A unique group of vacation-home owners are spending several days in Hawaii after arriving on a huge houseboat of sorts.

The World, a luxury cruise ship where the living spaces are condominiums owned by the passengers, pulled into Honolulu Harbor on Thursday morning after a nine-day sail from Saipan.

Only about 30 passengers were aboard, though more are expected to get on the ship with 165 residences while it’s in Hawaii.

Craig and Susan Smith, a retired couple from Naples, Fla., who spend about six-month stretches on the ship and bought their condo more than three years ago, said they feel like they’re part of a small community of international residents who float together to far-flung destinations.

“It’s a residential community that moves,” Craig Smith said. “It’s not a cruise ship. It’s just like a second home.”

Operators of The World said the 644-foot-long ship with 12 decks has visited over 900 ports in about 140 countries since launching in 2002. Residents vote to create an annual travel itinerary two years in advance.

ROW Management Ltd., a Florida firm that handles everything from operating The World to brokering resales of residences on the ship, states that 142 families from 19 countries are owners and that about half are from North America while about a third are from Europe and the last 15 percent are from Asia, Australia and South Africa.

According to an article in Forbes magazine last month, prices for The World condos, which range from studios to three-bedroom units and a six-bedroom penthouse, run from $2 million to $15 million. Other media reports state that owners must have a net worth of at least $10 million to qualify for a purchase and that annual maintenance fees that pay for operations including a crew of 280 people are around 10 percent of a condo’s price.

An average stay, according to ROW, is three to four months, while the average occupancy of the ship is 150 to 200 residents and guests. The ship also typically spends more days in port — three days on average — than at sea.

Susan Smith, who got on the ship with her husband recently in South Korea, said the activities on board aren’t like what one would find on a typical cruise ship. “Our activities are much more low-key,” she said. “We don’t have shows or gambling.”

Amenities on board include a grocery shop, a theater, a spa, a library, four restaurants, cocktail lounges, a nightclub, a smoking and cognac bar, a tennis court, two swimming pools, a golf simulator, putting greens, an art gallery and a medical center.

Spending time with friends and having parties make the experience unique, said Susan Smith. Her husband added that groups will often go on excursions off the ship together, such as scuba diving or golf. One group recently took a side trip to North Korea, he said.

On Friday the Smiths headed off to Hanauma Bay and were looking forward to visiting Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island before sailing to the West Coast.

Over the course of this year, The World is scheduled to travel 44,000 nautical miles and stop at about 100 ports in 20 countries.