Cruising Realities: 15 Reasons Retiring on a Cruise Ship is a Terrible Idea
Retirees looking for affordable new places to live are getting creative with their choices. Instead of moving to a retirement community like The Villages in Florida or a small town with a low cost of living, some are opting to retire on a cruise ship.
Traveling around the world to different ports of call sounds like a fantastic way to spend retirement years, but all is not what it seems. There can be numerous drawbacks to retiring at sea. Before setting sail, here are some reasons why retiring on a cruise ship is a bad idea.
1. Lack of Control
When traveling on a cruise ship, guests have no control over the ship’s travel itinerary. There could be ports of call of no interest to a passenger, or the time spent at a desired destination is too short.
Cruise ship travelers are at the mercy of the schedule and must make the best of it. If you don’t like being stuck at a particular port for a given time, retiring on a cruise ship may not be for you.
2. It’s Expensive
Several factors affect the cost of retiring on a cruise ship, such as how long you plan to travel, the destination, and the type of cabin you plan to book.
Expect to pay around $130 to $260 daily for a cruise trip. Discounts are available if you’re a frequent cruise traveler or plan to travel long-term.
3. Health Insurance Coverage
Retirees in poor health might want to pass on cruise ship retirement because they don’t have the facilities to care for chronically ill people or provide long-term medical care.
Medicare only covers medically necessary healthcare when a cruise ship is at or within six hours of a U.S. port, and the doctor is permitted to perform medical services on the cruise ship. Private health insurance may be required.
4. Absence From Family and Friends
Traveling worldwide as part of an extended retirement trip is a lifetime opportunity, but that means leaving behind loved ones for several months or years. When you retire and live in a brick-and-mortar home, people can visit you and vice versa.
Living on a cruise ship removes the ability to visit someone or receive visitors. It also means missing out on seeing major life events in person. That’s a huge sacrifice and should be carefully considered.
5. Fitness Challenges
Cruise ships are notorious for having decadent food and beverages available 24/7. There’s no escaping it. The temptation to eat until your heart desires is understandable.
If changes in eating habits aren’t balanced by increased fitness activities, your health and weight will likely be negatively affected. Practice healthy eating as much as possible and splurge only on occasion.
6. Chronic Illness
Generally speaking, cruise ships have medical facilities capable of providing routine and emergency medical care. They’re not equipped to be assisted living or long-term care facilities.
Taking months or years-long cruises sounds like a dream when you’re healthy, but what happens if there’s a serious enough decline in health that the cruise ship medical staff isn’t equipped to handle?
7. Jobs and Gig Work
It’s not unusual for retirees to take on another part-time, full-time, or gig job. Being away from land makes that more than a bit challenging.
Remote jobs are available, but there’s a lot of competition for them. So it could be hard to land one. Plus, you’d have to always ensure a strong Wi-Fi signal to perform work duties.
8. Boredom
For all of the activities cruise liners have to offer their guests, there are only so many times you can do the same activities before boredom sets in. That’s even with the stops to different ports.
Retiring on dry land allows you to explore different places and enjoy new experiences at your schedule and pace. That’s not necessarily the case on a cruise ship.
9. Social Isolation
Despite being around many people on a cruise line, there’s always the risk of social isolation. At home, retirees have their families and established groups of friends.
On a cruise ship, getting to know people well enough to develop deep friendships with them could be a challenge. Not having extended family around can also lead to feeling isolated.
10. Seeing the Same People
Whether the cruise liner is a small or large ship, there’s a high probability of running into the same retirees day after day. Some of these interactions are pleasant, and others aren’t.
There aren’t many places to escape or hide on a cruise ship except your cabin; you might meet a variety of shorter-term cruise guests and citizens of the ports visited. Otherwise, you’re in the same circle of travelers.
11. Disease Outbreaks
Living close to others means communicable illnesses travel quickly among ship passengers. Imagine what it was like to be on a cruise ship during the early stages of COVID-19.
Norovirus, also called the stomach flu, is a common illness that quickly spreads through cruise ship communities. The illness can be fatal to the very young, the elderly, and the immune-compromised, so extra caution must be taken to avoid getting sick.
12. Bedbugs
You may be confident you don’t have a bedbug infestation at home that you inadvertently transmit throughout a cruise ship. Can you say the same for your fellow passengers?
It’s kind of a gross thing to think about, but it’s a legitimate concern. It’s also a risk that’s taken when embarking on a cruise and when new passengers come on board.
13. Small Living Quarters
One of the biggest adjustments to living on a cruise ship is getting used to living in much smaller accommodations than a house or an apartment.
Living in smaller cruise ship quarters, about the size of one or two rooms in your house, means paring down your belongings to what you need.
14. Add-Ons
Just because cruise ship passengers pay a daily charge to sail the seas doesn’t mean it’s all-inclusive. There could be extras that the cruise liner charges in addition to the basics.
Even the cheapest cruises have extra fees for drinks and premium meals, additional costs when exploring at port destinations, some onboard activities, taxes, and even Wi-Fi.
15. Homesickness
Going on a one—or two-week vacation away from home is enough to cause homesickness. That feeling is magnifiedwhen traveling for months or even years.
Laptops, smartphones, and tablets make it easy to contact friends and loved ones at home, but it’s not the same as seeing them in person.
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