New residential cruise line Crescent Seas buys Oceania Insignia as second ship

• Crescent Seas recently announced its foundation as a cruise line and entry into the market of residential cruising.
• The cruise line announced it would be refurbishing a Regent Seven Seas ship for refurbishment.
• Now it has announced it will add a second ship from Oceania Cruises, currently known as Insignia.

Crescent Seas, an American offshoot of a property company based in Miami, has announced its second ship for residential cruising: the 700-guest Insignia will become part of Crescent Seas from late 2027.

While the ship is already luxurious, it’ll undergo an overhaul and eventually be set for residential cruising, with 290 luxury residences to be on offer.

They’ll start from between US$650,000 and US$10,000,000.

Marisa Galbut, president of Crescent Seas said: “Imagine travelling the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. With our ownership model, families can share once-in-a-lifetime experiences seamlessly.

“Forget the hassle of planning vacations—embrace the freedom of remote work while exploring the world from your own residence at sea.”

These ships will compete with cruise lines like The World, as luxury at-sea residences. On the other end of the spectrum, Ville Vie residences offers a still pricey, but much more affordable options for those looking to be on the high-seas long term.

It does appear that the idea of living life at sea is slowly turning from something generally considered a pipe dream, to something that more and more people may have the opportunity to carry out.

Other cruise lines like Victoria Cruise Line have plans to enter the space but are yet to solidify anything.

For those who would like to be at sea long-term, but can’t quite dish out the world cruise prices right now, another option is booking a series of back-to-back cruises, like this Aussie couple.

Surprisingly, this is the cheapest method and can come out cheaper than you think, even cheaper than the cost of living in Australia by some metrics.

Many eyes are looking at the residential cruise industry to see which new players and what new options arise over the coming years as it becomes clear that more and more people are attracted to the non-traditional lifestyle of living life on a cruise ship.