Cruise-ship condos offer oceans of luxury

Associated Press
Published in The Orlando Sentinel on September 30, 1999.

OSLO, Norway -- Rich homebodies stricken with wanderlust may soon be able see the world without leaving behind the comforts of home on a giant ship ordered by a Norwegian-led consortium Wednesday.

The consortium says the 648-foot-long ship will hold the world's first luxury condominiums afloat. The vessel will circle the globe, meaning residents can always be in the right place at the right time without ever having to pack.

"You have your own home while traveling the world. It is not cruising, but moving your home from port to port," said Fredy M. Dellis, chief executive officer of the ResidenSea Ltd. consortium.

The $262 million ship, to be called The World of ResidenSea, is scheduled to be completed by December 2001.

Apartments start at $2 million for about 1,100 square feet, and 43 of 110 units have already been sold. An additional 88 apartments and suites will be rented out, mainly to guests of owners. Operating costs are extra.

Norwegian billionaire Knut Kloster Jr. came up with the idea partly because he disliked packing up to leave his family-owned cruise ships as a child.

"I always envied the captain. He had a place to live on the ship. He had a place for his own clothes and stayed on board when I had to leave. That is the basic idea of The World, a home on a ship," Kloster said.

The ship ordered from Norway's Fossen Yards was a far cry from the giant vessel Kloster imagined when he proposed a 980-foot ship with 280 apartments in 1996.

Financial struggles shrank the plan, although the 12-deck ship ordered won't be cramped. Plans include an entire village on one deck, with restaurants, shops, a movie theater and walking paths. Another deck is to offer golf, skeet-shooting, swimming, jogging and other activities.

The World and its crew of 252 will follow events and seasons around the globe, perhaps stopping for a week in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival or docking in Cannes for the film festival. Owners can live aboard or join the vessel when they like.

Dellis said stationary second homes get boring with "that same view, that same place, that same season."

"Imagine having a new view every two or three days," he said.