Villa Vie Residences‘ CEO Mikael Petterson addressed the most recent delay of the Villa Vie Odyssey in a brand new video, asserting a definitive launch date of July 20, 2024, for the ship’s world cruise.
Initially scheduled to debut on Could 15, 2024, following a multi-million-dollar renovation, the ship’s launch has been pushed again a number of instances and stays docked for intensive renovations in Belfast, Eire’s Titanic Yard.
The most recent postponement stems from the necessity to exchange extraordinarily outdated rudder shares on the 24,344-gross-ton Odyssey, which has not sailed with friends since March 2020, when it was part of the Fred Olsen Cruises’ fleet. Rudder shares are vertical shafts that drive the turning of the ship’s steering gear to the rudder blades.
Petterson was frank as he detailed the challenges confronted through the ship’s renovation course of. “It’s been an extended journey,” he sighed.
“We took possession of the vessel 4 months in the past. At the moment, we had no data concerning the vessel; the upkeep data had been deleted. We got a clear slate on all the tools on board,” he mentioned.
He continued to element the present maintain up by addressing the rudder shares. “The rudder shares are the unique rudder shares from 30 years in the past. They will’t be thinner than 295 millimeters. They had been measured in at 283, so considerably decrease than what’s acceptable. We needed to exchange them,” he mentioned.
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The unexpected problem pushed the refurbishment timeline additional as the brand new elements had been machined in Denmark and require exact integration with the ship’s current methods. Though Petterson says the timeline remains to be fluid, “The twentieth of July is our very, final date we must be able to take residents on board for our launch date.”
Petterson acknowledges the 924-resident ship nonetheless must float out and endure certifications and clearances from maritime officers, however says they’ve padded the schedule by two weeks to make sure they make the deadline.
“That is nonetheless an older vessel and we’re nonetheless going through some challenges right here and there. It will be not so clever to suppose we’re going to get issues completely achieved unexpectedly,” he mentioned. “However there’s some room for us to wiggle.”
The optimistic Petterson shook off his fatigue on the course of and mentioned he can’t look forward to the subsequent couple of weeks to get on the water and welcome passengers.
Navigating Delays and Challenges
Villa Vie Odyssey, previously Braemar, confronted a number of setbacks even earlier than the rudder inventory problem got here to gentle two weeks in the past. Initially, the ship underwent a dry dock in Edinburgh, the place it stayed till April 24, 2024. Throughout this era, the ship’s debut was modified from Could 15 to Could 30, necessitated by the necessity to relocate the launch from Belfast to Southampton, England.
The preliminary delay was then prolonged to June 4, 2024, resulting from issues with the ship’s gray water tanks. These tanks, important for holding water from kitchens, showers, and laundry services, wanted repairs to fulfill environmental requirements for water therapy earlier than discharge into the ocean.
Whereas nonetheless in dry dock, Petterson burdened all the crew continues to work to get the ship the place it must be, and can proceed to maintain working till residents arrive.
As soon as Villa Vie Odyssey is able to set sail, precisely two months from its preliminary launch schedule, it’s going to start a 3.5-year Continuous World Cruise. Departing from Southampton, it’s going to cowl 425 ports throughout 147 international locations over 1,301 days, with port stays starting from 2 to 7 days.
Beginning in Europe, the ship will head to Canada, the US, and the Caribbean earlier than venturing to Antarctica in 2025. The itinerary continues with stops in South America, Alaska, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Australia, and New Zealand. It’ll finish its international journey in Europe in 2027.
Villa Vie Residences residents who’ve been in Northern Eire for the reason that preliminary delays have been welcome to board the ship throughout dry dock and watch the progress. Petterson says they’ve been extraordinarily affected person.
