My dad is 89 and looking for somone to cruise with
 

Hi. My dad is 89 (he'll be 90 in July), is in relatively good health (although he's a bit hard of hearing), he drives (during the day), and he's been retired for 6 years. My mother is in an assisted living, and unable to go on any cruises. I went with him on a cruise a while back and really didn't enjoy cruising. He went on a cruise by himself this past January and had fun but said he would prefer to have a roommate. We live in Maryland and he would like to stick with cruises out of the Port of Baltimore if possible. He likes inside cabins because he sees no benefit to balconies or balcony suites, and because they're less expensive. He's my dad, and I love him, but like anyone else, he's got his weird little habits, and I honestly don't know how he'd be with a stranger for a week long cruise. (I'm just being honest.) He doesn't use computers, so I told him I'd join this site to check out whatever options are available. Thanks in advance for any responses.

What an interesting ad. Is he going somewhere anyway? I've seen ads in the past of people interested in going sort of like a caretaker if their part of the cruise is paid for, so there's hope.
I might have considered it, but just committed to a room share in early April. Ironically I'm a nurse (working though should be retired) in geriatrics in a nursing home.
Where does he wish to go? What cruiseline is preferable? When?
These might provide some insight to potential responders.

1. He's not looking for a caretaker; he's looking for someone to split the cost of the cruise.

2. As far as he's concerned, he could be on a 7 day cruise to nowhere -- he never leaves the ship. The main thing is that he's looking for a cruise out of Baltimore, since we live here, and I can drive him to/from the Port of Baltimore.

3. He likes the Carnival Pride because he's been on that ship twice now, and he's familiar with it. He's got a cruise booked for November, 2011. But now he wants to go on a cruise in early May as well. The cruise he took on the Pride in January cost him around $850 ($350 x 2, plus tax & tips). And the one in November is going to cost him around $1,000 ($419 x 2, plus tax & tips).

He's REALLY frugal. :D

The total on board spending for him for the two Carnival cruises he took was...ZERO. He spent $2 on tips for room service the past cruise, and that was it. Same with the first cruise he went on (when I went with him).

It's great he has the drive to cruise. Staying on board is not bad, there's something about ship life. I spend little time off the ship myself, maybe hit the closest tourist trinket area to browze. Hope he goes in May, November is a long time to wait and life is too short to sit in a rocking chair.

I think he had hoped he would be able to spend this part of his life traveling with my mother. But she started falling right around the time he retired, and had to be placed in an assisted living facility. Since then he's been kind of lost, immersing himself in my mother's situation/circumstances. In 2009 he decided, out of nowhere, that he wanted to go on a cruise. I found him one out of Baltimore, and I went with him. I really didn't like it, and told him that that was it for me and cruises. Then this past January he announced he wanted to go on another cruise, and that he'd be willing to go by himself. I found him one that was so cheap he figured he could pay x 2. He said he enjoyed it, but also asked me if there were any services that matched up single cruisers to split the cost. I Googled, and found this site.

Also, he's not just sitting around in a rocking chair. But he is bored, and cruising, as well as looking forward to cruising, really seems to brighten him up.

Again, I hope someone will go too to cut cost.. I've been solo twice for short cruises, a little lost on the 1st one. I was not used to being alone. 2nd one went better. In April I'm trying Carnival Dream on a 7 nighter from Cape Canaveral with a gal I met on my last cruise. Would not do it solo due to cost. Carnival is now double the cost since last summer.