If you've ever wanted to live on a cruise ship, now is your chance
If you've ever gone on a cruise and thought to yourself: "Gee, I wish I could live on here forever", your chance has come.
A new cruise ship, coming early next year, is offering passengers the chance to buy rooms in their "floating estate", and live and work while at sea.
Villa Vie Residences is due to set sail in May 2024, and is selling rooms onboard for $158,000 - cheaper than most houses.
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You can buy a room on board a ship for cheaper than most mortgages. Getty
The ship will depart from the UK, and do a lap of the globe every three-and-a-half years. The rouse sees Villa Vie stop in at 420 ports in 147 countries across all seven continents.
Guests can purchase permanent cabins on board, the most expensive of which runs a cool $395,000.
However, you're not just buying the room. Everyone who lives onboard will also be able to enjoy live entertainment, multiple dining options, a fitness centre, a golf simulator, multiple swimming pools and a business centre with high-speed internet - perfect for remote workers.
If it sounds great but you're not too sure how you'd cope living full-time on a ship, guests also have the opportunity to just pay for their cabin by the day, at a rate of around $140 a night.
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The most expensive room comes with a massive balcony. Villa Vie Residences
Don't worry, you won't have to leave your beloved furry friends at home - the ship is completely pet friendly. There's even a "pet spa" on board, where your pooches can be groomed and pampered.
All cabins have a queen bed and private bathroom, with three separate sizes available to be purchased: An Inside Villa, an Oceanview villa or a sprawling Balcony Villa, which has a 60-square-foot balcony and 200 square feet of space inside.
All rooms have big beds and are spacious enough to live in. Villa Vie Residences
The cabins feature a state-of-the art bathroom. Villa Vie Residences
However, just like buying an apartment, the price you pay for your cabin won't be the only fee faced if you're a permanent passenger.
Monthly fees must be paid on top of the purchase price, which start at $2,780 per person. This covers onboard food and drinks, plus services like medical support, housekeeping, and laundry.
CEO Mikael Petterson said the company aims to "empower travellers to make the world their home".
He added: "Villa Vie Residences is not just a cruise, it's a lifestyle re imagined."
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The ship will have a culinary centre where passengers can take cooking classes. Villa Vie Residences
After the ship departs from the UK, it will sail around Europe then toward the Caribbean, around the Americas, through Japan and the South Pacific to Australia.
Villa Vie residences will spend 69 days sailing around Australia and end up in Bali, departing Sydney on Feb 21, 2026.
Those who aren't keen to buy a cabin can create their own bespoke itinerary by combining up to 16 segments of the world cruise.
This isn't the first long-term cruise ship. Life at Sea Cruises is due to depart in November for a three-year round-the-world cruise, dubbed "the cruise that never ends".
Individuals will have to sign up for three years – but now they can start at any point in the itinerary, making it a rolling three-year cruise, rather than a set one.
