Would You Buy A Luxury Residence To Live On A Cruise Ship For Life?

Forbes

9 hours ago

The passenger cruise ship Seven Seas Navigator arrives at the French Mediterranean port of ... More Marseille. In 2026, the Navigator will be refitted as a luxury residence, with 210 cabins and suites for sale. (Photo by Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
What's your dream second home? Or, for that matter, primary residence?
Crescent Seas is betting that for 210 people, their dream getaway place will be on a cruise ship sailing the seven seas. The cruise ship Seven Seas Navigator will depart the Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet (a division of Norwegian Cruise Lines) in late 2026, to be refitted and modernized as a luxury 'condo at sea.' The Navigator, which currently accommodates 490 guests in 255 cabins, will be redesigned and remodeled with 210 high-end residences.
The residences start with 98 371-square-foot efficiencies, selling for between $1.25 million and $1.5 million. The other units are all suites, with 12 different designs, priced by square footage. The largest unit will be approximately 2000 square feet with a 600 square foot balcony.
The largest units will sell for between $5 million to $8.5 million, according to CEO Russell Galbut, or around $3400 per square foot. He says, 'True luxury is obtainable. It's like having 210 private yachts within a 550-foot ship.'
Like condominiums or coops with a homeowners association fee (HOA) the residences on the updated Navigator will have a maintenance or cost of operations fee. Galbut says the fee will start at around $20,000 per month for smaller units. Owners can rent their suites for up to six months.
An artist's rendering of the pickleball court and sauna deck on the upcoming residence at sea on ... More board the renovated luxury residence Navigator.
'We picked this ship because it had physical common space, lots of it, for restaurants, a work center, a conference center, a huge spa, a library, and storage for stuff like scuba diving gear and bicycles to explore destinations.
'Our customers are people who want to discover the world. The ship will stay three days in port, not just for an afternoon. We have laid out itineraries for the next couple of years. Our residents can take their families around the world and successfully home school their children anywhere in the world via satellite communication.'
Galbut says the Navigator will be the first of three 'residential ships.' He did not disclose the purchase price, but it has been reported that Crescent Seas acquired Seven Seas Navigator as part of a $230 million deal with Norwegian Cruise Lines..
Crescent Seas recently bought a second ship, the Insignia, which it will acquire in 2027. The third ship, a custom-built vessel, is pegged for 2028.
The idea of a residence at sea is not new. The World by Villa Vie Residences has been sailing for 25 years, You can buy a 'villa at sea' and live aboard, or get a short-term rental.
An artist's conception of a residence on the upcoming Crescent Seas Navigator residential luxury ... More cruise ship.
More recently, I wrote about the Ulyssia, a brand-new ship being built from the ground up as a residence. Galbut says 'Ulyssia is really wonderful, but they don't have a residence under $10 million. Ulyssia has units that are $100 million.'
How many people can afford a multimillion dollar second or third home aboard a cruise ship? Perhaps more than you would think. As of 2022, there were 264,000 people in the world with assets of over $50 million, more than half of whom in the U.S.
Having built over 300 residential buildings, Mr. Galbut understands this market well. Born and raised in Miami Beach, he says, 'I started building condominiums in Miami in 1975, building homes in the sky. Back then, it took four days to get plans approved—today it would take a year.' He founded Crescent Heights in 1989, with Crescent Seas a recent off-shoot. He says, 'We have a huge organization and a deep bench.'
Galbut, 72, has both a law degree and is a certified accountant. He has spent most of his life as a real estate developer. Why switch to the cruise industry now, rather than retire and enjoy the good life?
Galbut says, 'I want to spend my time making people happy. What drives me is quality hard work, which I enjoy. So, a new company and a new industry.'
Artist's conception of the upcoming billiards room on the Navigator, which is becoming a luxury ... More residential cruise ship.
The developer is continuing to work in real estate. I met him at an event promoting both Crescent Seas and Five Park, a new luxury condominium tower. Five Park is said to be the tallest tower in South Beach Miami and the first new one delivered in the last ten years.
Co-developed by Russell Galbut and David Martin's Terra Group, Five Park shows off Galbut's penchant for public spaces, such as a co-working space and an on-site members-only social club, The Canopy Club, designed by Anda Andrei. Galbut says, 'We spend on architecture and design We even have our own art curator. The idea behind the designed spaces is to make people feel a part of a community.'
Galbut has been involved in the cruise industry for many years, as both a customer and a board member of a major cruise line.
'My wife and I have been cruising for 47 years. We really enjoy it. I was a customer, than an investor. I made an investment in Oceania, which was later bought by Prestige. (Oceania is now a brand of NCL.) When NCL bought Prestige, they asked me to be on the board. For 23 years I was on the board of NCL and was Chairman of the Board for six years.'
When the Navigator leaves NCL next year, Crescent Seas will wet lease the ship after it is renovated, with NCL providing the officers and crew, and updating the ship's electronic systems such as radar, navigation, etc. And as Galbut notes, 'Who gets better pricing for fuel than a big cruise line like NCL?' The Apollo Group, a leader in global cruise management and hospitality, will provide food and beverage service.
The Canopy Club at Five Park, a new residence in Miami Beach co-developed by Russell Galbut, who is ... More also the principal of Crescent Seas, the operator of luxury residences at sea.
In the cruise industry, most of the buzz is about the newest, biggest ships, such as Royal Caribbeans Icon of the Seas, launched in 2024 with a capacity of 7600 passengers and 2350 crew. But as Galbut puts it, 'I don't want to be on a ship with 10,000 people. I want to be on a ship like the Navigator.'
Still, the Navigator, built on the hull of a Russian research vessel, originally entered service in 1999, making it one of the oldest in NCL's fleet.
These ships have plenty of life left in them, says Galbut 'These ships have great bones. Their made out of many tons of steel. As long as they're maintained, they're fantastic. It's no different than converting an office building that's a hundred years old into a condominium.'
But for now, it sounds like Galbut can't wait to get his hands on the Navigator. 'Right now the ship is being used by Regent Seven Seas. In October the last passenger gets off in Cairo. It sails to Genoa for 54 days in dry dock, where 300 people will be working for Crescent Seas, breaking down the ship. Then it sails for Miami in December for the premiere. The finishing crew and the regular crew will be on board. Every suite, every bathroom gets redone, new electric, wall paper, furniture. We expect to be over 50% sold by the end of 2025.'
Artist's conception of the Compass Rose dining room aboard the Navigator, a luxury residence at sea ... More slated to sail starting in 2026.