A floating apartment. A residential yacht. A holiday home that travels the globe.
The World, a luxury liner, has many descriptions, but “cruise ship” is not one of them, said resident Jim Minarik.
“The only thing that’s similar between the world and a cruise ship is they float on the water,” he said. “If our ship was a cruise ship, there’d probably be 1,500 passengers. When we’re really busy, we have between 200 and 300.”
The World has 165 privately owned apartments, ranging from 290-square-foot studios to 3,240-square-foot four-bedroom residences.
Minarik and his wife bought their apartment in 2020 with plans to spend one to two months a year on the ship. However, he said, they now spend up to half of the year on board.
Many residents bring their own furniture and employ interior designers to decorate their apartments.
Source: The World
“We just found we love so much about the community, the way of travel — it’s very leisurely and comfortable,” he said. “You’re continuously seeing something new.”
Minarik said the couple were so enamored by the onboard experience that they eventually bought a second, larger apartment on The World, keeping the first apartment for family and friends.
Life aboard the ship
Like many cruises, The World has multiple restaurants and bars, yoga classes and a gym, two pools, a medical center and round-the-clock room service.
But the similarities mainly end there. For starters, on this ship, the owners call many of the shots.
“It’s a democratic society on board,” said Residential Director Eddie Wong. “They vote on things like the itinerary, they vote for refurbishments on the ship,” as well as its board of directors.
An outdoor pool sits quiet while The World was docked in Singapore in May 2024. Around 150 residents live on the ship during the year, though this number usually doubles during expedition trips and year-end holidays, said Residential Director Eddie Wong.
Source: CNBC
Itineraries change yearly, Wong said. The schedule for 2026 has been finalized, he said, and includes stops in Antarctica, French Polynesia and Easter Island, the latter of which he called “one of the most sought-after locations in the world.”
The World docks in around 100 ports per year, stopping for two to five days, rather than a few hours.
“We’ll pull into a port, like the Amalfi Coast,” said Minarik. “We stay for three or four days, so we may not even get off on the first day … we might just go off for dinner.”
The World creates photo books after its expedition trips, which in 2024 includes trips to Antarctica, Australia’s Kimberley region, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Wong said.
Source: CNBC
Several owners live on the ship full time, but most come and go as they please, he said.
After cruising from South America to South Africa, Minarik said, he and his wife disembarked in Cape Town and went on safari for two weeks, before heading home to Orange County, California. The friends they were traveling with caught back up with the ship, which by that time had moved up Africa’s west coast, he said.
The residents of The World
Many owners are North American, said Wong. “But we have residents from around 20 different nationalities … we have a lot of Australians on board” too, he said.
Minarik, the former CEO of a large consumer electronics business, said owners have all had some level of financial success.
“That’s just a fact, but what’s really interesting is everybody has a great story,” he said.
Purchase prices for residences range from $2.4 million to $15 million — a figure which doesn’t include quarterly maintenance fees, which can be around 10% of the purchase price annually.
Maintenance fees come with $33,000 worth of food and beverage credits aboard the ship, but they also pay for crew, renovation and upkeep to the ship, which has a full-sized tennis court.
Source: The World
Yet money is not a big topic aboard The World, Minarik said.
“There’s definitely no keeping-up-with-the-Joneses because whether you’re a multi-millionaire, there’s plenty of billionaires,” he said. “So what you talk about is your love of travel and the experiences.”
He said one of his friends from the ship is an 82-year-old guy who gives “more money than I could even imagine” to charity. What do they talk about? “Diving,” said Minarik.
A Champagne bar set up on Antarctica’s Penola Strait.
Source: The World
Potential buyers are vetted, Wong said. In addition to financial and criminal checks, he said, buyers need two letters of recommendation from an existing resident.
Every year, about 10% of residences go up for sale, a company representative told CNBC Travel.
The average length of ownership is seven to eight years, Wong said. By that time, owners have seen most of the world several times over, he said. Others leave to be closer to specialized medical care or to spend more time with family.
Minarik agreed that the biggest downside of ship life is time spent away from his children and grandchildren. He said he and his wife plan their lives to balance their love for family and exploration.
Another drawback? Minarik said he can’t bring his dogs on board.
But “if I was to come up with anything other than you can’t have your pets and your family, I’d be making stuff up,” he said.
Only ship of its kind?
Wong said that while other companies have tried, The World is still the only ship of its kind.
Residents can cook in their apartments using groceries bought in ports or in a store on board that stocks produce and gourmet items.
Source: The World
The MV Narrative, an upscale residential ship being built by a company called Storylines, has been hit by several delayed departures. Originally planned to set sail in 2024, it’s now scheduled to start cruising in 2027. The ship is larger than The World, with plans for 500 rooms to accommodate around 1,000 people.
Another residential ship, Life at Sea, was canceled in November 2023, the same month it was scheduled to first set sail. Some travelers had reportedly sold their businesses and homes before learning that the company behind the cruise, Miray Cruises, had canceled the three-year voyage after failing to secure a ship.
Clarification: CNBC Travel has updated this story to reflect the number of residences on board The World, which differed from the number the company previously told CNBC Travel.