When cruise company Villa Vie announced it would sail its vessel Odyssey around the world in a three-and-a-half-year stint, it was expected that headlines would focus on the fact that it is the first-ever residential cruise ship designed for full-time living.
Yet problems have plagued this ship, casting a shadow over the pioneering cruise. This culminated in passengers being left stranded in Cambodia on 27 October as fuel money dried up.
Since then, the Odyssey vessel has been “arrested” in Singapore amid ongoing financial issues.
Ahead of its launch, Villa Vie promised an around-the-world sail starting in 2024, visiting more than 425 ports in 147 destinations over the course of three and a half years. Passengers were not required to leave the ship after the sailing, as the cruise offered a permanent residence-at-sea programme, allowing people to stay aboard the rest of their lives if they so wished.
As it turned out, however, the new residents endured four months in 2024 stuck in Belfast after a string of last-minute repairs.
Delay after delay haunted the vessel as its sailing date continued being pushed back.
