The future of retirement homes could be at sea

Telegraph

23-04-2025

No one can accuse German shipbuilders Meyer Werft of a lack of vision. They are, in fact, currently looking far into the future. In 75 years, they tell us, the US will have the same number of over-80s as they do over-65s today.
By 2100, then, there could just be a very interesting gap in the market. Instead of a conventional retirement home, octogenarians who still possess a spring in their step might opt instead for the Serenity, a ship designed just for them.
75 years, I hear you say – shall we put the baby's name down now? Fear not, the demographics are, of course, already changing and it may not be such a wait. In fact, if all goes according to plan, the Serenity could be afloat in 10 to 15 years.
Meyer Werft presented their concept at the Seatrade Cruise Global trade fair: a ship that is climate neutral (courtesy of fuel cells, batteries, solar energy and a focus on low-speed itineraries) with dimensions of some 804ft (245m) top to tail and 148ft (45m) wide. For most cruise ships, this would indicate between 2,000 and 4,000 passengers (or even more) depending on the number of decks and the level of luxury.
Living on a ship – as perpetual cruises like Villa Vie Odyssey have recently shown – is very different from a week-long cruise. You would surely need a bigger space of your own if you're to stave off inevitable cabin fever. Presumably then, the number of passengers, or in this case residents, would be lower.
Having said that, the company doesn't see you spending too much time in your cabin. This is not, the shipbuilders say, a floating nursing home but 'a place at sea for dynamic and active people aged 80 and over, for whom travelling is part of life in old age'.
And why not? Loneliness is currently regarded as one of the worst epidemics among the elderly, so how about an active, healthy lifestyle with plenty of social interaction and stimuli?
You may not want to go scuba diving or water skiing in your 80s but, there again, you might want to do something other than sit in a corner and knit: Tai Chi, yoga or Pilates in a sunny studio, perhaps, or taking in lungfuls of ozone on a daily mile-long walk around the deck; how about a golf simulator, tennis, putting and – most obvious of all – swimming in a heated pool, maybe with a retractable roof so it's suitable for all climates.
Deck games (shuffleboard, anyone?) are good for social interaction but I'd imagine, too, there'd be plenty of people wanting to sign up to arts and crafts, book clubs, bridge, quizzes, dancing, maybe a choir. For quieter moments, there could be a generous library and there are few more tranquil, meditative experiences than simply gazing out to sea.
Of course, there are practical considerations, too – medical matters, for a start. The average GP in the UK has over 2,000 patients on their books. I would imagine the Serenity is going to offer something rather better than that (imagine having one doctor for every 10 people onboard – what luxury!), and they have also promised to fulfil other 'assisted living' requirements. But they could take the concept of health care on to a much more dynamic level.
Their restaurants – they'll have to offer several for the sake of variety – could have menus pegged to individual health concerns (low cholesterol, heart health, diabetes control) but how about longevity diets featuring Mediterranean cuisine or a Japanese restaurant with the best of clean eating? The spa, meanwhile, could offer not just muscle-easing massages but the latest rejuvenation treatments.
All this and you haven't even arrived in port. Being on the move all the time means continually discovering new places and there could be excursions to everything from a top Broadway show to a tour of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, from whale watching off the coast of New Zealand to seeing the Northern Lights in the far north of Norway. No lack of stimuli then.
With everything still so hypothetical, there's no suggestion yet of what Serenity's itinerary might be – but hopefully she will be avoiding heavy seas (when it gets really rough, I have seen broken bones on board – even among the under-80s). Whatever her itinerary, she will, though, be constantly – if sedately – on the move to bucket list destinations.
Could this be the ideal octogenarian lifestyle? Will Serenity's designers have this kind of vision? No one can say for certain – but one thing is sure: given the choice between staying home and watching daytime television, or shopping in the souk in Muscat, eating sushi in Okinawa or watching (and, OK, this one admittedly has odds that are a bit of a stretch) England reclaim the Ashes in Perth – I know which most of us would choose.