Ready for a VERY lavish life on the high seas! Couples who have splashed out MILLIONS of dollars to BUY cabins on a luxury ‘floating city’ cruise ship (that isn’t even built yet) reveal why they’re so keen to live on the water full-time
- Future residents of the MV Narrative have spent millions of dollars to live the sea
- The ship sets sail in 2025 and will spend over three years going around the world
- Residents have told DailyMail.com they spent up to $3 million on a new cabin
Ever wanted to spend your life traveling?
Well these future cruise ship residents are hoping to do just that after spending up to $3 million on a cabin before Storylines’ MV Narrative is even built.
The ship will have 547 fully furnished residences that range from 237 square feet to 1,970 square feet, with the homes priced between from $1 million to $8 million for ‘the lifetime of the vessel.’ A ship’s average lifespan is usually about 30 years.
The 1,195-square-foot RU4.3 Envision cabins are already sold out and there’s only one 1,270-square-foot RU4.4 Wonder left.
And other homes are being snapped up fast, with availability for some residences down to less than 20 per cent, despite the fact it won’t set sail until 2025.
Keen travelers have spent up to $3 million to live on a cruise ship, in particular this one, Storylines’ MV Narrative
The ship will have 547 fully furnished residences, with homes costing between from $1 million to $8 million for ‘the lifetime of the vessel,’ which is about 30 years
MV Narrative will also be home to 20 restaurants and bars, a microbrewery, a marina with personal watercraft, three pools with sundecks, a medical clinic, and a 10,000-square-feet health and wellness center. Pictured is one of the lounges
One of the lucky residents who was among the last to buy her type of cabin in the $3 million range was 52-year-old Misty Frost.
A place to call home! What’s onboard the MV Narrative
- 547 fully-furnished residences
- 20 restaurants and bars
- Microbrewery
- Three pools with sundecks
- 10,000-book library
- Movie theater
- Art studio
- Bowling alley
- Outdoor running track
- 10,000 sqft health center
- Medical clinic
- Marina with personal watercraft
She will live onboard the MV Narrative with her 55-year-old partner, Dean Brederson.
Misty, who is a former CEO and now does board advisory work, told DailyMail.com they purchased their one-bedroom cabin, which measures about 720 square feet, in January for $3 million, but she said it was now valued at $4.3 million.
The Salt Lake City couple’s cabin has a walk-in closet, two bathrooms, a balcony and a ‘configurable open area.’
‘People are like, “Why would you spend that type of money on a place that is the size of your current closet?” It’s not about the space specifically,’ Misty told DailyMail.com.
‘[There were] two compelling reasons for me. I don’t really see it as a place to sleep or watch TV… it’s really about having ownership of this ship. The ship itself is somewhere between a luxury yacht and a cruise ship. The design and what will be on the ship is actually incredible, you’re buying into this floating city vision.
‘There’s a pickle ball court, butcher, coffee roaster, tons of restaurants, theater, bowling alley… you’re buying it for an entire lifestyle.
‘The other thing that was so incredibly appealing to me is that the world is enormous. There are all these things I want to see and want to do, and spending the money when you travel, it becomes wildly expensive to travel to most of the global.’
Misty Dean, 52, and partner Dean Brederson, 55, are keen to get onboard the MV Narrative
The couple, from Salt Lake City, are pictured here in Costa Rica. They paid $3 million for their cabin
Misty (pictured in Argentina with Dean), who is also a mother to a 17-year-old son, said she was looking forward to spending a few days at each destination once the MV Narrative sets sail
The ship is currently being built in Croatia and won’t set sail until 2025. The concept for the vessel is pictured
The living room in the RU 4.3 Envision, which measures in at 1195 sq ft, with prices starting at $3.3 million
One of the resident lounges available for use on the ship, which will spend more than three years sailing around the world
Inside an RU3 bedroom, one of which will be owned by the Hennessees. The cabin measures in at 538 sq ft
The MV Narrative will be a home for a huge range of amenities – including 20 restaurants and bars, a microbrewery, three pools with sundecks, a medical clinic, a 10,000-square-feet health and wellness center, and a marina with personal watercraft.
A new way to live: Types of residences on the MV Narrative
RU1.1 Discover: 237 sqft, from $600K
RU1.2 Breeze: 334 sqft, from $900K
RU2 Explore: 377 sqft, from $1.1m
RU3 Indulge: 538 sqft, from $1.6m
RU4 Dream: 721 sqft, from $2.5m
RU4.1 Imagine: 904 sqft, from $2.75m
RU4.2 Inspire: 1,076 sqft, from $3m
RU4.3 Envision: 1,195 sqft, from $3.3m
RU4.4 Wonder: 1,270 sqft, from $3.4m
RU5.1 Encore: 1,432 sqft, from $4.6m
RU5 Global: 1,378-1,970 sqft, from $7.9m
Misty, who is also a mother to a 17-year-old son, said she was looking forward to spending a few days at each destination once the MV Narrative sets sail and being able to stumble across ‘unexpected alleys,’ where you can potentially discover the ‘best food of your entire life.’
A couple all too familiar with cruise ship life are John and Melody Hennessee, retirees from Port Salerno, Florida.
When they saw a Facebook post about the MV Narrative in early 2022, they had already signed up for a 279-day world cruise with Royal Caribbean.
Previously the Hennessees spent a year and a half traveling around in a 44-feet motorhome, and had ‘RV’ed extensively over the past seven years.’
And now they plan to ‘travel around the world for the remainder of our retirement.’
‘I’ve been a sailor all my life, and we love cruising and we love traveling,’ John, 75, told DailyMail.com.
‘We had just booked a round-the-world cruise on one of the cruise lines and a week later we saw the advertisement for Storylines. This is perfect for us, it’s exactly what we want to do.’
The couple, who ran the Fish House Art Center in Port Salerno before retiring in March 2021, bought a $2.9 million cabin that measures just under 600 square feet.
It features one bedroom, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a living room, bar and kitchen complete with a fridge, toaster oven and microwave.
A couple who is familiar with cruise ship life are John and Melody Hennessee, retirees from Port Salerno, Florida
They saw a Facebook post about the MV Narrative in early 2022 after signing up for a 279-day world cruise with Royal Caribbean
One of the resident lounges onboard the ship, which opens up to a spectacular balcony, with water views
The RU4.3’s living space, which has a bar, dining room, and a pop-up TV in the lounge
Concept art showing what the sunset will be like inside one of the rooms for residents of the MV Narrative
The ship opens up with a marina for personal watercraft and tenders
‘That’s about a little bit bigger than our RV, so we’re used to the space, so we know that won’t be an issue,’ Melody said.
The cabins are customizable and the Hennessees have taken full advantage of that by adding a murphy bed in the living room so they can have guests sleep over.
‘Each floor has a couple of kitchen lounges, if we want,’ John said.
‘But we also have 20-plus restaurants and bars, so it’s not like we need it,’ Melody added.
‘We’re so excited. We just love the idea of having our own residence on a residential ship. We are beside ourselves. We’re really, really looking forward to it because, like we said, we’re cruising now, we have 45 more cruises booked.’
The dining room inside the RU4.3 cabin. But residents have 20-plus restaurants and bars to choose from onboard the MV Narrative
The living room in the RU4 cabin which spans 721 sq ft and starts from $2.5 million
The RU4 has two bathrooms, one of them is pictured above with two sinks, and a shower and bathtub
A bathroom in the RU5, a two-story penthouse, with a listing price from $7.9 million
One of the bedrooms on offer with the penthouse, which will sprawl over two levels on decks 17 and 18
A mockup of what the balcony will look on the MV Narrative and residents will own their homes for the lifespan of the ship. A ship’s average lifespan is about 30 years
Like Misty, the Hennessees also saw the MV Narrative’s itinerary as an advantage.
‘[The MV Narrative] is gonna take three and a half years to go around the world, and every stop they’ll spend at least three to five days, which on a cruise ship you have just a few hours. We really love that concept,’ John said.
He added the ship’s medical facilities were also a huge draw for him as he’s a retired emergency and critical care physician, and studied alternative medicine.
A Storylines spokesperson told DailyMail.com the ‘prices of the residences have been increasing steadily based on increased demand and diminishing supply.’
‘The RU4.3 Envision residence type is now sold out and there is only one remaining RU4.4 Wonder currently available,’ she said.
‘Other unit types are down to less than 20% supply including the RU3 Indulge, RU1.2 Breeze and RU5 Global.’
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