by Theodore W. Scull

The world’s first resort at sea with apartment living units for sale and for rent arrived in the Port of New York early on September 5th. On a sparkling morning, The World – of ResidenSea - passed the Battery at 8 a.m., received a traditional fireboat welcome off the Chelsea Piers, and sailed upriver to berth at Pier 88, West 48th Street for two days. The high-sided, stout-looking 43,000-ton Norwegian-built ship has a length of 644.2 feet, a beam of 97.8 feet and a service speed of 18.5 knots. While the maximum capacity is 976 crew and passengers, the crew numbers 320 and the occupancy (two to a unit) is 390. Yran & Strorbraaten, Architects, also designed the Sea Goddess pair, Seabourn trio and two initial Silversea ships.

Owners and guests went ashore while the press and real estate and travel agents streamed aboard to have a look around the floating community, in service in European waters since March 2002. At first glance, there are many familiar cruise ship features in the public spaces and out on deck but it’s the sleeping accommodations and the way they are offered that provide the biggest distinctions.

Owners pay a maintenance fee for the common facilities and maid services, but as this is considered a home (albeit a second home); meals are not included as all apartments have fully-equipped electric kitchens. Owners may, of course, eat out a la carte at one of four restaurants, and all occupants up to the bed capacity (4 or 6) come under the same umbrella.
Guests renting from owners may buy a meal plan including beverages and tips or they too can dine a la carte. Renters of the studio residences have meals, beverages and tips included in the cruise package fare. Owners may arrive and leave at any port.
The World departed New York after dark on September 6th, and after touring the U.S. and Canadian East Coast, returned here for three days beginning October 1st. The itineraries are worldwide and geared to special occasions such as the Cannes Film Festival, the British Open at Edinburgh or the America’s Cup in New Zealand.

Updates to Summer 2006

As an update, the owners now own The World and they hired a management company to operate the ship. At first, buyers snapped up a majority of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and then sales slowed to a trickle. To keep the venture afloat, investors wanted to push transient income but to the owners that sounded like a cruise ship. Most wanted privacy so they took complete control in October 2003, hiring ResidenSea Ltd., a management company, to handle the operations and market The World.

Now, 100 per cent of the 165 residences are sold at prices ranging from $825,000 to $7.3 million. Owners have the option to rent their apartments and some 30 per cent do at rates that are determined by the residents’ committee. Rentals start at $1,250 per day and include meals, selected beverages, taxes and gratuities. And the good news is that some apartments have come available for resale.
With an average age of 52, most owners still work - property development, real estate and technology are typical - and when aboard pace themselves according to a personal schedule. 40 percent hail from North America, 40 per cent from Europe, with the rest of the world making up the remainder. And for the majority, The World is a third property and a life style choice more than an investment. While all ships have finite lives, the owners of The World are projecting 70 years, which if reached could achieve some sort of longevity record.

Owners spend about three months in any given year aboard, though generally in two- to three-week stretches. The result is about 150 to 200 in residence at any one time, varying considerably between the popular Mediterranean and, for some, a less attractive long ocean voyage.
Besides the purchase price, owners pay a yearly fee (in 2006) of from $51,000 for the smallest 337 square-foot unit with verandah to $518,180 for recently sold Apartment 1000, a 3,242-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment with dining room seating ten, and jet pool on the verandah. The breakdown for the latter is a $495,596 maintenance fee and then fixed charges that apply to all units of $20,400, the minimum annual credit for food and beverages, and $2,184 for commercial maintenance.

While the larger residences have full kitchens, and the studio apartments kitchenettes, only a small percentage do much cooking other than prepare breakfast or a simple lunch with items purchased at the ship’s delicatessen. Instead they dine out in port or at one of the four onboard restaurants open in rotation. One serves gourmet cuisine, skewed to the cruising region, a second Mediterranean with a Northern Italian slant, a third Asian with a sushi bar and the fourth steaks and seafood from an open kitchen overlooking the marina.

Reading like a high-end cruise ship, amenities include swimming pools, elaborate heath and fitness spa, golf simulator with personal instruction, a driving range and putting green (albeit on a moving ship), a full-size tennis court, paddle tennis, an aft-facing marina for swimming and water sports, casino, films, live music and occasional nighttime entertainment. Not like a cruise ship, there are no flesh and feather Las Vegas-style extravaganzas or wet tee-shirt contests.
The World’s itineraries seek the best climatic conditions, so she may explore Scandinavian capitals in the summer, the Mediterranean resorts in the fall, head through Suez for the winter Down Under along the Great Barrier Reef and then aim northward for spring in exotic East Asian ports. Some calls last a day, while others such as Hong Kong, Sydney or Rio have multiple-day stays for more in depth visits.

The World has had the residential community concept to itself, but not for long.
Four Seasons Ocean Residences, under a licensing agreement with Four Season Hotels and Resorts, has a conditional contract to build a similar size vessel in a Finnish yard to be aptly named The Four Seasons. Offering mostly whole ownership but also limited fractional shares on a 50-year leasehold basis, 50 per cent of the 106 units need to be sold before a shipyard contract is signed.
Residential Cruise Line is offering 200 private residences aboard the considerably larger 70,000-ton, 15-deck Magellan. Residences went on sale in 2005 and purchases have progressed to the point where Randall B. Jackson, an Arizona real estate developer and ceo, says a shipyard contract is imminent.