Food for thought!!

[Travelbug 2]

Came across this and thought it would prompt a smile or two. You should of course substitute HAL for Princess in the text!

 

I have heard of some "seniors" that actually do this, anybody know of anyone on a "permanent cruise"?

 

 

Author unknown.

 

About 2 years ago my wife and I were on a cruise through the western Mediterranean aboard a Princess liner. At dinner we noticed an elderly lady sitting alone along the rail of the grand stairway in the main dining room. I also noticed that all the staff, ships officers, waiters, busboys, etc., all seemed very familiar with this lady. I asked our waiter who the lady was, expecting to be told that she owned the line, but he said he only knew that she had been on board for the last four cruises, back-to-back.

 

As we left the dining room one evening I caught her eye and stopped to say hello. We chatted and I said, "I understand you've been on this ship for the last four cruises." She replied, "Yes, that's true." I stated, "I don't understand" and she replied, without a pause, "It's cheaper than a nursing home."

 

So, 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 on a 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 7 or 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.

 

PS: And don't forget, when you die, they just dump you over the side -- at no charge

 

 

 

 

 

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[Druke I]

This resurfaces every couple weeks or so, on one or another Cruise Critic forum.

 

Although old, it does bring a smile!

[Stevesan]

Now if we can only get Long Term Care insurance to cover us!:D

[bruceh4]

I do know of somebody who does this. There is a women by the name of Dolly Smith who is on HAL ships 11 months out of the year. She has over 5000 days on HAL. I first met Dolly in 2004 on the Prinsendam when we went up the Amazon river. Dolly was also on my last cruise on the Amsterdam. Her picture has appeared many times in the Mariner magazine. On our 62 day cruise last fall we stopped in Amori Japan. This was the first time ever for HAL at this port. The welcoming committee was at the dock including the Mayor. In a dock side ceremony Dolly was seated with the Captain and Mayor for the ceremony. Needless to say she knows everybody at HAL.

[RuthC]

It's true that Dolly's around a lot, but it's not quite fair to say she lives on a ship. She has a home, and she's on different ships at different times.

I have known of women who call a particular ship "home". They stayed aboard when everyone else disembarked. The ultimate b-2-b-2-b-2-....

For "vacation" they brought family aboard to visit.

[kryos]

Now if we can only get Long Term Care insurance to cover us!:D

It's funny ... but my dad and I were talking about this just the other day.

 

A good friend of his went into a nursing home about eight months ago. He was in the full care section of the complex for quite a while ... and that was approximately $600 per day. He recently improved enough that he was able to go into the "assisted care" wing ... with a much lower per diem of something like $250 a day ... far more affordable. But, of course, in this wing he has to be able to do many things for himself that were done for him in the full care section.

 

I told dad that for what services he gets in the assisted care section, and the price he pays per day, it would actually probably be cheaper for him to live on a cruise ship and pretty much get the same services that he is getting now ... at probably a much cheaper per diem rate.

 

In the assisted care section, of course he gets his meals prepared for him ... but he must get himself to the dining room to eat them. He bought a power wheelchair to aid him with this task. He must now bathe himself, and take care of his own "personal care." He has pull cords in his apartment so that he can get emergency assistance if necessary, though no one is regularly assigned to provide that assistance on a routine basis ... as they were when he was in the full care wing. I told dad that everything he has available to him in the nursing home for his $250 or so per diem he would also have on a cruise ship ... at a significantly lower price. In fact, he would get far more on the cruise ship ... such as nightly entertainment, lots of people to talk with on a daily basis, etc. I told dad he should talk to his friend about taking a cabin on a HAL ship and at least enjoying his remaining years.

 

Somehow I doubt he would do it, though. Some people are simply incapable of "thinking outside of the box." But, if I were in his shoes, I sure would consider it. His health is pretty good ... he just can't walk more than a few steps any longer. But with his power wheelchair he is reasonably self-sufficient. No reason he needs to be in a nursing home to get the services he requires. And, after all ... let's face it ... a HAL ship sure beats a nursing home anyday.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kakalina]

We know Dolly and although it is true she sails alot she doesn't live aboard. The problem here as I see it is that if one were to be injured and "break a hip" they would have to leave the ship for care anyway. There are no facilities on board for anything other than short term emergency care. Other than that it sounds like a grand idea to me. I especially like the OP last bit about burial at sea. Saves the relatives and friends the expense of a costly funeral! Great idea! We did see an article about this very thing in an issue of AARP maganzine a few months ago.

[alsas]

We have friends that are right up there with Dolly (she is one of the most fantastic individuals ,we have some wonderful stories ) On the 2005 world cruise a lot of us discussed the need to go to China and Japan and we would wait to do the next world till 2007. We booked the april Hong Kong to Vancouver 32 days nice trip. Our friends called in November to say they would join us I asked when they were embarking they said mid November That would be over 180 days, yes was the reply. We have just returned mid may and it was the best 32 day cruising ever for us.The Statendam is superb. For those intrested in China and Japan do not think twice it is amazing. Happy sailing...Alsas