I have been fascinated with the idea of living at sea for years.

I have also learned to be cautious.

I previously invested in two residential-at-sea concepts that
ultimately did not come to market as promised. Fortunately, in both
cases I received my money back.

Not everyone has been so lucky.

The unfortunate reality of this emerging industry is that too many
entrepreneurs set out with a compelling dream but do not have the
capital required to turn that dream into a ship.

And ships require a lot of capital.

I also happen to know a thing or two about startups.

Over the past 30 years, I have started more than a dozen companies,
written the award-winning book Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat., and built
Startup Club, where I spend a lot of time around entrepreneurs trying
to turn ideas into real businesses.

That experience has taught me that almost every startup, regardless of
industry, ultimately needs four things to succeed:

Story.

People.

Money.

Systems.

Residential cruising is no different.

In fact, these projects may be one of the clearest examples of why all
four matter.

Almost every residential cruise concept has a great Story. Living
aboard a beautiful ship while traveling the world is not a difficult
dream to sell.

Some have excellent People behind them.

Eventually, they can build the Systems required to operate the ship.

But the stumbling block for many projects has been Money.

Buying an existing cruise ship can cost $100 million or more.
Converting it into residences can require another $100 million. A
purpose-built residential vessel can cost $1 billion or more.

A great idea and a few hundred deposits are simply not enough.

Residential living at sea is no longer just a theory.

The World has been operating for more than two decades at the
ultra-luxury end of the market, proving that wealthy owners will buy
private residences aboard a ship and live internationally for long
periods.

Villa Vie Odyssey has demonstrated something very different: a more
accessible residential model built around an older converted cruise
ship and a broader community of long-term residents.

Those two ships matter because they prove there is more than one
version of living at sea.

Now the next generation of projects is emerging.

One of them is Avora Lumina, where my wife Kim and I have purchased a residence.

I chose Avora in part because it had crossed one of the most important
thresholds for me: there was an actual ship.

I visited Seven Seas Navigator myself, toured the vessel and recorded
a video of the experience, which you can see here.

That mattered.

I have also stayed on Regent’s ultra-luxury ships, and they are quite
different from traditional cruise ships. The atmosphere is quieter,
the service is more personal, the public spaces feel less crowded and
the overall experience feels much closer to a floating luxury
residence than a conventional mass-market cruise.

That difference becomes important when you start thinking about living
aboard for months at a time.

A ship designed around high service levels, smaller passenger counts
and more refined public spaces naturally lends itself better to
residential living than a vessel built primarily around short,
high-volume vacations.

That was one of the reasons Avora appealed to me.

The ship existed. I could walk through it. I could see the scale, the
layout and the quality firsthand. I was not simply buying into a
rendering of what might someday exist.

That does not eliminate risk.

Far from it.

But there is a meaningful difference between owning the vessel you
intend to convert and still searching for one.

Residential Cruise Ship Projects at a Glance

 

AVORA LUMINA

Avora Lumina is the project I ultimately chose.

Avora acquired Seven Seas Navigator from Regent Seven Seas Cruises and
plans to convert the vessel into a residential ship before launching
in January 2028.

That mattered to me for a very simple reason.

The ship is real.

It has operated for years.

It has been acquired.

And I was able to physically visit it and understand what I was buying into.

Kim and I purchased a residence aboard Lumina because we liked the
size of the ship, the premium service model and the concept of
spending significant parts of the year traveling while still having a
place that feels like home.

My experience on Regent ships also played a role.

Ultra-luxury cruising feels very different from traditional cruising.
There is less emphasis on crowds, lines, packed venues and constant
scheduled activity. The experience is calmer, more spacious and more
personalized.

That, in my view, translates much better to residential living.

I do not consider the investment risk-free.

Until the ship comes out of the shipyard and starts sailing with
residents aboard, there is still execution risk.

But Avora has already crossed a hurdle that many residential cruise
startups never reach.

It has the ship.

In my four-part framework, Avora has made meaningful progress on
Story, People and Money.

Now the emphasis moves increasingly toward Systems and execution.

My view: One of the more advanced new residential projects because the
underlying vessel has actually been acquired.

SIRIUS

Sirius may be the most interesting new residential concept I have seen recently.

It is being developed by entrepreneurs Alex Rich and Kate Hankinson.

Their vision is noticeably different from the retirement-oriented
model people traditionally associate with living at sea.

Sirius is targeting remote workers, families and dog owners.

Plans include an international school, extensive coworking facilities,
high-speed internet, dog-friendly residences, an onboard veterinarian
and even a rooftop dog park.

The company plans approximately 711 residences.

Sirius says it has shortlisted three existing cruise ships and is in
active negotiations, with one vessel identified as Candidate A.

They have also been unusually transparent about the expected economics.

The company estimates roughly $100 million to $150 million to acquire
a ship and another $80 million to $100 million for the conversion.

And this is where my startup framework becomes useful.

The Story is excellent.

The target market makes sense to me. I believe residential cruising is
going to become younger precisely because high-speed internet allows
people to continue working while living aboard.

The People appear to be credible entrepreneurs.

But the key question remains Money.

Who is providing roughly $200 million?

Until Sirius identifies its ship and financing, I consider it exciting
but speculative.

My view: Perhaps the most innovative customer proposition on the list.
The next milestone that matters is not another rendering. It is
financing and a ship acquisition.

VOYAGER I

Voyager I is taking yet another approach.

John Ibbitson and The FIRM International Cruise Lines increasingly
describe Voyager not simply as a residential ship, but as a floating
entertainment destination.

The concept now combines residential cruising with traditional cruise
passengers, casino gaming, VIP gaming, major entertainment, dinner
shows, premium dining, corporate events and even partial or full-ship
charters.

That potentially creates more revenue streams than a purely residential ship.

Voyager recently completed an international shipyard tender and is
evaluating potential yards, including possibilities in China.

The company is also actively searching for an international casino operator.

Interestingly, Voyager says the right casino partner could potentially
participate not just as an operator, but also through investment or
broader commercial involvement.

That tells me something.

The project is still assembling its pieces.

The Story continues to evolve.

John clearly brings persistence and vision.

But Voyager still needs to complete several critical steps, including
financing, final ship selection, shipyard selection and major
operating partnerships.

Its stated target remains 2027.

That strikes me as ambitious considering the amount of work still ahead.

My view: One of the more interesting projects to follow, but still
speculative until we see the ship, financing and major operating
partners locked down.

CLYDEBUILT DARK ISLAND

Dark Island may be the boldest project on this list.

Rather than acquiring an existing cruise ship, Scotland-based
Clydebuilt proposes building an entirely new residential vessel.

The current concept calls for a ship of roughly 89,750 gross tons with
236 residences and capacity for more than 700 residents.

The reported project value is approximately £1.2 billion.

Clydebuilt is led by Tommy McGinn and a team with considerable
engineering and shipbuilding experience.

That is important.

This does not appear to be a group of marketers who simply
commissioned a beautiful rendering and decided to become shipbuilders.

But £1.2 billion is £1.2 billion.

The Story is certainly compelling.

The People have meaningful engineering experience.

But once again we return to Money.

I have not yet seen public evidence of committed construction
financing on the scale required, a final construction contract or
major physical construction milestones.

My view: Technically fascinating and enormously ambitious. Financing
is the hurdle that matters.

M/Y NJORD

Njord provides perhaps the best cautionary example in this entire article.

On paper, the project had nearly everything.

An extraordinary luxury residential yacht.

World-class designers.

A respected ship manager.

And one of the world’s most respected shipyards.

Meyer Werft announced the project in 2021 with a planned delivery at
the end of 2025.

But there was one important qualification.

The shipbuilding agreement was subject to financing.

The financing did not come together as originally anticipated, and
2025 passed without the ship being delivered.

Njord is a powerful demonstration of something entrepreneurs sometimes
learn painfully.

You can have an incredible Story.

You can assemble exceptional People.

You can design sophisticated Systems.

But without Money, none of the other three ultimately matter.

My view: I would love to see Njord revived, but today I consider it
stalled until a new financing and construction plan emerges.

THE LESSON FROM RESIDENTIAL CRUISING

I remain extremely bullish on the idea of living at sea.

I would not have purchased a residence myself if I weren’t.

But being bullish on an industry does not mean believing every company
in that industry will succeed.

Quite the opposite.

Emerging industries attract entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs dream.

Some raise the money necessary to turn those dreams into businesses.

Others don’t.

Residential cruising will be no different.

Over the next five years, I expect we will see ships launch, projects
merge, projects change direction and some projects simply disappear.

That is normal.

What matters for potential residents is understanding where each
project actually stands.

Has the company announced a ship?

Has it actually acquired the ship?

Has financing closed?

Is there a shipyard contract?

Has construction or conversion started?

Where are deposits held?

Who operates the vessel?

Those questions matter considerably more than beautiful photographs of
infinity pools overlooking Bora Bora.

The encouraging part is that we are finally beginning to see very
different versions of residential cruising emerge.

Avora is targeting a premium residential experience.

Sirius wants to bring families, working professionals and dogs aboard.

Voyager is experimenting with an entertainment-driven business model.

Dark Island is pursuing an extraordinary purpose-built luxury vessel.

Njord represents what the very top of the market might eventually look like.

Not all of them will make it.

I hope many do.

Because I believe we are still at the very beginning of a fundamental
shift in how people think about where they can live.

High-speed internet changed the equation.

You can live almost anywhere and still remain connected to your
business, your family and the rest of the world.

For some of us, that “anywhere” may soon include the middle of the ocean.

And this time around, I will continue watching all four things:

Story.

People.

Money.

Systems.

Because when it comes to residential ships, the Story is easy.

Getting the other three right is what ultimately gets you out of port.