Tons of of passengers scheduled to board Villa Vie Residences’ new ship, Odyssey, for a 1,300-day cruise on Thursday should wait a little bit bit longer.
Odyssey’s departure from Belfast, Eire, which was initially set for Might 30, has been delayed for repairs. The 31-year-old cruise vessel has encountered points with its waste water tank, main the corporate to reschedule the departure to June 4.
CEO Mikael Petterson stated the 4-day delay will enable them to carry out essential repairs. “Throughout our last DNV inspections yesterday, we recognized points with the steelwork in certainly one of our gray water tanks. To handle this, we might want to lengthen our keep in dry dock by an extra 4 days. This extension ensures that we meet and exceed all DNV and MCA security requirements,” he defined. |
“The security of our visitors is our high precedence, and we’re dedicated to making sure every little thing is in good order earlier than we set sail,” Petterson added.
When it does sail, the residential cruise ship will sail from Belfast, the dry dock location.
Odyssey, previously Fred. Olsen Cruises’ Braemar, the ship has sailed for a number of cruise strains, together with Cunard and Norwegian Cruise Line, earlier than being bought by Villa Vie earlier this yr. Fred. Olsen Cruises put the vessel up on the market in 2022.
Rescheduling the inaugural cruise
This isn’t the primary time that the bold itinerary has been postponed. The primary crusing date was introduced on Might 15 however was pushed again to Might 30.
After securing financing in early Might, Villa Vie Residences introduced that it was delaying its 3.5-year itinerary to make means for an in depth refurbishment, which was anticipated to be completed by Might 21.
Reassuring Nervous Passengers
The postponements have understandably made passengers nervous. In spite of everything, the terribly lengthy crusing and cancellations are much like Life at Sea Cruises, a three-year voyage that not too long ago left folks homeless and financially strapped when the corporate failed to accumulate the MV Lara (now Celestyal Discovery). Nevertheless, lots of the identical persons are leaping on this voyage.
A piece within the cruise phrases and circumstances ought to give visitors peace of thoughts: “VVR could change the itinerary at any time with out discover and or delay the inaugural sail date. If the inaugural sail date is delayed by greater than 15 days, then VVR will refund the total Fare that has been paid.” |
The cruise line has allowed passengers to see the ship within the dry dock to reassure them. With greater than 80% of cabins offered, Villa Vie Residences says it has discovered from different cruise strains which have gone earlier than and failed.
As soon as it’s prepared to go away, the Odyssey will go to greater than 425 ports in 147 international locations for 3.5 years. Fares vary from $299,999 to $499,999.