Living on a cruise ship?!

[UTH]

I came across this story yesterday, of this cruise ship that had been stuck in Belfast for months with all the passengers being 'stranded' in Belfast for all that time.
Reading a little more into it and it seems people are buying suites on this ship to live there for the rest of their lives!?
Have I been living under a rock and this is a totally normal thing to do? Or is this as bizarre to anyone else as it is to me? It looks like you can pay up to £800k for a suite on the boat, plus you're paying a chunky sum every week you're actually cruising I think.

I've never really liked the idea of a one week cruise, let alone living the REST OF YOUR LIFE on one?!

Weird.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz048d74n55o

[croyde]

I don't see much difference between a pricey cruise or living on the Libby Stockholm at the expense of the UK Government

[crofty1984]

A lot of people have been doing it "ad hoc". The price of a cruise booked well in advance (plus "airmiles" etc) being broadly in line with the costs of a retirement/nursing home for them. Better food, entertainment, new people to talk to, see a bit of the world. If the government are going to take your house to pay for a beige room in Flicky Middlewop nursing village you might as well sell it and use the money for a last adventure.
Clearly this company's latched on to the fact that this occurs and has done it as their up-front business model.

Not for me, but I can see the appeal if I was old and on my own or a couple that were into it.

[WyrleyD]

A long time ago I went on a cruise, it was the maiden Caribbean cruise on the P&O Oriana. There was an old boy on there who we got friendly with and he "lived" on P&O as he reckoned it was cheaper and better than an old folks home and met more interesting people. He used to book his next trip before the current trip ended and got huge discounts by doing this and his only downside was having to move into a hotel at Southampton Docks occasionally when the ship was on a longer layover and he couldn't stay on board.

[hurstg01]

by all accounts someone hadn't filled out the proper paperwork, despite it being delayed for an age, and has had to turn round and go back to port.....

[croyde]

I used to do a bit of work for a company selling 3, 6, 9 and 12 month cruises.

I remember one of the deals working out as far cheaper than my rent.

[LimaDelta]

Quite common for passengers to stay on board for most of the year, but to actually buy a cabin from the company is a bit harder. There was one lady who effectively lived on the Royal Princess (the 1984 one which later became P&O Artemis) in one of the suites. She actually owned the building in which Princess Cruises offices were based and they had a quid-pro-quo arrangement that it was 'her' suite for as long as they occupied the offices in Los Angeles. At least that's what I remember being told when I worked there in the dim and distant past.

Plus as already mentioned above, when compared to a nursing home offers better food, better treatment, better entertainment, better scenery, and potentially cheaper too!

[Exasperated]

"What did you do today, dear?"
"Stared at the sea."
"Oh, anything else?"
"No."
"Did you at least enjoy it?"
"No."
"Do you want to go to the buffet?"
"No."
"Want to watch a show?"
"No."

[oddman]

WyrleyD said:

A long time ago I went on a cruise, it was the maiden Caribbean cruise on the P&O Oriana. There was an old boy on there who we got friendly with and he "lived" on P&O as he reckoned it was cheaper and better than an old folks home and met more interesting people. He used to book his next trip before the current trip ended and got huge discounts by doing this and his only downside was having to move into a hotel at Southampton Docks occasionally when the ship was on a longer layover and he couldn't stay on board.

For some reason this image sprang to mind.

Before care homes etc. were commonplace accommodation for the elderly, it wasn't unusual for people to live out their days in hotels. Why not cruise ships?

I've heard that, for elderly US citizens, it makes sense as the medical cover works out cheaper than being insured.

[STe_rsv4]

Exasperated said:

"What did you do today, dear?"
"Stared at the sea."
"Oh, anything else?"
"No."
"Did you at least enjoy it?"
"No."
"Do you want to go to the buffet?"
"No."
"Want to watch a show?"
"No."

[davek_964]

It's not permanent though is it?

The BBC news story I heard mentioned a few years - and the article you linked to suggested that buying their cabin means they avoid daily charges "for the initial 3 year journey".

So at the end of the 3 years, what do they do? Buy it again - or sell it to the next customers?

[UTH]

davek_964 said:

It's not permanent though is it?

The BBC news story I heard mentioned a few years - and the article you linked to suggested that buying their cabin means they avoid daily charges "for the initial 3 year journey".

So at the end of the 3 years, what do they do? Buy it again - or sell it to the next customers?

Good question. They've got £800k invested in the suite, but to keep using it will have to start paying the daily charges again, which are thousands per week (or was it month?) ??

[PushedDover]

Ex owner of our firm bought a penthouse on : https://aboardtheworld.com/

Fairly punchy I believe. Fly in / out and join your mobile apartment as it takes in the World Tour

[LimaDelta]

PushedDover said:

Ex owner of our firm bought a penthouse on : https://aboardtheworld.com/

Fairly punchy I believe. Fly in / out and join your mobile apartment as it takes in the World Tour

Not really a conventional cruise ship though, IIRC it was designed and operated from the outset as a 'home at sea' which one could purchase.

[ooo000ooo]

Oops!

[wyson]

I read these people go around the world a couple of times, by the third time, they’ve been there, done that and want out. They either sell or rent their apartment out.

I think MS The World was one of the first, that launched in the early 00’s.

Edited by wyson on Tuesday 1st October 13:55

[LimaDelta]

wyson said:

I read these people go around the world a couple of times, by the third time, they’ve been there, done that and want out. They either sell or rent their apartment out.

The problem with world cruises, is that you spend 90%+ of your time at sea. On a three month P&O world cruise you might only have a handful of late sail or overnight stays. Most port visits are 8-hours, then back to another week at sea. It's great if you just want to enjoy the time on board, but it is a terrible way to 'see the world'.

That said, the types typically on a world cruise are well travelled and will have visited the places many times over.

[davek_964]

LimaDelta said:

The problem with world cruises, is that you spend 90%+ of your time at sea. On a three month P&O world cruise you might only have a handful of late sail or overnight stays. Most port visits are 8-hours, then back to another week at sea. It's great if you just want to enjoy the time on board, but it is a terrible way to 'see the world'.

That said, the types typically on a world cruise are well travelled and will have visited the places many times over.

From the few interviews I saw on the BBC it seemed less about seeing the world, and more about following summer.

[Spare tyre]

We know some one who does long old cruises for a big part of the year

They recognise it’s a good way of seeing the world at a slower pace, not as expensive as you think and when living alone you have company / amusement when needed

[P-Jay]

The world's first floating care home can't be far off can it?

My Grandparents spent their last few winters in Spain, they'd book a 3-month all-inclusive with one of the package places. The hotels are very quiet in the Winter Months, so it was relatively buttons to them. They'd jet off to one of the Costas between Xmas and New Year and come back in March. Who the fk wants to deal with a cold / wet British February in your 70s if you don't have to.