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All text and photographs (unless stated otherwise) ©  Paul Timmerman

The World of Residensea or just The World as is seen on her bows is the first cruise ship ever with residents (“the ultimate address¨) rather than passengers staying for the duration of a single cruise.

                                            The World under construction at Fosen Mek Verksteder, Norway

Residents can literally travel all over the world without leaving home. 

The idea of living permanently on board a cruise ship was developed by Knut Kloster, former chairman of NCL. Hotel and maritime operations are managed by Silversea cruises.

This ship is a combination of a cruise vessel, luxury resort and the comforts of ones own home.

 The original ship that was on the drawing boards has been considerably scaled down. A length of 291 m. and a tonnage of 86.000 became 197 m. and 36.000GRT in the end.

                                                   Artists impression of original vessel

Market response to the appartments for sale on The World was much less than hoped for. So architects Yran & Storbraaten and the technical department of the German yard HDW revised the original design of the ship. It is said that of the 110 appartments for sale on this smaller ship, 25% still has not been sold. Instead, the ship carries more regular cruise passengers, staying just for the duration of one cruise.

The interiors (public spaces) of The World were designed by Yran & Storbraaten, architects having much experience in the luxury cruise ship segment, as they already had designed interior spaces of the Sea Goddess vessels (today sailing as Seadream I and II), and those of the Seabourn and Silversea ships.

                                                           Drawing of scaled down vessel

There are several special provisions for residents incorporated in this vessel.

For example, a special elevator is designed for moving large objects, like furniture to the appartments of on board living residents. There is storage space for (large) objects bought en route.  A food store is present, passengers can order through the interactive TV-system and have their goods delivered to their apartments.

The World will visit many major events like Carnival in Rio, the Grand prix of Monaco, the film festival in Cannes etc. Extended stays in port make it possible for guests and residents to make spectacular excursions, taking as much as 3 or 4 days.

Apartments on The World to be used as living quarters can be purchased for $2.5 mio to $8 mio. These staterooms/ suites feature a balcony, 2 or 3 sleeping rooms and a kitchen in some cases. Of a total of 198 staterooms, 110 appartments are for sale on board, and the remaining cabins are available for “regular” passengers. Cabins measure 100-300m2 surface and are decorated following 4 styles: English Heritage, Luxury Yacht, Scandinavian Cantat and Grand Classique. Designers of these residences are Nina Campbell (London), Juan Pablo Molyneux (New York), TMT Design by DiPilla (Milan) and finally Yran & Storbraaten (Oslo). Recently, a possibility to purchase smaller one bedroom apartments and studio residences was added.

                                                       Entrance of The Plaza, a small two deck atrium

All “cabins” have audio & video-equipment, internet access, fax capability and are designed by Bedner Associates, well known designers of famous land based hotels like the Ritz Carlton etc.

The average age of residents on The World is 55 years. Potential residents are screened to keep the ship free from “scandals”. For this reason artists and performers are not allowed to buy an appartment on the ship.

The World circles the globe in a leisurely pace, often staying in port for several days. The World has a retractable funnel and a limited draft, enabling her to visit most ports. Included in the itinerary of the first year were visits to 31 countries and…. more than 150 golf courses as more than 70% of  the passengers are golf enthusiasts. Several important golf tournaments are visited. There are four golf instructors present on The World, a golf simulator (all major golf courses are programmed) and it is possiible to launch a small floating “green” which golfers can try to reach from the ship. Inevitably some of the golf balls end up in the water, and amazingly, they will melt in 24 hours and become fish food.

                                                                              Librabry

Also, The World is the only cruise ship with a full size tennis court.

On deck 5, The Village (starting forward and proceeding aft) we find the fitness/ spa and next the a card room, the theatre, a small chapel, the night club/ casino. Midships the grand hall is situated, the focal point of the ship. On the same deck a juweller, called the House of Graff, a “grocery store” called Fredy' s Deli, The World Boutique and finally aft the Marina Restaurant and Bar are located. This is the true center of the ship. All these public spaces are connected by a promenade, called The Street. On deck 6, the internet café,the library (The Study) and finally the Garden Tea Room can be found,  all situated midships. Finally, on the aft section of deck 11, the Pool Deck, the Tides Restaurant, the East Restaurant, the Sushi Bar, Regatta Bar and Pool Grill make the array of public facilities on The World complete.

Passengers and residents of The World have a marina that folds out of the stern at their disposal from where all kinds of watersports can be practised.

Residents and regular passengers have 4 restaurants to choose from, including a Sushi bar and a French restaurant. Unlike regular cruise ships, residents have to pay as meals are not included.

It will be interesting to see how residents and regular passengers will mix on board and how long residents will stay on the ship before they return to a land-based home (that is, if they ever do). 

In 2003 after roughly a year of operating The World, Knut Kloster, whose idea it was to launch a cruise ship with residents permanently living on board, together with several other original owners of the vessel  left the Residensea company and now, The World is being sold to the residence owners. It is hoped for that this last change of ownership will boost the sales of the remaining unsold residences.

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