Living cruising the seas (Part Two)

So what pushes so many to spend almost as much time (if not more) on a cruise ship than at home? Many retirees mention the same advantages, no cooking, cleaning, change of scenery without packing or unpacking, safety and convenience plus excellent opportunities to socialize. 

As you can see, a touch of laziness goes a long way! For our neighbors, visiting dozens of destinations doesn’t seem to make any difference and repeatedly packing and unpacking is not even a factor. For couples, it can be an especially relaxing lifestyle because neither person has to plan every day's activities, like “What’s for dinner” or cleaning up the roof gutters. 

Of course, there are a few downsides to that sea life. Even on a huge ship, internet access can be slow or expensive (although it has improved greatly with satellite services). Medical emergencies could end up being costly and in some cases might require expensive evacuation. Cabins are relatively small, buffet food never changes, so it quickly becomes tiring, and entertainment never fails to become repetitive on a long stay away.

For those who are more curious than our neighbors, ports only provide a brief glimpse of a destination. Then, long cruises can become surprisingly expensive unless one is very disciplined about onboard purchases as everything is engineered to separate passengers from their money. This said, the economics of this lifestyle may surprise many. 

For retirees who have sold their house or rent a modest apartment, cruising isn't always as extravagant as it sounds. For instance, the cheapest ocean cruises start around $50 to $80 per person, per night (before taxes and port fees) for interior cabins. The lowest per-person, per-day rates are found on shorter 3- to 4-night sailings, repositioning cruises, and older ships from mainstream fleets like Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean. 

So if we conservatively said $100 per person and per day, we’d get to a $36,500 cost year round which would include lodging, all meals, utilities, housekeeping, transportation between ports, entertainment, fitness facilities and many activities. This would be hard to beat for a single person renting an apartment anywhere in the US and while $73,000 for a couple might be over the actual cost, it still might be justifiable on account of the affordable services and entertainment received. 

If we compare this with maintaining a home, paying property taxes, insurance, utilities, groceries, dining out, and taking occasional vacations, the difference may be smaller than many people expect. Pretty amazing, isn’t it? Now is this lifestyle a growing trend? It would seem that way as the population of healthy retirees has grown, and cruise lines now actively cater to repeat customers with loyalty programs, extended voyages, and even "world cruises" lasting three to six months. 

Some newer itineraries are designed specifically for people who want to treat the ship as a temporary home rather than simply a vacation. This would never work for us as life on a boat feels claustrophobic, but many people who love to do nothing, and never imagined spending months at sea, discover that the combination of comfort, variety, and social interaction suits their retirement remarkably well. 

What about you?