In a recent trip to Florida, I was astounded at the size and number of modern cruise ships. This wasn't the first time, I was also astounded at the size and number of cruise ships when driving along the coast road above La Spezia. It appears they are popular.

There's a few things that play into this industry, the scale and schedule combine to make a very predictable economic model. The regulatory environment can be "leveraged" as I believe a business person might say: You can register your ship somewhere cheap e.g. Panama, your energy source is untaxed. You can source staff from the cheapest possible places and adhere to minimum tax/labor laws. In this way you can bring mass production to the business of getting a couple from Illinois fed, entertained and drunk next to a sunny pool for a week. This makes the product relatively cheap.

Something else that is a thing, is health tourism. Healthcare in 1st world nations is staggeringly expensive. Many people wanting treatment for non-urgent things travel to countries where the care costs less. This makes sense when the cost of one bed for one night exceeds that of almost any return flight. Similar to cruise ships, lower labor costs and slacker regulations can make for a vastly cheaper product.

Why not combine the two? We can equip a cruise ship with multiple diagnostic, surgical, dental & lab facilities staffed by the most affordable technicians, doctors, dentists & nurses the globalized world can provide. Passengers pick their procedures in the booking process so everything can be arranged for maximum efficiency. Now our Illinois couple can get a new hip, dental implants, a cataract removed, hair plugs and a complementary MRI, while basking on their small but sunny balcony in between. All in the economically-efficient environment provided by international waters.
-- bs0u0155, Mar 23 2022

Doc's first stop, UN CitizenShip SS_20UN_20CitizenShip
then on to a placement in Medical Tourism [Sgt Teacup, Mar 23 2022]

This is a great idea. Park these things 12 miles off shore, outside of territorial waters and anything goes, maritime law. Pretty sure murder is okay under maritime law as long as you're wearing a cool pirate outfit.

Or elect one of our travel / surgery packages.

Tummy tuck-it to Phuket.

Lipo thigh to Shanghai.

Enhanced chest to Bucharest.

Botox to Bangkok.

But seriously, stupid names aside, this could be a thing. [+]
-- doctorremulac3, Mar 23 2022


Look-good nuder to Bermuda. No more hair-loss to Barbados. Computed - Tomography around some geography. The marketing writes itself.
-- bs0u0155, Mar 23 2022


LOL! Bravo!

I'd just change "nuder" to "nuda" having some guy from Brooklyn being the salesman.

And how about the bonus points for the CT scan reference? I'll hold up a 7 card for that one.

CT scan with contrast, on your way to Belfast.

Too obscure? Might need a proper English accent to get those vowels matching.
-- doctorremulac3, Mar 23 2022


CT scan to Japan of course.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Mar 23 2022


Via some dodgy country to pick up the transplant kidneys and livers in the middle of the night?
-- xenzag, Mar 23 2022


Convert a couple of oligarch yachts as flagships and I'm sold on this idea as incredibly sensible.

Supplies could be tricky to time, and viruses on cruise ships are an issue, but I don't see those as show-stoppers.
-- RayfordSteele, Mar 23 2022


To be fair, virus issues outside cruise ships are an issue.
-- bs0u0155, Mar 23 2022


//..proper English accent...//
An Australian accent works quite well.
//Supplies//
//viruses//
Hmm... virus kills patient; patient becomes organ donor for transplant recipient. Win-win!
-- neutrinos_shadow, Mar 23 2022


I got a line on a really good dentist just next to Yuma and I'm planning to take a trip down there this summer. Love this idea... It does appear to be Baked though, judging from a1's link.
-- 21 Quest, Mar 23 2022


//An MRI machine is a pretty extensive kit though. Not sure how large a surgical suite you need to hip replacement either.//

MRI machines aren't what they were in terms of expense. There are companies dotted around the US that JUST do MRI scans as a service, usually just a nondescript strip mall type of building. They can be as low as $150,000, up to $1million for high end stuff. That's peanuts vs. what is billed and also what a cruise ship costs. The key is to keep them as busy as possible. The magnets are on all the time, because they're superconducting electromagnets, the current is induced and off it goes, 'round and 'round with no losses. Until the cryogenic cooling fails for whatever reason. So keep moving people through.

An orthopaedic surgery suite fits in a hospital. The hospital out of my window has an orthopaedic surgery suite, and it's much smaller than a cruise ship. Can definitely be done.
-- bs0u0155, Mar 23 2022


Since both cruise ships & hospital ships both already exist, you just need to find a 2nd-hand one of each & get a shipyard to do a cut-&-paste. I'm thinking accommodations up front (to get the view) & medical down the back (nearer power supply etc).
-- neutrinos_shadow, Mar 23 2022


This idea could work as an adjunct to the UN CitizenShip (see link). The main premise of "Transplant" (CBC television show, debuted Feb. 2020) is that an incredibly talented immigrant Doctor has trouble transferring his credentials to practice medicine in Toronto. He is also suffering PTSD as a result of being shot at, bombed, and generally terrorized by insurgents in his home country.

If Bashir had found his way to the UN CitizenShip, the crack team of investigators* onboard could have verified his credentials and transferred him to the Medical Tourism ship as soon as he recovered. From there, he could get back to work to get his mind off of recent events, be fed and housed without prejudice, then decide where(if) he'd like to relocate, to the benefit of himself and society in general.

*The Investigators are, of course, unnamed white hat good guys, know a guy who knows a guy, and so forth, all very aboveboard.
-- Sgt Teacup, Mar 23 2022


As an added benefit, I know a more than one surgeon who views surgery as the irritating chore that must be completed between cruises. There's a deal to be cut there.

Now, if I could only work out how to get an operating theater and patients right next to a golf course, surgeon recruitment would take care of itself.
-- bs0u0155, Mar 23 2022


[+]
-- 21 Quest, Mar 24 2022



random, halfbakery