A rare floating neighbourhood prepares for an extended Australian stay.
A ship that defies most maritime categories is on its way back to Australia. The World, Residences at Sea, the privately owned residential vessel that spends its life circling the planet, will return for a six-week stay across December 2025 and January 2026. It last called here in August 2024, and its residents, many of whom treat the ship as their primary home, have been asking for a return to Australian shores ever since.
This visit marks the end of its 2025 global journey and the start of an ambitious 2026 program spanning 20 countries and 90 destinations. The ship’s southern arrival follows a specialised expedition through West Papua, before it embarks on a 12-port Australian itinerary that stretches from Darwin to Hobart.
For a vessel known for constant movement, spending six weeks in a single country is a notable commitment, but it has long been clear that Australia suits this community. Its scale, variety, and mix of cities and wilderness tend to appeal to a group that can choose to go almost anywhere and usually does.
A mode of travel unlike any other
Residents aboard The World enjoy something that sits somewhere between private ownership and perpetual expedition. The ship functions as a floating neighbourhood, with apartments, restaurants, sporting facilities, cultural programs, and the sort of service more often associated with high-end retreats than maritime travel. The appeal is not difficult to understand: you wake up each morning with a new view, but the comforts of home never shift.
Jessica Hoppe, President & CEO, says the ship’s return to Australia is more than a scheduled stop.
“The World’s return to Australia is a homecoming for our community and a reminder of what this remarkable ship does best exploration without compromise, luxury without limits, and connection without borders,” she said. “Australia has always welcomed us with open arms, and we’re thrilled to be back lingering longer, going deeper, and reconnecting with places our Residents love. The ease of travel our ship offers is unmatched: there’s no packing or unpacking because you’re already home. It’s almost unimaginable to circle the globe without ever checking a bag, but on The World, we make the unimaginable reality.”
The quote captures the ship’s core philosophy: mobility without inconvenience, and exploration without the typical trade-offs.
From West Papua to the Top End
The Australian segment begins after a journey through the remote waterways of Raja Ampat, one of the most biodiverse marine regions on Earth. Residents will have already observed the region’s famed coral systems, traditional festivals and birds of paradise before arriving in Darwin, a gateway to landscapes that remain genuinely wild.
From there, the ship sails down the East Coast, a route that blends environmental immersion with urban highlights.
Key 2025 stops include:
Cairns
Access to both the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest makes Cairns a natural drawcard. Private reef excursions, guided rainforest walks and wildlife research programs are typically arranged during these visits.
Brisbane
A city that has grown steadily into its own identity, Brisbane will host residents for a series of architectural walks, cultural visits and encounters with local wildlife. Its culinary scene, now one of Australia’s most interesting, will also feature prominently.
Sydney
The country’s most recognisable city remains a centrepiece. For this visit, residents will observe the start of the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race from inside the Exclusive Zone aboard a luxury superyacht chartered by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, a vantage point few Australians, let alone international visitors, will ever experience.
The 2025 journey concludes in Hobart, a city whose history and character tend to resonate strongly with this community. Its mix of heritage, waterfront industry and natural proximity makes it an ideal transition point before the ship’s 2026 program launches.
A far-reaching 2026 itinerary
The new year opens in Tasmania before the ship heads for New Zealand and then south towards one of the rarest itineraries available in civilian travel: a semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica.
This route, infrequently attempted and strongly dependent on conditions, offers access to remote ice formations, migrating whales, penguin colonies and stretches of wilderness that feel almost untouched. For many residents, these are the sorts of places that justify a life lived at sea.
Beyond Antarctica, the 2026 journey moves into a different gear, shifting from polar extremes to warmer climates and major urban centres.
Highlights include:
Bora Bora
A contrasting chapter of bright lagoons, coral gardens and Polynesian traditions. Private lagoon tours and cultural exchanges are central to the visit.
Tokyo
A city defined by its ability to hold the past and future in the same frame. Residents typically spend their time moving between gardens, temples, museums, luxury retail and dining experiences that range from centuries-old establishments to avant-garde Michelin venues.
Further stops include Shanghai, Hawaii, California, Alaska and a collection of Pacific and Asian ports before the year ends with a New Year’s celebration in Singapore.
A limited invitation to an unusual life
For those interested in joining the community, a small number of residences are available for resale. Ownership provides access to a lifestyle that combines independence with curated experiences, privacy with exploration, and travel with a sense of place, even when that place changes daily.
Enquiries regarding ownership or qualified guest stays are directed to a Residential Advisor, whose role is to match prospective residents with the rhythms and realities of life aboard a ship that rarely sits still.
By Soo James – (c) 2025
Read Time: 6 minutes.
About the Writer
There’s nothing predictable about Soo James, and that’s precisely her charm. Of Malaysian descent, she set down academic roots at the University of New South Wales, majoring in Arts, before veering off into the unlikeliest of places: IT. It mightn’t sound romantic, but somewhere between data strings and deadlines, Soo found a fascination with how people and words connect.
What began as a curiosity soon turned into a craft. Over time, her writing slipped effortlessly into travel blogs and lifestyle features, each piece marked by her dry wit and a mind that notices the small, telling details others might miss. She writes with a traveller’s eye and a local’s heart, grounded, observant, and quietly amused by the world’s contradictions. Today, at Global Travel Media, Soo’s words do what travel should always do: take readers somewhere new, even if only for a few minutes.
