I was just looking to see what ships were in Gibraltar and noticed this one

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shi...00&header=true

I was struck by the fact that although it is listed as a passenger vessel there was no owner or operator names listed, so I did a quick search and came up with.

http://aboardtheworld.com/our_story

However nowhere can I find the price

Question,

When is a yacht not a yacht.

I'm at a loss to comprehend how they can call it a yacht, especially in view of its size and the official listing describing it as a passenger vessel.

Just how big can a yacht be ?

In that The World is trying to maintain the prestige of ownership for what costs upwards of USD600,000 for a minimum studio, plus at least USD20,000 per month of service charges covering basic food etc. I guess they feel most comfortable channeling queries through the Contact page on the url you have shown above. What is not clear is how active the "sub-let" of cabins is into some sort of open market but if this is allowed, one could guess at the overall charge being in the region of USD30,000-35,000 per month - somewhat more expensive than the regular top-end cruise ships of Silversea and Oceania, for example which are around this price for two including all drinks and gratuities, before discounting.

It's a privately-owned cruise ship which sells ownership (leasehold) of cabins based upon size and then adds a service charge to cover most ongoing costs just like timeshare.

It is a yacht because it doesn't sell tickets so it isn't a passenger ship.

It is privately owned by a consortium of private owners.

A yacht can be of any size. This is, admittedly, quite a big one.

Ok, didn't appreciate that the words private and cruise ship don't go together.

So vessels that have the appearance of what most would consider to be a yacht are actually passenger ships when the sell tickets ?

Was this not the boat that was advertised as the solution to being non-Dom any where in that by purchasing a suite you could keep moving and not be resident in any of the ports of call. I suppose if your tax bill is so large then the charges don't seem so high!

On the face of it a great idea, whilst travelling and seeing the world at the same time.
On the other hand maybe not, people spending the rest of their lives trying to avoid the taxman, unable to put down proper roots in their favourite spot or have some degree of stability in their lives.
I doubt if an apartment on a ship would ever be quite the same, no matter how luxurious.

small point,but would you want to be on this ship with these people

Just what I was thinking ... The very thought of being stuck on any sort of cruise ship gives me claustrophobia, let alone a bunch of super-rich tax-avoiders!

Nah I would rather be isolated in the spanish hills with a toothless illiterate nosey neighbour for company.

All poor people aren't nice and all rich people aren't nasty!

No, but as a general rule, rich people are nice to other rich people and poor people are nice to other poor people. The rich believe the poor are out to rob them, and the poor believe the rich have robbed them.

Perhaps, but there are a lot of people in the middle who don't have chips on their shoulder about either

That covers most of us, I hope!

But people who spend their lives on cruise ships to avoid being taxed come into a class of their own I think.