The World: cruise ship travel without leaving home

The World is not just a cruise ship, but a huge floating dwelling with more than a hundred luxury apartments on board. Since 2002, this elite residential complex has been on a continuous circumnavigation of the world. The owners of the apartments, who are called "tenants" here, can board at any time, they do not need to buy cruise tickets. Throughout the year, the ship calls at various ports around the world so that "residents" can attend important sports and cultural events, such as Formula 1 racing stages, carnivals, film festivals and many others.

The World is the first marine passenger vessel designed as a private dwelling. Its "inhabitants" live on board, while the ship moves around the globe, stopping at most ports for a maximum of 2-3 days.

The vessel was built in accordance with a fundamentally new and unusual concept for cruise shipping, proposed by Norwegian shipowner Knud Kloster.

The main idea was to build a houseboat resort for very rich people. They should become the real owners of cabins, or rather, luxury apartments with bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and balconies with a total area of 100 to 300 square meters.

There are 165 apartments on board — from small studios to three-bedroom apartments, even a six-bedroom penthouse designed for 12 people; 106 two- and three-bedroom apartments.

The average age of the "residents" is 64 years, 35 percent are under the age of 50. They are from 19 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and South Africa. Some of them live on the ship all year round, while most — 3-4 months a year.

In addition to luxury cabins, there is everything you need for a full life. Being on board the liner, you can not only relax, but also work, since modern technologies make it possible to work at a distance.

Swimming pools, golf courses and tennis courts, gyms, spa centers, water sports facilities, library, wine cellar, theater, nightclub, restaurants and bars.

On the 12 decks of the ship there are 165 private residences, a supermarket, spas, libraries, hobby clubs: golf, tennis, fitness, swimming.

The length of the liner The World is 196 m, displacement — 43.5 thousand tons.

Of course, you can spend only a few weeks a year on board on the most interesting sections of the route. At the same time, the owners can always earn extra money by renting out their luxury apartments.

There are different types of apartments on the liner — from a small studio to luxury apartments with three bedrooms.

Each owner can decorate his apartment at his own discretion.

There is something about opening the door of your own apartment after a day spent traveling.

The cost of apartments on the ship is rather big — according to various sources, from 3 to 13 million dollars. Despite such prices, 80 apartments were sold before the construction was completed.