There’s a rumor that’s been making the rounds for
years – have you heard it? If you spend your retirement on a cruise ship, or as
a permanent resident of the Holiday Inn, it’ll be cheaper and provide better
service than your average senior living or assisted living facility.
That’s what the rumors say, anyway. We’ve done some research of our own, looked
at the hard numbers about assisted living costs, and here’s what we’ve found.
Learn more.
A Cruise Ship Retirement
It’s important to note that not all types of senior
housing are created equal. Life on a cruise ship might compare favorably
to expensive dull nursing homes portrayed in popular media, but the reality is
quite different, and in fact, luxury senior housing and retirement communities
offer many of the same perks that a cruises ships do: entertainment, chances to
socialize, and customized senior nutrition, to name just a few. And they aren’t
as expensive as you might think.
Nursing homes and memory care, which provide skilled nursing
on a 24-hour basis, are the pricier options. But for seniors who don’t need
constant care, retirement communities and independent living are far less
expensive – and yes, they generally cost less than a hotel or a cruise:
sometimes as little as $1,500 a month.
Impractical Realities
The logistics of living permanently on a cruise ship seem
more than a little impractical. First of all, you can’t bring more much more
than a suit case worth of possessions on a cruise. You can forget about packing
your favorite sitting chair or a painting. That issue aside, it’s not as if one
could just move on to a cruise ship and live happily ever after. Passengers
must disembark when the cruise ends, and make arrangements while the ship is at
port.
Keeping these temporary arrangements month after month would be more than
burdensome.
Another consideration is that seniors who move to assisted
living facilities and nursing homes require help with activities of daily
living such as bathing, toileting, dressing, and grooming. Yes, you may be able
to get breakfast in bed on a cruise ship or hotel, but the staff are is not prepared
or able to help provide hands-on personal care.
Health Risks for Seniors on Cruise Ships
Furthermore, many seniors have a high-risk of falling
because of mobility problems. A cruise ship certainly wouldn’t be the best
living environment such a person, as even very large ships can list violently
in bad weather.
Cost is not the only factor in making a decision about Retirement
Pension Plan for seniors, particularly for those who might want to
stay close to family and friends, or who might have care needs requiring
skilled nursing. Cecil Adams, author of the newspaper column “The Straight Dope,”
points out that “the elderly are going to have a lot more medical issues than
cruise ships are set up to handle.” And while there is such a thing as a hotel
doctor, they generally don’t live on-site, but rather make potentially costly
house calls.
Not only that, hotel doctors and on-board medical personnel
likely won’t include geriatric specialists. Cecil points out: “If an
emergency arises that they’re not ready for and you can’t wait till the ship
reaches the next port, your ambulance ride is almost certainly going to be an
airlift, which can be expensive and logistically problematic.” In light of how
drastic contagious illnesses can be in a confined environment like a cruise
ship – an emergency might be more of likelihood than we care to consider.
Even if it’s not an emergency, health care concerns are
still important. If you take another look at Joy Bricker’s story, you’ll note
that she had to leave her hotel room once her health began to decline. And
hotels and cruise ships aren’t equipped to deal with ongoing dementia care, nor
do they offer increasing levels of care, as do facilities that specialize in
housing seniors.
[Source: http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/2013-2-2-cruise-ship-retirement-assisted-living/]
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