A Mixed Bag...

[AccountingDrone]

I remember reading some posts on Cruise Critics from people doing the retirement and cruising thing.

If you look at some of the cruise companies sites, some of the fares if you are willing to live in one of the lowest deck inside rooms can be fairly cheap, and when you pile up the repeat cruiser discounts and such it can be fairly cheap. Pick a line that has self serve laundromats to not have to pay the fee for the crew served laundry it could be fairly reasonable. IIRC AARP came out last year and mentioned that retirement home costs start at something like $50 000 a year. Heck, mrAru doesn't even make that much a year and there are 2 of us. Holland America on the ms Amsterdam, 72 day LA to LA round trip hitting ports in the far east, per person inside room $10 999 plus taxes, tips and assorted spending money - doesn't take into account any sort of repeat sailers club or discounts.

[draco664]

I remember reading some posts on Cruise Critics from people doing the retirement and cruising thing.

My grandparents recently did a cruise, and met an elderly man on his 81st cruise. With that many repeats, he said that it was cheaper for him to get on a cruise ship where all his food and lodging is paid for, than rent a flat in Brisbane for a week. That and there is a dedicated doctor on the cruise ship. He essentially disembarks, goes into the office and books another one.

It's the sort of retirement I'd love to have.

[SongsOfDragons]

So would I.

There's a cruise ship called The World which is essentially a floating block of 165 luxury flats. You simply embark to your own apartment and sail to wherever they're going. It's so exclusive the website doesn't even tell you how much one of these apartments cost XD

[EricKei]

It's so exclusive the website doesn't even tell you how much one of these apartments cost XD

I believe the operative expression would be "If you have to ask, you can't afford it"

[Jester]

My grandmother is on this cruise right now.

I'm virtually certain that that was the very cruise Ms. Antarctica was on!!!

[Teysa]

One of my coworkers in Alaska last summer used to work as a bartender on an icebreaker turned cruise ship in Antarctica.

[wolfie]

My grandparents recently did a cruise, and met an elderly man on his 81st cruise. With that many repeats, he said that it was cheaper for him to get on a cruise ship where all his food and lodging is paid for, than rent a flat in Brisbane for a week. That and there is a dedicated doctor on the cruise ship. He essentially disembarks, goes into the office and books another one.

It's the sort of retirement I'd love to have.

First saw it a few years back, but various (paper and electronic) humour sources tell the story of a guy who compares the cost of nursing homes to that of cruises, and decides to spend his retirement cruising. Considering the nature of some of these sources, I'm surprised the story never mentions the lack of "eye candy" (i.e. young women in bikinis) at nursing homes.

[SongsOfDragons]

Aha!! On the topic of huge cruises...

Cunard have just released the details for their 2014 world cruises. IMO Cunard are the poshest cruise line ever - they're what's left of the White Star Line who ran the Titanic among other things. As an example the Queen Mary 2 is going on a 119-day cruise from January to May...

If you've got a spare fifteen grand you're desperate to spend... Or even if not, like me you can just drool over/daydream... Have a look.

[Jetfire]

My mom is nearing retirement age, but she's not the cruise type. But she is becoming the world traveller type.

Over the past 10 years she's been crazy enough to go on an intercontinental trip with highschool students. This year (leaving a week from Friday) she's taking 7 kids to Costa Rica for a week (From Canada).

I'm beginning to think she might have a slight curse following her too.

She was in Egypt about a year or so before Arab Spring. And her last group trip to Greece, they were on a cruise of the islands (to Capri IIRC) and a week after she got back, that exact same cruise ship sunk.

[Jay 2K Winger]

My mom is nearing retirement age, but she's not the cruise type. But she is becoming the world traveller type.

Over the past 10 years she's been crazy enough to go on an intercontinental trip with highschool students. This year (leaving a week from Friday) she's taking 7 kids to Costa Rica for a week (From Canada).

I'm beginning to think she might have a slight curse following her too.

She was in Egypt about a year or so before Arab Spring. And her last group trip to Greece, they were on a cruise of the islands (to Capri IIRC) and a week after she got back, that exact same cruise ship sunk.

Your grandparents too, huh? My grandparents used to have the same issue when they still traveled. Now grandma's passed and grandpa's in a wheelchair, so...