These comparisons drive me nuts. Living on a cruise ship could be comparable to living in a retirement rental community where there are meals, housekeeping and activities available to access as desired, but that is NOT assisted living. It's generally called something like senior residential living or independent living and actually requires the ability to live independently.
Healthy seniors able to live independently and do their own self-care do not use assisted living (even if it is available in the complex they live in), that is for people who require medical and care needs assistance. The "assisted" portion of assisted living is an actual tax-deductible medical expense and it means required assistance with at least some daily living activities like mobility assistance, dietary supervision, bathing, toileting or dressing, and medical supervision of medications because they need help keeping track of them, etc. No one in their right mind would pay for assisted living if they didn't need it, nor would it be prescribed/suggested by their physician. (Though they might move somewhere where it will be available WHEN they need it.) That kind of assistance is not provided on cruise ships. People who require assistance have to bring their own help.
I know several people who are around 100 years old who live in senior residential living, but do not yet require assisted living because they manage all their own tasks of adult daily living, and even they would not be fit to travel without assistance on a cruise ship. Cruise ship living requires a lot of decision making, planning, ability to thrive in unfamiliar environments and mobility.
My parents have lived in all levels of senior care. When they moved into senior residential living, it was still less than living on a cruise ship would have been. Yes, assisted living would have been comparable pricewise to a cruise ship, but the assistance they were there for wouldn't be avialable.
