CRUISING ON RESIDENSEA’S “THE WORLD”

“The World” is undoubtedly the most unique cruise ship operating in the world today. The Conde Nast Traveler’s May 2003 issue put “The World” in their list of 80 Hot Hotels in the World”. To simply call “The World” a cruise ship would be like calling Alain Ducasse a sous-chef!

The uniqueness of the ship alone should make this ship a prime candidate for your more experienced, seasoned and up-market groups.

What makes this ship so very different? The list is long, let me start by saying that this ship is a floating condo that has been selling suites and apartments that range in price from $950,000.00 to over $5,000,000.00. Of course there are condo maintenance fees that range from $33,000.00 to $246,000.00 annually, food and beverage NOT included. It goes without saying that you have a few discerning owners.

More than likely the vast majority of your guests will be staying in one of the more moderately expensive suites that are around 330 sq ft/30 sq meters. These very tastefully done suites feature balconies, marble baths with full size tubs and showers, walk-in closets, mini bar, ample room for in-suite dining, safe, TV with VCR and DVD and CD, true king size beds or twins with Frette linens. In fact four world-renowned interior designers were commissioned for the design of the apartments and suites so you can imagine how well they are done. One of the more unique features in the suites is a glass window looking out of the bath area on to the balcony. For privacy there is an electric blind that comes down.

For your VIPS, you might want to consider a two-bedroom apartment. These residences range in size up to 1,666 sq ft/154 sq meters. The luxuriously furnished apartments come with two bedrooms, two marble bathrooms, living room, dining room and fully equipped kitchen. Why a kitchen? Of course if you where a resident you might not want to “eat out” every night, you might want to entertain your friends or you might want to requested the ultimate in room service. On “The World” you can arrange for a chef to come and prepare a meal in your apartment. Now that’s room service! When you are done how about some champagne on your private balcony in the Jacuzzi?

An obvious question is how big is this ship? At almost 44,000 tons, she compares in size to Celebrity’s Horizon that carries 1,354 passengers or the Seven Seas Mariner that carries 700 passengers in high style. “The World” offers 88 studio suites (available for groups) and 110 privately owned residences, some of which are available for rental. But in reality never expect to see more than 250 to 275 guests and residents on board at any given time. With a crew of 275 need I say much more about the service?

As I mentioned earlier this ship is unique so let me give you a few little differences before I talk about dining and entertainment.

“The World” is the only ship to have a full size tennis court, lit for night play of course. “The World” Golf Club, operated by the Simon Holmes Golf Academy, offers golf simulators, the latest video equipment to improve your swing, driving range, putting greens and access to over 150 private golf courses around the world.

“The World” Spa, operated by Clinique La Prairie from Switzerland, is huge with over 7,000 sq ft and 9 treatment rooms. If fine shopping is a must the House of Graff will gladly help you. Shore tours are provided by A&K and can be customized and personalized prior to arrival or while on board. The Art Gallery features a rotating quality collection of original artwork, but no art auction.

When you have paid millions of dollars for an apartment and plan to spend an extended time on board its fair to assume you expect some fine dining. “The World” does not disappoint! “The World” offers a total of seven different food outlets including 5 different dining venues. Once again “The World” is unique and your clients are going to see the REAL value of their efforts when they look at the menu prices. Yes all of the menus are fully priced just like a very up scale resort but more about that later.

The most unique dining option on the ship is the Marina Restaurant and Bar. This restaurant is basically three deck levels tall and located at the stern of the ship. With good weather they can lower the marina platform, which is a wall of the dining room, and open the room up to the sea. For lunch you might want to take a swim in the ocean or in the pool, which is located mid level of the room in the center, and have your lunch at the lower level. At night a teak cover is lowered from the ceiling to cover the pool making a dance floor or a stage for presentations and awards. Available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Marina is a casual venue offering contemporary specialties with an exhibition kitchen. The food and service are excellent. This room offers numerous sections for group dining.

Tides Restaurant is an indoor-outdoor venue that features Mediterranean and Italian cuisine in a panoramic setting. Open for lunch and dinner this is a very comfort room with large antipasto and dessert and cheese stations. Make no mistake this is not a buffet but a very stylish and extremely good dining option. This room as well offers several possibilities for group dining.

East Restaurant and Sushi Bar is a slick black lacquered room with ocean and pool views. Open for dinner only and reservations are highly recommend and you know why after your first meal. The sushi and sashimi are of the finest quality and are made especially for you. The multi-national Asian cuisine is exceptional and not to be missed.

Portraits Restaurant is “The World’s” signature restaurant. Jacket and tie are required nightly. This is Six Star dining featuring French Fusion cuisine. The menu and nightly specials are unique and again a not to be missed experience. Reservations required.

Freddy’s Deli offers a deli menu and a street café. Freddy’s is also a mini market. Remember some of the residents do eat in their apartments. If you have a snack attack this is where you head.

The Garden is where you will find a real traditional English High Tea. Quite a few of the residents are English so high tea really is high tea!

The Pool Grill is open until late in the afternoon and is your classic pool grill and bar. No need to change, pool attire is OK.

Just a quick word about service and food in the restaurants. The majority of the staff are Western European with the exception of the Asian Tides Restaurant. Service is impeccable and the staff is well trained and versed on the menus and wine lists. Food, presentation and menu selections are excellent throughout the ship and on par with fine dining establishment anywhere in the world. Traditional room service is available 24 hours a day from an extensive menu.

Now, about the prices on all of those menus. As a guest (paying passenger) all meals, wines with meals (pre-selected with premium wines available at additional charge), bar beverages (except for some real top-shelf brands), mini bar consumption, room service and gratuities are included. If you are a resident you will be paying every step of the way and as mentioned earlier prices are on the same level as any fine resort. Your participants are certainly going to have the feeling that they are cruising on the finest if not the most expensive cruise ship in the world.

What about the nightlife and entertainment on “The World”? Let me start by telling you what they don’t offer. Bingo, floor shows, horse racing by the pool, pool games, souvenir cocktail glasses, art auctions, napkin folding lessons and all of the other typical trivia you might find on other ships.

“The World” offers a total of six bars and lounges including a cigar lounge. The lobby bar is a central meeting point as it is near the lobby and gangway. On some evenings you might find light entertainment being performed in the two-deck high lobby area. The Quantum Night Club features a variety of activities including late night disco, live dancing music and other activities. The Regatta Bar, very much like a yacht club, features nightly piano music pre and post dinner. Adjacent to the Quantum is a small, but more than ample, casino with tables and machines.

While “The World” does not really offer a structured entertainment program that you might find on other larger ships, it does offer a nice balance of house musicians and visiting artists of all types depending on ports of call. The comfortable Colosseo Theater is the main showroom. It has all of the latest high tech A/V as well as theater style seating with pop up desks/glass holders. This room is ideal for meetings and presentations.

In general do not expect an atmosphere of non-stop action and entertainment. Both the day and evenings feel very relaxed and more like being at a very nice private club. Due to the small number of guests onboard expect a fair amount of inter-reaction with other passengers.

Surprisingly, besides the Theater, “The World” also has two conference rooms that are fully equipped for meetings. Additionally, there is a good size card room that can be used for smaller meetings. If you need to have meetings “The World” is well equipped for groups. In particular “The World” would be a great venue for a corporate retreat or board meeting.

“The World” offers itineraries as unique as the ship. In most cases, you will spend at least one day in any given port allowing guests to really see and enjoy an area. In the winter of 2004, the ship will be operating in the Caribbean and South America. In the spring and summer months, the ship will be located in the Mediterranean. The fall has the ship traveling to the Seychelles and South Africa and finally returning to the Caribbean in December.

“The World” allows you to embark and disembark the ship as you wish (with certain government restrictions). You are able to design your own custom itineraries of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 nights or longer with a minimum stay of three nights.

Last, but certainly not least, is how much does this cost? First of all “The World” sells their suites and apartments just like most resorts, by the room NOT per person (no single occupancy penalty). Rates are fully inclusive of port charges, gratuities, and all meals, most bar beverages, fine wines with meals, mini-bar consumption and 24-hour room service. Rates compare very favorably to most 5 star ships and hotels. You will be very surprised how affordable “The World” is. You don’t have to be a millionaire to live like one!

During my cruise on “The World” I was continually asked while ashore if the ship was a private yacht, “we heard that all of you people live on the ship and are just traveling around ‘The World’”, “should I know who you are” and other such comments. “The World” is an ego builder to our type of guests without equal. Again I highly recommend you consider “The World” for your smaller up market groups. Sorry NO CHARTERS ALLOWED - this ship is unique!

Submitted by: Steve Bloss - June 2003. The opinion expressed in this review are soley those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of WWTCA

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