The first luxury residential cruise ship was first launched in 2002 and since then there appears to be a growing demand for people choosing to live at sea. The current global pandemic may even have accelerated this trend as strict new safety protocols are implemented across the entire cruise industry. Whereas cruise liners once had a bad reputation for the onboard spread of gastro and other illnesses, they are now believed to become the safest form of travel.
However, what’s really driving the trend of owning a floating home is far more than health reasons alone. The newest player to enter the luxury residential cruise market. Storylines are sparing no expense when it comes to building their ship, MV Narrative, for today’s global citizen. Fully equipped with the latest technologies to not only enable a resident to live permanently and work remotely on the ship, MV Narrative offers facilities and services that provide a truly next-level customer experience.
As such, we will be basing our 5 reasons you’d want to live in a luxury residential cruise ship mostly on Storylines MV Narrative.
1. An easy and carefree way to travel the world
We could have just titled this benefit as travel the world but we are going to take it a step further. While travelling the world is a life-changing experience alone, doing it aboard a cruise ship takes away a lot of the pain points that come with global travel. What pain points, you may ask? Let’s take a look:
- Planning your itinerary
- Booking all your transportation
- Booking all your accommodations
- Checking in and out of all your accommodations
- Continually packing and repacking your bags
- Constantly lining up at customs and immigration
- The underlying feeling of unsettledness
- Lack of consistent travel community
Cruise travel largely removes these negatives as most of the heavy lifting is done for you. You may have heard it before from a serial cruiser as to why they love cruise travel so much, all you have to do is unpack. It’s true, once you have unpacked your luggage the hard part is largely over. Your itinerary is taken care of, your transportation and accommodation sorted, and you have a community of fellow travelers to bond and connect with while you travel around the world.
But we can take this idea of carefree travel even a step further when it comes to a residential cruise ship. The above benefits relate to cruise travel in general, but when you live on the ship you are taking your home with you around the world. This means that you can have all the comforts of home combined with the thrill and adventure of global travel. Every time you explore port destinations, you have the peace of mind that you will be returning to your home on board the ship. Now that’s travelling in comfort!
2. Lots of luxuries and amenities
Besides having the luxury of traveling the world and seeing and experiencing iconic port cities, exotic destinations and completely different cultures, the onboard facilities on the residential cruise ship are almost enough to keep you from getting off at the port.
Referring back to Storylines ship, MV Narrative, the list and quality of the facilities and amenities is truly astonishing. It’s almost like a floating playground for both young and old. Here is a taste of what is provided as part of your home onboard their ship:
Marina cafe, bar and lounge: The marina gives residents direct access to the sea for water sports using their provided kayaks, jet skis, scuba gear and more. And in case you feel like a cool drink by the water’s edge after your swim, the bar is right there waiting for you.
Sports bar, casino, bowling alley and golf simulator: Every public space on the ship brings its own personality, and none more so than the sports alley with its sporting memorabilia adorning the walls, several large flat-screen TVs and pool tables. It even comes with its own bowling alley and high-tech golf simulator.
Micro Brewery: Yep, you can even brew your own beer on board the ship. Moreover, they use ingredients sourced from around the world from the localities they visit. As a result, the brews are constantly changing to match the part of the world they are currently in, while also supporting the local communities they visit. I’ll cheer to that!
The above examples do not even scratch the surface of what’s on offer onboard a luxury residential cruise ship.
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3. A Sense of Community
Besides the amazing lifestyle on and off the ship, one of the main things current residents at sea rave about is the onboard community. Unlike a regular cruise vacation where your fellow passengers are single-serving friends, these people are your neighbors on a residential ship. And not just any random next-door neighbor, they all share in common a thirst for adventure, freedom, travel.
Being a part of a close-knit community not only provides a sense of belonging, safety and support, but is also proven important for mental health and well-being. At a time when more of us are feeling lonely, having a sense of community is more important than ever.
What’s more, imagine the bonds formed and the story’s created by your shared experiences exploring the world with your fellow community of global citizens.
4. You don’t need to be retired
Where retirement was most likely the case for the majority of the first batch of residents when The World launched back in 2002, much has changed since then. Especially when it comes to technology and communications. As we’ve witnessed during the last two years during the pandemic, remote working, home-schooling and telehealth have suddenly become the new norm.
People can now collaborate on projects from anywhere in the world through platforms like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace and Slack. They can also communicate by video with software such as Zoom, Meet and Twilio. Provided you have a solid internet connection and a job that can be done remotely, you can now work from pretty much anywhere, including a giant boat!
It seems Storylines are capitalizing on this as they are equipped with the latest cutting-edge technologies to enable their residents to work and children to learn onboard the ship. Besides having high-speed internet accessible from just about anywhere on the ship, they also have home office set-ups in the condos, business centers, co-working spaces and even an education department for the kids. However, I believe the best education will come from seeing and experiencing the world. As a result, even families with young children are getting onboard.
5. The all-inclusive fees are comparable to most major world cities
Storylines’ all-inclusive fees start at around $70 USD per day. When you think about what you spend day to day on expenses, this is pretty good. In fact, it is more than good, because besides the inclusive life including most meals, beverages, wi-fi, satellite TV, entertainment, laundry and housekeeping, you also get access to all of those amazing facilities and amenities mentioned earlier. As such, you will not need to carry a wallet with you, because you won’t need it!
Also read: Ways to Look Good While Travelling in Hot Countries
Living at sea
For those who are able to sustain themselves while living at sea, buying a home onboard a luxury residential cruise ship seems like the ultimate bucket list experience, enabling you to travel the world with your tribe, support the local communities you visit, and write your own life story. I know for this particular writer, he has made it his lifelong mission to one day live at sea and become a global citizen, and hopefully leave the world in better shape than when I entered it.
