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Can You Retire On a Cruise Ship?

bizaro86

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I would not like to do the planning and coordination of multiple ships and itineraries to accomplish continuous retirement living aboard.

I'm not sure about how last minute Last Minute Cruising can be now due to regulations implemented after 9/11. We have a home Carnival ship here and have asked about last minute boarding deals. We were told there were none as there has to be a certain period of time for one's passport, etc. to be checked out. I think they said a month to three months. Yet I met a lady who was aboard a ship out of Cape Canaveral, FL, who said she does it from there.

Does anyone here cruise on really last minute deals? A week's notice? Two?

They definitely still have last minute deals. I checked NCL quickly and there are multiple options leaving May 3rd. I think it would be impossible to organize that to arrive and depart the same day. If you wanted continuous cruising staying mostly on the same ship would make sense.

But if you had a home base in a major port city I think you could get lots of last minute deals and spend a big part of your time cruising at a discount.
 

Passepartout

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I don't know if it's still a viable option, but back in the '80's we had a neighbor who was a 'Gentleman Escort' who cruised seemingly all the time, going from one ship to another dancing with the single dowagers. He SAID there was no teepee creeping, and that it was against the rules to even mention to these women what ship he would be going on and when, but somehow they always seemed to know. He was a tall, slender, athletic type who could carry on a conversation, and loved to dance and did it well. I'm not sure if he was comp'd the cabin or just got a discount or what, but it worked for him.

Wasn't there a Jack Lemmon or Tony Curtis movie with this premise?

Jim
 

DrQ

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One thing that I am curious about is: does being on a cruise that travels round trip from a US port count as being in the USA for inmigration/tax purposes. I wouldn't mind snowbirding post retirement. I couldn't spend more than 6 months a year in the US for immigration reasons, and would want to keep that number well under that to avoid becoming a US tax resident and/or losing my Canadian medicare entitlement.

But a total of 7 months (4 months in FL interspersed with 3 months of cruises) sounds interesting to try. Could do last minute deals for multiple ships/lines/itineraries which would keep it more interesting, imo.
Interesting point. I would think that if you embarked from Canada, you would stay in Canada, unless you went off the ship and through Customs, but that is just a WAG.
 

bizaro86

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Interesting point. I would think that if you embarked from Canada, you would stay in Canada, unless you went off the ship and through Customs, but that is just a WAG.

My idea would be embarking from the US though. I'm not sure if it counts as "leaving" the US when you board the ship. I think it should, because you're on a foreign flag ship in international waters.
 

DrQ

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My idea would be embarking from the US though. I'm not sure if it counts as "leaving" the US when you board the ship. I think it should, because you're on a foreign flag ship in international waters.
I would check really hard on Canada Revenue Agency's opinion on that point.
 

jlp879

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moonstone

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One thing that I am curious about is: does being on a cruise that travels round trip from a US port count as being in the USA for inmigration/tax purposes. I wouldn't mind snowbirding post retirement. I couldn't spend more than 6 months a year in the US for immigration reasons, and would want to keep that number well under that to avoid becoming a US tax resident and/or losing my Canadian medicare entitlement.

But a total of 7 months (4 months in FL interspersed with 3 months of cruises) sounds interesting to try. Could do last minute deals for multiple ships/lines/itineraries which would keep it more interesting, imo.

It's not necessarily the country or countries you spend time in during retirement but how long you are out of Canada (or your province) causing you to loose your medical benefits. We know Canadians who spend winter months in Belize but keep track of the amount of time they are out of Ontario so they don't loose health benefits. We also know a guy from northern BC who flies back for a couple of weeks at Christmas so that he can spend Oct to May at his winter home in Belize. The trip home also allows him to refill his prescriptions and see a Dr. if needed.

There can also be implications to our CPP & OAC (Gov't. pensions) if a Canadian permanently retires to another country. We know a couple of those people too! We are considering spending 1-2 mos. in FL in the fall, then back to Ontario for 2-3 weeks for Christmas, then 3 mos. in Belize, then home for a week before returning to FL for a month or so. The last 3 winters that we have returned home from Belize at the beginning of April we have had another snow storm (as late as last Sat this year!) so we want to make sure to avoid that cold white nonsense! Now that the Canadian border (passport scanning) computers are tied to the Federal and Provincial computer systems (for pensions, child support, EI benefits...) nobody can take a chance on staying away longer than allowed.


~Diane
 

dougp26364

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We had friends that lived in Stewart Florida who cruised frequently, but not every weeks. They would catch last minute deals and often would get a residency discount for living in Florida. They always cruised in an inside cabin. Because they cruised so often the wife worked part time at AAA in their travel agency and could give good advice on any cruise line and any caribbean port. Lois died a few years back but we still get brochures from Rod, so I’m assuming he’s still cruising. Unfortunately my wife had an illness which causes her a lot of issues with her gut, so we haven’t cruised in over a decade.
 

pedro47

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dougp26364, Thanks for all your vacation photos over the years. I would loved to moved to Florida, just to received that Florida residency discounts for cruising and their states income tax breaks.

I am trying to convince the Commander-in-Chief, it is time for us to visit some timeshare resorts in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Hawaii . She dislikes to fly over five (5) hours one way; plus, we both needs at least two (2) consecutive weeks for vacation time.
 

isisdave

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I've read (online, so it must be true) that you must now book at least 72 hours before sailing, and that the cruise line must transmit the manifest at least one hour before sailing.

But as of today, 6:50pm ET, VacationsToGo is offering cruises leaving 4pm ET tomorrow, from Miami and Boston. Maybe you can't actually book them, though.
 

Passepartout

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But as of today, 6:50pm ET, VacationsToGo is offering cruises leaving 4pm ET tomorrow, from Miami and Boston. Maybe you can't actually book them, though.
Operating from an abundance of no knowledge on the subject, perhaps the powers that make this decision don't really care about clearing people LEAVING the country, but might be more concerned with those ARRIVING.
 

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You might get tired of the eight-day menu cycle repeated over and over again.
 

pedro47

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On today’s cruise ships you can choose to go the main dining room daily or you can choices to go the many different specialty dining room restaurants on a cruise ship.

Example on the new Celebrity Edge ship there are four (4) main dining restaurants, about six (6) paid specialty restaurants and about four (4) other small venues restaurants liked the Mast Grill that served hot hamburgers, fries and hot dogs with all the various condiments you can think of.

You can have a different daily menu for over a month IMO on just about any of today’s cruise ship.
 
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Passepartout

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You might get tired of the eight-day menu cycle repeated over and over again.
And you think the dietary choices in an assisted living facility or CCRC is more varied? Not so much.
 

jpsmit

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A few years ago we met a couple who almost lived on board - they had done 137 cruises between 2002 and about 2008 when we met. The longer you thought about it the weirder it got. They only cruised on Royal Caribbean - for the points and were super grand poobah double diamond emerald status. (put it this way when one of the hurricanes hit Florida - the cruise line checked on them.

However.
They had alienated their family
Their "friends" (and they called them that) were employees who were paid to be nice to them.
There were ships they avoided completely because when they had gone on that ship the captain hadn't paid them enough attention, and,

this doesn't even get into same food week after week. (even with restaurant rotation the menu of the whole ship still rotates weekly)
same entertainment
same ports of call (even when they are different :0 )

It was odd.
 

Passepartout

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A few years ago we met a couple who almost lived on board - they had done 137 cruises between 2002 and about 2008 when we met. The longer you thought about it the weirder it got. They only cruised on Royal Caribbean - for the points and were super grand poobah double diamond emerald status. (put it this way when one of the hurricanes hit Florida - the cruise line checked on them.

However.
They had alienated their family
Their "friends" (and they called them that) were employees who were paid to be nice to them.
There were ships they avoided completely because when they had gone on that ship the captain hadn't paid them enough attention, and,

this doesn't even get into same food week after week. (even with restaurant rotation the menu of the whole ship still rotates weekly)
same entertainment
same ports of call (even when they are different :0 )
Yeah, we've been on cruises where they brought longtime serial cruisers up on the stage and introduced them. But look at it this way, over those 6 years, 137 cruises, that probably averaged, say 14 days, would be close to 4 years. They would have to have a home on land somewhere- maybe their 'kids' whom they alienated. If food boredom was an issue, RCCL has several cruise lines. They could have switched to Celebrity, or God Forbid develop loyalty with another group, like Princess or (perish the thought) Carn(I can't even type it), but Holland America and I think Cunard and several others are in that group. Surely they could find a 'different' meal somewhere.

I think being able to be master of one's own time (isn't that what retirement is all about) is worth more than one activity. Some people want to play golf. Some fish, some cruise, some garden, some bounce the grands on their knee.

Like it or not, the one finite thing we all have. . .is TIME! We only have a certain, and unknown number of days. And when they're gone, they're gone.

Spend it wisely.

Jim
 

BocaBoy

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You might get tired of the eight-day menu cycle repeated over and over again.
That would only apply to 7-day cruises. The better choice would be to take longer cruises. There is no way someone can't have the dining and menu variety that they want.

We took a 62-day Pacific cruise 14 years ago on Holland America and would definitely love to take a World Cruise. generally more relaxing and better service than on the shorter cruises. But probably not interested in full-time cruising, but about 3 or 4 months a year would be fabulous.
 

BocaBoy

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I think Holland America Cruise Lines does a around the world cruise with over three (300) days of cruising.
They do have a World Cruise each winter, but it is about 120 days, not 300 days. Many other cruise lines also have world cruises of similar length.
 

DaveNV

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Nobody commented on this that I posted upthread, so I'll post the link again. For a starting price of about $825K, up to several $Million, you can BUY a condo on a cruise ship, and literally travel the world. If you want to retire on a cruise ship, here's your chance. I've seen videos of life aboard this ship, and it seems pretty darn nice:

https://aboardtheworld.com/landing/...MIlYbfnJ6D4gIVib9kCh30RQThEAAYASAAEgKf3_D_BwE

Dave
 

bizaro86

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Nobody commented on this that I posted upthread, so I'll post the link again. For a starting price of about $825K, up to several $Million, you can BUY a condo on a cruise ship, and literally travel the world. If you want to retire on a cruise ship, here's your chance. I've seen videos of life aboard this ship, and it seems pretty darn nice:

https://aboardtheworld.com/landing/...MIlYbfnJ6D4gIVib9kCh30RQThEAAYASAAEgKf3_D_BwE

Dave

Dave - this is a TS board, so I have one (big!) question. The upfront cost is all well and good, and those are resale prices since that ship launched in 2002. But what are the maintenance fees? That is a 17 year old ship - I can't imagine its getting cheaper to operate/maintain/insure...
 

DaveNV

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Dave - this is a TS board, so I have one (big!) question. The upfront cost is all well and good, and those are resale prices since that ship launched in 2002. But what are the maintenance fees? That is a 17 year old ship - I can't imagine its getting cheaper to operate/maintain/insure...

I have no idea about any of your great questions. But if someone is considering "retiring" on a regular cruise ship, where they take cruise after cruise after cruise, the costs for that could equally add up. The World is on a perpetual cruise, and if the person owns their space, they wouldn't have to pack up every week. :D

The World is a pretty fancy, by any measure, if anyone has pockets deep enough to consider it. And if they have that level of affordability, maintenance fees can't be too much for them to worry about.

All of this is well above my pay grade, so it's pure speculation - for me, anyway. :)

Dave
 

VacationForever

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I have no idea about any of your great questions. But if someone is considering "retiring" on a regular cruise ship, where they take cruise after cruise after cruise, the costs for that could equally add up. The World is on a perpetual cruise, and if the person owns their space, they wouldn't have to pack up every week. :D

The World is a pretty fancy, by any measure, if anyone has pockets deep enough to consider it. And if they have that level of affordability, maintenance fees can't be too much for them to worry about.

All of this is well above my pay grade, so it's pure speculation - for me, anyway. :)

Dave
Until the cruise ship includes cardiologist, etc etc with full hospital and lab equipment, it is not a place we want to be for long term. You cannot get timely treatment if one gets into a life threatening medical emergency.
 

bizaro86

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I have no idea about any of your great questions. But if someone is considering "retiring" on a regular cruise ship, where they take cruise after cruise after cruise, the costs for that could equally add up. The World is on a perpetual cruise, and if the person owns their space, they wouldn't have to pack up every week. :D

The World is a pretty fancy, by any measure, if anyone has pockets deep enough to consider it. And if they have that level of affordability, maintenance fees can't be too much for them to worry about.

All of this is well above my pay grade, so it's pure speculation - for me, anyway. :)

Dave

Oh for sure, I hope you took that in the tongue-in-cheek manner it was intended. :)

I couldn't find a MF quote, but one story on it mentioned that the fees for a 2 bedroom unit were "around 300k per year." Notably, I don't think that includes food, which is normally included on a regular cruise.

https://amp.app.com/amp/24303899

Sadly, I don't think that will be in my retirement budget...
 

DaveNV

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Sadly, I don't think that will be in my retirement budget...

Definitely not in mine, either. There was a program on TV a few years ago about building this ship, and how it was going to be, living on board. Even then it looked to be pretty incredible. And while the staterooms do have kitchens, after a fashion, I think passengers are still fed in a common dining area. Surely they don't "bring you a bill" for your meal? That would seem rather "common" for such lavish digs. How gauche! :eek:

Dave
 

Passepartout

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Definitely not in mine, either. There was a program on TV a few years ago about building this ship, and how it was going to be, living on board. Even then it looked to be pretty incredible. And while the staterooms do have kitchens, after a fashion, I think passengers are still fed in a common dining area. Surely they don't "bring you a bill" for your meal? That would seem rather "common" for such lavish digs. How gauche! :eek:
They would have to have a grocery store if they have kitchens, and Dave, with your Navy experience, you know that the biggest danger on ANY ship is fire. On cruise ships, passengers are not allowed irons, and power strips are frowned upon and some even confiscate power strips with USB ports. I couldn't see those apartments having much more sophisticated cooking facilities than a can opener. Still, for those well heeled enough and with enough wanderlust, it would be fun for a while.

I am reminded of a time on a fishing excursion in Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands. We were in a secluded cove when a beautiful, refitted crabber, all decked out in dark blue and white, with a couple of Boston Whalers in the davits, and 'THUNDER, Ketchikan' in gold leaf on the transom entered the cove. The owner asked us where the best fishing was and seemed friendly enough. We left later by helicopter back to fly home from the Sandspit airport, and there on the tarmac was a LearJet, all dark blue and white and in gold leaf under the cockpit windows, 'LIGHTNING' Ketchikan. Some people just know how to live!

Jim
 
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