Greenwich on London’s River Thames, already considered to be in the centre of the world from a longitudinal point of view is to become the centre of a different world in July of this year.
In this case The World is the 43,524 gt, yacht-like residential passenger ship that can boast of being the largest privately owned residential vessel on earth. All of the 165 luxury private on board residences are privately owned by 142 families who hail from all around the world.
For six whole days the 196 metres ship will be using the village of Greenwich as its home. London will be among the first European ports visited since the ship’s extensive dry-dock period in April 2016 when a number refurbishments will be undertaken, including a complete redesign of the Ship’s Marina restaurant.
This will result in the addition of a stunning retractable floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the water sports deck and a Chefs Table showcasing the preparation of cuisine from around the globe.
The World will spend the remaining summer months in the Mediterranean – exploring the Balearics, Catalonia, Southern Italy and’ island-hopping’ through Greece. In 2016 The World will sail some 39,000 nautical miles and visit 104 ports of call passing through the Suez Canal and on to destinations in the Middle East, India, Maldives and Malaysia before a 12-day expedition to Borneo in Southeast Asia. The year will end with a call to Western Australia and a New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration on Sydney Harbour.
This private community at sea offers the ultimate combination of luxurious and enriching travel with world-class amenities and facilities including impeccable culinary mastery in its six restaurants, exceptional golf facilities with onboard putting greens, a golf simulator and resid
ent pro, the only full-size tennis court at sea, swimming pools, a spa, a fitness centre complete with personal trainers, expert destination lecturers, library, cinema, hobby and games rooms and even a non denominational house of worship. Little wonder why only such a small selection of apartments are available for re-sale every year
Launched in 2002 and flagged in the Bahamas, this strikingly beautiful Ship was designed by Petter Yran and Bjørn Storbraaten. She is the first Ship of her size to burn marine diesel oil rather than heavy bunker fuel, making her much more environmentally friendly and allowing to call in areas where vessels burning heavy fuel are banned. She was also the first ship to feature the Scanship wastewater cleaning system in which wastes are filtered by means of a flotation system.