Home Afloat

ResidenSea had planned all along to launch three such ships and, after its success with the World, has already ordered the second. The company expects to complete financing later this year, using many of the same investors. The World's condo buyers are proof that if you build a floating town, they will come. But will they stay? Industry insiders say that granting residents ownership creates potential friction with ship operators. Others foresee an inevitable shake-out as passengers shun certain amenities or even one another. Andy Vladimir, co-author of Selling the Sea: An Inside Look at the Cruise Industry, anticipates restless natives: "It's like vacation time-shares. People buy a place in Hawaii with the idea they'll go there for 20 years. They don't."

Whatever the future brings, the World's original owners can bask in the enjoyment of pioneering the good life's final frontier. At least, that is, until someone announces luxury condos on the moon.