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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
A new cruise ship start-up setting sail next year will let passengers live onboard for 3.5 years at a time while it circumnavigates the globe.
The Villa Vie Residences ship will embark on its first sailing in May 2024, with long-term travellers able to buy a cabin starting from $100,000.
The journey will kick off from Southampton, before stopping at 425 ports in 147 countries.
Itinerary-wise, the vessel will spend 87 days in Northern Europe, 105 days in North America, 68 days in Africa and 76 days in South Asia.
Multi-day stops are also scheduled, such as 12 days in Singapore.
Some 15 per cent of the 630 cabins are available to buy outright, ranging from $100,000 for an interior stateroom to $250,000 for a balcony room; although monthly charges starting from $3,500 are added on top on the purchase price.
Residences can be leased or sold by buyers later down the line.
The rest of the rooms can be booked on a “pay as you go” basis for sections of the trip, starting from $4,360 for the final 35-day transatlantic crossing from Barcelona, Spain, to West Palm Beach in Florida.
Non-residents can book a cruise that lasts for up to 120 days.
The ship has yet be purchased but Mikael Petterson, founder and CEO of Villa Vie Residences, said that the start-up made an offer on a liner “from an active operator of several cruise ships” and that they expected to complete by the end of the year, reports Insider.
Onboard the ship, there will be pools, live entertainment and multiple dining options, plus facilities so that cruisers can work from the sea, such as a business centre with offices and wifi.
Plans also include a culinary arts centre hosting cooking classes and a “pet spa and resort”.
Around 800-900 guests are expected to be on the vessel at any one time.
