Starting next year, a one-of-a-kind cruise ship has set its sites on circumnavigating the globe, allowing travelers to experience life at sea over the next three and a half years.
Villa Vie Residences has announced the global journey will begin in May 2024. Passengers can buy a cabin starting at the “low price” of $100,000, or they can choose to travel on segments of the itinerary. Travelers can also rent out their rooms to others — think of it like an AirBnB on water.
In the past year, the market has seen a surge in condominium-at-sea concepts, with companies like Victoria Cruises Line and Life at Sea Cruises offering extended sea living experiences. However, these ventures have faced their fair share of delays and changes in plans, not to mention a limited number of its luxury condos casually priced between $2 million and $15 million.
If all goes according to Villa Vie’s plan, the new player will enter the floating-condo industry on May 15, 2024. Their ship will embark on a 3.5-year circumnavigation, visiting 425 ports in 147 countries during its first voyage. This trip includes 87 days in Northern Europe, 105 days in North America, 68 days in Africa and 76 days in South Asia.
On board, Villa Vie promises the typical world-cruise comforts, such as educational programs, global cuisine restaurants, pools and live entertainment. But with so much time to fill for passengers on board for literal years, the ship will also have a business center with offices and a library, a culinary arts center with cooking classes, a pet spa and resort, a golf simulator and a medical center staffed with doctors and nurses. Honestly, why would you ever get off the boat?
However, there is one snag in Villa Vie’s plan as of now: they don’t have a ship. Mikael Petterson, the company’s founder and CEO, revealed that they’ve made an offer to purchase a vessel from an active cruise ship operator. He expects to finalize the purchase by year-end. While this may sound like a tight timeline, Petterson assures they’ve left ample room for unforeseen hiccups before they set sail.
So whether you’re a cruise ship aficionado or simply looking to sail away from life’s problems, there’s a boat for you — if you have $100,000 to spare.
