196 Straight Days Booked On Legend - Is there more to life than just cruising?

[PhillyFan33579]

So I recently heard one of Carnival’s most loyal cruisers has 196 consecutive days booked on Legend. Is this something you would do?  As much as I love cruising, I would never do something even remotely close to that. There is so much more to life than just cruising. 

 

I actually feel bad for this guy. It seems this guy doesn’t have any other interests in life (family, friends, hobbies, etc) outside of cruising. Maybe doing all this cruising is how he copes with this???

[RandomUser123]

Many older people end up "living" on cruise ships instead of assisted living facilities because it ends up being cheaper to basically live on a cruise ship. 

[ChinaShrek]

10 minutes ago, RandomUser123 said:

Many older people end up "living" on cruise ships instead of assisted living facilities because it ends up being cheaper to basically live on a cruise ship. 

Really?  How much is a month in an assisted living center on average?

[fabby50]

The nicer retirement facilities in our area start at around 6K a month and go up from there and that doesn't  included services you'd need like laundry.  I'd much rather cruise as long as I'm mobile.  It's something I'm considering in my distant future, especially if I'm single.  It would not be on Carnival since I don't think they have enough frequent cruiser rewards, but I have considered Princess and NCL.  There are several people that post on youtube that live aboard for a majority of the year, some are still even employed doing jobs you can do over a modem.

[cruisequeen4ever]

It’s my dream to retire on a cruise ship! If you love travel, the luxury of having your meals prepared for you, your stateroom cleaned for you, a home base that takes you around the world, and activities at your disposal 24/7, it’s a great option! We have a wonderful family but no kids, so it would work well for us. Our friends would be just a flight away, so no big deal to visit. Plus, you can take breaks from cruising whenever you want to stay on land for a while. 

 

 

 

 

[NCTribeFan]

I'd like to do a really long cruise, but if I could afford it, I'd rather mix that up with travel all over.  Rent a house for a couple of weeks (or months) in various locations around the world.

 

Living on a cruise ship may be cheaper than assisted living, but you're not going to get the health care on a ship that you'd get in assisted living.

 

OP, I don't think you need to feel sorry for this guy!  I'm single and enjoy solo travel.  I have no need to surround myself with people all the time.  And at least on a cruise ship, you can mingle as much as you like or stay as secluded as you like.

[2wheelin]

Thing is, assisted living pays for a lot more than you would get on a ship. Consider a retirement home at a lesser cost but unless you were willing to live on the ship full time, you would still need to pay to keep your retirement home room available. You don’t just sign up for those part time. Usually a waiting list.

[MJSailors]

      My DH and I did a transatlantic crossing on the QE2 in 2001.

Onboard with us was a lovely lady who lived on the ship. We saw her several times around the ship and the staff seemed very kind and solicitous towards her. Apparently,she sold some property in the US and made the ship her home. She did have children and friends who would sometimes join her or she would disembark in NYC ,visit friends and family ,then return to the ship. 

      It may work for some,but I think that I may tire of such a situation.

      There is also an interesting blog written by PescadoAmarillo on blogspot.com She also goes by Yellow Fish Cruises.  Both she and her husband sail on a Princess ship or ships for the winter months. This year,their saga begins in late October. Her blog is an interesting read as they sail to different parts of the world and explore most of the ports on the ship’s itinerary. 

Interesting reading,but still, I don’t know if I could last that long away from home. 

 

 

[Nic6318]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

So I recently heard one of Carnival’s most loyal cruisers has 196 consecutive days booked on Legend. Is this something you would do?  As much as I love cruising, I would never do something even remotely close to that. There is so much more to life than just cruising. 

 

I actually feel bad for this guy. It seems this guy doesn’t have any other interests in life (family, friends, hobbies, etc) outside of cruising. Maybe doing all this cruising is how he copes with this???

 

Hi

 

There are many people who don't have close friends or any family. That's what happens as you age and your friends die. Yes, growing old sucks.

 

He obviously has hobbies. He enjoys cruising. Who knows what else he might be interested in... reading, knitting, 😃. With the internet he can do all kinds of things. I play chess and backgammon on the internet every day. He can work out regularly in the gym, the list goes on. 

 

Isn't it nice that at least he has the means to do this. He obviously has choices. If you do indeed feel sorry for this person for being alone, you might consider looking at volunteering somewhere in your community that help people in this situation.

 

have a good day

 

[coevan]

3 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

a home base that takes you around the world,

 

 

if you get off and go on other cruises

 

 

3 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

Many older people end up "living" on cruise ships instead of assisted living facilities because it ends up being cheaper to basically live on a cruise ship. 

 

 

Maybe if you got an inside cabin and didn't drink, go on excursions, no wifi, there is no way we could do this, we'd go bonkers. the food alone would drive me crazy, even in 2 weeks we get bored with the selections of food

[Eli_6]

If you are paying $599-799 a week, it's a lot cheaper!

 

Assisted living is probably $5k-6k a month.

 

Seems like a good idea to me.

[icat2000]

5 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

So I recently heard one of Carnival’s most loyal cruisers has 196 consecutive days booked on Legend. Is this something you would do?  As much as I love cruising, I would never do something even remotely close to that. There is so much more to life than just cruising. 

 

I actually feel bad for this guy. It seems this guy doesn’t have any other interests in life (family, friends, hobbies, etc) outside of cruising. Maybe doing all this cruising is how he copes with this???

I could do it. I would to escape the winter months. 

[sprint180]

I’m only good for 10 days max

[TomCruise48]

4 hours ago, fyree39 said:

Super Mario and Mama Lee are two other people that have "retired" on cruise ships.

Super Mario was recently honored by RCCL for 8000 days on their ships.  That's almost 22 years!

[Hunter69]

Legend has been down here in Australia over the last 5 years & most of The Ozzies have preferred the sister ship, The Carnival Spirit; I am one of a few Australians with over 100 days on this fine ship. Love 'The URNS" & The LEGEND... I would do it in a heartbeat, but work & money are the only Problems....

 

[crzndeb]

I always thought about retiring on a cruise ship when I was a lot younger and before kids. After the kids grew up and moved on, and I got older, the desire disappeared. I don’t think I could handle so many people, week after week, after living alone for so many years. Maybe if there was a cruise ship with more dogs than people, I could handle it. 😉 I have noticed cruising over the years, that some people have just gotten more rude, and manners have completely flown out the door. No thanks.

 

For some people it works, and that’s great. For me, not so much.

 

[BNBR]

11 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

If you are paying $599-799 a week, it's a lot cheaper!

 

Assisted living is probably $5k-6k a month.

 

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

We need to put this comparison to rest.  Assisted living is ASSISTED.  Which means someone who is unable to care for themselves.  Other than cooking/cleaning, a cruise line is not offering assisted living services.  Hence the price difference.  Someone could live in a low income 55+ community with meal delivery and cleaning services for FAR less than a cruise ship.

 

Not saying a cruise ship isn't a great retirement option for some people, but it's ridiculous to compare it to an assisted living facility/nursing home that has medical care and ASSISTANCE with living. 

 

Personally, I could see some value in spending 3 months per year on a cruise ship once I hit retirement.  But definitely not year-round.

Edited September 16, 2019 by BNBR

[Eli_6]

8 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

We need to put this comparison to rest.  Assisted living is ASSISTED.  Which means someone who is unable to care for themselves.  Other than cooking/cleaning, a cruise line is not offering assisted living services.  Hence the price difference.  Someone could live in a low income 55+ community with meal delivery and cleaning services for FAR less than a cruise ship.

 

Not saying a cruise ship isn't a great retirement option for some people, but it's ridiculous to compare it to an assisted living facility/nursing home that has medical care and ASSISTANCE with living. 

 

Personally, I could see some value in spending 3 months per year on a cruise ship once I hit retirement.  But definitely not year-round.

I think this is a difference in terminology.

 

My brother has run a PT/OT/ST business at a retirement community and assisted living facility for two decades.  They basically have independent living, assisted living and then what you are talking about where they have more of a hospital type room and have 24/7 care.  That is NOT assisted living in this part of the country.  I worked for my brother at three different facilities.  Now maybe they use different terms in different parts of the country but where I live, assisted living is generally someone who needs help with just meals, housekeeping, etc. And not someone with major medical issues, dementia, etc.  That would be a nursing home, hospice, or memory care.

 

My grandmother also was in an assisted living facility.  I have looked into it for my mother.  

 

"Independent living" or a "55 and up" community does not do house care, meals, etc.  It is simply a community of older folks.  That seems to be what you are thinking of as opposed to a true assisted living facility.

 

The assisted living is what does meals, house care, laundry, etc. but does not provide you with 24/7 care and it is $5k to $7k a month. Occasionally, you can find some that are cheaper if you are low income and don't have assets, but you have to qualify. Some may be cheaper in smaller communities where COL is low. (I think my grandmother was in one for about $3200 a month ~12 plus years ago.) But in a major city it will be $5k+ or close to ut. Typically, they have events for the folks who live there, a cafeteria, a swimming pool, community area, etc. Assisted living is NOT someone completely unable to care for themselves who require 24/7 care. Sometimes people have a sitter service (my brother runs one of these as well) that they pay extra to check on them, ensure they take their meds, etc. 

 

What your are referring to with 24/7 care is much more and typically called a skilled nursing facility (colloquially a nursing home) and usually Medicare is involved and a supplemental policy. These are the people who require full-time care.  Memory care facilities (which are also different from assisted living) are often like this as well.  Clearly, someone in that situation would not be fit to live on a cruise.  But where I live this is NOT "assisted living." It would be called a skilled nursing facility, a memory care facility (for dementia folks), or hospice care.

 

So, the comparison is valid.  It's actually a pretty good comparison.  You have someone to cook for you, clean your room, a doctor on the premises should an emergency arise, laundry service, some community events, etc.  I agree someone needing a skilled nursing facility would not be appropriate for this, but that's different from "assisted living."

 

Also, clearly this would not be an option for someone with serious ambulatory problems or who needed help bathing (unless they brought along an assistant on their cruise), but they would probably need that help even in an assisted living facility.

 

[Joebucks]

I honestly have no idea why this kind of stuff keeps getting compared to assisted living. These are not the same thing. The primary focus of assisted living is nursing care as you have difficulties caring for yourself. If you that elderly and/or sick and cannot care for yourself, spending almost a half of a year on the ship is probably the worst choice you can make.

 

With that said, if I had the money, I would want to spend as much as my time on vacation as well. Some people naturally gravitate towards the most expensive options. Money can go a longer way through companies like Carnival.

 

 

[Lottacruises]

Sounds like fun

[crzndeb]

48 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

With that said, if I had the money, I would want to spend as much as my time on vacation as well. Some people naturally gravitate towards the most expensive options. Money can go a longer way through companies like Carnival.

 

 

I don’t know if it’s expense or variety. You can only go to so many places on Carnival. I sail mostly between Carnival and Royal. If Carnival offers a unique itinerary, then I will go with them. I do have 2 MSC cruises next year to the Med to ports I haven’t been to. 

[MT_Sea_Cruisers]

20 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

Many older people end up "living" on cruise ships instead of assisted living facilities because it ends up being cheaper to basically live on a cruise ship. 

My husband and I have talked about doing this in our golden years.  If we are in good health.  We would plan regular health care visits around home port (probably San Diego for Orlando) and purchase trip insurance for any unforeseen medical emergencies that might arise.   I think it would be fun to do for a few years - travel and meet new people every week.    We met a pair of sisters (in their their early 70's) a few years ago who have cruised so much with Carnival that they said it is  now relatively  inexpensive for them to cruise on Carnival.  They said they basically just pay port fees and gratuity and a few hundred dollars for the cruise fare.   They cruise 3 or 4 back-to-backs take a week or two off on land to take care of person business and then they are back to sea.  They were so full of life, happy and looked like they were having so much fun.  That is what initially put the thought in our mind 🙂  

[Eli_6]

1 hour ago, MT_Sea_Cruisers said:

My husband and I have talked about doing this in our golden years.  If we are in good health.  We would plan regular health care visits around home port (probably San Diego for Orlando) and purchase trip insurance for any unforeseen medical emergencies that might arise.   I think it would be fun to do for a few years - travel and meet new people every week.    We met a pair of sisters (in their their early 70's) a few years ago who have cruised so much with Carnival that they said it is  now relatively  inexpensive for them to cruise on Carnival.  They said they basically just pay port fees and gratuity and a few hundred dollars for the cruise fare.   They cruise 3 or 4 back-to-backs take a week or two off on land to take care of person business and then they are back to sea.  They were so full of life, happy and looked like they were having so much fun.  That is what initially put the thought in our mind 🙂  

 

I think it sounds like a blast, too, if a person is in good health.

 

My husband knows a physician in his 50s-early 60s (kids out of the house but still wants to work) who closed his practice, bought an RV, and does locums now.  He will do about three months and then travel a couple of months.  His wife goes with him.  

[clo]

22 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Really?  How much is a month in an assisted living center on average?

Almost ten years ago my late MIL was paying $5k/mo for an apartment and two meals a day.  She needed no assistance which would have raised the price.

 

As to living on a ship, yeah, you can do it to a point but if eventually you need help bathing, taking your meds, etc. then, no.

[clo]

17 hours ago, sprint180 said:

I’m only good for 10 days max

I'm with you.  After that I'd be ready to throw myself off.  I love my home and I love to cook and I love loads of things that aren't available on a ship.