Passengers With Berths On A 3-Year Cruise Wait For The Odyssey To Sail

Lanette Canen and Johan Bodi sold up everything to take a three-year world cruise on the Odyssey. Owned by Villa Vie Residences, the cruise ship has been docked in the Harland & Wolf repair facility in Belfast Harbor in Northern Ireland since August 30, 2024. Meanwhile, the couple is getting bored as they have explored everything the city has to offer. The US cruise ship is undergoing repairs in the same shipyard where the doomed RMS Titanic was built more than a century ago.

When will the Odyssey return to the waves?

Villa Vie Residences’ marketing manager, Sebastian Stokkendal explained that the company is “humbled by the scale of what it takes to reactivate a 30-year-old vessel from a four-year layup.”

He explained that after work on the ship’s rudder shafts, along with some steel work and engine overhauls, the ship is almost ready to set sail. In an email to The Associated Press (AP), Stokkendal added:

We expect a very anticipated successful launch next week where we will head to Bremerhaven, Amsterdam, Lisbon, then across the Atlantic for our Caribbean segment.

Passengers have the patience to wait for their three-year cruise

Once it is under sail, the Odyssey will visit 425 ports in 147 countries on seven continents in the world, which is what attracted Canen and Bodin to give up life on land to cruise for three years. They gave up life on land to become nomads on the cruise but months after they booked, the couple is yet to sail away.

Meanwhile, the Odyssey is still stuck in Belfast undergoing repair work that postponed its May departure for the three-and-a-half-year world voyage. The couple admitted that they “might to crazy” waiting for the ship to depart as they have yet to spend a night at sea.

Months later, the couple has yet to spend a night at sea. Their ship, the Odyssey, is stuck in Belfast undergoing repair work that has postponed its scheduled May departure for a three-and-a-half-year round-the-world voyage.

Bodin admitted that they have enjoyed their pit stop in the Northern Ireland capital. However, they added, “When we’d visited every pub and tried every fish and chips place and listened to all the places that have Irish music, then we were ready to go elsewhere.”

“We’re ready to set sail, for sure,” added Canen.

About the Odyssey cruise

The Odyssey is Villa Vie Residences’ latest venture into world cruising and offers guests the chance to buy a cabin and live at sea as the ship circumnavigates the world. Meanwhile, its maiden voyage was scheduled to visit 425 ports in 146 countries on seven continents.

The cabins on the ship are billed as “villas” with a starting price of $99,999 and a monthly fee on the vessel for up to 15 years. Moreover, guests could also take up segments of the voyage, lasting weeks or months.

Villa Vie Residences aimed the voyage at adventurous retirees and digital nomads, while promising  “the incredible opportunity to own a home on a floating paradise.”  Meanwhile, the Odyssey offers a spa, a gym, entertainment facilities and culinary centers, as well as a business center and a putting green.

However, the ship still needs to leave the dock and in the meantime, the cruise line is paying living expenses for around 200 guests. They can enjoy the facilities on the Odyssey during the day, including meals and entertainment. However, they can’t stay overnight and Villa Vie Residences is paying for hotels in Belfast and other cities for guests who want to explore Europe while they wait.

Meanwhile, Swedish Bodin and American Canen originally met when they both lived in Hawaii. They have taken the time to visit Croatia, Italy and Bodin’s hometown in Sweden while waiting for news of the Odyssey.