964 Cruise Care

When we took an Alaskan Cruise in 2001, I was surprised to meet people who’d taken 15-20 cruises, and older people who appeared to be living on cruise ships, booking one cruise after another. Then in the February 2005 Harper’s Index, I noticed this comparison between living out your life on a luxury cruise ship or in an assisted living facility.

Average total cost for a U.S. eighty-year-old to live out the rest of his or her days on a luxury cruise ship: $230,497 [Lee Lindquist, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago)]

Average cost to live them out in an assisted-living facility: $228,075 [Lee Lindquist, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago)]

These figures are examined at Snopes Urban Legends, and found to not be too far off. Apparently there was an earlier version comparing nursing homes and living in the Holiday Inn. It also sites the Lindquist figures, although doesn’t say where they are published.

"Cruise ships offer such a range of amenities — such as three meals a day, often with escorts to meals if needed, room service, entertainment, accessible halls and cabins, housekeeping and laundry services and physicians on board — that they could actually be considered a floating assisted-living facility," says Lindquist. “

The author of the Snopes article says there are other, non-financial considerations, such as proximity to children and grandchildren, loss of friendships and volunteer activities. However, many retirees don’t live close to their children, and seeing them involves travel anyway. Many have already lost their best friends and burned out on volunteer activities. Perhaps the solution would be to have several travel together in lieu of relocating in an assisted-care facility.