Floating apartment. A residential yacht. Vacation rentals around the world.
Resident Jim Minarik said the luxury cruise ship World has many descriptions, but “cruise ship” is not one of them.
“The only similarity between the world and cruise ships is that they float on water,” he said. “If our ship was a cruise ship, we might have 1,500 passengers. When we’re really busy, we have 200 to 300 people.”
The World has 167 private apartments ranging in size from 290-square-foot studios to 3,240-square-foot four-bedroom residences.
Minarik and his wife purchased the condo in 2020 and planned to stay on the boat for one to two months each year. However, he said they now spend half the year on the boat.
Many residents bring their own furniture and hire interior designers to decorate their apartments.
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“We found that we really liked this community and this way of traveling — it was very laid-back and comfortable,” he said. “You’re constantly seeing new things.”
The couple became so enamored with the shipboard experience that they eventually bought a second, larger apartment on the World and kept the first apartment for family and friends, Minarik said.
life on board
Like many cruise ships, World Cruises features multiple restaurants and bars, yoga classes and a gym, two swimming pools, a medical center and round-the-clock room service.
But the similarities mostly stop there. First, on this ship, the owner has the last word.
“Onboard is a democratic society,” says Residential Director Eddie Wong. “They vote on things like itineraries, they vote on ship renovations,” and the board of directors.
When the World docked in Singapore in May 2024, the outdoor swimming pool sat quietly. will double.
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Huang said the itinerary changes every year. He said the 2026 itinerary had been finalized and included Antarctica, French Polynesia and Easter Island, which he called “one of the most popular places in the world.”
The World docks at about 100 ports a year, Wong said, for two to five days rather than a few hours.
“We will sail into a port, such as the Amalfi Coast,” Minarik said. “We’re staying three or four days, so we probably won’t even be able to get out of the car on the first day… We’ll probably just go get dinner.”
Wong said The World has created photo albums after adventure travel, including a 2024 trip to Antarctica, Australia’s Kimberley region, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
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He said a few owners live on board full-time, but most can come and go as they please.
After sailing from South America to South Africa, Minarik said he and his wife disembarked in Cape Town and hunted for two weeks before returning home to Orange County, California. He said friends traveling with them caught up with the ship as it moved towards the west coast of Africa.
inhabitants of the world
Many of the owners are North American, Huang said. “But we have residents from about 20 different countries… there are also a lot of Australians on board,” he said.
Minarik, a former CEO of a major consumer electronics company, said the owners had achieved a certain level of financial success.
“That’s just true, but what’s really interesting is everyone has a great story,” he said.
Purchase prices for homes range from $2.4 million to $15 million, and this figure does not include quarterly maintenance fees, which can be approximately 10% of the annual purchase price.
Maintenance fees include $33,000 worth of onboard dining credits, but they also pay for crew fees, refurbishment and maintenance, and there’s a full-size tennis court on board.
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However, Minarik said money is not a big topic on The World.
“It’s absolutely impossible to keep up because whether you’re a millionaire or there are a lot of billionaires,” he said. “So you’re talking about your love of travel and experiences.”
He said one of his friends on the boat, an 82-year-old man, donated “more money than I ever thought possible” to charity. What are they talking about? “Diving,” Minarik said.
A champagne bar on the Penola Strait in Antarctica.
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Huang said potential buyers have been vetted. In addition to financial and criminal checks, buyers will need two letters of recommendation from existing residents, he said.
A company representative told us that approximately 10% of homes are sold each year CNBC Travel.
The average ownership period is seven to eight years, Huang said. By then, he said, the owners had seen much of the world multiple times. Others leave to be closer to specialized medical care or to spend more time with family.
Minarik agrees that the biggest drawback to life on board is the time away from children and grandchildren. He said he and his wife planned their lives to balance their love of family and exploration.
Another drawback? Minarik said he couldn’t bring his dog on the plane.
But “if I were to suggest anything other than not having pets and families, I’d be making it up,” he said.
Are there only similar ships?
Huang said that while other companies have tried it, the World remains the only one of its kind.
Residents can cook in their apartments, using groceries purchased at stores stocking produce and gourmet meals in port or on board.
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MV Narrative is a high-end residential boat built by a building named storylineaffected by multiple flight delays. Originally planned to set sail in 2024, it is now scheduled to begin cruising in 2027.
Another residential boat, sea lifecanceled in November 2023, was originally scheduled to set sail for the first time in the same month. Some tourists had reportedly sold their businesses and homes before learning that Miray Cruises, the company behind the cruise, had canceled the three-year cruise after failing to secure a ship.
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