According to a new analysis by finder.com.au, Baby Boomers collectively dished out $556 million on cruises in 2017, with couples readily spending $1,467 on twin rooms.

These figures match data released last month by National Seniors Australia and Challenger that found of 6,000 Australian seniors surveyed, few identified holding money to pass on to their children as a high priority, with many choosing to use the funds for travel.

More than 750,000 Australians aged over 50 went cruising in 2017, making up 57 per cent of the 1.34 million Australian cruise passengers.

Finder.com.au has projected that, based on this rise in senior cruisers, 1.4 million Baby Boomers will go on a cruise in 2018.

“Almost one in 10 Aussie Baby Boomers took a cruise holiday last year. This older demographic tends to prefer longer expeditions, sparing no expense on transatlantic or world cruises,” said Bessie Hassan, insurance expert at finder.com.au.

The figures mirror the projections leading demographer Bernard Salt made at last year’s Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia conference.

“Their parents retired, their grandparents retired but they prefer ‘lifestyle change’. So, perhaps we need to start thinking about the ‘lifestyle village’ as opposed to the ‘retirement village’,” he said.

“Baby Boomers are taking cruises and updating kitchens. It’s a new narrative for active later years that other generations have not had.”