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Living like a sultan at sea (Greene met man living full-time on cruise-ships at rock bottom rates)
CNN ^ | July 30, 2013 | Bob Greene, CNN Contributor

Posted on 12/01/2013 2:23:10 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

The cruise-line industry is a rough business.

Every time a passenger ship leaves port with a guest cabin unoccupied, that's money the cruise operators are never going to see.

Last week Micky Arison, the longtime chief executive of Carnival Corp., announced that he will be stepping down; revenues at the world's largest cruise-ship line have been falling. Arison will remain as chairman of the firm, but a new CEO will step in.

Cruise companies have always had to contend with uncertainties in the economy, which sometimes make travelers cautious about planning leisure trips, and Carnival has faced widespread unpleasant publicity in recent years. The Costa Concordia, owned by a subsidiary of the corporation, ran aground and partially sank off the coast of Italy in 2012, killing 32 people.

---snip---

The way he explained it to us, he had parted company with the corporation that employed him; we got the impression that this was not voluntary on his part. He had been given some severance.

So, he told us, he had figured out a way, for a relatively small amount of money, to live, for a while, like a king. Like a sultan at sea.

He was now, he said, residing virtually full-time on cruise ships -- eating gourmet meals, lounging in the sun, listening to music and going to stage shows at night, sleeping in freshly made-up beds with the oceans of the world lulling him to sleep.

How could he do this?

Each week, he explained, he'd get on his computer and do searches for cheap, last-minute cruise deals. There are websites that specialize in exactly that....

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Society; Travel
KEYWORDS: cruises; cruiseships; lastminute; retirement; travel
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Is the food good? Yes. Carnival lines sell best for young partiers, and the food is merely very good. Royal Caribbean and others that cater to more mature markets have excellent fool. Best place for a room? That depends; you really do not spend much time in the room other than to sleep. So, I would say take 2 cruises with a small inside room rather than one cruise with a balcony. There is always a medical facility on board, but you will be paying cash for services in most cases.
41 posted on 12/01/2013 6:46:28 AM PST by jdsteel (Give me freedom, not more government.)
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To: BwanaNdege

Vacations to Go is a good site but there are others. You can usually get the same deals at any large travel site.

Also, you don’t necessarily have to wait till the last minute to get good deals. We booked a cruise last July and watched the cruise line website for price adjustments. Price went down by about 20% for about a week and then back up. Called the cruise line during the drop and they adjusted my fare to meet the drop. Booked early and got the cabin I wanted and got the ‘sale’ price too. Just have to watch.

Also, most cruise lines make sure the travel agencies do not discount their fares but the travel agencies can give you On Board Credits (OBC), money you can spend while on board for booze, etc. Booked a cruise through Costco and got a $450 OBC which I would not have gotten had I booked direct with the line.

Need to watch closely though. Sometimes the cruise lines or travel agencies will offer various deals (maybe OBC or free booze) but will increase the price to cover the deal. A few weeks later the deal will go away and the price will drop too.

One final thing. Some cruise lines will offer military discounts (princess has a standing offer of $100 OBC on almost all cruises). Some are more restrictive. Some offer OBC if you own the cruise line stock.

You need to research to get the best deals.


42 posted on 12/01/2013 6:46:46 AM PST by DugwayDuke
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

You were there to work. And you didn’t pay big bucks for all those sailings. :)


43 posted on 12/01/2013 6:46:50 AM PST by fatnotlazy
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To: fatnotlazy

We were guests.
First, courtesy of the US Army.
Then as a supplier to Interlake.


44 posted on 12/01/2013 6:50:28 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks ("Say Not the Struggle Naught Availeth.")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I went once and although I enjoyed it I would not go again.


45 posted on 12/01/2013 7:00:58 AM PST by wintertime
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To: wita
The real danger of a cruise, is the amount of food you could consume in any given day.

I had to wear "survival pants"--elastic waistbands.
No amount of walking took care of the MOUNTAIN of food consumed. Now, older, I know that cruises aren't worth the expanding waistbands. It's an activity for the young and VERY active or the old and not-very-hungry-anymore.

46 posted on 12/01/2013 7:08:15 AM PST by cloudmountain
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To: Delta 21
Lots of folks here shoulda just joined the Navy or Coast Guard.

No kidding. And these people are paying to go?

---------------------------------------------------------
The DuPont spent 1974 and 1975 in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia for an overhaul.
Cmdr. C.D. Collis assumed command in Autumn 1975. In January 1976, the DuPont relocated to D&S piers, Norfolk Naval Base, and commenced sea trials in the Virginia Capes.
From 1976 to 1979, the DuPont made the following cruises and port visits:
Carribean Refresher Training – February 1976 to April 1976


Midshipman Training cruises – June 1976 to August 1976
Middle East cruise – September 1976 to April 1977
Brazil Joint Operations - July 1977 to September 1977
North Atlantic, Baltic Cruise – October 1977 to December 1977
UNITAS 1978 – July 1978 to January 1979
The DuPont departed for a short cruise to Nova Scotia in February 1979 prior to returning to the yards in Hoboken, NJ for another overhaul.
---------------------------------------------------------
47 posted on 12/01/2013 7:08:49 AM PST by meadsjn
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To: grania
“I'd recommend people try cruising without any preconceived notions. People like or dislike it for their own reasons.”

***

That is good advice for most travel. My wise mother once said, you should keep an open mind when traveling. She was right.

And if you are traveling overseas, you have to remember that other countries don't do things or have the same comforts as we do. You have to be flexible and willing to adapt.

Carnival has received the worst PR for a spate of mishaps in recent years, but the truth is that every cruise line has had some misfortune at one time or another. These bad events just didn't make it to the media. However, cruising is safe — it's not the Titanic. In fact, as a result of the Titanic, various measures were put into place to assure passenger safety. And all ships are equipped with computers and what not to spot any trouble (eg. a hurricane) so it can be avoided.

I recommend for those who have never cruised before to take a short cruise first — say, a 3 day cruise from Florida to the Bahamas and back. That was my first cruise. It gave me an idea of what cruising was like and what to expect on any future cruises I might take. But if I found out I didn't like cruising, I was stuck on the ship for only 3 days instead of 7, 10 or more days

48 posted on 12/01/2013 7:08:51 AM PST by fatnotlazy
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’ve been around some pretty wealthy people. The thing I noticed, which is opposite of how this guy lives, is that they don’t have to do any planing. They decide to go on a vacation the day before they go, and they decide where they’re going as they drive off. Hawaii, skiing, tour of Europe, wherever, the staff takes care of it. And there are always a couple cute college girls along to help with the kids.

This guy’s life is nothing.


49 posted on 12/01/2013 7:19:58 AM PST by Born to Conserve
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Here is a tip for any cruise, but especially Alaska.

At every port, rent a car.

The drive up to Whitehorse, Yukon was very memorable.

You betcha.


50 posted on 12/01/2013 7:29:10 AM PST by not2be4gotten.com
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To: pepsionice

bump vacation/cruise info


51 posted on 12/01/2013 7:35:29 AM PST by Taffini ( Mr. Pippen and Mr. Waffles do not approve and neither do I)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I know of three couples that are retired that “live” on cruise ships for cheaper than any apartment you would live in.


52 posted on 12/01/2013 7:38:42 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

For instance, there is a 14 day cruise on Dec 6 from Savona, Italy to Guadeloupe on the Costa Mediterranea $392.

That is $28 a day.

That is less than I pay for rent.


53 posted on 12/01/2013 7:41:29 AM PST by not2be4gotten.com
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To: not2be4gotten.com

Bookmark for bucket list.


54 posted on 12/01/2013 8:17:48 AM PST by mcshot ("What's right is right" and we're being sunk by wrong .)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Bea Muller, an 86-year-old retiree, has been a permanent resident on Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 since 5 January 2000. Her husband had passed away while the couple was on a world cruise eleven months earlier, and rather than opt for a retirement home, Mrs. Muller sold her house and possessions and booked herself onto the ship.

A cruise ship is her retirement home

55 posted on 12/01/2013 9:01:31 AM PST by Vince Ferrer
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
I did four cruises: three on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (now defunct) and Royal Caribbean. The difference was night and day. The Windjammers island hopped among the various Caribbean islands and you'd go to the out of the way spots the big ships could not. The maximum passengers was 126 and crew was 45. Everything was laid back and shoes were optional (some folks only wore them on shore excursions).

The big ship experience was on the Sovereign of the Seas (now scrapped). We had about 1,800 passengers and everything was luxurious. We hated the sit down dinners. Somehow, the Royal Caribbean line had assigned people from our geographic location to this one table and we found them not a lot of fun. At the time, Royal Caribbean did not have the informal buffet option. One of the high points of the cruise was the cigar bar in the ship's library after the evening meal where you could enjoy a premium cigar and a good adult beverage.

To those not familiar about cruising, the cruise fee includes room, maid service, entertainment, and food. It doesn't include drinks — and they command premium prices for even the bar liquor. No, you cannot bring your own.

Windjammer used to have a more civilized way of handling drinks. Prices were around $2 to $4 per drink and you carried a paper “doubloon”. As you drank, the bartender punched the appropriate number of holes. When the number of punches were done, you bought a new “doubloon”. My fondest memory was my first cruise on the S/V Polynesia. As we were getting underway for the week, the ship's 26-foot motor whaleboat pulled up to the gangway filled to the brim with cases of Heineken’s beer!

There is a definite need for the small, informal cruising represented by the Windjammer Cruises. The problem with the big ships is they completely change the island experience into a mega mall kind of shopping. On my last Windjammer (1997) we pulled into Philippsburg, St. Maarten. There were three cruise ships anchored there getting ready to disgorge about 4,500 tourists on the town. We beat the rush and picked up our ‘round the island tour minibus. When we got back to town, we couldn't get within eight blocks of the pier due to the milling hordes. I commented on this to our driver. He said to me: “This is nothing. On Thursday we're expecting five cruise ships.” That summarizes the damage done to these islands by the cruise industry.

56 posted on 12/01/2013 10:10:23 AM PST by MasterGunner01
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I told Mrs. JimRed that I’d take her on a cruise- when they let me DRIVE!


57 posted on 12/01/2013 10:30:00 AM PST by JimRed (Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed & water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS NOW & FOREVER!)
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To: wita

“The real danger of a cruise, is the amount of food you could consume in any given day.”

***

On my first cruise, the director said that cruisers come aboard as passengers and leave as cargo. So very true. First 7 day cruise I took, I had gained 6 pounds by the time I came home. As I became more experienced, I also became more selective about what, when and how much I ate.

The last cruise I was on had cut out the midnight and late buffets so popular at one time. Plus most ships have fitness rooms, aerobic classes and the like, but if you’re not a gym rat, shore excursions burn up some calories with all that walking. You can also find some healthy dining options. The trick is that you have to take responsibility, make the right decisions


58 posted on 12/01/2013 10:38:40 AM PST by fatnotlazy
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To: Vince Ferrer

The World: Residences at sea (Live-on cruise ship)
http://aboardtheworld.com/reside

6 Reasons to Consider Retirement on a Cruise Ship
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/On-Retirement/2010/11/05/6-reasons-to-consider-retirement-on-a-cruise-ship


59 posted on 12/01/2013 2:04:38 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet ("Of the 4 wars in my lifetime none came about because the US was too strong." Reagan)
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To: DugwayDuke

But it felt good


60 posted on 12/01/2013 2:23:38 PM PST by morphing libertarian
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