Cruising broadens those narrowing horizons

Deirdre Macken

Cruise lines don’t like to admit it, but the main reason cruising is booming is because of the ageing of Western populations. And the reasons why a cruise works for the aged are the same reasons why their hometown medical systems are failing them.

Friends, who recently cruised around the Caribbean, were impressed by how much care and attention was paid to frail passengers – and there were many of them. Most were simply old and frail; some had disabilities, such as blindness or mobility handicaps and a few middle-aged passengers were clearly suffering from debilitating diseases.

Cruising not only opens up the world to those who feel that their access to the world is closing in, but it opens up life again for those who have been losing their ability to take part in life.

Let’s count the ways that cruising eases the penalty of infirmity and so see why ordinary life is such a trial for them.

There are no airport experiences, or very few of them. So, no dragging bags around concourses; waiting for delayed flights or having bags emptied, thighs frisked, eyeballs photographed and thumbprints taken, all for the pleasure of sitting in a small chair for half a day.

Airports are increasingly hostile places for the vulnerable and if you find yourself the third passenger on a flight needing a wheelchair then there’s a good chance you won’t be on that flight. In comparison, cruises are an assisted form of escape.

Life on board is an exercise in hassle-free living for everyone, but especially for those who struggle to take out the garbage, cook a meal, go shopping and hang out clothes. Instead of the daily grind, there are attendants assisting their movements from one area to the other; stewards who’ll bring everything to their bedside and hostesses who help fill their days.

Older ships – in a demographic sense – are well known to those in need of assistance. Most have extensive medical facilities. Queen Mary 2 boasts that it has the biggest and most modern medical facility afloat. The brochures don’t go into detail – it’s not a service they like to headline – but its predecessor, the QE11, has two operating theatres and an eight-bed morgue.

The World, that floating apartment block that boasts an average passenger age of 64 years, also boasts a fine medical clinic.

Having confidence in the availability of medical help isn’t the only way that cruises give people back their mojo. Life on board is a social life and for many people in old age or with disabilities, their social life is the first to suffer from infirmity. It’s difficult for them simply to get out and about, much less do all the emotional work associated with maintaining friendships.

Increasingly, ships offer educational programs and these, too, offer a way back into public participation. Having access to expert talks, having your knowledge about the world enlarged and your curiosity tweaked is stimulating, but it’s also a sign of respect that they, too, can benefit from education.

You don’t have to be that old or that disabled to be overlooked for educational or training needs. And once you reach a certain age, you’re on your own as far as care of your intellect goes.

The disparity between life in suburbia and life on board hasn’t escaped many of those caught up in the aged-care juggernaut. There’s a joke that does the rounds of the internet about all the reasons why checking into Holiday Inn is the perfect alternative to moving into a care facility.

That joke is obviously aimed at Americans, who have largely privatised old age care but, even in Australia, some view cruising with an eye on their healthcare and the healthcare of their relatives.

For instance, it is the perfect form of respite care. Many middle-aged sons and daughters are caught up in caring for elderly relatives in their own home or making daily visits to parents to help them with all the chores that make it possible for them to live independently.

Sending mum or dad on a cruise not only gives the elderly respite from the trials of life in old age, but it gives their carers a break too.

Don’t expect to see cruise lines advertise themselves as nursing homes afloat. Twilight Cruises, anyone?

Even passengers who are there for the care and attention don’t want to think of themselves as patients. They are, once again, travellers. They’re students again, adventurers even.

And, like all good holidays, they can come back with a sense of what’s possible.

dmacken@afr.com.au

The Australian Financial Review