“A long series of wanderings or adventures, especially when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc.” (www.dictionary.com/browse/odyssey)
We were hoping to wait and post our next blog from our new home, but things haven't quite gone to plan and we figure you deserve an update. We haven't been up to much these last few weeks just waiting for things to fall into place.
As most of you know we were crushed; though not entirely surprised, when our plans to embark on a three-year world cruise were cancelled. Instead of embarking on the ship last November, we spent the winter traveling around Europe trying to figure out what we wanted to do next. We learned of another company that was working hard to break into the residential cruising market. According to Albert Einstein “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”, but we couldn’t help ourselves. We signed up with Villa Vie Residences in hopes that they would pull off what no other company has managed thus far, a relatively affordable residential style world cruise. They purchased a 30-year-old laid up vessel from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and have been working tirelessly to bring her back to life. The Villa Vie Odyssey will be our new home.
We didn’t want to share our plans earlier after being burned by the previous venture, but we have been working in the background to prepare to sail. In February, while driving through Edinburgh we were able to catch a glimpse of the ship in lay up. Villa Vie took possession shortly after this and the ship was prepared to transfer to Belfast for refurbishment and drydock. It took a lot longer than expected to get the ship moving and it didn’t leave Edinburgh until late April. The ship had been in cold layup for nearly 4 years, meaning everything was turned off. It took a lot of work to get enough of the systems up and running to move the ship to Northern Ireland.
Initially this cruise was supposed to set sail on May 15th, but we are now heading into the back half of August, and we still aren’t quite ready to go. We arrived in Belfast on May 22nd after the first delay was announced and the sail date had been moved to May 30th. On June 1st we were able to tour the ship for the first time. We quickly realized that the ship was not going to be ready anytime soon, so as you can see by the previous posts, we’ve been traveling around making the most of our time in the UK and Ireland. The delays are mainly due to unexpected challenges in drydock. Because the ship was laid up for 4 years it must be recertified completely. The proper authorities are doing their due diligence and inspecting every inch of the ship. It has been frustrating as our sail date has been pushed back time and time again, but we are grateful that care is being taken to ensure our safety.
When we left you last, we were headed back to Liverpool after our stay in Southport to be closer to the ferry back to Belfast. The updates were positive, and it looked like they were almost ready to go. On August 3rd, they called everyone back to Belfast with the intention of boarding us with our sail date to be determined. Unfortunately, they were unable to secure permission to lodge the residents overnight. However, they were able to start providing our meals on board and allow us to check into our cabins. We have been able to unpack and set up our cabin to our liking, but we are still staying in Airbnbs and hotels waiting for approval to officially move on board. The ship is officially out of dry dock and is floating alongside the dock in the repair yard. There were outstanding inspections that required the ship to be floating, so those are taking place now.
I know this sounds crazy and many of you probably think we are insane for continuing down this road, but Villa Vie has been very transparent about the challenges of bringing the ship back to life and we are now in the home stretch. As we impatiently wait for the final inspections to take place and the certifications to be issued, we’ve been spending time on the ship getting to know our fellow residents. We’ve been fortunate to meet some very lovely and interesting people who will be joining us on the Odyssey.
We don’t have much to share in terms of exploring because we’ve already seen most of Belfast on previous trips. Instead, we’ve been spending our time finding items to make our cabin feel more like home. Most days we spend our mornings wandering through shops and our afternoons hanging out on the ship chatting with other residents. We did slip away for an afternoon to the nearby town of Carrickfergus. It was a nice change of pace to get out of town and walk along the water. Although, Mike didn't bother to check and took us there on a Monday when the castle was closed.
We look forward to officially moving onto the ship and then finally setting sail, but we’re trying to be patient. Clearly it is better that any issues with ship are resolved prior to embarkation and sailing, so we’re happy to wait a little longer if that’s what it takes to ensure our new home is fit for duty. We are excited to settle in and get a feel for our new home. We’ll be sharing our first impressions soon and then we’ll take you along as we visit ports all around the world.
In the meantime, I’ve included links to Villa Vie’s website, Instagram, and YouTube below if you are interested in more information. There are some great videos on YouTube that walk you through the drydock transformation and tours of the ship. We also have our own YouTube channel, link below. There’s not much there, but Mike has been adding a few videos of the ship like the one below. We aren't planning to become YouTubers or anything, but it's a good place to post a few longer videos that are too big for Instagram.
Hopefully, we’ll see you onboard soon!
Links
Villa Vie Residences https://villavieresidences.com/
Instagram instagram.com/villavieresidences
Villa Vie Residences YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@VillaVie.R
NowWeStartExploring Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@nowwestartexploring7864
Hey Guys,
Glad to hear your doing well.
Hope you get to sail soon!
Sandy/Rachael