I sailed on the world’s most elite cruise where rich live full-time

A FORMER lawyer who spent six years living on the world’s most exclusive invite-only cruise ship has revealed the secrets of the boat.

His bombshell claims paint a fascinating picture of the vessel, named The World, where passengers are caught in fiery clashes and affairs.

Ex-commercial litigator Peter Antonucci, 64, from New York compared the massive 644ft, 12-deck residential ship to a frat house.

The World was launched in 2002, promising passengers a “lifestyle of residential luxury adventure that was previously unimaginable”.

Home to 165 superluxe apartments, from stylish studios to three-bedroom apartments, the ship travels to more than 100 destinations every year and is shrouded in secrecy.

Its condos reportedly cost between $2million (£1.6million) and $15million (£11.9million) each, excluding annual ownership fees, and you must be invited by a resident – and seconded by another – to buy.

An individual net worth of at least $10million (£7.9million) is reportedly compulsory for residents.

Ex-passenger Peter and his wife Tami bought their first condo on the cruise ship for about $1.6million in 2014 after earlier enjoying a “taster voyage” where they came to love the boat’s crew and routine.

They switched suites multiple times throughout their residency before leaving in 2019 “sick of the gossip and the rumours and the cattiness”, and having “seen the world a few times”.

Peter, who serves on the board of directors for The World, has now revealed what really happens on the world’s most elite cruise ship.

He told the Daily Mail: “All the extreme conduct violations are brought to the board’s attention so that’s what it comes down to.

“I knew where all the skeletons could be found – I knew who slept with who, who assaulted who, who stole… And beyond that obviously I have two eyes and two ears. You see things and you intuit things.”

Peter said the “dramas and stories and subplots” of the ship developed over months and years.

He explained: “As residents, we salaciously sat and watched them brewing. A lot of people on the ship were entranced by the gossip.

“The ship was powered more by rumours than diesel fuel.”

There were parties “every day” onboard the ship, he claimed, with a lot of what he witnessed “somewhat analogous to a fraternity house”.

The former lawyer added: “Here you have a small group of very successful, entitled people floating around in a steel basin in the middle of the ocean.

“When you are at sea for six or seven days people just go from bar to bar, and what could possibly go wrong?

“Did you have people getting smashed? Of course. Did you have people diving into the pool fully dressed? Yes. Did they stay fully dressed? Not always.

“Did you have people doing drugs? Of course you did. Any time you have a group of people, you’re going to have that stuff.”

Life on The World was similar to what viewers might have seen on HBO’s dark comedy The White Lotus, Peter said, with “entitled owners screaming at staff” and “inappropriate, barely dressed” guests “grinding against each other on the pool deck”.

He further alleged guests would engage in heated arguments, throw punches, and spend years entangled in affairs – sometimes with members of the crew.

Reprimanding people who are paying $5million for a condo and $500,000 a year in maintenance fees was a difficult task, but Peter said there were “protocols” for dealing with troublemakers.

The ex-lawyer has written three novels about a fictional ship since leaving The World.

A spokesperson for The World told the Daily Mail: “We had earlier been in touch with Mr Antonucci, who has assured us in writing that his works are unrelated to The World or its residents, and that his publications are fictional works of art about a fictional ship.

“We wish him well in his creative works of fiction, which we understand have no relation to The World or any of its residents.”