Living on a Cruise for 15 Years: “I Don’t Miss Cooking or Doing Laundry”

When the Villa Vie Odyssey lastly departed from Belfast final autumn, the cheer on board was half celebration, half aid.

The 1993-built ship (previously Fred. Olsen’s Braemar) had spent months in dry dock present process a bow-to-stern retrofit, solely to be held up by last-minute paperwork and mechanical issues that saved would-be residents in Northern Eire for manner longer than anticipated.

In the event you bear in mind, I additionally wrote an article on the time, however that’s now historical past, and the residential ship has lastly set sail with passengers on board who need to change their lives without end.

Residing on a Cruise Ship

As you’ll have guessed, the Odyssey is totally different from a “common” cruise ship in a single essential manner: cabins are offered (or rented) like flats.

The corporate caps capability at about 650 residents, making a village-at-sea environment that its flatter hull can carry into rivers and smaller ports that mega-ships can’t attain.

Possession begins at US $129,999 for an inside “villa” with month-to-month charges of US $1,999 per individual (double occupancy).

Bigger ocean-view and balcony items rise to US $379,999, nonetheless together with housekeeping, Wi-Fi, wine with dinner, primary medical consultations, and twice-weekly laundry.

An fascinating factor is that house owners can sublet their cabins throughout prolonged absences, including a measure of flexibility that may undoubtedly turn out to be useful.

Sharon Lane: Full-Time Cruiser

One of many latest residents is Sharon Lane, a 77-year-old former language instructor from Southern California who boarded in mid-June 2025.

After liquidating most of her possessions, she put her life financial savings into an inside villa that she plans to occupy for the ship’s whole 15-year projected lifespan.

“It’s cheaper than staying in SoCal, and I by no means have to purchase groceries or do laundry once more,” she instructed CNN Journey, and dwelling with like-minded vacationers “retains life easy“, she added.

425 Ports and an Unique Itinerary

Villa Vie’s route is designed for immersion slightly than box-ticking. Conventional cruise passengers (like most of us) are used to brief stops, however these vacationers can have a very totally different expertise.

A single loop lasts 1,280 days, touches 147 international locations, and permits stays of as much as 5 days in some ports. Lengthy sufficient for residents to totally discover the cities or work remotely ashore.

Locations up to now have included Brittany’s port of Brest, an upriver glide to Seville, and a west-African leg to Dakar earlier than the trans-Atlantic hop to Barbados.

By January 2025, the ship had transited the Panama Canal and was touring Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. In the event you’re curious, Antarctic cruising and Alaska’s Inside Passage are slated for the approaching 12 months.

Who Is Residing On Board?

Lane isn’t alone. {Couples} reminiscent of Hawaiian retirees Lanette and Johan Canen have additionally opted for the Odyssey, citing all-in month-to-month prices (round US $3,500 for 2) that undercut mortgage, insurance coverage and property-tax payments again dwelling.

Analysts be aware the ship faucets a distinct segment between ultra-luxury residential yachts and budget-minded “repositioning” cruises, providing long-term predictability with out spending an excessive amount of.

If you wish to know the costs of the opposite options as effectively, I’ve written a selected article on tips on how to reside completely on a cruise ship and the way a lot you want.

Life On Board

As you may think about, the surroundings is far more relaxed than on Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruises.

Residents fill their days with lectures, language courses, swimming pools and sunbathing, pickleball on a top-deck court docket, and the quiet ritual of watching the wake peel away at sundown.

A devoted enterprise centre is obtainable for distant employees, and a medical suite handles routine care, with shore-side companions organized for advanced procedures.

As a result of the passenger rely is small, “You begin recognising everybody inside every week,” Lane says. “That sense of neighborhood is what actually sells it.“

Villa Vie Residences says greater than 70% of the ship’s 485 cabins have been offered earlier than the primary loop started, and CEO Mikael Petterson hints {that a} second, bigger ship shall be launched sooner or later.

Within the meantime, you may take a look on the most anticipated new cruise ships that can arrive in late 2025 and past.