industry & reform
transfer may be permanent or temporary. The aim, however, is for
Elysium to be “medically autonomous … catering for the range of
ailments that the elderly may suffer”.
“With our medical facility on board, the idea is to be able to
cater, rehabilitate, then stabilise them,” says Andre. “And if they
can, have them stay on board with us.
“From a business, moral and ethical point of view, we will
be looking to bring the best from Australia, the best from New
Zealand, and the best from the US, and the best from around the
world with regards to how to run an aged care facility – without
being bound by local regulations.”
If a resident dies of natural causes, there is a morgue below
deck – a contingency space commonplace on cruise ships and
hospital ships. Here, the deceased will undergo a postmortem and
death certificate process with a certified coroner, sourced from
ashore from their contracted regional funeral director partner.
End-of-life options will have been discussed before boarding.
Should the resident wish for their final resting place to be a
specific location onshore, they will be expatriated from the ship,
with all costs prearranged. Alternatively, the founders hope to
give residents the option of an eco-friendly ‘Promessa’ burial:
“Reducing their remains to its natural elements in ash form to be
spread at sea, or converted into a ‘diamond’ via another common
post-life memorial process.”
The Ruby Princess sits off the coast of Bondi on 28 March 2020. The
ship was allowed to unload 2700 passengers in Sydney with dozens of
undiagnosed coronavirus cases on board. Picture. Phil Hillyard
Yes but … now?
The Sidlers launched the Elysium website a week before my initial
hour-long phone conversation with them from their home in
New Zealand. Despite the Diamond Princess COVID-19 fiasco,
then at its peak, the couple’s zeal was unflagging. (“What an
extraordinarily bad time to launch such a venture,” comments
Aged Care Insite columnist and lawyer, Michael Fine.)
A fortnight later, cruise ship stocks would plummet an
unprecedented 60 per cent, with governments issuing advice
not to board the “floating petri dishes”. Entry of cruise ships from
foreign ports was soon banned in Australia. When 100 infected
Ruby Princess passengers disembarked in Sydney, the public –
and the Australian Border Force – were incensed. As of April, 10
per cent of coronavirus cases in the country could be traced to
the cruise liner.
Andre is far from oblivious to the amassing stigma around cruise
ships. But he believes that the notion that they are hotbeds of
disease is a product of “media hype and hysteria”.
“COVID-19 is an airborne virus transmitted by proximity and
residual contact – not just cruise ships per se,” he tells me
over email in March (that same day, my publisher would issue
instructions for staff to work from home).
“Any large gathering, large building, has the same concentrated
transmittal effect.”
He also argues that, given its unique medical facilities and
specialty staff, Elysium would provide residents with a secure,
socially distanced haven against outbreaks.
“What has heightened the drama is that people are now
effectively detained on board cruise ships for at least a quarantine
time of 14 days, which interferes with their lives and that of the
cruise ship itineraries … Elysium has permanent residents with no
need to go to shore.”
The demand for luxury senescence
The privilege of such decadent, palatial decline is not cheap. On
top of an initial upfront deposit of US$62,500 ($95,500) per square
metre of premium cabin space, the daily rate is US$450 ($690)
a day – a cost inclusive of all meals, beverages, entertainment,
business centre use, daily linen changes, laundry, nurses and
carers, and assessed pre-joining level of medical care.
“This is not for regular Joes, like most of us are,” agrees Andre.
“This is for the people that do have money and don’t want to go
into a little room with a single bed and painted beige walls, and
that’s it. This is for people who have got a lot of wealth, and say:
‘Hang on, I’m used to my beautiful home. Okay, yes, I have to go
into a facility, but I still want to have a beautiful room and beautiful
facilities around me. And I can afford it.’”
The Elysium pricing model and structure, as finessed through
the guidance of international law firm Clifford Chance, is based on
the current Australian aged care system. This puts the daily rate
equitable to that of a premium aged care facility (like Montefiore
in NSW), slightly more expensive than a five-star resort, and about
half the rate of an Aspen hotel at seasonal peak.
“To come onto the Elysium ship, you’re not buying a room,”
Andre explains. “We don’t think that model works. What you are is
providing a deposit for that room.
“We thought, that’s transparent, straightforward; they’re not
losing the money. The estate will get back the full amount if
they’re on the ship for longer than three years. If they’re not,
there will be a processing fee of about $50,000 to redo the room,
change the mattresses, and redo the décor for the client or
resident coming into that particular room.”
Under Elysium’s philosophy, clients are treated as customers to
be satisfied, rather than bodies to be maintained. Accordingly, they
are pampered in ways befitting their investment.
A suite on luxury cruise ship, The World. Photo: The World
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