Posted on 02/14/2021 9:51:54 AM PST by sodpoodle
Cruise prices fluctuate wildly based on the time of year, the destination, and what type of room you're booking. But it's possible to find rooms for less than $100 per day per person. If you're living on a cruise ship full-time, $3,000 per month can seem expensive. Keep in mind, though, that you'll also be saving money in other areas.
For example, most food and drinks are included in your cruise fare. So unless you're splurging on specialty drinks or fancy restaurants, you won't need to budget much for food. You also won't need to worry about other costs you're used to paying at home, such as gas and other commuting costs. If you dive into the cruise living lifestyle headfirst and sell your home and car, you won't even have a mortgage or car payments to take care of. Even if you still want to have a primary address, you can downsize your home just for a place to crash between cruises (and even rent it out while you're away at sea). As a bonus, the extra money you'd save by selling or downsizing and/or renting it out can go toward your retirement fund.
The biggest benefit, though, is essentially treating your retirement like one long vacation. While retirement is already a permanent vacation of sorts, with cruise ship living, you no longer need to worry about housecleaning, yard work, or other chores that you'd still be stuck with at home. And as you age and those things become more difficult, spending the majority of your time on a cruise ship is likely more appealing than moving into an assisted living facility.
Cons: A potentially expensive retirement lifestyle Although cruise ship living has its financial perks, that doesn't mean it's always more cost effective than retiring on dry land.
One of the biggest considerations you'll need to make involves healthcare. Medicare doesn't cover healthcare expenses outside the U.S., although there are some exceptions if you need medical care aboard a ship. For example, you may be covered by Medicare if you incur medically necessary expenses while in territorial waters adjacent to the U.S. However, if you're more than six hours away from the nearest U.S. port, Medicare won't cover you.
You do have other options, such as a Medigap Plan or travel insurance, but it's important to do your research and talk to an insurance provider to make sure you're choosing the right plan for your situation. If you go without insurance, you could face some hefty medical bills in the event of an illness or accident. This is especially important as you age, because although they may be more affordable than nursing homes or assisted living facilities, cruise ships aren't equipped to provide specialized care.
You'll also need to iron out a few legal and financial details before you go, such as where your Social Security checks should be sent and how you'll handle your taxes, which will likely require the help of a financial planner. Plus, retiring at sea requires a lot of careful planning. You very likely won't find a cruise that will let you live on board 365 days a year, so you'll instead need to book many shorter-term cruises back-to-back. Expect to spend a lot of time researching the best deals and finding cruises that align with your schedule, then double-checking that all the dates line up -- the last thing you want is to mix up your arrival or departure days and end up stranded in a foreign country.
Retiring at sea isn't for everyone, but for the adventure seeker who is looking for an out-of-the-box retirement, it just may be the ideal way to live. Just make sure you do your research ahead of time and plan accordingly so that you can enjoy your retirement to the fullest.
Live in 5,000 sq.ft. log home my sons & I built ourselves 20 years ago, and another 4k sq.ft. one next door I built for our oldest son who sold it to us 7 years ago that we rent out.
Just the oaks & hickories that die around us keep us with more wood than we can use too - problem is finding time to fell the trees, cut, haul, split & stack them. I go through about 3 cords a season.....if it’s below 40, we’re heating with wood.
Large 3 car garage with full shop and lift too.....you name it, we work on it.
Come visit anytime.....
Property management makes sense in this instance
osama bin laden supposedly retired at sea...
Many are doing something similar ... living in hotels instead of nursing homes or assisted living.
We k ow at least 2 people that have do e this!!!
‘A Nice Place to Visit’ with Larry Bliden and Sabastian Cabot, and he was a thief, not a pool shark. One of the better Zone episodes. It’s on tonight as a matter of fact 23:00 central on MeTV.
We have a small horse farm in Appalachia. Closest town is 400 people. 100% white and 99% conservative. We have a 1.5 acre pond and closest neighbor is 1/2 mile away. This is where we will die.
How's your cruise going?
“The piano duel...”
That and the scene of him playing the piano in rough seas. The piano careening around the floor like a drunk just before he passes out.
I’m on the West Coast. Ventura, Ca. The Channel Islands is our getaway.
Sounds like a slice of heaven to me.
I was on a cruise for five days, I was very uncomfortable being on a ship in the middle of the ocean that didn’t have any guns or missiles on board.
It is that friend. A gift from God above. I had not a penny when we got our first 15 acres in 1994, nor had I a penny when we started building our log home in 1999.
Just had the land and good credit - got a construction loan. I’d been out of work for a year. Told wife, if I can’t find a job when we finish the house, we’ll sell it on the 15 acres and that will be our income. If the good Lord brings me a job, we’ll get a mortgage and live in it.
The job came, and that was 22 years ago.
God is full of mercy and grace.....especially to sinners like me.........
Going on fifteen years since I retired. Currently enjoying winter in a snug harbor in Southeast Alaska.
Just imagine!
Instead of your cosy harbor you could be paying $6000 a month for both of you to hang out at the Lido deck bar with rich widows and elderly lotharios!
Hey Alice, look at that flock of deer out the front window.
Yes!
Retired on 125 acre cattle ranch in county that voted 83% for trump. Tractors, Polaris ranger, cows, barns, creek, woods, pasture, edge of mountains..... who the heck wants to live on a cruise ship?
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Did the same thing 11 years ago, never looked back and never regretted it a single moment. We’re on 87 acres at just under 3,000 ft elevation in western Maryland. Harsh winters, especially this year, but that’s an inconvenience easily dealt with while anticipating the enjoyment of low summer humidity and temperatures that usually drop into the low 60s when the sun goes down. Cruises are nice once or twice a year but on-board routines can soon become repetitive and thus boring. Been there, done that, so take my word for it.
I don’t like even a week on a cruise ship. :)
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I agree, and I think most cruisers would also. But the port calls to places never before visited are the main attraction. Over the last few years, however, our travel preferences have changed to coach tours run by Globus and several its European competitors, and road trips “on the fly” meaning not on a rigid itinerary and without advance hotel reservations.
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