I’d think that long before three years were up there’d be a lot of people looking for something to do; and a significant number of them looking for that sort of something.
Of course, if it turns out they’ve got a partner who wasn’t OK with it after all, the opportunity to get away from the situation might be urgent but would be lacking.
Thirteen square feet is about the size of the bunk on a WWII destroyer. 5-1/2 feet long, 2-1/2 feet wide.
That would certainly be an “efficiency” accomodation. And so minimal as to be almost virtual.
One challenge with doing this cruise is, what do I do with my house and possessions? Okay, I’d rent out the house but I’d probably sell off out give away pretty much all of my possessions.
Natural light is a need. I’d likely upgrade to a balcony suite.
I really like the idea, and it’s only for three years. And you get to visit so many different countries, although of course they’d be very brief visits.
Yeah, I’d seriously consider doing something like this. Except that I doubt my wife would, and I wouldn’t do it without her. She’s my best friend.
I’m not sure how often they repeat, but the acts switch between ships. We saw a musical in the Baltic Sea that we had seen a few years before in the Mediterranean.
Round the world cruises would have more people staying on for long times, and so would likely change more than cruises that repeat their itinerary over and over and where they are unlikely to get repeat customers.
Cooping everyone up for three years will make for a fascinating sociology study. Like JG Ballard’s High-Rise at sea. They should definitely make a documentary.
Heck, that’s just a little bit less than the dimensions of an average coffin. So, yeah, I’d love to live in that for 3 years. Sign me up! 
Well, no. I’m severely claustrophobic, so while the thought of living in even an actual standard-size stateroom/all expenses paid sounds enticing, just thinking about it gives me the willies. I won’t even take an elevator for a 15-second trip anymore. I need my space, man (not to be confused with spaceman).
Huh? Of course you can. Yeah, your room might not face East, but the windows on your bedroom on land might not either. I’m probably missing something here…
As an aside, some folks expressed suspicion earlier on this deal, but I don’t think there’s anything tricky or nefarious to it. Cruise ships never sell out, as far as I know (it’s not like an airplane where overbooking is relatively easy to solve), so this just seems like a way to get some money out of a room they would otherwise get no money on.
Is there any way at all to find out what these excursions might cost?
Probably have everyone checked for communicable diseases before being allowed on board. Not just STIs, just imagine someone like this lady aboard. That could put a damper on activities.
I hope so. It would be interesting to see how many repeat acts you would get over three years.
Especially if they are sending you somewhere on a bus for the day. Are you also paying separate for food and drink? Seems it could easily double your daily costs.
Well, mrAru and I both have enjoyed the cruises we had previously gone on, and while I wouldn’t mind, I would have issues, I have quarterly blood draws, half-annually flexible sigmoidosocpies/colonoscopies. half annually CT scans, and regular chats with my oncologist, and a whole bunch of assorted drugs that keep my sorry ass alive.
Looking at the offerings, the cheapest outside cabin [it is porthole not balcony] is the minimal one acceptable. I would prefer a balcony cabin [handicap accessible] but as long as there is the chance of natural light I would be relatively OK.
We have cruised and avoided noro, assiduous hand washing, sanitizer and water filter bottles for our random beverage needs so I wouldn’t avoid a cruise because someone might be ill, neither of us would be bothered by the need to sanitize and wear masks. Just medical issues that we currently have being the problem =)
Like many such threads as this, there are tons of people here who scream Hell No! with lists of sundry dramatic reasons. Then there is the minority who have actually been on plenty of cruises, although not to such a duration, and offer a much milder, more mundane and balanced view on the subject.
I have been on many cruises, but only up to a week or so at a stretch. I feel three years would be doable, but amount to a chore towards the end, and is not something I would ever pay for. For a small compensation instead, I’d seriously consider.
Upon (just a little more) reflection: 3 years, I will pass.
Now, 6 months or so…I could see myself doing that.
mmm
Agreed. I would probably survive, I might enjoy some parts, but not at that price.
To those worried about inside cabins with no window, here’s a brief look at the “private” spaces aboard an Ohio-class submarine. These are large strategic subs that remain submerged for months at a time. The video doesn’t show the balcony cabins for some reason.
Have you considered that there’s probably a very high correlation between people who have never been on cruises and people who don’t enjoy such things?
The idea of three years of something you don’t enjoy is when “no” becomes an emphatic “hell no, no way!”. I can see that some might consider this the adventure of a lifetime, but it’s not for me. I say give me a good book and leave me in peace.
“Dramatic” sounds pretty pejorative to me. And yet, there are a whole lot of people who do not enjoy much of anything cruise ships offer, according to this very thread.
Personally, I find it extremely wearing to be confined to built spaces, forced to interact with strangers, and have eating and watching stuff to be my only sources of distraction. The whole package fills me a sense of panicked claustrophobia. Since my pleasures are hiking, interacting with animals and plants, engaging in rather large artistic projects, and being alone or with a few select friends, how would anything whatsoever on a cruise be attractive to me? This isn’t “drama” it’s just reality for me.
For a different segment of the population, built spaces, entertainments, music, meeting people, and eating out, constitute much of the pleasures of life. But not for me.
Some of the emphatic quality of my statements comes from a lifetime of being surrounded by an extroverted family and an extroverted culture, which assume that if you don’t go for constant external stimulations and entertainments and social interactions there is something pathetically defective about you. Extraverts’ dreams are introverts’ nightmares.
It was specified that this is an interior cabin. So it has no natural light.
I might very well enjoy a week or three on a cruise, but not if i can’t afford a cabin with a window.
National security.
Yeah, 13 square feet would be truly impossible. That would be only a bit more than a 2 foot x 6 foot bed itself.
That reflects much of what I’ve also said upthread. The only “cruises” I’ve been on have been on small private boats with a few good friends where the quiet beauty of northern waters is the main point of the experience, along with the intimate company of close friends. To me a cruise ship is something like a cross between a floating apartment building and a gigantic social club.
Speaking of introverts, out of idle curiosity I once did a “career suitability” test. The job for which I was deemed LEAST suitable, absolutely dead last in the career list, was “entertainment director on a cruise ship”!
Yes, aside from my issues with cruise ships in general, I would find interior cabins in the low price ranges downright claustrophobic. Some of those outside suites with balconies look pretty nice, but those are not affordable to ordinary mortals – they’re $100,000 or more per person per year. One of those suites for two people for the entire trip would be a base cost of up to $660,000.
It’s been established that that was a misreading of “130 square feet”. But that is still something like a 10x13 windowless cell. For a total cited cabin cost of $180,000 for two people for the three year trip.
I may be too optimistic but I think I could handle living like that for 3 years without issue - if I’m given books, Wi-Fi, paper to write on - it’s not a whole lot different than having lived in a small apartment (albeit larger than that) for 9 years by myself, which I did.
Especially since I could still spend many hours gazing at the vast expanse of the sea, walk around all times. I only need to spend 9 hours a day or so in that tiny cabin, for sleeping, showering, etc.