Passengers planning to embark on a three-and-a-half-year world tour on Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey cruise ship have had to wait for the past three months.
On the planned 1,301-day voyage, the cruise ship will visit 147 countries on seven continents, including destinations such as France, Mexico and Japan, according to Villa Vie’s itinerary.
In December, the company announced that it had purchased a ship from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. The more than 30-year-old vessel was originally scheduled to set sail in May.
But due to mechanical problems, including problems with the rudder stocks and the recertification of the ageing ship, the Odyssey is instead stuck in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Sebastian Stokkendal, marketing manager at Villa Vie, told the Associated Press that the company was “shocked by the scale of the effort required to bring a 30-year-old ship back into service after a four-year layup.”
The ship is currently anchored at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, which is best known as the building site of the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic.
The need for repairs means The The passengers of the Odyssey were also stuck in Belfast.
Residents can spend their days on the ship, but are not yet allowed to stay overnight. Mikael Petterson, founder and CEO of Villa Vie, told BI in August that the company provides prospective residents with shuttles to and from the ship, food, drinks and accommodation – or a daily allowance for those who “want to do their own thing.”
Potential passengers Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin told BI that Villa Vie also sent them on various excursions, including a trip to the Canary Islands and a cruise to the Norwegian fjords.
Meanwhile, they say the food on the Odyssey was good – especially the barbecue. They also enjoyed the onboard amenities like the spa, live band and open bar.
“We understand there are problems,” Bodin told BI. “They flatter us a little bit to keep us happy. They’re almost too service-oriented. I don’t need to be pampered all the time.”
Stokkendal told AP that Villa Vie expects to launch its ship in the first week of September.
Representatives for Villa Vie Residences did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside of regular business hours.
