Hey...what a great idea! The Staterooms and Cabins will answer the needs of hundreds of the homeless! If I was one of them, I would ask to use the Engine Room for my apartment...I've always felt comfortable around powerful machinery, even if it's idle! Hal
I've given a lot of thought to the problem of housing the homeless. I'd say that the first obstacle needs to be drug and mental illness evaluation and treatment. There'd also need to be really strict cleaning/hygiene rules IMO. Or like Teresa says, just a floating poo barge of filth. And where will the money come from? Lots of solutions to consider but they are all expensive.
I just read the article about this and it says the Port of Oakland definitely says "no" to this. Mainly the "no" is because "Port of Oakland docks are designed to work cargo ships, there isn’t the infrastructure to berth a cruise ship,” port spokesman Mike Zampa said.
I don't know. Hygiene and cleaning is going to be a major problem. Safety another concern. Wouldn't want some mental case locking someone in an empty room and forgetting them, for spite. And, unless that big boat was dry-docked, for some it would be a miserable experience, rocking back and forth on those small and larger waves. Motion sickness comes quite easily for some. It would probably need some critical thinking and some financing on cleaning and upkeep. But it could work. As far as the assisted living cruise ship. Of course that could work. That's completely a matter of private investment entirely. Most residence couldn't afford a cruise and if they could, probably only one, and for some one would be enough. It is not a profitable venture, or so it seems to me, for any investment portfolio.
I guess I don't see the benefit. If people are at a point where they need living assistance, why would they care about being on a cruise ship? I have read that some retirees live on cruise ships because it's cheaper than retirement facilities, but they are not to the "assisted living" stage. Seems like there was a thread on here about that a while ago.
My last 12 day cruise on a first class All Inclusive Cruise in 2012 cost less than what I paid for my Assisted Living last month.
I guess getting too far away from a port would be tricky, even with helicopter lift, in case of emergency. I worked on Navy ships for many years and I would LOVE to be able to live even on one of their old ones. A cruise ship would be a whole fancy thing. Are you thinking floating around or remaining docked? I don't think it would work for the homeless plan regardless. All it takes is one getting drunk and falling off and the city is sued big time. @Hal Pollner The engine rooms in a large ship are quite loud. They have to wear ear plugs. However, all the engine rooms on a ship are quite fascinating.
I thought more about this and it wouldn't work. All residents have various doctors that they see on a regular basis that are away from the AL facility.
Wait a minute, Bess...a decommissioned cruise ship would be sitting idle in the water, with only the electric generators running to supply power, unless dockside power were used. Hal
Not necessarily. Ships are decommissioned for any number of reasons, the engines may work perfectly. When I worked at Mayport Naval Station, a decommissioned ship, I think a Destroyer Class, was sold to Turkey. The Turkish sailors were SO excited. They were here a few days to learn the ins and out of the ship and then set sail for home. So, I suppose a Cruise Ship could be recycled into another useful service as well. I don't think dockside power would be an option if the ship was too big.