You can, for as low as $30,000. I would have guessed it would be much more than that. Note that this is for a tiny, interior stateroom.
You visit 375 ports, 135 countries, and all seven continents. There are facilities on board for working remotely if you like. There is a 24-hour hospital with free medical visits. Also, potential tax benefits from working as an international resident aboard the ship. Family and friends can visit the ship for free. All meals and beverages (alcohol at dinner) included.
We set sail from Istanbul on November 1 (Christmas will be in Brazil and New Year in Argentina).
That works out to $83 a day per person. Including meals? Sounds very enticing.
Medical care would be extremely limited, though. This might present a problem for us. My wife has had two organ transplant surgeries and needs continuous medical care and followups, and then I recently had emergency open heart surgery.
But, hey, what a way to go! I’m partly in on this, not fully in.
Passengers must sign up for all three years, though the company is launching a matchmaking scheme, where passengers will be allowed to “share” a cabin with someone else, dipping in and out of the itinerary. For instance, two couples could buy one cabin for the entire trip, and then divide up the travel between them.
In three years … The company is promising to tick off 375 ports around the world, visiting 135 countries and all seven continents. The ship will cover more than 130,000 miles over the three years, taking in iconic sights from Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue and India’s Taj Mahal, to Mexico’s Chichen Itza, the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China. It even slots in trips to 103 “tropical islands.” Of those 375 ports, 208 will be overnight stops, giving you extra time in the destination.
I would absolutely consider living on a cruise ship for three years - but I can’t see how this ship can provide a “cruise ship” experience and “free” medical visits for only $30K a year. I live in NY and once figured out that since I can book last minute once my husband retires ,we could probably cruise for under $1000 a week each, including everything ( drink package, service charges, tips, internet). But that’s last minute, when it’s charge me $500 in cruise fare for the week or sail with that cabin empty, not booking months or years in advance.
But in looking at the page that lists what’s included I see " Medical Consultations" - I wonder what the charges will be if after the consultation it’s determined that I need additional treatment/tests/prescriptions. What exactly is " Free Access to all Dining Venues" - it seems that if all food/meals was included, it would say just that. I wonder if you will have to get your own meals at overnight stops?
Note that for $30,000 (per person, per year), you get a thirteen-square-foot cabin. "Cabins run the gamut from 13 square feet “Virtual Inside” staterooms – which start at $29,999 per person per year, coming out at $179,994 for the three-year trip for two people – to Balcony Suites, which are double the size and go up to $109,999 per person. The cheapest outdoor cabin costs $36,999 per person.’
Just think how intimately you could get to know your fellow passengers while in quarantine for infectious disease outbreak(s). And that doesn’t count the lesser plagues like norovirus.
The prospect of living on a cruise ship for three days, never mind three years is nausea-inducing in itself.
I suspect a too-good-to-be-true offer like this will implode at some point, leaving behind stranded passengers and money that will never be refunded.
Better yet: how about a revived Conspira-Seas cruise? Three years might be pushing it, though.
It’s not my kind of thing, but if it were - the problem I have with it is the idea of committing to something for 3 years without knowing exactly what you’re going to get, and with no easy out. What if you discover in the first week that the food isn’t great? What if services just start to deteriorate after 6 months?
The whole idea of paying up front for 3 years worth of services and facilities, with no choice or leverage if things deteriorate? No way.
I thought this was one of those pure hypothetical posts when I clicked on it, but it’s apparently a real thing, eh? I think I’d be up for it. Mrs. solost would have to quit her job, but I work remotely, so as long as the wi-fi is good I could even still work.
I’ve watched YouTube videos where cruise ship grunt workers give tours of their tiny cabins, and they actually don’t look too bad. And heck, at $10K per year per person with food, lodging and medical included as a starting price, we could afford to upgrade to something a bit more roomy, though a balcony cabin would probably get pricey.