NEW YORK - This is the ship made for those whose ship has already come in.
The World of ResidenSea, a floating condominium for millionaires with wanderlust, recently visited New York, Philadelphia and Savannah, Ga., on its endless travels around the globe.
The World is designed as a luxurious retelling of the maritime legend of the Flying Dutchman, a hapless vessel doomed to wander the seas forever, never reaching home. The World is like that, except that for some, it is home.
And a very well-appointed home that happens to call at some of Earth's most desirable ports, among them Cannes for the film festival or Christmas Island in the South Pacific for yuletide.
The Norwegian-built World was launched in March and has spent the ensuing months wending its way around the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, making scores of stops at which it spent an average of 2 1/2 days.
"About 15 to 20 percent of our residents consider this to be their primary abode," said Lisa Bailey, communications manager for ResidenSea Ltd., a Bahamian company.
A similar number plan to spend four to six months a year aboard, she said, and others will take only relatively brief vacations at sea, making their apartments (not "staterooms," please) available for rental.
The 110 designer-decorated apartments have up to three bedrooms, complete kitchens, and from 1,100 to 3,200 square feet. There are 88 smaller spaces for short-term rentals.
$5 million required
Any landlubber wanting to weigh anchor and live the life of a pampered sea dog should carry some serious ballast. ResidenSea requires prospective purchasers of the 50-year leaseholds to show a net worth of $5 million. (Fifty years is the expected lifespan of the ship.) The apartments go for $2.25 million to $7.5 million, and the monthly condo fees range from $10,000 to $30,000.
Those prices may soften a bit, however; despite an aggressive sales campaign for the last month in New York and other North American ports, ResidenSea continues to say just what it said in early summer - that the ship is about three-quarters sold. Plans for a sister ship are on hold.
As to the identities of the leaseholders, mum's the word. Guided media tours of the ship during its New York stay last week avoided any contact with residents, most of whom were reportedly out enjoying city life anyway. ResidenSea declined to provide names or phone numbers.
"This is their private home," Bailey said. "We don't want to bombard them."
But the company did say that the average age is 55, that the buyers made their money themselves rather than inheriting it, that most have a serious thing for golf, that they value their privacy, and that they tend to be deeply interested in learning about the countries they visit. About 40 percent are Americans, 40 percent are British, and the rest are from all over.
"The composite picture, then," said a recent story in The Times of London, "is of a boatload of intensely private, self-made, middle-aged golf nutters with a penchant for culture, health food and a martini."
At 644 feet, the World is not particularly large - only about half the size of the cruise ship Carnival Legend. Its boxy lines and 12 decks ensure that every apartment has a private balcony.
Aboard the ship
The main public venue is the fifth deck, essentially the center of the ship, which is called "the Village." At the stern is the Marina, an open-air lounge that includes, when the World is in port, a launching area for the flotilla of small craft the ship carries.
Going forward is Fredy's Deli, for snacks and a few groceries, and Portraits, the most expensive of the four restaurants aboard, where French entrees run about $30. (On most cruise ships, meals are included, but World passengers generally pay extra, the rationale being that they all have kitchens.)
Next is the House of Graff, an expensive jewelry store in case, as Bailey said, "you'd like a diamond in the morning."
Beyond that is the Plaza, which corresponds to the understatedly elegant lobby of an expensive hotel.
Then there is a nightclub, a small casino, a chapel and a theater for lectures, performances or movies. In the bow are a well-equipped gym, a beauty salon, and a spa run by Clinique La Prairie of Switzerland.
But it is up on the topmost deck, the sports deck, that the World gives in to its principal passion, golf. The ship has "the first full-sized tennis court at sea," Bailey said, and table tennis, a jogging circuit and a pool, but golf is clearly the star.
Seventy percent of the World's clientele plays. There is a large, real-grass putting green and a sand bunker, and a long list of landlocked courses World passengers can use when ashore.
The golfing does not end when the ship is at sea, however. A realistic golf simulator gives video replicas of 52 renowned courses worldwide, which duffers play with real clubs and regulation balls.
And for a certain kind of thrill, the World offers special biodegradable balls of pressed rawhide, which dissolve quickly in salt water for ecologically guiltless practice on the driving range.
"People like to say that they hit one from the top of the World," said Bobby Walia, one of the ship's two golf pros.
The World, like its unbuilt sister, was conceived by Norwegian cruise ship magnate Knut U. Kloster Jr. way back in 1997.
It was a different time: Silicon Valley was booming, lavish perks were being bestowed freely, and to many the world seemed an oyster certain to be heavy with pearls.
If sales are stalling now, maybe a sea change will revive them. In the meantime, the World will move on, to Australia for the America's Cup races and possibly to Athens for the 2004 Olympics. (Itineraries are voted on by a committee of owners and investors.)
Along one of the residential corridors, a recent visitor overheard a snippet just before an apartment door closed.
"I understand you're going to be aboard until we get to Mozambique," a voice said. "That's marvelous."