Could you live on a cruise ship?

BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
edited March 10 in Heaven
A Bristol couple live on cruise ships.

They ' work from home'.

Katrina Middleton and husband Kevin sold up and now live in luxury cabins on back-to-back cruises, working remotely from the ships 🛳️

I couldn't do it. I'd miss the garden and the countryside and the dogs far too much - but could you??

Comments

  • Oh that's a hard no for me. Floating cesspools and no control over dietary intake. Plus. Admiralty law. No thank you. I'll take my chances on the ship of state any day.

    AFF
  • Nope. I'd be bound to pick up every bug that came along, and I understand Norovirus is a favorite on cruise ships. Besides, I'd miss my friends and church.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    A hard no for me, too. I can think of few things that sound worse than living on a cruise ship.
  • ArethosemyfeetArethosemyfeet Shipmate, Heaven Host
    I can see the attraction in some cases where elderly people have looked at comparative costs and found it cheaper than residential care. If your life doesn't involve much going out or doing things and you don't have much of a social circle it could be as comfortable as anywhere else. In general though? Nah.
  • BoogieBoogie Heaven Host
    Nope. I'd be bound to pick up every bug that came along, and I understand Norovirus is a favorite on cruise ships.

    Oh yes. I remember, in the early days of Covid, ships were quarantined. One British cruise ship was quarantined in a Japanese harbour for a month. That must have been hard - not knowing how long they'd be there.

  • Absolutely not. Too many people.
  • No. I am against them on principle.

    Ecological disaster areas.
  • Quite!
  • No, thank you. Not my cup of tea.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Mrs Gramps and I have enjoyed short term cruising but probably not full time. That said, we are aware of some people who do long term cruising to other forms of senior citizen living. The costs are predictable, no need to do any cooking, medical care provided, though limited, minimal household responsibilities, an active social environment, the world comes to the cruisers.
  • Yeah, but no grass and trees.
  • Just no, for so many reasons.
  • Jane RJane R Shipmate
    edited March 10
    Stuck in a floating block of flats with a bunch of (mostly old) people I don't know and no books? No way in hell. And my Other Half gets seasick, so I'd be on my own.
  • Merry VoleMerry Vole Shipmate
    edited March 10
    We've never done a cruise holiday -but Mrs Vole says you'd have to pay her to go on one!

    But friends say the entertainment every evening makes it worth it...
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Merry Vole wrote: »
    We've never done a cruise holiday -but Mrs Vole says you'd have to pay her to go on one!
    I’d be willing to try a river cruise, but the idea of an ocean cruise isn’t the least bit appealing to me.


  • sionisaissionisais Shipmate
    Mrs Sioni and I have been on a couple of cruises. We find these enjoyable and economical as everything is included (even with the drinks packages).
    I find the only downside to be those few who whinge and moan, but they are always with us and I’m sure the head waiter could find another table if need be.
    It’s a whole lot less stressful than travel by air, and I hate airports, for the mixture of tedium and rushing.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    If there were enough chess players onboard...
  • sionisaissionisais Shipmate
    Caissa wrote: »
    If there were enough chess players onboard...

    Bridge seems to be the thing, but if you took a chess set along I’m sure you would find players for sea days. These are a bone of contention: some enjoy them, others tolerate them and a few just climb into the bottle and need a bit of help from the crew.

  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I also play bridge so I could survive at a bridge table. Throw in a pickleball court and it might be a retirement dream.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    edited March 10
    Jane R wrote: »
    Stuck in a floating block of flats with a bunch of (mostly old) people I don't know and no books? No way in hell. And my Other Half gets seasick, so I'd be on my own.

    The ships that we have been on have had well stocked libraries. Besides, when a ship comes ashore, you can skip the planned excursions and go shopping for local bookstores if you want. Just be sure to get back to the ship on time; otherwise, they have been known to sail away without people.

    We have never had problems with seasickness. One time we did go through quite a storm off Alaska. It was something to try to take a shower then, but still no problem. What we found, is the upper levels of the ships can create more seasickness than the lower levels.
  • Tree BeeTree Bee Shipmate
    No, a cruise holiday has never appealed to us. Slightly tangentially, we have 2 retirement villages near us that I sometimes wonder about moving into should my circumstances change.
    But recently I heard these villages described as a static cruise liner which has really put me off!
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    No, there's no bush, which is essential for my wellbeing.
  • Boogie wrote: »
    Katrina Middleton and husband Kevin sold up and now live in luxury cabins on back-to-back cruises, working remotely from the ships 🛳️

    Cruise ships? It's like a floating tower block full of people, and a very limited range of possibilities for entertainment. I can't think of much worse.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Hell is other people. Hell is being stuck with other people in a place you can't leave. A place that moves up and down, with no trees or flowers. And where a third to a half of the population live in the bilges, far from their homes and families.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    I think it could be interesting and I think one of the things about cruises – please note I have never yet been on one – is they don’t just sail around the ocean, they go to all sorts of places and so you get off of the boat and so you would get to see all kinds of places all over the world, including lots and lots of trees and environment and things. That said, I would both be worried about taking the cats (if it was allowed in the first place, which I expect it would not be) and I don’t want to be separated from my cats. (They’re indoor cats.) Someday it would be interesting to go on a cruise.
  • ChastMastr wrote: »
    I think it could be interesting and I think one of the things about cruises – please note I have never yet been on one – is they don’t just sail around the ocean, they go to all sorts of places and so you get off of the boat

    I think cruises suffer from the same drawbacks as bus tours. You can't go on your schedule - you have to go on the cruise's schedule. If the schedule gives you six hours in a particular place, that's what you have. You don't have a reasonable opportunity to spend two days there because there's something that interests you.
  • Jane RJane R Shipmate
    edited March 10
    @Gramps49 I have a two-books-a-day habit. I might be able to survive for a week or so on a ship with a 'well-stocked' library... but permanently? No.

    And what Firenze said.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    I think it could be interesting and I think one of the things about cruises – please note I have never yet been on one – is they don’t just sail around the ocean, they go to all sorts of places and so you get off of the boat

    I think cruises suffer from the same drawbacks as bus tours. You can't go on your schedule - you have to go on the cruise's schedule. If the schedule gives you six hours in a particular place, that's what you have. You don't have a reasonable opportunity to spend two days there because there's something that interests you.

    Part of me feels like that would be something that might make it more interesting although six hours is kind of short. The whole idea of not being in control. Don’t get me wrong, I’d likely get sick of it after a while, but it might be sort of a refreshing thing to have a bunch of those decisions made externally for one who has trouble making certain decisions.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    But my babies would miss me… 😿😿 and ditto!!
  • I know quite a few older people who like them. For me - I've spent too long feeling a bit green somewhere off Holyhead, sat next to the play area and fruit machines.

    (That's a funny thing. 30-odd years ago people used to take pillows and sleeping bags and crash out all over the floor. I woke up in Dublin once and everyone else had got off. The crew tell you off now for vagrancy, which is probably cabin-upselling dressed as safety procedures.)
  • They're awful.

    They spoil the places they visit. I saw one heaving into Venice and dwarfing 'La Serenissima' with its sheer bulk and ugliness.

    Venetians have taken to boats to protest.

    And rightly so.

    The bloody things moor off the Orkneys for instance, disgorge hundreds of tourists who spend just an hour clogging the streets of Kirkwall taking selfies before clambering back on board to sail somewhere else to blight.

    Sink the wretched things.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    I know quite a few older people who like them. For me - I've spent too long feeling a bit green somewhere off Holyhead, sat next to the play area and fruit machines.

    (That's a funny thing. 30-odd years ago people used to take pillows and sleeping bags and crash out all over the floor. I woke up in Dublin once and everyone else had got off. The crew tell you off now for vagrancy, which is probably cabin-upselling dressed as safety procedures.)

    What are fruit machines? I’m intrigued now…

    (Visions of Kamen Rider Gaim are in my head now, only with robots rather than people in suits, using fruit-themed weapons and armor. It was a cool show…)

    https://youtu.be/NlOh1QUKDF8?feature=shared

    https://youtu.be/mVKlb29_lI4?feature=shared
  • Slot machines which show a row of three fruit, matching or not.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Jane R wrote: »
    @Gramps49 I have a two-books-a-day habit. I might be able to survive for a week or so on a ship with a 'well-stocked' library... but permanently? No.

    And what Firenze said.

    My wife is a retired Librarian. She has at least three books going at any one time. When she says the libraries on the ships we have been on were well stocked, she means they were well stocked. One thing she particularly liked where the books that covered the regions where we were sailing.

    When ships reach their home ports, either the ship's librarian or the company's library staff will rotate the selections.

    A suggestion: just take a three-day cruise. Try it before you knock it.
    Boogie wrote: »
    Katrina Middleton and husband Kevin sold up and now live in luxury cabins on back-to-back cruises, working remotely from the ships 🛳️

    Cruise ships? It's like a floating tower block full of people, and a very limited range of possibilities for entertainment. I can't think of much worse.

    There is quite a bit of entertainment on board. From outdoor entertainment to nighttime shows to talks on various topics--really depends on the type of ship you are on. Not every ship has slot machines, every ship we have been on offered great dining opportunities where you could meet new people or dine alone.

    But, as I said, while we have enjoyed short term cruises, we will likely not go on long term trips.

    Next trip on the docket is Hawaii. Will fly out there, then take a week's cruise around the islands. Beats checking into and out of motels every other day.
  • A zealous bridge player at our church once went on a bridge cruise. When I asked her where they had been, she said she had no idea, but they played a lot of bridge. They could have stayed in the harbour and it wouldn't have made much difference to her.

    Some friends went on a National Trust tour circumnavigating the British Isles some years ago, and liked it. It was well planned and it was a small ship, so it sounded like a good way to do it.

    I am sure Piglet will have an opinion about what those floating sideways skyscrapers do to Orkney when they spew their masses onto the streets of Kirkwall for the day and then take them back to the ship to feed them with no benefit to the locals.

    My idea of a luxury pleasure cruise is heading down the Clyde on the Waverley.
  • MarsupialMarsupial Shipmate
    We planned a cruise with my parents for late 2024 which ultimately didn’t happen because of health issues. They had been much more into cruises than I will ever be but I thought we had a good concept - a cruise mostly on the eastern side of the Adriatic with a smallish ship (relatively speaking) that could reach a number of smaller ports probably. Realistically it was the only way I was likely to see that part of the world and I could sort of see the point.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    edited 4:38AM
    A suggestion: just take a three-day cruise.

    Almost said a three hour cruise, but I wondered if anyone not of that age would have caught the humor.

    Marsupial wrote
    We planned a cruise with my parents for late 2024 which ultimately didn’t happen because of health issues. They had been much more into cruises than I will ever be but I thought we had a good concept - a cruise mostly on the eastern side of the Adriatic with a smallish ship (relatively speaking) that could reach a number of smaller ports probably. Realistically it was the only way I was likely to see that part of the world and I could sort of see the point.

    That sounds like a great cruise. And I agree, smaller ships are great.
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