Can you live on a cruise ship? Yes, and here’s how much it costs

Austin Wells loves traveling around the world.

But he doesn’t like long flights, jet lag, or erratic routines.

So Mr. Wells, 28, who lives in San Diego, rented a house on board a luxury liner, worked away from it, and has been sailing around the world for at least three years. Medical services, farmers market, private kitchen, exercise center, 24-hour room service, co-working space and spa.

His room will be on a giant cruise ship named MV Narrative, which will consist of over 500 staterooms and apartments, with about 1,000 residents living in varying degrees on board.

“What excites me most is that I don’t have to change my routine to see the world,” Wells told CNBC in a video call.

“From this model of wanting to go somewhere, packing up, getting on a plane, renting a room, condominiums, gyms, doctors and dentists, grocery stores all travel. The world is me. I am with you,” he added.

Wells — work at metaReality Labs, the augmented and virtual reality division of , is fully remote. It will continue to work in the US West Coast time zone while the ship visits European cities.

“My work hours are shifted to the evening, night and very early morning. But it opens up possibilities for me… maybe see the city from noon to afternoon and maybe around 6 or 7 p.m. “You can start working,” he said.

“This is probably the first time that people are even capable of doing standard jobs and even considering working and living in floating flats,” Wells added.

MV Narrative is a luxury residential vessel built by Storylines, the brainchild of co-founder and CEO Alister Punton, a former construction and real estate executive who had never been on a cruise before founding the company. he told CNBC.

Realizing that large ships tended to be scrapped, Pantone and co-founder Shannon Lee saw an opportunity to redevelop them instead.

After a few false starts, they bought and redesigned two ships that either proved unsuitable for the lifestyles expected by the residents, or failed to meet new environmental laws. I commissioned a new ship. MV Narrative is currently under construction in Split, Croatia, from where she will set sail in 2025.

There are 11 types of residences on board, with the largest ‘Global’ at 1,970 square feet, on two levels and with up to four bedrooms, two bathrooms, large balconies, a dining room that seats six and a walk-in. There is a closet.

Some apartments are located on decks with champagne and whiskey bars, cigar lounges and small pools, others have observation lounges and event spaces.

Other facilities across 18 decks include 20 restaurants and bars, a 24-hour 10,000-square-foot gym and spa, three swimming pools, a school, library, bank and office space. The ship also has a theater for performances and movies, but unlike traditional cruise ships, luxury entertainment is not as much of an emphasis.

The MV Narrative will stay in port for about three to five days, longer than the liner average, allowing residents to explore, Panton said. “Most people … go to a local city, do a day trip or an overnight trip, rent a car, go out for three or four days, and meet a ship at their next destination,” he told CNBC in a video call. .

A sample itinerary includes a 3-day berth in Rome, then 3 days in Naples, then smaller stops such as the seaside towns of Sapuri and Marsala, before finally arriving in Venice, before stopping in Slovenia, Albania, and Croatia. , Greece, and then sailing on. turkey.

The ship also goes to the Arctic Circle. In total, it will take about three years to travel around the world (the full itinerary has yet to be announced).

Wells also plans to spend time exploring on land. “I think revisiting all of Europe is something I’m particularly passionate about…in my opinion, a lot of the interesting parts of Europe are heading towards the center,” he told CNBC.

Wells spent about $300,000 on a 12-year lease of an entry-level “Discover” studio. As a customer, Wells was offered a shorter option.)

Punton wanted the MV Narrative to be more affordable than other residential boats. The World, for example, is a luxury liner that costs around €20 million ($20.5 million) for penthouse apartments and carries only 150-200 people on board at any given time.

MV Narrative’s units are still expensive, around $1 million to $8 million in Life of Vessel leases, but they launched a fractional ownership option in November. 3 months a year.

“All-inclusive living expenses” are added to the purchase price, starting at approximately $2,100 per person per month, which covers food and beverages at the onboard restaurants and bars, laundry, fitness classes, health checkups, and more.

“We are still entering the market at competitive prices,” said Pantone.

Residents, whether full or partial owners, can rent out their units even if they are not on board. A studio apartment like the one Wells purchased could generate about $4,500 a month, according to the Storyline website’s calculator.

Wells expects to be one of the youngest adult residents on board. He will be about 30 when he moves in. Residents range from middle-aged entrepreneurs to families with children.

According to the Storylines website, children can participate in the ship’s “world schooling” program. The program combines online learning with small group education, excursions and workshops with experts in the countries where the ship is docked.

Retirees and people nearing retirement are also buying the boat, Panton told CNBC. One of her prospective residents, an ER nurse with nearly 30 years of work experience, wants to work part-time on MV Narrative’s medical team, Punton said. . He also hopes to recruit owners from other types of occupations, such as acupuncturists and physical therapists.

“I always tell people, if you like, come have a pina colada by the pool all day long. But that gets old quickly. [the job] So this is the way people do it,” Pantone said. “It’s a fundamental difference. [between] Cruise with us. ”

Storylines’ headquarters is also based on MV Narrative and is home to company executives. Panton will board the ship with his wife and two children, now aged 2 and 5.

“For me, it’s been almost seven years since I started this project, and it will be ten years before we hit the water. I value my lifestyle more than anyone else,” he told CNBC.

Wells hopes to make lifelong friends on board. “The goal is to actually create a community of residents on this ship, so that you can make new friends and travel with them around the world. It can be a way to build deep friendships,” he told CNBC.

Can Pantone foresee someone living the rest of their life on a ship? [own] Forever…so they actually end up in their estate, passed down from generation to generation…and their families can continue to live on the next ship as well. ”

Panton says there will be a second vessel offshore once nearly all of the homes on board the MV narrative are sold (about half have been purchased so far).

“We’ve seen a very large market here, and there are a lot of people who want to get involved and participate in this,” he said.

— CNBC’s Tom Huddleston Jr. contributed to this report.