Our New Dream Home is This Giant Yacht That Sails the Globe

And it's going to be in Vancouver this July. You should probably plan to take a peek.

And it’s going to be in Vancouver this July. You should probably plan to take a peek.

For some of us in Vancouver, owning a 500-square-foot apartment in Yaletown is a fantasy in and of itself. For others, there are larger real estate dreams to conquer. At that top of that list, you might just find “The World,” the private residential ship that takes its residents all over the globe. Think Breaker High, but less teen hijinks and more life-enriching expeditions to Antarctica followed by five-star meals and a nightcap in the piano lounge with your fellow billionaires.Do we sound sassy? It’s only because we’re very jealous. This is not exactly a Carnival Cruise: residents of the 165 living units spend an average of three to four months on board a year as the ship traverses the globe on a route determined by the on-board community in consultation with the captain and management company, docking at ports for up to five days at a time for free-wheeling exploration or guided expeditions. And when they aren’t out galavanting in cities across the world, they’re revelling in the ship’s luxe amenities—a 7,000 square-foot spa, six restaurants, the “Call a Chef” private dining service, a pool bar, a theatre, a cigar lounge, a full-sized tennis court, the golf simulator and a retractable marina for water sports. All these years I’ve been complaining about my building not having a workout room, I guess I wasn’t thinking big enough.The units range from studio apartments to three-bedroom suites, so if you’ve got a few million burning a hole in your pocket (prices range from two to 15 million dollars, plus some pocket change for annual maintenance and service fees), you’re going to want to book an appointment with a residential advisor and scope out the units currently for resale when it docks in Vancouver in early July and again in late August. Otherwise, who knows where you might find it next?