ONTD Original: The Odyssey of Villa Vie - A Scam on the High Seas
Stranded luxury cruise ship still stuck off coast of Northern Ireland https://t.co/lM5dyKAP9O
- Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 2, 2024
Villa Vie Residences promised its customers a luxurious three-and-a-half year world cruise, visiting locales on every continent and in-depth chances to explore little-seen places across the world - 425 destinations, 147 countries, and more than 100 islands. Passengers sold their homes and belongings, moving to Northern Ireland in May for what they expected would be the start of their cruise in cabins they "purchased" starting at $99,999 for an interior cabin up to $899,000 for a suite, plus monthly fees of $3,500 per person (covering food and drinks, wi-fi, laundry and housekeeping, the golf simulator, "healthcare consultations", etc.). But then the ship had problem after problem. Even after they set sail this week, the ship has made it only a few miles before dropping the anchor because of "additional paperwork", leaving people to wonder - is Villa Vie a scam? Let us explore the history of Villa Vie Residences...
The Beginning - Life at Sea Cruises
In 2023, a company called Miray Cruises based in Turkey formed a brand called Life at Sea Cruises, promising a three year, never-ending cruise where passengers would live on board and perpetually travel. Customers paid $5,000 deposits to reserve a room on the ship. The problem - the first ship Miray wanted to use was "too small", leading them to try and purchase the aidaAURA, a small German cruise ship owned by Carnival Corporation's subsidiary Aida Cruises. Passengers were sold cabins in installments - in some cases tens of thousands of dollars on this ship despite one big, glaring issue - Miray and Life at Sea did not actually own the ship, and planned on using the passengers' deposits to purchase the ship. Passengers were promised a sailing date of November 30, 2023 from Amsterdam - after initially being slated to sail from Istanbul in early November 2023. Passengers had sold their homes and belongings and flown to Istanbul before the announcement, leaving customers in the lurch to figure out how to get to Amsterdam.
As the time ticked down, customers began to wonder what was happening given that the ship was supposed to be fully renovated by sailing, and yet the ship still wasn't in Miray's ownership.
On November 17, Life at Sea Cruises announced that the cruise was canceled because they had been unable to purchase the ship. Instead, the aidaAURA was sold to Celestyal Cruises, a Greek cruise line, and renamed the Celestyal Discovery, sailing the Greek Isles beginning in March 2024. The passengers were due to receive refunds beginning in December 2023 through February 2024.
At the same time, a mass exodus of Life at Sea/Miray executives began. Former Life at Sea Managing Director, Mikael Petterson, formed his own company - Villa Vie Residences. The promised product? A three and a half year residential cruise, launching May 30, 2024 out of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Petterson told the NY Post: “The reality is that Life at Sea was based off the Villa Vie business plan that Miray ended up selling as their own and eventually running into the ground." Petterson became CEO of Villa Vie, with the COO being his wife, Kathy Villalba. OP note: Several Villa Vie executives also sued Life at Sea in Broward County, FL, but I can't open the complaint so IDK what all that is about. I think a contract dispute?
Villa Vie Residences Begins
After his resignation from the quickly sinking ship that was Life at Sea Cruises, Petterson formed Villa Vie Residences, using his "initial plan" that he claims Miray Cruises ran into the ground. With Life at Sea customers still waiting for their refunds (and as of September 2024, there has been no evidence any customers got anywhere near a full refund, if they got back any of their thousands of dollars at all), Villa Vie Residences targeted their first customers - jilted Life at Sea customers who had sold their life possessions promised a three-year cruise. The new gimmick? This cruise would be 3.5 years - but that would only be the first lap of the world, continuing on for the life of the ship.
The customers' reaction?
Using their "expertise" in the cruise industry (Petterson once worked for Royal Caribbean for a few years), Villa Vie Residences secured payments from 125 paying passengers, and was able to purchase the former Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' ship Braemar (since it's construction in 1993, it has also been the Crown Dynasty, Cunard 4 Dynasty, Crown Majesty, Norwegian Dynasty, and Crown Dynasty), a 929-passenger ship that has been around the block a few times. At 31, the now-named Odyssey is old, and it had not been in service since prior to COVID, meaning the ship came at a discount because it was very, VERY broken. More on that later.
The new promise? The new Villa Vie Odyssey would be fully renovated and ready to set sail on May 30th. Passengers sold what possessions they had left and prepared in May to move their entire lives to Belfast to set sail. Villa Vie Residences said in February 2024, when they took possession of the Braemar in Northern Ireland, that 340 of 485 cabins (remember - only 125 passengers are supposedly on board right now...) had already been sold. The ship arrived at the Harland & Wolff shipyard (of Titanic fame!) on April 28th for a one-month renovation and dry dock. When the water drained out of the dry dock and engineers got their first looks at the engines and the hull of the ship, though, the real problems began...
Is This Thing Seaworthy?
The issues were found immediately. Though Villa Vie Residences progressed very quickly renovating the interiors, modernizing the very old ship with new furnishings, paint, a golf simulator, a business center, and new dining areas, the real problems began to show - and fast.
The issue with a 31-year-old ship that hadn't been in service in four years and has just been chilling at a dock in Northern Ireland with the engines turned off? Well, plenty - and Villa Vie was quick to blame others. There was a big reason why cruise lines paid a LOT to keep their ships running around in slow circles with minimal crew for over a year during COVID - turning off an engine and restarting it is not an easy process - not just for the engines, but for every process on a ship. Even when your cruise ship is parked at a dock, at least one engine is kept running at low power to keep everything running. Laying up a ship for days is a pain. Here is a fun video of what some cruise ships did during the no-sail order since the ships and crews were stuck at sea for weeks on end, and because cruise lines actually kept taking delivery of new ships even if there were no passengers. (PS the OP also thinks Celebrity is the best so if you're going to cruise, consider them for your next cruise vacation and not just because they have the most female deck officers by FAR of all the cruise lines and prioritize training and mentoring female officers to become captains. Also if you notice in this video one of the ships isn't the same color as the others, it's because Celebrity was redoing the ship branding at the time and the Reflection wasn't painted until after - she's blue now.)
Click to viewThe issues affecting the Odyssey? The standards for certifying the seaworthiness of ships has changed since 1993. Bearings were not replaced by the previous owner, the rudder was corroded beyond repair and had to be custom made (most ships now use azipod thrusters where the propellers themselves can change direction, but the Odyssey is from an era that relied on the old-fashioned shaft and rudder system, meaning not only an outdated system but that the ship is far from as maneuverable as new ships - Carnival recently scrapped their last pre-azipod ship, the Carnival Ecstasy from 1991, and all their remaining ships have azipods, some more reliable than others), and undocumented repairs from 2007 that Villa Vie claims Fred. Olsen did not receive certification for before selling the ship. Another issue - the gearbox was broken and needed intensive repair, and you kind of need that to make the ship move. Fred. Olsen claims Villa Vie was open to full and thorough inspection before the sale was finalized - in essence, Villa Vie did not do their due diligence. In all likelihood, the ship would have been scrapped if Villa Vie did not purchase it.
So what happened to all the customers who showed up in Belfast in May? The company put them all in hotels, provided them with food vouchers and excursions to tour the area, and promised them the ship would be ready very soon. New deadlines for sailing were set, and every single one was broken as new issues arose. Guests were invited to visit the ship during the day while the ship was still dry docked, but since an occupation permit had been issued, they could not stay in the rooms they had already paid for.
At the same time, the shipyard - the famous Harland & Wolff - is facing bankruptcy, with the company entering administration for the second time in 5 years on September 16. The shipyard currently mostly deals in military and wind-power contracts.
As "Soon" Turns into Four Months...
With the customers having arrived in Belfast, Villa Vie continued to pay for hotels, food, and excursions to keep them happy. As weeks turned into months, though, some passengers began to wonder if they were ever going to get what they had paid for - an actual world cruise on a residential ship. Then things got worse. Villa Vie told passengers it would no longer pay for hotel rooms on September 15th. Some passengers even flew back to the US.
“While the road has had its challenges, every decision we’ve made is focused on the well-being and safety of our residents,” CEO Mikael Petterson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “We have supported our residents with trips around Europe, and spent over $2m in hotel stays and trips to accommodate and entertain them while Odyssey has been getting ready for launch. Since residents are scattered throughout Europe in over 20 different hotels, we have decided to let residents plan their hotels and way back to the ship for launch.”
One passenger, Jenny Phenix, began to ask questions and express her disappointment on a WhatsApp group for customers waiting for the sailing to begin. Villa Vie then banned her from the cruise, claiming she was defaming the line and creating discontent, upsetting her fellow passengers (", even as Phenix states she was merely standing up herself and that other passengers told her they supported her. Phenix later claimed she was not allowed to retrieve her belongings, and since she sold her house and possessions in Florida, she had lost everything. Phoenix had previously been a Life at Sea customer, having sold her home and moved into a suitcase before heading to Amsterdam only for that cruise to be canceled.
“We have received over a dozen formal complaints from residents regarding your continuous complaints and negativity,” Kathy Villalba, the ship’s chief operating officer, told her. “This behavior has significantly impacted the morale and well-being of other passengers.” Villa Vie Residences CEO Mikael Petterson told the Telegraph that Phenix “broke multiple terms and conditions and signed a non-disclosure agreement.”
Phenix is still owed $30,000 from Life at Sea Cruises, previously run by Petterson.
So Where Are We Now?
Good news! The ship has left Belfast with 125 passengers on board, having set sail on September 30th as scheduled! The bad news - it hasn't even made it out of the bay and is currently anchored pending "additional administrative paperwork". Apparently, the certifications to sail had not actually been received before Villa Vie sent the ship to sea. As of 4 PM EDT on 10/2/2024, the ship is currently anchored off the coast of Bangor, NI, a distance of about 15 miles from where it initially set sail.
What are the reactions from passengers about their cruise from Belfast to Bangor?
Passengers John and Monica Frim told BBC News NI they have now been told the ship will head back to the port in Belfast on Wednesday afternoon "to pick up a few things" before departing for Brest in France later in the evening.
John Frim said he was "pretty confident" the ship would finally begin its journey. "Today I think we are going to leave, yes," he said. "We're obviously anxious to get going. It's been a rollercoaster ride of: 'We're ready to go. Oops, there's something still to clear. And then: 'Okay, we got that cleared.' And then: 'Oops, there's something else.' So it's been up and down, but we just got clearance. As I understand, we can sail later today."
If it doesn't leave, it will "just be another hiccup, I think, in four months of hiccups," Monica said, adding she was "confident we'll sail today". John said the couple were "enjoying the ship, meeting with friends at meals and in the afternoons". "It's not overly depressing but a little frustrating," he said. "We're in good spirits. We've never lost faith in the idea and the concept. Out of three and a half years of sailing, it's not a significant chunk of time."
Melody and John Hennessey, from Palm Beach in Florida, hope to stay on board for the rest of their lives. They used their unexpected months in Belfast "to build the largest suite on the ship", Melody told BBC News NI. "It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the time here has allowed us to complete the project."
The newest issue? The fine dining establishment opened Tuesday night and has already been a major disappointment to passengers. “We’re now training the staff who ran the buffet on how take orders and serve, and all that stuff, and so that gave us something new and different to do. That was an interesting experience. “One of my friends said: I don’t want it. If that’s the only option we have for dinner, I’m going to start eating my big meal at lunch. I don’t want to waste hours socializing being served. I get that. Others just relished it. Another person said: ‘This is not fine dining. You don’t have table numbers on the tables and your servers don’t even know where the table number is.’"
Reports say the ship will now leave Belfast Thursday, 10/3/2024, for Brest in Brittany, France before heading to the Azores and eventually the Caribbean, but passengers don't actually know where they are going, and they have not received a copy of the itinerary, which could mean the company has not actually scheduled port visits with officials, which most cruise lines plan years in advance barring weather issues or other extenuating circumstances.
For now, the passengers seem to be happy, and since wine and beer are included, are getting drunk to pass the time. But how far will this cruise make it given that they seem to be on very precarious financial terms right now? And is this indeed the Fyre Cruise?
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