- The super-rich can now buy permanent homes on a 971-foot long cruise ship for up to $36 million.
- Utopia is designed to be a floating luxury apartment building.
- The ship will travel to major sporting and cultural events around the globe such as Wimbledon, the Olympics, and Rio de Janeiro's Carnival.
For the ultra-wealthy, traveling the world is nothing new — but now they're bringing their luxurious homes along with them.
The richest people in the world can now buy permanent luxury apartments on Utopia, a 971-foot long cruise ship that will travel the world for months at a time and stop for global cultural and sporting events such as the Olympics, Wimbledon, and Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
The physical launch of the ship is still three and a half years out.
The floating residences cost between $4.4 million and $36 million — and many of the largest apartments are already purchased, David Robb, founder and chairman of the Utopia project and Harvard Business School alum, told Business Insider.
"We describe it as the largest private yacht in the world," Robb said. "Cruise ships are built to last approximately 25 to 30 years. We're building Utopia to a 100-year specification. There's nothing like that in the world."
Utopia's luxury residences are designed to be comparable to luxury condos in major cities such as New York or London.
Robb said the team went to great lengths to design open floor plan kitchens so that "someone with a beautiful apartment in New York would say, 'This kitchen looks just like what I have in my luxury apartment,'" he said. "[But] you can look out at the ocean. You can be preparing drinks while you're watching the islands go by outside. "
The ship's 190 apartments come in a variety of sizes and floor plans, ranging from about 1,500 square feet up to 6,200 square feet. Every bedroom has an ocean view, Robb said.
Robb noted that they told their naval architects that they wanted the ship to look "like a gorgeous luxury apartment in Central Park South."
"It has to be elegant and timeless," he added. "We can't be chasing fads because this is going to last a long time. We also told the architects that if it looks like a cruise ship anywhere on the inside, they're all fired."
Entertainment on board the Utopia will include a theater, a nightclub, jazz lounges, a casino, an art gallery, and a putting green. Residents will have plenty of ways to stay fit aboard the ship, including a walking track, a complete gym, multiple swimming pools and a multi-deck waterslide, paddle tennis, and fitness classes.
There will also be a luxury boutique hotel on board with 160 rooms so residents can invite in-laws, children, grandchildren, and other guests on board without having to invest in a larger apartment.
Robb said most of the buyers so far are business people and philanthropically-minded individuals, including artists and fine art collectors.
"I think what [Utopia] does is attract people who want to find something unique that they wouldn't otherwise see in a normal travel experience," Robb said. "You can't buy experiences. They're going to places and doing it in a way they wouldn't otherwise."
Utopia is being created by some of the same team that developed The World, a similar condo cruise ship launched in 2002 that only accepts buyers with at least $10 million in assets, according to Bloomberg. But Robb says Utopia has improved upon The World in terms of design, comfort, and economics for the residents.
Robb said that with Utopia, they've provided "the ultimate answer" for people who want to see the world but don't want to abandon the luxuries and comforts of home.
"That's kind of a revolutionary concept, traveling to remote parts of the world and having all of the infrastructure that you have at home," he said.
Beyond its residential focus, Utopia sets itself apart from traditional cruise ships by traveling the globe in one direction instead of making round trips in and out of ports. The ship will also stay in one port for up to a week as opposed to most cruise ships that stop for fewer than 24 hours.
"The most luxurious way to travel, I think, is to go into the heart of the country, to get out of the big cities and see what the countryside's like and how people really live," Robb said. "That's what we'll be able to do with this kind of itinerary, and that's unique."
Watch: The world's largest cruise ship just landed in Miami — here's what it's like on board
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