The MV Narrative is due to set sail from Croatia with its residents in 2025. Photo / Storylines, Facebook
The MV Narrative is due to set sail from Croatia with its residents in 2025. Photo / Storylines, Facebook
An employee of Facebook parent company Meta has just bought a 12-year lease on a luxury cruise ship for an estimated $460,000.
28-year-old Austin Wells, an employee of Meta’s augmented and virtual reality division, has cut the cord on office work - relocating from San Diego to a luxury condo aboard the MV Narrative.
“I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world,” Wells told CNBC news.
Due to set sail in 2025, passengers aboard the Storylines cruises luxury liner will not be transient guests on week-long itineraries. Instead the floating apartments will be home to guests from anywhere between three months to 24 years.
While the Narrative is currently offering long haul itineraries such as Istanbul to Rome, the ship is geared up towards residents who have made the ship their permanent home.
It is perfect for the tech employee, who is looking to make the most of Facebook’s generous remote work policy. Wells intends to continue working West Coast hours when the ship departs on its Maiden Voyage from Croatia, through the Mediterranean.
The MV Narrative is offering suites at sea with leases of up to 24 years. Photo / Storylines
The highly unsociable hours will be worth the tradeoff for being able to visit a new destination every day and visit some of the most remote corners of the globe.
The “digital nomad” is taking the concept of work from anywhere to the next level.
“I’m most excited about going places where uniquely only ships can go,” he says.
With many of the most unspoilt and remote corners of the world unpractical to visit by hopping on a plane, cruising will be able to afford the tech worker a lifestyle that others can only dream of.
As companies like Meta announce intentions to shrink their office presence and move to more remote work models, Wells won’t be the last tech worker to push the boat out with ambitious work from home plans.
“I’ve always been fascinated with large ships,” Wells told CNBC news. “They’re just a marvel of modern engineering.”
In what the cruise line is calling their “residencies”, the floating time-shares or permanent addresses are for the use of the owners. Essentially luxury floating apartment blocks are the owners’ to live in, rent or sell at their discretion.
The 28-year-old digital nomad has paid $460k for a suite at sea for the next 12 years. Photo / Storylines, Facebook
The ship will be visiting six continents on a 1000-day global circumnavigation. With three days in each port, it’s a global lifestyle that is remarkably affordable compared to a rental apartment in Southern California. With residence suites measuring between 35 to 67 square metres, there’s plenty of space to spread out in this home-office at sea.
300,000 might sound like an extravagant investment but for a 12 year lease - with food, drink and laundry services included in the price - the digital sailor feels it is a bargain.
