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Meet the people who want to spend the rest of their lives on cruise ships

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Meet the people who want to spend the rest of their lives on cruise ships

Editor’s Notice — Month-to-month Ticket is a brand new CNN Journey collection that spotlights a number of the most fascinating matters within the journey world. In April, we’re setting course for the various world of cruises. Whether or not you are searching for journey inspiration or insider information, Month-to-month Ticket will take you there.

(CNN) — Angelyn Burk has been in love with cruising since she boarded a megaship for the primary time again in 1992 to sail within the Caribbean.

Now that the 53-year-old is retired from her accounting job, she and her husband, Richard, plan to sail off into the sundown for good — by retiring aboard a cruise ship.

The Burks, who final lived within the Seattle space however have been location impartial since Might 2021, have performed the mathematics for what they will afford to spend for every day dwelling throughout their retirement years.

Angelyn says the quantity involves $100 per day or much less for the 2 of them to cowl their dwelling bills (with a buffer to spend as much as $135 per day, if wanted).

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“At the moment, this 12 months, we’ve got secured 86 cruise days with a mean all-in value of $89/day for each of us,” she says through e mail. “Which incorporates room, meals, leisure, transportation, gratuity, port charges and taxes.”

“That is properly inside our retirement funds,” she says, including that taking frequent cruises has led to the couple being supplied deep reductions on future sailings by loyalty packages.

The majority of the 86 days the Burks have booked this 12 months are on Holland America, with roughly every week on a Carnival ship. And among the many many locations the couple will probably be visiting are Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Alaska, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam.

“When planning out cruises, I attempt to keep on the identical ship so long as doable, so long as it’s cost-effective,” says Angelyn, noting the couple plans to spend most of their retirement years dwelling on cruise ships and never on land.

As for some great benefits of shifting aboard a floating house for his or her retirement, she says, these are apparent.

“The place else can you may have your resort take you to totally different nations whereas stress-free by the pool or sleeping in a cushty mattress?”

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Angelyn Burk is a giant fan of stress-free on a ship whereas touring between locations.

Angelyn Burk

An attractive retirement or work-from-anywhere plan

Contemplating retiring on a cruise ship? You are not alone.

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Deciding to retire or work aboard a cruise ship is uncommon total, however not new.

Earlier than the pandemic, which interrupted some longer-term cruise ship stays, Crystal Cruises (which declared chapter in early 2022) and Royal Caribbean Group had no less than two passengers who lived aboard their ships for years on finish and who grew to become celebrities in cruising circles.

One in every of them, Mario Salcedo, continues to be working whereas cruising. Nicknamed Tremendous Mario, Salcedo has lived on Royal Caribbean cruise ships for greater than twenty years. CNN Journey tried to achieve him by Royal Caribbean, however the line says their prime cruiser would not do media interviews anymore.

“There is a sense of house for all of our friends, particularly those who spend a majority of the 12 months crusing on our ships,” Mark Tamis, a Royal Caribbean Worldwide senior vice chairman, says in an announcement to CNN Journey. “For instance, considered one of my favourite friends, Tremendous Mario has an ‘workplace’ on the highest deck of each ship he sails on and VOOM streaming web service in order that he can work from wherever on this planet.”

One other well-known long-term cruiser, “Mama” Lee Wachtstetter, spent years aboard Crystal Serenity and wrote a memoir, “I Could also be Homeless however You Ought to See my Yacht.” It detailed a few of her cruising shenanigans, together with a rogue wave within the Mediterranean and the time she was kidnapped by a tuk-tuk driver in Thailand.

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In March 2017, when cruising web site Cruise Critic requested the query “Would you retire at sea?” in a ballot on its web site, 59% of respondents mentioned they might like to retire at sea or no less than strive it for a few years (one other 27% of respondents answered, “Perhaps, if the worth was proper”).

“It is one thing that is actually aspirational,” says Colleen McDaniel, Cruise Critic’s editor-in-chief. “We hear from our cruisers on a regular basis that retiring onboard is one thing they’d be keen on doing.”

McDaniel factors to the comfort issue of cruising — “attending to see the world from your private home the place you may have all of your meals taken care of, nice service and issues like laundry onboard” — as considered one of its principal appeals for folks contemplating retiring onboard.

Having a built-in group additionally appeals to folks seeking to transfer onto cruise ships long run. Crew members can develop into like household for a lot of long-term passengers, says McDaniel.

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A possible value profit

And the affordability of cruising in contrast with retired life on land is one other promoting level, she says.

“Assisted dwelling is just not an inexpensive proposition. It prices hundreds and hundreds of {dollars} a month, relying on the place you are staying,” McDaniel says. “So cruising is doubtlessly a much more cost-effective solution to retire.”

Malcolm Myers, 88, who as soon as spent 10 straight months aboard Seven Seas Voyager, a Regent Seven Seas ship, says that whereas the luxurious line is just not cheap, the common value is corresponding to what he pays in his high-end senior dwelling group in Stuart, Florida.

“If I’ve to maneuver to a senior (extra complete care) facility in my group, the price of dwelling on the ship would undoubtedly be higher,” Myers says in an e mail to CNN. “And I might have quite a lot of leisure, lectures and eating places and medical care at my disposal with out extra value.”

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Cruise Critic’s McDaniel notes that whereas cruise strains have a medical facility onboard, it isn’t the identical as being subsequent door to a hospital.

“There’s solely a lot they will deal with onboard,” she says, so it is essential to have evacuation insurance coverage and land-based choices for healthcare do you have to want medical care whereas cruising.

Ralph Bias, right, and his husband, Mark Zilbert, stopped in Luxor, Egypt, during a 120-day world cruise they went on aboard the Seabourn Sojourn in 2012.

Ralph Bias, proper, and his husband, Mark Zilbert, stopped in Luxor, Egypt, throughout a 120-day world cruise they went on aboard the Seabourn Sojourn in 2012.

Superb Cruises Inc.

Curiosity in world cruises is booming

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McDaniel factors to world cruises and shorter Grand Voyages (normally round 30 to 40 days lengthy) supplied by many cruise strains as a solution to “dip your toes” into longer-term cruising for a greater understanding if retirement on a cruise ship is one thing which may attraction to you.

And he or she says she thinks there is a “actual hyperlink between folks prepared to spend 100-plus nights on a ship and individuals who would possibly see retiring on one as an actual comfort.”

Bookings for world cruises are booming, says Ralph Bias, president of Miami Seashore-based Superb Cruises, a luxurious cruise reserving company that noticed its income and bookings double from 2020 to 2021, and practically triple in 2022.

“2023 is poised to be our greatest 12 months, with World Cruises and Grand Voyages main the way in which and accounting for about 50% of the income,” Bias says.

Oceania Cruises lately reported a single-day reserving document for its world wide in 180 days voyage, which offered out inside half-hour of opening to reservations.

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Due to excessive demand, Viking Cruises is providing two parallel world cruises for the primary time in 2023/2024. The 138-day itineraries have 57 ports of name in 28 nations, with departures from Fort Lauderdale in December 2023 aboard the Viking Sky and Viking Neptune.

Even if you happen to’re not reserving a world cruise, it is doable to e-book back-to-back cruises that do not repeat ports, says Bias.

“Silverseas, Seabourn, Regent — all of those luxurious cruise strains plan their schedules so nearly all of their itineraries do not repeat,” Bias says. “So you’ll be able to say you wish to go on the Seabourn Ovation and be on it for 3 months and by no means repeat a port.”

“I’ve shoppers who’re booked for months and months at a time,” he says.

Suzanne Lankes, pictured aboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas in March, has purchased a Storylines cruise ship residence.

Suzanne Lankes, pictured aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas in March, has bought a Storylines cruise ship residence.

Suzanne Lankes

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An idea tailor-made for residents

A brand new residential cruise ship provides choices to the marketplace for dwelling aboard.

Suzanne Lankes is a retiree from Monterey Bay, California, who has already dipped her toes into cruising on greater than 55 sailings world wide. The thought of retiring on a cruise ship first got here to her when she noticed The World, a luxurious floating megaship carrying 165 residences, moored within the Caribbean throughout a port of name.

However when she referred to as to inquire about pricing to purchase a residence aboard The World, it was out of her funds.

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“They needed me to show I had $8 million within the financial institution or they would not even speak to me,” she says. “So I used to be disillusioned.”

However when Lankes heard a few new and extra inexpensive possibility setting sail in 2024, she grew to become one of many first folks to grab up a residence onboard MV Narrative — a ship from a brand new “residential group at sea” startup referred to as Storylines.

The Storylines "residential community at sea" will have 524 one- to four-bedroom units.

The Storylines “residential group at sea” can have 524 one- to four-bedroom models.

Storylines

The ship can have 524 residences and facilities that embody 20 eating and bar venues, an onboard training program for households with children, a movie show, hydroponic backyard and in depth wellness and health choices.

One- to four-bedroom residences on the ship are at the moment promoting for between $500,000 and $8 million for 12- to 24-year leases. And they’re anticipated to promote out earlier than the tip of 2022, in accordance with Storylines’ co-founder Alister Punton.

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Lankes purchased her one-bedroom residence with a balcony on the ship in 2019 and plans to pay the annual charges — which vary from $65,000 to $200,000 primarily based on unit measurement and double occupancy — utilizing the cash she earns renting out her California house.

Marty Finver, pictured in Bali in 2014, has purchased a one-bedroom residence aboard Storylines' MV Narrative.

Marty Finver, pictured in Bali in 2014, has bought a one-bedroom residence aboard Storylines’ MV Narrative.

Marty Finver

Transferring past back-to-back cruises

Marty Finver from Lake Price, Florida, is one other serial cruiser who purchased an inside one-bedroom residence aboard the MV Narrative and is trying ahead to much less time spent reserving cruises and extra time crusing and seeing new locations.

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“Again-to-back cruising, whereas extraordinarily pleasurable up to now, could be a ache within the neck at instances,” says Finver, who has spent greater than 3,750 days at sea since 2004. “Regardless of how cautious you’re, there’ll at all times be gaps between cruises and this entails additional prices of lodges, flights and different inconveniences.”

The MV Narrative’s itinerary “follows the solar,” says Storylines’ co-founder Shannon Lee, with the ship scheduled to circumnavigate the globe each three years with stops in every geographic area for about three months (and a mean of two to a few days in every port of name).

Residents can fly out and in to fulfill the ship, spending as a lot time onboard as they like, and might even have friends be part of them.

Relating to the locations her future floating house will go, Lankes says she’s not choosy.

“I simply love the truth that I will be going wherever and I’ve group on board,” she says. “I figured my residence could be type of like my bed room and the entire ship is my home.”

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Which makes the world her yard.

Prime picture: Angelyn and Richard Burk (Courtesy Angelyn Burk)

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Keir Starmer seeks to build British ‘bridge’ between Donald Trump and Europe

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Keir Starmer seeks to build British ‘bridge’ between Donald Trump and Europe

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Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to act as “a bridge” between Washington and Europe against a backdrop of deepening transatlantic tensions over Ukraine, defence, trade and free speech.

The UK’s prime minister will attend a summit hosted by France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss Europe’s role in ending the war in Ukraine, amid signs US President Donald Trump is sidelining the continent.

Starmer’s allies say Britain could put boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a European effort to secure the peace. The Paris meeting is expected to discuss a possible deployment of a “reassurance force” with troops stationed behind, but not on, a future ceasefire line.

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Starmer is then expected to travel to Washington in the last week of February in an attempt to persuade Trump to fully involve European nations in Ukraine talks and to try to head off US tariffs.

The prime minister said this was “a once in a generation moment for our national security when we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia”.

He added: “The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the enemies we face.”

Downing Street said it expected there to be another meeting of European leaders, including Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after Starmer returned from his talks with Trump.

Britain — like other European countries — is under fierce pressure from Trump to increase defence spending against a backdrop of sluggish growth and strained public services.

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Starmer has committed to setting out “a pathway” to raise UK defence spending from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent but has so far not said when that target would be met.

Starmer’s allies insisted that defence spending would not rise above the target of 2.5 per cent of GDP set out in Labour’s manifesto, creating growing tensions with defence chiefs who want more.

“There definitely won’t be an announcement before the Trump visit,” said one ally of the prime minister, referring to the timetable for reaching 2.5 per cent. “We have got to complete the strategic defence review first.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants to hold spending at 2.3 per cent for as long as possible, as her fiscal plans come under severe strain. Starmer, who makes the final decision, is under pressure from the White House and defence chiefs to move to 2.5 per cent quickly.

Reeves’ fiscal rule requires the current budget to be in surplus by 2029, but her £9.9bn of “headroom” against that rule has already been blown away by gloomy economic forecasts. More spending cuts or tax rises are likely to be needed to plug the gap.

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If Britain increased defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2029 — expected to be an election year — it would force Reeves to find an additional £5bn-£6bn at a time when other public services are already tightly squeezed.

Defence chiefs told Starmer on Friday that they needed 2.5 per cent of GDP to be spent now to avoid immediate cuts, according to people briefed on the discussions.

They then want to raise that level to 2.65 per cent — £10bn a year more than at present — a figure which has been rejected as unaffordable by both Starmer and Reeves.

The idea of a British “bridge” between Washington and Europe fell apart after Brexit, with US presidents often preferring to talk to Berlin or Paris along with EU leaders in Brussels.

But Starmer’s allies believe that Trump holds a positive view of Britain, which could be leveraged into political influence, even if the vice-president JD Vance last week criticised the UK’s approach to free speech.

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Jonathan Reynolds, business and trade secretary, told the BBC on Sunday that Britain’s balanced trade relationship and light touch regulation of artificial intelligence could work to the UK’s advantage.

“There’s definitely a view towards Europe and a different view towards us in the UK,” Reynolds said. “We’ve got a chance to play a constructive role.” On trade, he said the US saw Britain “in a different light”.

Lord Peter Mandelson, UK ambassador to Washington, said recently that Britain should make a virtue of being “not Europe”. It remains to be seen whether this is wishful thinking on the part of Starmer, given Trump’s stated plan to levy tariffs across the board and Vance’s criticism of Britain last week.

Vance told the Munich Security Conference last week that “basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular” were under threat, criticising the prosecution of an anti-abortion protester.

Even if Starmer does persuade Trump to give Britain special treatment — for example on tariffs — that would complicate the prime minister’s parallel attempt to “reset” relations with the EU, including removing trade barriers.

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Trump said on Friday that Starmer had requested a meeting in Washington and that the two leaders had “a lot of good things going on”. He said the meeting would take place “very soon”, adding: “I think he wants to come next week or the week after.”

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US State Secretary: Next few weeks and days will determine whether Putin’s interest in peace is serious

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US State Secretary: Next few weeks and days will determine whether Putin’s interest in peace is serious

Marco Rubio. Stock photo: Getty Images

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that the next few weeks and days will determine whether Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is genuinely interested in peace in Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Rubio in an interview with CBS News

Quote: “I know President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week, and in it, Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the President expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty, and that was an enduring peace, not that we’re going to have another invasion in three or four years. That’s a good call. 

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Now, obviously it has to be followed up by action, so the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace.” 

Details: Rubio was asked whether he actually believes that Vladimir Putin is willing to negotiate and make concessions to end the war.

He said this is the first step in the process, but “we have a long ways to go”.

Quote: “Again, one call doesn’t make it, one meeting wouldn’t make it. There’s a lot of work to be done. But you know, even the longest journey begins with the first step. So we’ll see what happens from here, hopefully good things.” 

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More details: Rubio mentioned that he would also be in Saudi Arabia, where Steve Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy to the Middle East, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are heading on Sunday, 16 February for talks with Russian officials.

The upcoming negotiations in Saudi Arabia will be some of the first high-level, in-person talks between Russian and American officials in many years. They will precede a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

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Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

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Protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms across the US on Saturday to demonstrate against the drastic cuts Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, is imposing on the federal government.

Organisers cited 37 protests across the country as part of an effort co-ordinated through the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakover.

Musk’s car company is emerging as a target for political outrage in the US and Europe in response to the billionaire’s outsized influence in the White House.

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Through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Musk has orchestrated the dismissal of tens of thousands of civil servants, and gained access to sensitive US Treasury payments. He has also voiced his support for the German far-right and called for the centre-left government of Sir Keir Starmer in the UK to be thrown out.

What began with Tesla owners slapping bumper stickers on their cars saying “I bought this before Elon went crazy” has grown to activists projecting an image of Musk making a gesture many have likened to a Nazi salute on to Tesla’s factory in Berlin.

Protesters rally at a Tesla showroom in New York on Saturday. © Bloomberg

The UK campaign group Led by Donkeys joined with Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty in January to project the image, part of a longer montage of Musk’s recent political statements. The group said it was produced in response to the Tesla chief executive’s endorsement of German far-right political party, the AfD.

Local news outlets have reported on arson and attempted arson at Tesla showrooms in Oregon and Colorado. Earlier this month a Tesla showroom in The Hague was defaced with graffiti that included swastikas and anti-fascist slogans.

Dutch police confirmed to the FT that they were in contact with Tesla and the investigation was continuing, but no arrests had yet been made.

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Tesla’s stock, which climbed after the presidential election, fell 6 per cent on Tuesday to $328.50. It rebounded to close the week at $355.84 but is still down 12 per cent since the start of the year.

“The worry of the Street is that Musk dedicating so much time — even more than we expected — to Doge takes away from his time at Tesla,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

“In addition, Musk’s Doge-related actions and more powerful alliance with Trump clearly could alienate some consumers to move away from the Tesla brand.”

About 50 to 100 protesters turned out in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, carrying signs saying, “Dethrone Musk” and “If Tesla survives, your country dies”.

Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, was one of them. Since Musk’s power is not derived from election to public office, he said, boycotting and divesting from Tesla is the only tool available to curb his agenda.

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He argued that Tesla was overvalued and that its core business of making and selling cars was deteriorating. Significant losses could force investors to sell, triggering a drop in the share price and forcing Musk to sell a portion of his shares to meet a margin call.

“Every Tesla sale that you prevent, every dollar not spent servicing a Tesla, not charging at the Supercharger — these further degrade the business,” Niedermeyer said.

“It’s not easy, it’s not guaranteed, but we do have the opportunity to wipe out a huge amount of Elon Musk’s wealth.”

In Chicago, protesters carried a banner saying “Stop buying Nazi cars”.

City resident Lisa Pereira said she came to the demonstration because “you have to do something”. She said she was disturbed by the administration’s attempts to crush diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, its aggressive immigration enforcement, and the power wielded by Musk.

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“Everything is a little off the rails,” she said. “So I decided I had to show up. I had to be in cahoots with my soul.”

Chris White said he attended on Saturday because he fears “we’re living through a fascist coup”.

“My kids are trans,” he said. “I’m getting told they don’t exist. I don’t know if their healthcare will exist.”

Though one man yelled from a truck, “Elon’s my hero!” most passers-by in the heavily Democratic city expressed support.

“I’d rather buy a Rivian,” said one, referring to the electric-truck maker whose showroom was a block away from the protest.

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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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