Not being allowed to use surge-protectors on cruise liner mains supplies

[tim...]

One doesn't have "an other half's card"

tim

[spuorgelgoog]

There is a big difference between 'sheltered housing' (which is basically hotel facilities with someone to call an ambulance) and 'nursing home' where a patient requires daily qualified nursing intervention.

Cruise ships can easily cater for the former:

Cruise ships carry between 3,500 and 5,000 crew members and guests. Smaller ships have one doctor and three nurses. Larger ships have two doctors (one senior, one junior) and four nurses. The nurses are often very experienced, highly skilled and many have either A&E or ITU experience. The infirmary typically consists of consultation rooms and a three-bed ward with facilities including a ventilator, monitoring facilities, CPAP and BiPAP machines, X-ray machines, blood processing equipment and a defibrillator. There are also minor surgery facilities and plastering equipment.

You will usually see 10 to 20 patients per day, mostly with minor problems. The top five most common issues seen (based on my informal poll of doctors I?ve talked to on ships) are; MI, stroke, fractures, lacerations and GI issues (not infectious). That doctor-patient ratio and facilities compare very favourably with most nursing homes, NHS GP surgeries or even small "cottage" hospitals. Of course, cruise ship healthcare isn't paid for by the NHS and gets added to your cabin bill, which will be a concern for many.

Owain

[F]

This One does.

[F]

That may be on the kind of cruise you go on. Not ours.

[Marland]

tim... <

It doesn?t have to be an address you live at full time.

This was probably the most well known person who did it at one time.

At least one ship was built for the market although it is fair to say the project did get scaled down from the huge first vessel that was planned and now also takes people for shorter periods. Calls into UK Ports occasionally .

GH

[NY]

On our Caribbean cruise the other Christmas we had two medical emergencies that were publicised on the PA.

One was in mid Atlantic going from Corunna to Barbados: the captain came over the PA the instant that the carol service had finished, asking for any blood donors of a specific type who had their donor card as proof of that type; he later announced that a donor had been found and had donated blood. We saw a patient being taken off by ambulance as we docked in Barbados.

The other was on our way home a few hours after we'd left the Azores. I noticed that the GPS track that I was recording showed a sudden change of course towards Portugal and dramatic increase in speed. A little while later the captain came over the PA to announce that they needed to do a medivac: the ship was racing towards land until it was in range of a helicopter. The helicopter transfer took place in the middle of the night, but the captain explained the next morning that the helicopter was operating at the extreme limit of its range, having refuelled from a tanker that had been driven to the closest point on land to the ship (they were really going for maximum range) with a fixed wing plane circling above to provide ship-helicopter-shore comms. We never heard whether the patient survived.

[F]

You know nothing about the cruises we go on. Stop embarrassing yourself.

[Fredxx]

When was the last time you went on a cruise.

No, he's digging a hole for you, but you're too dumb to notice.

[Marland]

A day trip on a Murray River Paddle steamer doesn?t equip you with that knowledge.

All done to get away from your boring company by any chance. No wonder you spend your life on Usenet in groups where you are a foreigner.

Please insert predictable prewritten std attempt to insult below this line.

GH

[DerbyBorn]

"NY" [e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Ticknall is lovely!

[tim...]

you snipped the bit where the POP said "nursing home"

tim

[tim...]

but if you live at it part time you still have most of the annual fixed costs that you are tying to avoid by not having a home

Though I suppose you could buy a tiny flat in sheltered housing sold at a distress price. During the "recession" I saw one in Clacton available at 5 grand. I know Clacton has a rep for being run-down, but I don't think its dire (no idea really)

about once a year it seems

Interesting concept, but the marketing blurb's a bit light on the detail

Are the rooms available for sale or rent (I saw some mention of sale) if sale, what's the resale opportunities if rental what's the minimum term

Are there facilities in the room to cook for yourself from own ingredients. I doubt I'm the only person who doesn't want 3 times full restaurant meals EVERY day. I'll accept that stocking up on raw materials will have to be done during shore trips and you might run out before the next. And if you do want restaurant meals, what are the options.

What are the laundry arrangements. Paying rip-off "hotel" item-by-item laundry rates are all very well for emergency use in the middle of a holiday, but can't realistically form part of an annual lifestyle. Not unless you are a premiere league footballer (or manager). (ditto mini-bar)

What medical facilities are available? Trivial little things like "how do I get my repeat prescription dispensed" are going to be of interest to many. Asking your UK GP for two years supply up front is probably not going to be met with success.

[F]

No need to cook for yourself, and there's no need for 'full restaurant meals every day'. There's a buffet option for every meal with a huge range of food to choose from. You can make each meal as different and as light or as heavy as you want.

On the cruise line we usually use laundry is free once you have accumulated 200 days through actual travel and money you spend on board.

Medical facilities are pretty high standard and, depending on the cruise you choose, you can be visiting ports with medical facilities that will sort most problems. Prescriptions on repeat wouldn't be a problem. Just order them on line and get a friend or relative to send them out to you.

[F]

On *all* cruises!

No hole being dug here and you've just embarrassed yourself even more.

You need to get a life/hobby rather than spending your time on Usenet setting yourself up to be laughed at when you start puerile arguments.

Cue the cut and paste paper bag comment...

[NY]

All the laundries (multiple washing machines and separate driers) on the P&O cruises I've been on have been free for everyone. Best to do your washing during popular entertainments or when a lot of people have gone to dinner, when the machines are quiet.

We often get on the ship with a load of washing to do, because we usually have a couple of days holiday in the New Forest before going to Southampton.

There is a paid-for laundry service (which may be free once you've been on enough cruises) which we sometimes use for washing (or at least pressing) my white dress shirt for formal nights.

One little tip: if clothes are creased after unpacking them from suitcase, even if you've rolled rather than folded them to avoid creases, hang them over the bath and turn the shower on to create lots of steam: the creases drop out.

[tim...]

There's never a need to cook for yourself if you are prepared to pay restaurant prices for every meal. I can do it now, sitting in my (paid for) house. I don't because I can't afford it.

Restaurants tend to have minimum sized starting prices/portions well above the cost of a make-it-yourself snack

at a fixed price or just what what you have taken?

what's the price for a brekky of a bowl of cornflakes, milk and a coffee. About 50p if you make it yourself. or A fixed 9.99 breakfast buffee charge?

As I said, it's one thing paying restaurant price 3 times a day for a 2 week holiday, but not as an annual lifestyle

and what about the first 200 days?

to where?

The next port

what happens if they arrive the day after you have left

I bet there's no "next day delivery" from the UK to Manila

and what happens if the drugs that you are posting are "banned" in the country you are in?

tim

[tim...]

Oh is this normal on cruises?

Not that I ever considered laundry a reason for avoiding a one-off cruise. There are enough reasons already.

tim

[F]

Meals on a *cruise* are included in the cost of the *cruise*.

[NY]

I believe that some cruise companies do charge for the laundrettes - maybe coin-in-the-slot.

[tim...]

if you're paying for one off cruise, yes

but what if you have "bought" a cabin for a year

tim