12 Reasons You Shouldn't Retire on a Cruise Ship
After enjoying a vacation cruise, the idea of retiring on a cruise ship may be tantalizing. Perhaps the fun could continue for years, and it might even be less expensive than a nursing home. But retirement on a ship isn't easy to pull off and certainly isn't the right choice for everyone. Here are 12 reality checks to consider if you are entertaining thoughts of calling a cruise ship "home" during your retirement.
[Read: All Aboard: Retire on a Ship.]
1. Cost comparisons between cruise ships and nursing homes are flawed. Cruise ships do not provide the level of care required for assisted living or nursing homes. You should compare the cost of living on a cruise ship to the cost of living independently, whether that means your current home, a home in a 55+ active retirement community or independent living in a continuing care retirement community before additional expenses for assisted care or nursing care kick in.
2. The prices you see on cruise ship websites are only a portion of what you actually pay. On most cruise ships, you pay extra for alcoholic beverages and sodas. Internet service, which is a lifeline for most permanent cruisers to keep in touch with their land-based families and friends, is very expensive. Cell phone roaming charges will mount quickly. Most cruise ships charge for laundry service. Guided tours at ports are expensive, although you probably won't avail yourself of those after your first couple visits to a port.
The prices that cruise lines quote are often per-person for double occupancy. If you're single, there's a hefty surcharge. Don't count on a discount for continuous patronage or a senior discount. Since many cruise customers are seniors, it's not advantageous for cruise lines to offer senior discounts except for sailings that are undersold.
3. You can only do this if you're healthy. Medical care on cruise ships is expensive, and it is designed to deal with minor illnesses or injuries, not on-going care. While there is a doctor on board, he or she is not there to provide continuing care. If you incur a serious illness or injury, you will be hospitalized in the next port. If you require helicopter evacuation, that's extremely expensive. If you contract a contagious illness, you'll be quarantined in your room or kicked off the ship. While you are sailing around the globe it may be difficult to receive refills of medications you take regularly.
4. Your health insurance may not cover cruise ship medical care. Check with your carrier, but you might need to purchase travel insurance, which is an additional expense.
[Read: 6 Tips for Booking a Cruise for Less Money.]
5. It's difficult to develop long-term friendships. You will probably meet nice people on board during every cruise, but you won't see them again after the end of that cruise. Everyone you meet will be a short-term acquaintance. The ship's staff will be nice to you, but that's what they are paid to do.
6. Cruise ship rooms are small. Standard rooms are usually about 170 square feet. Bathrooms are compact, and storage space is limited. You will be able to take very few personal possessions other than clothes with you. If you're going to live on a cruise ship, you may prefer a larger room with a balcony, but of course those cost more.
7. You'll need to plan for interruptions in service. Your ship may book charters, in which the entire ship is leased for a private tour. During these charter sailings, you'll need to find somewhere else to stay. If the charter does not begin and end in the same port, you'll need to travel to another city to rejoin your ship -- or switch to a different ship.
8. After the first few times you visit a port, it will lose its appeal. There are a few people who have lived on a cruise ship long-term. They claim that they rarely go ashore, because they have already been to most ports several times. They enjoy the quiet times on the ship when everybody else goes ashore.
9. If you stay on the same ship, you will probably travel in the same parts of the world. Ships move to different parts of the world as the seasons change, but otherwise they usually repeat the same itineraries with only minor variations. However, a few cruise lines offer world cruises that take three to six months.
10. Most cruise ships have dress codes. Most ships have formal dinners on some nights, and they expect passengers to dress nicely for dinner and evening activities on the other nights. You should consider how getting dressed up every evening would fit in with your desired retirement lifestyle.
11. You'll probably gain weight. Cruise ship food is delicious, but it's not diet food. It's readily available and plentiful throughout the ship. Once the novelty of cruising has worn off and you settle into a daily routine, you may be willing to forego the filet mignon in favor of a salad and skip dessert. But that takes will power, and if there is food in front of you, you may be tempted to eat it whether you're hungry or not.
[Read: The 5 Best Places to Retire on the Beach in 2016.]
12. You'll probably get tired of the entertainment. Cruise ship entertainers are talented, but you will soon grow tired of the same Broadway show tune revues, comedian's jokes and piano bar crooner's songs. If you rely upon the casino or bingo games for entertainment, those activities will add to the cost of your cruise ship experience.
If you're still serious about full-time cruise living after processing all these considerations, the good news is that it's easy to try it out before you fully commit. It's not a long-term commitment like purchasing a home or signing an annual lease. You can try different cruise lines until you find one that suits you, and you can stop as soon as you get tired of it.
Dave Hughes is the founder of Retire Fabulously.
