Austin Wells loves to journey the world.
But he doesn’t like long flights, jet lag or a good unsettled routine.
And that’s why, Wells, who is 28 and lives in San Diego, leased a residence on board a luxury boat that he will move into — and work remotely from — for at least three years as it sails around the globe. It comes complete with medical services, the farmer’s market, private kitchens and an exercise center, along with 24-hour room service, a co-working space and spa.
His room is on a mega cruise ship named the MV Narrative , made up of more than 500 private rooms and apartments, which will be home to around 1, 000 residents who will live on board more or less permanently.
“The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the particular world, ” Wells told CNBC by video call.
“I’m going from this model where you want to go somewhere, you pack a bag, you get on a flight, you rent a room, in order to now my condo, the gym, our doctors plus dentists, all of my grocery stores travel the world with me, ” this individual added.
Water wells — whose job in Meta ‘s augmented and virtual reality division, Reality Labs, is fully remote — plans to continue to work U. S. West Coast hours as the dispatch visits European cities.
“My working hours will be shifted towards evenings, nights and very early mornings. But that does open up the ability for me to … maybe see a city midday in order to afternoon plus then start my workday around six or 7 p. m., ” he or she said.
“This is probably the first time ever that there is even the particular ability to have a standard job and even consider working and living from the floating apartment complex, inch Wells added.
What is the MV Story?
The MV Narrative is an upscale residential deliver being built by Storylines, the brainchild of co-founder and CEO Alister Punton, a former construction and property executive who had never been upon a cruise before founding the company, he informed CNBC.
Noticing that large ships tended to be scrapped, Punton and co-founder Shannon Lee saw an opportunity to redevelop them instead.
After some false starts — they bought and redesigned two ships that turned out in order to be unsuitable, either with regard to the lifestyle occupants expected or even because they did not meet new environmental laws — they commissioned a new vessel. The particular MV Narrative is now under construction in Split, Croatia, from exactly where it will set sail inside 2025.
There will be 11 types of residence on board , with the largest — “Global” from 1, 970 square feet — on two levels, with up to four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large balcony, a dining room that seats six and a walk-in closet.
Some apartments are located on a deck with a Champagne and whisky bar, cigar lounge and small pool at one end, while others have observation lounges and event spaces.
Other facilities, spread across 18 decks, will include 20 restaurants and bars, a 10, 000-square-foot gym and health spa open 24 hours a day, three swimming pools, a school, library, bank and office spaces. The ship will certainly also have a theater regarding performances plus movies, though unlike traditional cruise boats, extravagant entertainment won’t be much of the focus, Punton told CNBC.
Where the ship will go
The particular MV Narrative will dock at ports for around 3 to five days, which Punton said is longer than average for liners, allowing inhabitants to explore. “Most people … will be out in the local cities and doing day trips and overnight trips, hiring a car and going out for three or four days and meeting the particular ship with its next destination, inches he told CNBC simply by video contact.
A sample itinerary might include three days docked within Rome, then three times in Naples, followed by stops at smaller places such as the seaside towns of Sapri and Marsala, and eventually reaching Venice before sailing upon to Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Greece and then Turkey.
The ship will also go in order to the Arctic Circle. In total, it will spend 3 years or so traveling the world (the full itinerary is yet to be announced).
Wells plans to spend time exploring on land too. “Revisiting all of Europe, I think, is what I’m particularly keen on … so much associated with the interesting parts, in my opinion, of Europe are towards the center, ” he informed CNBC.
What this costs
Wells spent around $300, 000 upon a 12-year lease for an entry-level “Discover” studio, which usually at 237 square ft includes a foldaway bed, pantry area, desk plus separate shower room. (Most leases are usually either intended for 24 years or to get the life of the particular vessel — around 60 years — but as an early customer, Wells was offered the shorter option. )
Punton wanted the MV Narrative to end up being more affordable than other residential boats. The World, for example , is a lavish liner where a penthouse residence costs close to 20 mil euros ($20. 5 million), and there are only about 150-200 people on table at any time.
While the MV Narrative’s units are still pricey — at around $1 million in order to $8 million for a life-of-vessel lease —it launched fractional ownership options in November, with a 25% share starting at close to $600, 000, allowing citizens to stay on board for three months a year.
“All-inclusive living fees” come on top of the purchase price, starting on around $2, 100 a person per month, covering things like food and drinks from the ship’s restaurants plus bars, laundry, fitness classes and healthcare checkups.
“We’re still competitively priced to the market, inch Punton said.
Residents will also be able to rent out their units if they are not upon board — regardless associated with whether they are full or part owners. A studio apartment like the one Water wells bought could generate about $4, five hundred a month, according to the calculator on the Story lines website.
Who’s buying
Wells expects to become one of the youngest adult residents on plank — around 30 when he moves in. Residents will range from mid-life entrepreneurs in order to families with children, he said.
Children can attend the ship’s “world schooling” program, which blends online learning along with small group teaching, field trips and workshops with experts from the countries the particular ship docks at, based on Storylines’ website.
Retirees plus those close to retirement are also buying into the ship, Punton told CNBC. One future resident is an ER nurse with about 30 many years of operating experience who is keen to work in the MV Narrative’s medical team part time, Punton said. He also hopes to recruit owners from other types associated with professions this kind of as acupuncturists and physiotherapists.
“I always say to people, you can come and drink pina coladas by the particular pool all day if you like and not lift the finger . But that will gets old pretty quickly. So , a person want in order to keep performing [the job] you do, right, so this is a way for people to be able to do that, ” stated Punton. “That’s a fundamental difference [between] us and a cruise. ”
The particular Storylines head office will also be based on the MV Narrative, with company executives living on board. Punton will move onto the ship along with his wife and 2 children, who are currently two and 5.
“For me, I’m, a person know, pretty much seven yrs into this particular project already. And by the time we hit the particular water will be a decade. It’s a long portion of my existence. And of course, We want to live this lifestyle as much as anybody else, ” this individual told CNBC.
Wells expects to make friends for life upon board. “The goal is to actually have got a community associated with residents on this vessel. And so you may establish new friends, you will largely traveling the planet with them, which usually is potentially a way to create some of the deepest friendships you’ve ever had, ” he or she told CNBC.
Could Punton foresee someone living upon the ship for the rest of their life? “People can actually [own] in perpetuity … so it can actually be gifted into their estates and passed down through the generations … and their family can continue to live on the next ship as well. ”
There is a second vessel in the offing once the particular residences upon board the MV Narrative are almost all sold (around half have been bought so far), Punton said.
“We have identified a really big market here. And there’s a lot of people who want to get involved and be a part of this, ” he said.
— CNBC’s Tom Huddleston Jr. contributed to this particular report.