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A 28-year-old tech worker thinks he’s found the perfect way to see the world while working remotely by buying a studio on a cruise ship.
Austin Wells, of San Diego, purchased a 12-year lease at MV Narrative, purchasing a 237-square-foot apartment.
The cruise will launch in 2025 and Wells, who works for Facebook’s parent company Meta, intends to reside for at least three years while it circumnavigates the globe, while he works.
“What excites me the most is that I don’t have to break my daily routine to go see the world,” Wells said, speaking with CNBC.
Austin Wells, 28, bought a $300,000 studio on a cruise ship, with a 12-year lease.
The MV Narrative will set sail from Croatia, where it is being built, in 2025.
Wells’ 237-square-foot apartment features a pull-out bed and a small bathroom
The bathroom inside the Wells cruise studio is similar to those found in luxury apartments.
Wells’ apartment is the cheapest available: High-end property is on sale for $8 million
‘I’m leaving this model where you want to go somewhere, you pack a suitcase, take a flight, rent a room; so far my condo, my gym, my doctors and dentists, all my grocery stores travel the world with me.’
The MV Narrative will have 547 floating condominiums, with Wells being the humblest.
The top of the range is a two-story, four-bedroom apartment that ranges over 1,970 square feet and is for sale for $8 million.
Most apartments are offered for a 24-year or lifetime (60-year) lease, but Wells secured a shorter term as part of a promotion to attract new residents.
Wells said he had always been fascinated by big ships, describing them as “a marvel of engineering and economics”, and was excited to experience it.
The ship has multiple lounges and work spaces spread over 18 floors.
The more expensive apartments come with balconies, like the one advertised in this computer-generated image.
Inside the ship is a library and a meeting area.
He said he was looking forward to exploring “harder-to-reach destinations or destinations at sea like beautiful diving spots.”
Wells added: ‘It’s like having a condo. You can sell it, you can rent it.
The company behind the project, Storyline, has a team that will help with sales and rentals, something Wells said was important to ensure the ship “feels alive.”
A studio like the one Wells bought could bring in about $4,500 a month, according to a calculator on the Storylines website.
The ship will have a deck with a champagne and whiskey bar, a cigar lounge and a small pool at one end.
It has 20 restaurants and bars spread over 18 floors; a 24-hour 10,000-square-foot fitness center and spa; three pools; a school, library, bank and offices.
One of the three swimming pools on board the MV Narrative is shown
The ship will also have a theater for shows and movies, but does not plan to present the extravagant entertainment typical of regular cruise ships.
The company expects people from all walks of life to join, including families.
Residents will have to pay $2,100 per month per person in an “all-inclusive living fee,” which covers food and beverages from the ship’s restaurants and bars, laundry, fitness classes and medical checkups.
Wells’ study calculates $2,083 a month for the 12-year lease, so with the housing fee included, your total cost will be significantly lower than renting a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan.
Wells works at Meta’s augmented and virtual reality division, Reality Labs, and her work is completely remote.
He plans to continue working US West Coast hours while the ship visits European cities.
“My work schedule will be changed to afternoons, nights and early mornings,” he said.
“But that opens up the possibility for me to see a city from noon to afternoon and then start my workday around six or seven in the evening.”
The most expensive apartment is an $8 million four-bedroom, two-story property, with a retail price of $8 million.
The 741-foot cruise ship will dock in ports for around three to five days, longer than the average for ocean liners.
“Most people will be in the local towns and do day and night trips, rent a car and head out for three or four days and meet the ship at its next destination,” explained CEO Alister Punton, former construction and property executive. that he had never been on a cruise before founding the company.
He plans to move to the ship, like all the executives, with his wife and children.
Punton said a sample itinerary could include three days docked in Rome, then three days in Naples, followed by stops in smaller places like the coastal towns of Sapri and Marsala, and finally arriving in Venice before sailing to Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Greece. and then Turkey.
The ship will also go to the Arctic Circle during its three-year voyage around the world.
Wells said he was excited to start the journey.
“This is probably the first time there’s been the possibility of having a standard job and even considering working and living in a floating apartment complex,” he said.