree view.....stunning.....once my dad was gone my mom moved back to be closer to family.....kids and grandkids loved visiting her there....I would gladly rent on cocoa beach!

Do what I did next cruise if you see a pair of those blue coveralls grab them find a spot to hide your luggage and make it look like you just are working there :cool: :D :eek: :rolleyes:.

I wonder if it would be cheaper to just go somewhere in the southern hemisphere where it would be spring, and thus presumably not ragweed season?

I'm wondering if anyone has found a way to do an extended cruise (6-8 weeks) without going completely broke.

 

It's for medical purposes. I can't open my door for 6-8 weeks a year without going into anaphalaxis in the fall (ragweed) nor can I stand up without my heart rate hitting over 200. I've had 2 doctors suggest I try and do an extended cruise every fall, for my health.

Well, it got me thinking, maybe there is some way to do it. Trying to figure out if it's possible to live on a cruise ship for 6-8 weeks without going broke.

Cruising solo IS a killer... as all the advertised prices are based on double occupancy. :(

Easier said than done... but all you need to do, is just find a travel partner! :o

The fall transatlantic/transpacific/repositioning season DOES run through Oct/Nov and you CAN get some INCREDIBLE deals. ;)

Linking the last cruise or two of a season in one region, to a repositioning cruise, and then to the first cruise or two of the season in the new region CAN be quite reasonably priced.

Current examples this fall...

Rhapsody OTS... 30 Oct, 9 night Rome to Rome @ $907pp, linked to the 8 Nov. 11 night Rome to Barcelona @ $698pp linked to the 16 night transatlantic @ $691pp. 36 nights for $2300pp. If you are a shareholder, you can combine that with travel agency incentives and get a total of at least $775 OBC. :cool:

There's the NCL Sun from San Diego to Buenos Aires on 13 October... 53 days for about $2,600pp.

Last fall I did a 23 night transpacific for $799pp with $250 OBC, that could have been linked to a more expensive B2B.

It's too late now, but a few weeks ago the Celebrity Constellation 28 night from Istanbul to Florida was $1,350pp with $725 OBC. :rolleyes:

Next april I am doing a 35 night B2B on Explorer OTS for only $1670pp. Most people refuse to believe such deals are available, but I manage to get them EVERY spring and fall.

In the meantime, if you haven't tried these already, I would highly recommend that you try BOTH acupuncture and good chiropractic. Both of those helped my allergies out tremendously individually, and together it's even better.