Under a blazing blue sky in the legendary Harland & Wolff shipyard in Northern Ireland, where the Titanic was once built, the modestly sized Villa Vie Odyssey sits in dry dock, dwarfed by the huge 12-deck Caribbean party boat that looms beside it.
But when it sets sail on May 30, after intense refurbishment and cosmetic work, this 31-year-old ship will be one of the hottest new innovations in the cruise industry. It will be one of only two residential cruise ships in operation – and its world tour will have successfully launched where others have very dramatically failed.
Around 300 passengers – or "residents" – will be on board to start the voyage from Belfast which will visit 425 ports in 147 countries across all seven continents, circumnavigating the globe every three-and-a-half years.
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This is to be a cruise without end, where passengers can choose between pay-as-you-go and ownership options, spending as little as 35 days or the whole of their natural life on board, with the ship itself being replaced around every 15 years.
1,301 days of summer
The relatively small size of the 924-capacity vessel means it's capable of docking in the heart of destinations, with port stays ranging from a leisurely two to seven days, rather than the typical "hit and run" cruise ship approach. These long-term cruise residents do, after all, have all the time in the world.
The global itinerary, broken down into 16 "segments" over 1,301 days, has been carefully designed so that it catches the spring-summer seasons in both the northern and summer hemispheres. Residents, if they so choose, may never feel the winter chill again.
There's no commitment to stay on board for the full three and a half years, or to get off when that's over. Residents can pick and choose between segments as they like. South America is the most popular part and the transatlantic section the least, Villa Vie Residences CEO Mikael Petterson told the dry dock press tour Sunday.
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Learning from the past
Takeup has been high. Of the 295 cabins available at launch, 270 have been sold, with some residents choosing to join later in the voyage. Petterson expects all cabins to be fully booked by the end of the Northern European segment, which ends in August, and more will be opened up during segment two, which is Greenland to Miami.
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"We have a significant amount of people that want to come and see the ship themselves before committing, for obvious reasons," says Petterson. It's been a long journey to this upcoming launch and this is not the first venture of its kind.
In November 2023, Life at Sea Cruises cancelled its three-year voyage shortly before departure, having not secured a ship, leaving passengers stranded and pursuing refunds of tens of thousands of dollars.
Villa Vie was started by Petterson and other former members of the Life at Sea executive team who quit when the original team split in May 2022. He says they've been able to learn from the mistakes of those who've gone before.
Under $50k a year
The ship will have eight decks, a wraparound promenade and an enlarged pool so that passengers can swim laps. And when that feels too energetic, there are two Jacuzzis to lounge in.
There will be three restaurants, five bars and lounges, a spa, a fitness centre, a library and a medical centre. Then there's the spacious business centre with sea views, internet from Starlink and Viasat 3, and an "interactive culinary centre" for those missing the kitchen, as well as for cooking classes.
There will also be a golf program with a simulator on board and outings to greens around the world.
It's also surprisingly affordable, as round-the-world cruise experiences go. Over on megayacht The World – the other residential cruise ship – prices start over $3 million a year. But on Villa Vie Odyssey, an annual rental works out at less than $49k, while a three-year stint will set you back $147k.
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An inside cabin is $134 AUD per person per day, outside cabins start at $180 per person per day, and balconies at $300. All food and soft drinks are included, plus alcohol at dinner, as well as Wi-Fi and medical visits (but not procedures or medicines). There'll also be 24/7 room service, weekly housekeeping and bi-weekly laundry service at no extra cost.
Endless Horizons
Meanwhile, buying entails paying outright for a cabin – starting at $149k AUD for an internal one, $224k0 for an outdoor and $375k for a balcony. Owners must then pay monthly fees between $2600 and $6000 per month.
Owners can then rent it out to other people themselves (for no charge) or through Villa Vie for a fee.
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Those buying a cabin will be guaranteed it for 15 years, which is the estimated life of the ship. And then there's the newly introduced Endless Horizons program, where residents make a one-time payment of $450k for lifetime access to a cabin, transferring ships when the cruise does.
Prices are based on double occupancy. Solo travellers get discounts on cabins.
There are also a lot more solo travellers than one might expect on a typical vacation cruise – 50 per cent of this first takeup are single.
In the under-40s range, there are a lot more single male travellers than female, but post-retirement age, there are more women. The average age of traveller is 58 and 80 per cent are from the United States, with Canadians being the next biggest group.
