Aside from the promise of worldwide excursions, the 12-deck ship has four restaurants, a fitness centre, a spa, two swimming pools, a theatre, a golf simulator and the only regulation-size tennis court in the world aboard a ship.
Launched in 2002, the luxury ship is the brainchild of a Norwegian shipping family.
“In the very beginning, it was a bit of a hybrid concept,” says Thomas Legner, the ship’s senior general manager. “It was full ownership, but then there was also a cruise component where [for] one deck, which are the studio apartments, you could basically book those in a travel agency.”
It became apparent that this arrangement would not work out long-term, as owners preferred to spend longer in port while guests expected the jam-packed schedules typically associated with a cruise. As a result, in 2003 The World became a full-ownership yacht.
Today it is managed with the help of over 300 crew members from 42 countries and a management office of about 40 people in the US state of Florida.
Residents, many of whom come from North America, Australia and Europe, spend an average of three to four months on board, and the ship’s average occupancy at one time ranges between 150 and 200 residents. During peak times, there may be up to 300 people on the ship.
Most owners treat The World like their holiday home; they often invite family members and close friends, and hop on and off as they wish. If one gets off the ship in South Africa, for example, one can catch up with the ship later in Singapore.
For residents – mostly high-net-worth individuals whose average age falls in the mid-60s – The World boasts a variety of selling points.
First, there is the itinerary: this year alone, the ship has travelled to Antarctica as part of an expedition, Brazil, Tristan da Cunha (a group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean), Kenya, Seychelles, Myanmar, and Vietnam. It docked in Hong Kong in late June, during which the Post had the chance to visit the ship.
By the end of the year, The World is expected to have sailed to more than 90 destinations and gone on two additional expeditions, to the Kimberley region in Western Australia, and Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Legner explains that for expeditions, a specialised team complete with instructors, scientists and photographers is brought in. Residents of the ship can also learn more about the destinations through films and talks held in The World’s theatre.
“We have amazing lectures that really bring the destination alive,” he says.
What differentiates The World from cruise ships is that residents vote on the yearly itinerary three years in advance, with the yacht usually spending four to five days in big ports and notable destinations, and two to three days in smaller ports.
To help plan daily activities, the ship also has a concierge service, and frequently brings in local tour guides and travel coordinators.
“We are extremely preference driven,” Legner says, adding that staff have become intimately familiar with residents’ inclinations over time. “We can really create something that’s very bespoke and very unique.
“You can only do that when you’re catering to a small group of people. You couldn’t do that on a cruise ship with 1,000 people or 5,000 people, where people are coming and going.”
Additionally, The World offers what it calls “the signature experience”, where exclusive events are organised for residents.
“When we were in Turkey, we organised a beautiful event in one of the largest, incredibly well-preserved Roman theatres,” Legner says. “It was exclusive for us – this amazing theatre that’s 2,000 years old. That was just stunning.”
Residents can reserve outdoor beds during the evening to stargaze and, depending on the itinerary, they might have the opportunity to physically swim across the equator or engage in polar plunges.
The ship’s casual and fine-dining restaurants serve a variety of cuisines, which can be enjoyed with one of the 15,000 bottles of wine on the ship – The World has received the award for “Best Ship Wine List” in the World’s Best Wine Lists Awards for nine consecutive years.
There is also an art gallery, although the most notable works on the ship might be hidden inside residents’ homes – one of the apartments available for viewing featured works by painters Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.
So how much does it all cost? The properties, which range from studio apartments around 300 square feet (28 square metres) to three-bedroom apartments that span over 3,000 square feet, cost anywhere between US$2 million and US$15 million each.
There is also an undisclosed ownership fee, based on the size of your apartment, which includes a food and drink allowance and covers operating costs for the ship.
According to one British resident, who did not want to be named, the cost of living on The World is actually lower and life more convenient than operating a private yacht in the long term, given that residents do not have to worry about hiring and retaining staff, purchasing fuel, reserving berths and other logistics.
Every residence on The World is currently owned, but at any given time eight to 10 per cent of them might be up for sale – the average ownership time is around seven to eight years.
A lot of the sales are internal, as residents may want to upgrade to a larger space or buy another apartment for close friends and family, Legner says.
Prospective residents are also invited to come on board for tours, and can choose to book a voyage for around a week or longer to try out the experience before buying.
Not everyone who wants to buy is able to, as prospects are vetted during the voyage by existing residents. The British resident recalls how one couple were caught being rude to the staff and were subsequently rejected for ownership.
Ultimately, The World offers an experience that is truly special. It helps that the service is exceptional: “This isn’t five-star; this is six, seven-star,” the British resident says.
“Over the years, there have been numerous projects out there trying to recreate this kind of ship. To date, we’re still the only one,” Legner says.
“There is no other ship like this in the world. The combination of a luxury hotel, a country club, and all of that on a ship – it’s just so unique.”
