Luxury Liner Odyssey Finally Says Goodbye to Belfast – September 30th 2024 | Season 4 – Episode 72
Floats Sep 24, 2024
The 195m Odyssey cruise liner, registered in Nassau, Bahamas, and operated by Villa Vie Residences, has remained docked for repair at the Harland and Wolff shipyards at Belfast Harbour, County Antrim long past her much-publicised departure date of May 30th 2024.
As part of its recommissioning after a four-year layup in Scotland due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the vessel was undergoing repairs to its thirty-year old gearbox, rudder stocks, and sections of the hull in the dry dock at Harland and Wolff the shipyard famous for constructing the ill-fated RMS Titanic.
UPDATE: Belfast says goodbye to Odyssey as it finally set sail late in the evening of September 30th 2024 to begin its global journey every 3 ½ years and will visit 425 ports across 147 countries on all seven continents.
IRELAND MADE
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SHIP HISTORY
Built in 1993 at the Unión Naval de Levante, Valencia, Spain for the Cunard line and named the Crown Dynasty, the ship was also formerly named Cunard Crown Dynasty, Crown Majesty, and Norwegian Dynasty and more recently in 2020 was named the Braemar.
In 2008, the ship underwent a major refit, adding a 31-meter hull section that increased its tonnage to 25,000 GT and boosted its passenger capacity to 977. On October 9, 2019, while carrying her full capacity of 929 passengers, the ship became the longest ever to navigate the Corinth Canal.
In 2023 Villa Vie Residences bought the ship, renaming it the Villa Vie Odyssey,
CRUISE
The Villa Vie company offers passengers a round-the-world cruise and the option to purchase their cabin outright, rather than paying a daily hotel-style rate, allowing them to stay onboard even after the Odyssey’s initial three-year journey.
The Villa Vie marketing material is in their own words aimed at adventurous retirees and restless digital nomads and touts “the incredible opportunity to own a home on a floating paradise,” complete with a gym, spa, putting green, entertainment facilities, a business centre and an “experiential culinary centre.”
But this level of luxury does not come cheap and according to the Villa Vie Odyssey company website, ownership of cabins billed as “villas” starts at €107K for an inside cabin with monthly fees up to €3,142 per couple. An outside cabin will set you back €133K and €4,489 in monthly fees for a double cabin.
For your around-the-world cruise you may as well go for broke and opt for a balcony cabin for €241K with an eye-watering monthly charge for a couple of €7,184 for the operational life of the vessel, of at least 15 years. While these figures represent some serious outgoings for potential round-the-world cruisers, to come on board as a guest will only set you back a very reasonable €29.00 per day – a bargin!
Once the Odyssey embarks on its maiden voyage, it is scheduled to complete a global journey every 3 ½ years and will visit 425 ports across 147 countries on all seven continents.
REPAIRS
Prior to arriving in Belfast, the ship bearing the name Braemar was mothballed in Scotland during the COVID pandemic, and this then became a four-year lay-up. In 2023 the Villa Vie Residences’ company bought the ship, renamed her as Odyssey and sailed her to Queen’s Island, Belfast for recommissioning ahead of its scheduled 30th May 2024 departure.
However, the repairs took longer than expected according to the Villa Vie Residences’ marketing manager Sebastian Stokkendal who said that the company had been “humbled by the scale of what it takes to reactivate a 30-year-old vessel from a four-year layup.”
In the meantime, the company has been covering living expenses for around two-hundred passengers stuck in Belfast. Passengers can board the ship during the day for meals and entertainment but aren’t allowed to stay overnight. The cruise line has also arranged hotel accommodations in Belfast and other European cities while they wait.
END IN SIGHT
The end seemed to be in sight for the stranded passengers as on September 5, 2024, the Odyssey began her sea trials. Two tugs escorted her out of Belfast, into the lough past Carrickfergus and Whitehead towards the open sea. Mikael Petterson, Villa Vie Residences CEO and founder, said at that time “We are going through the last few surveys and expect to launch within the next week.”
But Belfast was not about to say goodbye just yet to the Odyssey as in a development that could have complicated matters further, the BBC reported on Tuesday, September 17th, that the Harland & Wolff shipyard, has entered administration for the second time in five years.
Luckily this did not affect the repair work and over the weekend of September 20th the two-hundred passengers received the long-awaited news that with sea trials completed, Odyssey was ready to say goodbye to Belfast. Speaking over the weekend, Mikael Peterson, hopes the liner will be “under way as soon as Wednesday (September 25th)”.
Not all passengers will be aboard when the ship sets sail this week. Jenny Phenix from the USA, who had sold her belongings to join the three-year world voyage, has been removed from the cruise. Her comments on WhatsApp regarding the ship’s delayed departure, extended refurbishments, and concerns about a temporary cabin led Villa Vie Residences to cancel her contract, citing a negative impact on community morale.
After departing Ireland, the Odyssey is expected to sail to head to Bremerhaven, Amsterdam, Lisbon then across the Atlantic for the Caribbean segment.
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If you have an idea for a story, please email Kevin Reid on [email protected]
Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
ABC-7
Angela and Stephen Theriac
AP Photo/Peter Morrison
BBC NI
Belfast Harbour Commissioners
Belfast Telegraph
Business Insider
Communications and Community Engagement Manager, Belfast Harbour
EuroNews
Harland & Wolff
Irish News
Photopress
The Associated Press (AP)
Villa Vie Residences
