Renamed Villa Vie Odyssey, it is scheduled to enter service May 15 from Southampton following what Villa Vie said would be a multimillion-dollar transformation into a residential cruise ship with villas as residences.
30-year-old ship
Built in 1993 as Crown Dynasty at Union Naval de Levante, the vessel joined Fred. Olsen's fleet as Braemar in 2001. It was lengthened in 2009 and refurbished in 2019. At 24,344gt, it now has capacity for 924 passengers.
Villa Vie Residences CEO Mikael Petterson previously was with Life at Sea Cruises which, as an offshoot of Miray Cruises, had first asipired to operate the Gemini (built in 1992 as Crown Jewel) and then, following his departure, AIDAaura on global cruises. Those plans did not transpire.
Digital nomad lifestyle
Petterson's new Villa Vie Residences aims to tap into the digital nomad lifestyle by offering a large business center with private offices and conference spaces. It is planned to make global circumnavigations, with residents owning shares and participating in decision-making.
The Fort Lauderdale-based company has advertised the opportunity to purchase a cabin at a price comparable to traditional condominium ownership, starting at $99,999. Or, instead of owning, it said a 'pay-as-you-go' concept would let travelers buy world cruise segments ranging from 35 days to 120 days.
As a policy, Seatrade Cruise News has determined not to cover residential ship concepts in detail until they become a reality and then only if they offer a regular retail cruising program
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