See residences for sale on new cruise ship: Travel world by sea, live in luxury home
A residential cruise ship is promising the experience of traveling the world from the comfort of your own luxury on-board home — including an $8 million two-story penthouse.
Storylines said it is selling the new homes aboard its residential cruise ship — a 741-foot-long, 450-crew, 55,000 ton MV Narrative.
The vessel will allow its on-board owners to circumnavigate the globe every three-and-a-half years, spending about three months in each geographical region and averaging three days in the ports of call, according to Storylines Chief Executive Officer Alister Punton.
“The destinations are being determined with input from our resident owners as part of their global lifestyle,” he told The Sacramento Bee in an email. “The concept is different from an around-the-world vacation cruise ship, which generally spends hours in each port with many at-sea days to achieve circumnavigation within a few months. The Narrative itinerary will be announced closer to sailing with a plan to ‘follow the sun.’”
There are 547 residences on board ranging from 237 square feet to 1,970 square feet, Punton said. The homes are priced from about $300,000 for an interior studio residence to $8 million for a two-story penthouse, with a limited number of 12- and 24-year lease options available.
The residences are expected to sell out next year, and the ship is scheduled to set sail in 2024, according to a Storylines representative. There is no home port for the ship, which is currently being built in Croatia and will depart from that country, the representative said.
Here’s an excerpt from The Bee’s recent interview with Punton:
Q: Where did the residential-ship concept come from? What drives it? And are there any other ships like the MV Narrative on the market or coming onto the market?
AP: “Storylines realized that many people have placed their thirst for adventure on hold to build a career, care for children, or pursue other interests that temporarily pause the part of their life story that they dream of most. The concept is for people to be able to enjoy unique, memorable and life-changing experiences while traveling the world from the comfort of home. The result is in creating a ship for residential life at sea that enables global citizens to live a healthy and active life of freedom and adventure while still maintaining their work and family life.
“The concept originated with The World ResidenSea, which has been traveling the globe for 20 years now. Other private residence yachts and ships currently in the works include Njord and Somnio with one other, Blue World Voyages, which is a hybrid ship with vacation cabins and private residences.”
Q: What else can you share about the ship, and its residences?
AP: “They are European designed by Tillberg Design of Sweden and most have balconies for fresh sea breezes. They utilize flexible furnishings, some of which have Murphy beds to get the most out of the space for day and night use. They feature loads of thoughtful storage solutions throughout.
“Storylines places a high priority on health and wellness, with one of the largest wellness centers at sea. It has all the usual fitness equipment plus spa treatments, meditation rooms, salt room, infrared saunas, whirlpool, steam room, wellness pods, on-demand streaming workouts, and of course live yoga, pilates, zumba and other classes, most of which is available 24/7.
“Another priority is environmental sustainability. Storylines MV Narrative will be one of the greenest passenger ships at sea. As a residential ship, not a vacation ship, we can make different choices, and as a more nimble company, we can implement new technologies immediately. Everything on the ship is reusable or compostable so you won’t find single use items such as packets of ketchup, individual yogurt containers, nor plastic water bottles. We have stringent goals for producing very low waste as just one example on a long list of sustainability initiatives. Another is utilizing Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), the cleanest fuel available for ships at this time.”
Q: What are the dining options on the ship? And do the residences also have kitchens?
AP: “There are a plethora of multicultural dining options from Mediterranean to Japanese, plus vegetarian, a steakhouse, poolside grill and a fine dining restaurant for dining al fresco under the stars. The focus is in utilizing fresh, local ingredients. We also have a ‘quick eats’ alley for Asian dumplings and other street-style food. Smaller eateries include an oyster bar, fresh juice bar, gelateria, chocolatier, a cafe serving fair trade organic coffee and loose leaf tea. Of course we have plenty of bars and lounges including a wine cellar where residents curate the selection and fine wines are available on barrel tap. We brew our own craft beers in the microbrewery and residents can indulge at the ambient cocktail bar near the theater. Our champagne bar and whiskey lounge has floor to ceiling 180-degree views of the ever changing scenery. There are poolside bars and cocktail bars on all the sundecks for enjoying a refreshing drink while lounging and admiring the views. What you won’t find are buffets.
“The Storylines residences have kitchenettes. MV Narrative’s smallest residences have a bar counter with a fridge, cabinets, coffee maker and toaster. The larger residences also have a bar sink and additional appliance options including wine fridge, freezer, dishwasher, induction burners, etc. There are also shared kitchen facilities in plush resident lounges on every residential deck. On one of the top decks, there is an open galley ‘show kitchen’ for culinary classes and guest chef demonstrations where residents can also cook when they are entertaining.”
Q: Are the amenities on the MV Narrative the same as a regular cruise ship?
AP: “Storylines’ MV Narrative is purpose built for residential life, not for a high turnover of thousands of guests coming and going every week. There are similarities such as a spa, theater, dance floor, and art studio, but we also have many amenities that cruise ships do not, such as a private marina, hydroponic garden, food markets, child schooling and youth education programs, a post office, library, bank and everything else one might need for their daily life. We have lots of fun bonus amenities including pool tables, bowling alley and a golf simulator with pro-shop. We also have extensive business facilities which include shared work spaces, private offices, recording studio, meeting rooms, event spaces and conference centers for our executives working on board.
“Storylines encourages an active lifestyle. We offer a lap pool, pickleball court, golf simulators, bowling alley, bikes, personal watercraft such as kayaks and paddle boards, and an outdoor running track. That’s just on the ship and there are many more opportunities for trekking, cycling, climbing, and adventure sports in stunning locations around the world.”
Q: Is this like a timeshare? How? Or how isn’t it?
AP: “No, Storylines does not offer timeshares. There are a limited number of lease options (for 12 or 24 years) but the residences are mainly purchased outright. There is no limit to the amount of time an owner can occupy the unit. Unlike a timeshare, many of our owners plan to live in their home at sea 365 days per year. For our owners who do not anticipate being on the ship full time, they may opt to lend their home out to friends and family or rent it out through our Guest at Sea program.”
Q: What do buyers actually own when they buy the residence?
AP: “It is a leasehold agreement with occupancy rights for a specific term up to the full life of the vessel. With a full outright purchase, the resident owners get a perpetuity clause, which means they are able to roll over into a new residence on a future ship without an additional purchase, making this a long-term investment. The residences can be rented or sold, just the same as any other real estate investment, and are assets that can be transferred as part of an estate.”
Q: Are there medical/dental/vision resources on board?
AP: “Yes. With Storylines you will lead a healthier, happier and longer life. Storylines has a full medical team with proven proficiency in preventative care, general practice and emergency medicine. The team includes a MD general practitioner with ER training, preventative medicine physician, pharmacist, pathologist, nutritionist, acupuncturist, aesthetician, physical therapist, dental hygienist, nurses, assistants and technicians. Additional specialists are part of our resident community and offer their services in addition to our full-time staff. A support staff of personal trainers for fitness will also be available.
“There are health kiosks and gamification of physical activity monitoring in order to fulfill our ambitious preventative goals and have already started our wellness program now by sharing our digital wellness content.”
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The profile of a typical owner of Storylines residence ranges from young families to early retirees, Punton said.
“Storylines has a lot of solo travelers and entrepreneurs who can work from anywhere in the world,” he added. “Our community of like-minded residents bind well with our founding principles.”
He said those principals include:
- “We don’t cruise. We discover.”
- “We are not a vacation. We are a lifestyle.”
- “We don’t have itineraries. We have experiences.”
- “We don’t observe. We participate.”
- “We aren’t a demographic. We’re a mindset.”
“Storylines resident owners are global citizens who feel at home anywhere in the world,” Punton said.
This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "See residences for sale on new cruise ship: Travel world by sea, live in luxury home."
