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Sail Away
ROBB: A luxury home in every glamorous port.
Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times
Set to launch in 2013, the $1.1 billion Utopia will be a cruise ship with a difference: About half its cabins will be sold as private residences, ranging in price from $3.7 million to $26 million, the Los Angeles Times reported (January 11, 2010). Some of the cabins feature hardwood floors, walk-in closets, and fireplaces. The 971-foot ship will have three swimming pools, tennis courts, an outdoor movie theater, restaurants, and shops, among other amenities. The Utopia will call at the world’s ports for special events, such as Rio de Janeiro during carnaval, Sydney on New Year’s Eve, and Cannes during its film festival.
“The beauty behind this product is that it is a global product,” said David Robb (MBA ’93), chairman of Utopia Residences. The current economic climate and financing problems for similar projects in the past don’t faze Robb, who, with Frank Carlucci (MBA ’56) and another partner, cofounded the Frontier Group, a private equity firm that is mounting the project. Said Robb, “The Utopia has significant financial backing as well as very significant industrial partners that have enormous resources.”
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