# Would you consider living on a cruise ship for three years? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** vacation-travel\ **Created:** [March 3, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649 "2023-03-03T13:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/261 "2023-09-02T17:11:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Don’t these ships need, like, periodic maintenance without thousands of people on board to get in the way? I assume that they can work around the permanent residents, moving them to other cabins as necessary. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/262 "2023-09-02T17:18:04Z")
Once in a great while you need to take the whole ship down for major overhaul & updating. But not too often; more like decadally than annually. Given the luxo nature of cruising in general, that might be the time to sell the ship to a scruffier outfit and get a whole new ship. Assuming of course this whole idea turns out to be profitable and they’re still in business 10 years later. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/263 "2023-09-02T18:06:35Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > A one week cruise is in addition to your regular carbon spend, but a three year cruise is a replacement for your regular carbon spend. True, but the reduction in carbon spend even for a short cruise is a lot higher if the entire household goes - more likely for older cruisers. You’d also have to compare the carbon use versus passengers flying or driving between destinations. Trains would definitely win. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/264 "2023-09-02T19:13:46Z")
Perhaps. Depending on where you live and how much driving you do, HVAC may be the majority of your direct carbon spend. And in places whete air conditioning is necessary for humidity and mold control the HVAC will be set to the same temp whether you’re home or gone for 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/265 "2023-09-03T03:09:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And in places whete air conditioning is necessary for humidity and mold control the HVAC will be set to the same temp whether you’re home or gone for 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months. That same temperature would be much higher than you could stand if you stayed home. Around here we never keep our a/c on if we are away for any amount of time, long or short, but I live in a civilized climate. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/266 "2023-09-03T03:13:18Z")
You have the good fortune (or is it good sense?) to live in a “civilized” climate. I grew up in one where nobody had a need for AC and one could go a year without using the heat if one was diligent about it. Now, not so much. A failed HVAC around here is an emergency 9 months a year because a catastrophic mold explosion is only 2 or 3 days away without it. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/267 "2023-09-03T03:47:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Perhaps. Depending on where you live and how much driving you do, HVAC may be the majority of your direct carbon spend. > > And in places whete air conditioning is necessary for humidity and mold control the HVAC will be set to the same temp whether you’re home or gone for 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months. and depending if your patrons are from Qatar (194,000 kwh/y) or from Somalia (217 kwh/y) as per this source: [Energy use per person - Our World in Data](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-use?tab=table) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/268 "2023-09-03T03:48:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Now, not so much. A failed HVAC around here is an emergency 9 months a year because a catastrophic mold explosion is only 2 or 3 days away without it. hijack: how was mold kept at bay in years of yore??? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/269 "2023-09-03T04:20:40Z")
It wasn’t. At least, I’ve stayed in some gross, mildewy hotels in Florida. There’s a reason people started moving to the south after ac was invented. It was a much less pleasant place to live before that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/270 "2023-09-03T12:09:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Don’t these ships need, like, periodic maintenance without thousands of people on board to get in the way? I was talking with a guy who was painting during a cruise. He told me it takes a year for his crew to paint the rails and certain walls, at which point it’s time to start painting them again. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/271 "2023-09-03T14:10:16Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > and depending if your patrons are from Qatar (194,000 kwh/y) or from Somalia (217 kwh/y) as per this source: [Energy use per person - Our World in Data](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-use?tab=table) That number for Qatar is bogus. It’s probably based on the number of Qataris, who are less than 10% of the population who resides there; the rest are imported temporary laborers and expats. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/272 "2023-09-03T14:36:13Z")
any hard facts to confirm your “bogus” comment? … or were you shooting from the hip? bear in mind: there are quite a lot of countries from that neck of the wood in the top spaces … halls with artificial snow (for your skiing-pleasure) in full dessert - and building 100mile long tall walls of buildings (and AC them) and air-condition football stadiums might do this to your statistics - ohh … and dont get me started on building artificial islands — and that seems par-for-the-course in that geographic area. > **[Energy cost for Qatar World Cup enough to power London for six months](https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1706047/qatar-world-cup-energy-climate-change-carbon-emissions)** > > The eye-watering figure comes amid widepsread criticism of the economic impact of Qatar's World Cup. Canada is at roughly 100,000 kwh/y (30% below Qatar), the US sits just below 80.000 … so for the world having a couple of Qataris/Saudis on a cruise ship might be a net-win … unless they leave the AC on for 3 years, to not come home to a muggy place … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/273 "2023-09-03T14:13:52Z")
I’ve never been on a cruise ship, and those reports of people trapped on one didn’t make it sound any more appealing. [Miray Cruises is signing people up](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/three-year-cruise-never-ends/index.html) for a three-year trip, and may extend it indefinitely. Does this sound appealing-either the “shorter” trip, or life at sea on a cruise ship? Share your ship stories, if you’d like! And yes, the Gilligan song is in my head… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/274 "2023-09-03T14:51:18Z")
Three weeks trapped on a cruise ship would be awful. Three years sounds like living hell. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/275 "2023-09-03T15:52:14Z")
I’ve been on a number of cruises, and by the end of a week I am ready to go home. There is very little to do on a ship at sea besides eat and gamble, and gaining weight and losing money isn’t something I’m trying to do these days. There are “around the world cruises” that take a year, and if I could manage my eating and get plenty of exercise, it might be interesting to see the world that way, assuming I could live in a tiny cabin for that amount of time without jumping overboard. Three years in unimaginable unless you’re avoiding your friends and family and want to drop out from society. I like living in a small town and would quickly get bored living on a ship for that amount of time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/276 "2023-09-03T15:53:32Z")
Not only ‘no’, but ‘hell no’, as we said in the military. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/277 "2023-09-03T15:55:34Z")
Did you notice the [existing thread on the same topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/)? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/278 "2023-09-03T16:04:09Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > There is very little to do on a ship at sea besides eat and gamble I think that depends on which ship and what it is you want to do. I wouldn’t want to spend three years on a continuous cruse because I would miss my friends and family - but I do like that I see some sort of live entertainment every night when I’m on a cruise, whether it’s a Broadway show, live music or a stand-up comedian. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/279 "2023-09-03T16:06:18Z")
_Sigh_, no, I did not. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649/280 "2023-09-03T16:47:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I think that depends on which ship and what it is you want to do. You are correct. Many people love to read, play cards, watch a movie, or go to a live show, but I would lose interest in those things fairly quickly. I like trivia nights, and hanging out in the hot tub with my wife, but I would miss long walks with my dog in the woods. It depends on what you enjoy doing in your spare time… which you will have a lot of when not in port. The fact that they even offer such a cruise implies there is some demand for that kind of cruising… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-consider-living-on-a-cruise-ship-for-three-years/980649.md?page=15)