Retiring a Cruise Ship for Retirees

Scuttlebutt
61

Good comments thanks, originally a 3 year charter the idea was for the ship to sail on. The I thought keep it until it was uneconomic and it would then sail for scrap. But you are right if 'beached" then propulsion equipment would be redundant. It would still have sufficient freeboard to withstand storm surge and king tides while access would be easier.

62

I was working in $US. Thanks for the links, not pretty vessels but idea for workman accommodation during the development construction. I had originally looked at this type of Floatel.

63

maybe?

you do not have a single person here telling you otherwise yet you continue on ad nauseumā€¦get it through your head that this is not a viable idea and move on. Your village chief will need a different idea of what to do with his land to make moneyā€¦this one of yours is NO FUCKING GOOD!

64

well Iā€™d say you are getting probably most of the challenges put before you, no doubt some you hadnā€™t thought of. I read thru all this, Itā€™s a hell of a project. Most endeavors are a matter of will and persistence and good luck to you with this.
You might contact the mercy ships to get a idea of what they spend money on? (her engineers are free!)

65

@Davescott Iā€™ve just got off a project started up by folks with expert knowledge in finance who believed ships and crews to be much simpler than they in fact are.

I would please advise you to heed the advice and questions of the mariners here on the forum.

There doesnā€™t seem to be much real point in keeping the vessel fully operational to get underway. Lock her in and put a lot of the shipā€™s systems to bed. Then you have all of the disadvantages of being on a boat with none of the advantages other than perhaps having a pre-fab building. If you insist on keeping her floating and operational then you have to contend with some of the following issues (and more and more and more)

  • A full time crew? Youā€™ll have to have quite a few people with very specific licenses, training, and certificates to move the ship the rare times you want to. Are they performing hotel keeping jobs the rest of the time? Do you have them on call to rush out to fiji at great expense? What nationality are they? Are you paying for all the equipment, inspections, and replacements for expired gear that are necessary to keep the ship ready to go at all times?
  • Evacuation? As others have said cruise ships are designed with exits located in all directions (the sea) and the passengers are dispersed around the entire perimeter of the vessel to escape in boats. Pushing your entire crew and guests out one gangway, especially when a high percentage of them are frail, is a recipe for disaster.
  • Fiji is hot. Boats are metal. If you lose your A/C system even for a short while your interior will heat up in no time at all and seniors are extremely vulnerable to heat stroke.
  • Parts? I would imagine youā€™ll have to import almost everything for repairs onboard in to Fiji.
  • Accessibility. This is such a huge one for what you want to do that Iā€™m just going to stop here. Wheelchairs passing in corridors? forget it. Fitting a stretcher to take an incapacitated senior from their stateroom down to the medical center in the tiny elevators in a hurry? Forget it unless your ship was designed with this specifically in mind

Thereā€™s just so much. Maybe you can make it work. Iā€™m just an arm chair planner here but be prepared to shell out a LOT of cash especially if you want elegant solutions instead of jury-rigged ones. Iā€™d hate to see another project nose dive when it could work great without the novelty of being on a boat.

"retains all the elements which make cruising attractive"
Which elements are still there? If youā€™re not moving might as well make one of these https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Cruise_Resort_%26_Yacht

2 Likes
66

Thanks for your input, as with all the other contributions, makes a lot of
sense.
First thing I learned, never throw your favorite hat in the ring unless you
are prepared to see it torn to sheds.
So where to from here? The Clan would like a marina, that is easy,
sheltered deep water access, no problem.
As for parking a cruise ship there, I am going to recommend - not to do
it.
Why? Because a lot of people with a lot of common sense and hard earned
knowledge have pointed out a few of the difficulties.

67

Good luck!

1 Like