And will it ever be built?
MV Narrative: The Narrative
The M/V Narrative, touted as a revolutionary residential cruise ship by Storylines, has become a saga of delays, lofty promises, and mounting skepticism. Originally announced with much fanfare and a planned launch in 2020, the ship’s debut has now been pushed back to 2027—and even that feels more like wishful thinking than a firm commitment.
We first learned about the idea in 2018 when i heard people talking about it on the show floor at the Seatrade industry trade show. It’s interesting to look back to that timeframe as the idea was originally floated as using existing ships and converting them to be residential ships. This is similar to what Villa Vie Residences had done. That strategy makes it significantly easier though even Villa Vie ran into many hurdles. There’s also been other failed attempts at just starting a regular cruise line with existing ships as that also comes with many challenges too. (Blue World Voyages comes to mind) A complete newbuild then is certainly ambitious.
A Floating Utopia… Someday?
MV Narative Deck Plans
The MV Narrative is marketed as a luxury residential community at sea, complete with 547 private residences priced between $600k and over $9 million. The ship promises an all-inclusive lifestyle with amenities like 20 restaurants, a microbrewery, a marina for water sports, and even an anti-aging clinic. It’s designed to circumnavigate the globe every three years, allowing residents to live out their travel dreams without ever leaving home.
Construction Woes and Financial Hurdles
Despite that grand vision, Storylines has faced significant challenges in making this dream a reality. The ship is being constructed at the Brodosplit Shipyard in Croatia, which itself has been embroiled in financial troubles, including a pre-bankruptcy process in recent years. While Storylines signed a construction contract with Brodosplit back in 2022, progress has been slow at best. The latest updates suggest the ship is still in the design and planning stages, with no steel yet cut for construction. This milestone is always a good metric to use to judge a projects viability by since this is the first step in any shipbuilding process.
They ambitiously chose LNG as a fuel source onboard, however there are two problems with that: LNG is not widely available to bunker in most ports and the shipyard has little to no experience building these types of vessel. The latest render of the vessel (show above) does not show or indicate any of the externally mounted equipment regularly found on any LNG vessel.
Adding to the uncertainty are the shifting timelines. The company initially promised a 2019 launch date, then revised it to 2025 before updating it again to 2026 and then to 2027. With each delay, confidence in the project’s feasibility continues to erode.
Is This Just Another Pipe Dream?
The concept of residential ships isn’t new, but it’s notoriously difficult to execute. Only one similar project, The World, has successfully launched and sustained operations since its debut in 2002. Shortly after the The World of ResidentSea was launched, an immediate successor, The Utopia, was going to be next in line. Then we had Njord by Ocean Residences and Four Seasons (not to be confused with the current Four Seasons Yacht. That one IS getting built.) Other attempts even by then established companies like Crystal Cruises have fallen apart before reaching the water.
While Storylines insists that construction is moving forward and that they’re committed to delivering a state-of-the-art vessel, critics aren’t convinced. Some observers have even questioned whether the company has the financial resources to complete such an ambitious project.
What’s Next?
For now, the MV Narrative remains just that—a narrative. With updates to the site and press releases hitting every week, there still remains hope that it eventually does get built. However there is still no clear evidence of substantial progress on the shipbuilding side.
Stay tuned for updates… if there are any!