After 17 weeks of delays, the ship will sail to 425 destinations in 147 countries on its maiden voyage.
Villa Vie Residences' refurbished ship, Villa Vie Odyssey, has finally set sail on its inaugural cruise after three and a half years. The ship, originally scheduled to depart in May 2024, left Belfast, Northern Ireland, bound for Brest, France, on October 3, 2024.
The former Braemar, formerly owned by Fred. Olsen Cruise, had been moored in Edinburgh since March 2020. Villa Vie Residences took delivery of the ship on March 1, 2024, and opted to carry out a refurbishment at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
The Odyssey has eight decks, three restaurants, five bars, four lounges, a spa, a fitness center, a library and an expanded pool with two jacuzzis, which was one of the key points of the renovation.
During the next month, the ship is expected to call at ports in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Gibraltar and Dakar in Senegal
Another major project was creating a business center to provide residents with a place to work while on board. The business center features Starlink internet and Viasat 3, allowing residents to stay in touch with friends and family, as well as enabling non-retired residents to work remotely during their time on board.
According to Villa Vie Residences, the multiple delays in launching the ship have been due to problems with the water tank, gearbox and rudder shaft, and more recently, to a longer-than-usual certification process, which has meant that the vessel built in 1993 has to meet the same standards as a newly built ship.
After several sea trials in September, the ship received Coast Guard clearance on September 28, allowing it to take on passengers and embark on its maiden voyage. Because the Harland & Wolff shipyard entered administration on September 27, Villa Vie Odyssey was moved to a commercial ship terminal, causing further delays as the terminal's sailing schedule was already full.
The ship departed Belfast on September 30 with over 100 passengers on board, but it didn't sail far and remained anchored off the coast of County Down until October 3. Passengers were informed that the delay was necessary to complete final formalities.
Over the next month, the ship is expected to call at ports in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Gibraltar, and Dakar, Senegal. Additional passengers will join the round-the-world cruise at numerous ports along its route.
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