Cruise ships might be an ideal retirement destination, although some things can be tricky
Cruise ships might be an ideal retirement destination, although some things such as healthcare can be tricky. They offer, well, everything. From nightly entertainment to exercise equipment to Internet, most ships are equipped with anything you need to make a place home — including the travel, often a big priority for younger retirees. While no group tracks the number of people choosing this new form of retirement, a handful of cruise lines confirmed that they are seeing more near-year-round cruisers with some frequency.
Lap of luxury
For some, retirement at sea involves taking over a small stateroom on a standard cruise ship with repeated sailings and itineraries. For others, it means purchasing a “residence” (a high-end apartment at sea) on a luxury ship like The World, which is managed by Florida-based ROW Management Limited, or the yet-to-launch Southern California-based Utopia, both offering exotic destinations and expeditions.
“[These are] people who love to travel, don’t want to be responsible for any type of home maintenance, want to ditch the car, are healthy, and are comfortable living with an ever-changing ‘neighbourhood’,” says Jan Cullinane, Florida-based author of The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life.
The ship’s board, which is made up of residents, votes two to three years in advance on what stops to make. In 2017, it will go to the Antarctica’s Ross Sea for the first time, and there will also be stops in Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, and Cuba.
Most residents choose to sail for a few months at a time, using the ship as a second home, and average length of ownership is five to six years. Prospective buyers can apply to rent one of the units before making the plunge to buy one. The average age on board is 58, according to Meredew.
Even larger than The World is the Utopia, which is not expected to start sailing for another three-and-a-half years. When it does sail, it will boast units ranging in size from 1,450 to 6,200 square feet, with mega-prices to match: $4m to $35m. The company expects most of its owners to use the ship as a second home, not a fulltime residence.
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Los Angeles-based luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises announced last year that it would build three new ships, each with 48 residences for sale in addition to regular cabins.