Do you love to travel, but can’t bear all that packing, notes for the milkman, and finding someone to feed the cat?
For the multi-millionaires among you at least, you may never have to worry again.
Because plans for a 719-foot luxury residential cruise ship, the Four Seasons Ocean Residences, have just been unveiled to the glitterati at a VIP ceremony for the capital’s rich list.
If the postman lost your invitation to the prestigious event, here’s a round up of what the fuss is all about.
Developers BV International Holdings, working together with renowned hoteliers Four Seasons, hopes to lure buyers with a few million to spare to purchase luxury apartments aboard a 48,600-ton cruise ship.
They are offering people who are bored with their three, four or five homes around the world the promise of an exclusive life on the ocean wave, including extended stays on all seven continents of the world.
So, what can you expect to find in the show home?
Forget cramped cabins, salt-encrusted portholes, and a faint odour of sick: these are seriously swanky abodes for the filthy rich.
The 112 apartments that vary from one to four bedrooms, include duplex, triplex and penthouses, and range from 800 to over 7,000 square feet.
You can expect spacious living areas with sea views, master bedroom suites with walk-in dressing rooms and ensuite bathrooms, expansive terraces, and, God forbid that you’d have to use the same door as your maid, a staff entrance.
The apartments come with a gourmet kitchen, but don’t worry if you (or your staff) don’t feel like cooking, you can enjoy a takeaway (AKA “intimate in-residence” dining) prepared by a Four Seasons chef.
If you tire of the ever-changing view from your floor-to-ceiling windows, and feel the need for some vigorous exercise, you can try the gym, putting on the green, SCUBA expeditions, jet skiing and sailing, or a pulse-raising shopping expedition.
There are two designer shopping malls, known as Sloane Street and Bond Street, and if you have some cash left, you can head to the casino for a tax-free flutter.
Even the super rich have to work sometimes, and an on-board business centre with secretarial services and video conferencing means you could control your empire from your portside palace, or starboard sanctuary.
But if the bottom falls out of tapioca while you’re onboard and you need to leave in a hurry, your helicopter can, of course, whisk you back to the real world from the ship’s own helipad.
That’s not to say that just anyone can land on the ship.
If you are of a nervous disposition, you’ll be pleased to know that in addition to a resident security crew, staff and prospective buyers will be screened and on-board movement controlled via biometric scanners.
The ship will average 250 days in port each year, and lucky residents can expect lengthy stopovers all over the globe.
Following its maiden voyage, planned for May 2010, from a shipyard in Finland, the Four Seasons will make its way to London.
There, in a typically understated style, it will steam up the River Thames to Greenwich where it is hoped that the official naming and launch ceremony will be conducted by a member of the royal family.
The itinerary has already been set for the first two years, and it includes Antarctica, the Rio Carnival, the Grand Prix in Monaco, and back to London for the 2012 Olympics.
Although it is referred to as a ‘residential community at sea’, it seems unlikely that it will embrace the kind of diversity found within most communities.
The developers have learnt from another company’s attempt to create a floating sanctuary far from the real world.
The super rich mutinied when they found themselves diluted with ordinary mortals whooping it up on board as cruise passengers.
So, despite early speculation that a shared ownership option would be available, there will, after all, be no way of boarding the Four Seasons unless you are seriously wealthy, or serving the drinks.
So, who might you expect to be rubbing well-groomed shoulders with if you invested in the Four Seasons?
Spokesperson Alex Lawrie says: "The typical purchaser is a multi-millionaire - with over £5m of liquid cash assets and is a multiple property owner.
"Savills International, the sales agent, estimate that 40 per cent of the sales will come from the USA. For the remaining 60 per cent it is anticipated that 35 per cent will come from the UK, Ireland, Russia and Middle East.
"Marketing for Four Seasons only started last Thursday," says Lawrie, "however, a number of high profile people have been briefed on the ship - Kirsten Rausing, Simon Fuller, the Candy brothers and Sean Quinn."
Now for the $10 million question, how much would a room with an ever-changing view of the world’s finest sights cost? Answer – possibly more than $10 million.
Prices go from £1.875m for a one bed, to £7.417 m for a four-bed apartment. But if you want to really treat yourself, a four-bed triplex penthouse will set you back up to £20m. And don’t forget to budget for the service charge, which ranges from £52,500 to over £500,000 per annum.
The ship is expected to have a 50-year lifespan, and the apartments are sold with a share of the freehold. At the end of the period it will be up to the owners to decide what will happen to the ship.
Obviously, this means that it is likely to be a seriously depreciating asset. But don’t let this put you off. You know you’re worth it.
For more information contact David Vaughan at Savills International on 020 7016 3814
