A floating investment that allows you to cruise the world

You may have felt that the pleasure of owning a vacation property detracts somehow when given the fact that in the past you would have been inclined to visit a variety of destinations when on holiday but now feel somewhat obliged to visit your holiday home as much as possible.

A novel but somewhat pricey solution to the problem is to own a luxury permanent ocean residence as noted by Mary Nicklin in her Informed Traveller Blog. Taking a cue from the first luxury private residential ship of its kind, The World launched in March 2002 and started its maiden voyage with almost 60 per cent of its apartments sold. At present almost 90 per cent apartment space is now sold out. Cashing in on this newest of travelling trends, set to launch at the end of 2007, the Four Seasons Cruise Ship started off-plan sales of its 100 luxury apartments in 2005 and rumour has they are almost sold out thanks to the lure of many of the indulgent Four Seasons brand attractions including spa and wellness centre, fitness gym and driving range. Prices for full ownership are from 3.3 million Euros or the more affordable (?!?) 330,000 Euros for 1 month’s fractional ownership based on a 50 year lease.

Hot on Four Seasons heels are The Orphalese an event-driven ship tracking events such as Cannes and The Lunar New Year in Shanghai. Alternatively, The Magellan Residential Cruise Ship which, when complete in 2008, will have just 200 private homes including 16 penthouses. Full ownership starts at US$1.875 million via a 100-year leasehold or there is the option of fractional ownership starting at US$156,250 for a 1-month ownership in a 2-bedroom unit. There will also be 7 incremental price increases before complete sell out.

Factors weighing in on the success of projects such as these are the fact that the typical resale value of apartments on The World have been steadily increasing. The experience of an intriguing travel itinerary and the opportunity to be part of an ever travelling ocean community may create a whole new genre of property investment.

The Magellan is being marketed by Select Sea Residences