ONTD Original: The Odyssey of Villa Vie - A Scam on the High Seas

[squirrels_oh_no]

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

Comments

[dulcius]

this was fascinating, i love cruise drama! thanks OP!

there is so much wild shit going on here but one of the things that is bothering me the most is that people SOLD THEIR HOUSES?! to go on this cruise

i feel like if you are rich enough to do something like this, you'd be rich enough to hold onto your real estate asset and idk rent it out while you are gone?

i guess im too poor to understand thinking that everything will work out well enough that i can safely sell my house??????

[squirrels_oh_no]

There is a reason this is popular with "normal" people who have to sell their houses - there is another perpetual world cruise option that has been sailing for over 20 years now, but you never hear about it because it's waaaaay more expensive, you have to be nominated and approved to buy a cabin from someone selling theirs, and it's very hush hush. It did shut down during COVID, though. It's called... THE WORLD (of Residensea). There are generally only a few dozen residents on board at any time, and the residents get to vote on where they will go. It's MUCH nicer. MUCH. Like $2 million for a studio plus yearly fees, and $15 million for the nicest suite. It's currently in Brisbane. Base price is $132k or so in fees up to over $800k.

The other option is what a few people do - they buy back to back to back cruises on the same ship with the same cabin, but they have to get off when it gets back to its homeport due to security reasons or something.

For some retirees, it's cheaper than retirement homes and comes with food, housekeeping

[dulcius]

Wow this is so interesting, thank you!!

[squirrels_oh_no]

NP! For some people, cruising definitely makes sense compared to assisted living or a retirement home. It's often cheaper, they get everything provided for them, they get to travel and meet new friends constantly, the activities are way more fun than on land. A lot of ships book different guest entertainment every cruise so they can see a variety of shows, magicians, comedians, singers, etc. The food is included (and tasty) and unlimited, and nowadays, they can even still work if they want to.

[hiketogether]

One of my parents friends did go on World one years ago. I don't think they bought in? But with them, who knows. They do like their crises.

[archersangel]

I think I've hear of that first one (The World) before.

[evilyn_1007]

These were great. Mario seems lonely. I want to do a solo cruise but I couldn't do it as a permanent lifestyle.