Reuters reports

SEOUL, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) said on Monday that it has won a $1.1 billion order from Utopia Residences, a U.S.-based cruise and hotel operator, to build a luxury cruise vessel.

The South Korean shipbuilder said in a statement it expects to sign the final contract during the first half of next year, with the ship due to be delivered by 2013.

Important to know for anyone researching used vessels:

2010 SOLAS Deadline Looms For Older Ships

For some of cruising's older ships, 2010 is a watershed that could see them sent off to the breakers' yard.

As requested by several community members, TSI is pleased to offer the opportunity to donate directly to specific projects, each of which will help us answer an important open question about how best to make seasteading a reality.

I'm glad to see other people trying this area, we are actively investigating it as well, and the more players the better when it comes to getting acceptance for a new industry. It will be tough to make it work, though, a number of post-ResidenSea ventures have tried a condo cruise ship, and none have pulled it off. It is worth keeping in mind that investors, founders, and banks lost approx $100M to $200M on ResidenSea, out of a $270M or so investment!

We came, we toured, we partied, we left.

Before tonight's Independent Institute reception on ResidenSea, we were informed that we needed to submit our names 48 hours in advance for background checks, and bring an ID. Perfectly reasonable for a ship full of deci and centimillionaires (if you can afford $300k+/year for a property you use 3mo/year on average, you probably have quite a bit o' juice!). James & I figured we'd be shuttled straight to the reception, and only get to tour the ship if we made a friend onboard.

Thanks to a connection of Wayne's, he & I got to talk to a long-time ResidenSea resident this afternoon, and I now know enormously more about the challenges of operating a condo cruise ship. Fascinating!

The challenges are daunting. ResidenSea, where the condo fees are like $200K/unit/year for the smaller units, is barely able to handle the logistical issues of traveling constantly, all over the world.

Two articles. The site is kinda spammy but the articles are good:

• Smart Buyer's Guide to Residential Cruise Ships
• The Frugal Shopper's Guide to Luxury Living Onboard a Residential Cruise Ship

The 2009 Itinerary for ResidenSea (the first and only condominium cruise ship in the world) includes a number of California stops:

• San Diego, CA, May 31 - June 2
• Los Angeles, CA, June 3 - 5
• Monterey. CA, June 7 - 9
• San Francisco, CA, June 11 - 13

I don't know if it's possible to arrange a tour while the ship is in San Francisco, but we will certainly try!

There has been a long and active debate about the relative merits of different structures for seasteading, such as spar platforms, breakwaters, SFS (ranging from SWATH to spars to Water Walkers), sailing ships, or retrofitted cruise ships.

Not everyone is cutting back as the economy tumbles. Or, at least, that's the hope at Residential Cruise Line -- the latest entrant into the rarefied world of super-luxe floating condominiums.

The Phoenix-based company finally opened sales this week for what's billed as the most luxurious residential cruise ship ever -- a 76,000-ton vessel that will have 210 units priced from $2.8 million to $18 million.

The line also will hold an inaugural, invitation-only sales event on Dec. 15 at Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel.

I will be watching them with interest.  I hope they do well, although given the poor luck Residensea had in selling luxury units into a recession, I am a bit pessimistic.  The ship will cost $1.2B, and is scheduled to sail in 2011.