Retire and live on a cruise ship

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Came across this you tube clip from CBS. If you have not seen it its worth a look, Its about a lady living full time on board Crystal Serenity.

 

88-year-old retires and lives on cruise ship

 

[rabbitoh_777]

Don't bother with that link in OZ.

 

The uploader has not made this video available in your country.

[Rassa]

But if you google David's description, you get it.

[ColoradoGurl]

There's a guy called "super Mario" that pretty much everyone who reads these boards long enough has heard about. He sails royal Caribbean year round and makes the ships his home. I guess. I've never met him.

 

 

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[Rassa]

I think Super Mario pays $65,000 on Royal Caribbean and retains a home in Miami but the 88 year old lady spends double on Crystal Cruises and has sold her home.

[ColoradoGurl]

I think Super Mario pays $65,000 on Royal Caribbean and retains a home in Miami but the 88 year old lady spends double on Crystal Cruises and has sold her home.

 

 

Ok, sooooo...the old lady wins? They're both spending a lot of time and money on a ship. I was mentioning the bit about super Mario only because the OP was presenting the video as something they seemed to think unique and attributable only to that one lady. Since this is a royal Caribbean board I thought it was relevant to mention there was someone doing that on RC too. I wasn't meaning to discount her story or to put the two in a competition for who is doing it best or anything, lol.

 

EDIT to add that I just realized this wasn't on the RC board, sorry. I don't know how I even ended up seeing this.

 

 

 

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Edited July 4, 2017 by ColoradoGurl

[SinbadThePorter]

I think Super Mario pays $65,000 on Royal Caribbean and retains a home in Miami but the 88 year old lady spends double on Crystal Cruises and has sold her home.

 

If her home had been in Sydney, she probably could have bought Crystal Serenity outright. :p

[MicCanberra]

I would like to try it for while anyway.

[rabbitoh_777]

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If her home had been in Sydney, she probably could have bought Crystal Serenity outright. :p

 

 

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lol, that cracked me up. :D

 

Cheers r

 

:cool:

 

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[breezy270]

This is my entire reason why I have my 401k !!! Let me even be able to do a world cruise once in my life and I will be in heaven!!!

 

 

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[rabbitoh_777]

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I would like to try it for while anyway.

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Then sell the polly-ville palace and take up a lifetime pass on the Stockton ferry Mic. ;p

:cool:

 

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[MMDown Under]

There was a Canadian gentleman who cruised the world on MSC ships because they were the least expensive cruise line (in lieu of retirement home, which was more expensive). I used to follow his threads. He finally retired to Canada.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The way some retirement homes are ripping off seniors it may be a better option. :eek:

[challis]

your spot on regarding retirement homes rip offs.there was a 4 corners-abc t.v expose 2 weeks ago,they charge $10 to replace a light bulb-$5 for a flat white coffee,and someone comes around to clean the unit every 2 weeks,1 bloke fell over and stayed over for a few days until the fortnightly cleaner came around.

at least on a ship you get room serviced daily.i do like my garden though...and my own washing machine

[rabbitoh_777]

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Where is Gut lately, by the way?

 

He hasn't sold up and taken residence aboard the Spirit of Tasmania has he??? :hearteyes:

 

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[MMDown Under]

your spot on regarding retirement homes rip offs.there was a 4 corners-abc t.v expose 2 weeks ago,they charge $10 to replace a light bulb-$5 for a flat white coffee,and someone comes around to clean the unit every 2 weeks,1 bloke fell over and stayed over for a few days until the fortnightly cleaner came around.

at least on a ship you get room serviced daily.i do like my garden though...and my own washing machine

 

Some world cruisers create their own little garden. Plus you can send your washing out. I could adapt to it not being done as well as I would do it.

[MicCanberra]

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Then sell the polly-ville palace and take up a lifetime pass on the Stockton ferry Mic. ;p

:cool:

 

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Lol, yeah does that still run?

[MicCanberra]

your spot on regarding retirement homes rip offs.there was a 4 corners-abc t.v expose 2 weeks ago,they charge $10 to replace a light bulb-$5 for a flat white coffee,and someone comes around to clean the unit every 2 weeks,1 bloke fell over and stayed over for a few days until the fortnightly cleaner came around.

at least on a ship you get room serviced daily.i do like my garden though...and my own washing machine

Princess ships may suit you then. :)

[MicCanberra]

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Where is Gut lately, by the way?

 

He hasn't sold up and taken residence aboard the Spirit of Tasmania has he??? :hearteyes:

 

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I am not sure if he had some more medical issues with his back or if he is just on leave but we do miss his nuttiness.

[OzKiwiJJ]

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Where is Gut lately, by the way?

 

He hasn't sold up and taken residence aboard the Spirit of Tasmania has he??? :hearteyes:

 

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He posted on a Norwegian Jewel roll call that he had cancelled that cruise as his doctor told him he may have done his last cruise. He may choose not to be on the forums in that case, understandably.

 

Coincidentally, I messaged him on FB about half an hour ago as I just realised I hadn't seen any posts from him here or on FB for a while. Haven't heard back yet.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I just heard back from GUT. He's a bit down at the moment. He's cancelled all his cruises except for a 2-dayer. He said he might post from time to time once he feels a bit better.

[Sparky74]

Let me declare my bias from the onset by revealing that I currently work in the aged care industry.

 

Whist it may be feasible to retire on a cruise ship, it's not necessarily all beer and skittles. This article points out some of the pitfalls.

 

As far as comparing living on a cruise ship to life in a nursing home, well... If a person has no (or minimal) assets and the pension is their only income, to live in a residential aged care facility (aka nursing home) in Australia will cost you $49.07/day (85% of the single person rate of the basic age pension). It will cost you more you choose a facility which offers extra services. I'm yet to find a cruise for $49.07/day and I'm unaware of a cruise line which offers to manage a passenger's medication or assist them with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living such as showering, brushing teeth, getting dressed, etc)

[OzKiwiJJ]

All of the articles I've read have been about Americans living on cruise ships. Most of them have assets of one sort or another, maybe by selling their home. I'm not sure what the costs are to live in a US rest home, maybe it is cheaper for them to cruise.

 

I think it would be too expensive for Asutralians unless they had some serious money behind them.

 

Still, it's nice to dream ;p

[MMDown Under]

I just heard back from GUT. He's a bit down at the moment. He's cancelled all his cruises except for a 2-dayer. He said he might post from time to time once he feels a bit better.

 

That is sad news indeed. I hope he feels a bit better soon.

[MMDown Under]

Let me declare my bias from the onset by revealing that I currently work in the aged care industry.

 

Whist it may be feasible to retire on a cruise ship, it's not necessarily all beer and skittles. This article points out some of the pitfalls.

 

As far as comparing living on a cruise ship to life in a nursing home, well... If a person has no (or minimal) assets and the pension is their only income, to live in a residential aged care facility (aka nursing home) in Australia will cost you $49.07/day (85% of the single person rate of the basic age pension). It will cost you more you choose a facility which offers extra services. I'm yet to find a cruise for $49.07/day and I'm unaware of a cruise line which offers to manage a passenger's medication or assist them with ADLs (Activities of Daily Living such as showering, brushing teeth, getting dressed, etc)

 

The gentleman I followed on his retirement cruises compared the cost to the cost of living in a retirement village (not what we call aged care). When he needed aged care, he retired from continuous cruising to Canada.