Latest news with #VillaVieOdyssey
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Villa Vie Odyssey Makes Historic First Visit to Honolulu, Marking U.S. Debut
HONOLULU, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Villa Vie Residences proudly announces the inaugural U.S. arrival of its flagship residential cruise ship, the Villa Vie Odyssey, as it docks in Honolulu, Hawaii. This momentous occasion marks the vessel's first visit to the United States, offering a unique opportunity for local residents and officials to experience the innovative concept of residential cruising firsthand. The Villa Vie Odyssey is currently on a groundbreaking 3.5-year global voyage, visiting over 425 ports across more than 140 countries. Designed to serve as a floating community, the ship offers various residency options, including full ownership, seasonal stays, and flexible rental programs. Residents enjoy luxurious amenities such as a business center, medical facilities, a culinary studio, and a golf simulator, all while exploring the world's most captivating destinations. "Our arrival in Honolulu is a significant milestone for Villa Vie Residences," said Mikael Petterson, Chairman of Villa Vie Residences. "We are thrilled to introduce our unique lifestyle concept to the U.S. and share the extraordinary experiences that come with living at sea." Following its Hawaiian stop, the Villa Vie Odyssey will continue its journey along the U.S. West Coast, with scheduled visits to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. The ship will then proceed to Alaska before heading towards Asia and the South Pacific, continuing its mission to redefine the future of travel and living. For more information about Villa Vie Residences and the Villa Vie Odyssey, please visit About Villa Vie ResidencesVilla Vie Residences reimagines cruise ship living with flexible, long-term options that cater to today's travelers. Its Continual World Cruise explores more than 425 ports in over 140 countries across seven continents every three and a half years. Residents choose to own, rent, or lease for life through the Endless Horizons Program, enjoying a unique blend of home comfort and global discovery. Contact:Villa Vie ResidencesEmail: media@ For images and assets, please click here View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Villa Vie Residences
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Belfast cruise ship: Stranded Villa Vie Odyssey couple marry at sea
They should have been on a round-the-world cruise - instead they were stranded in Belfast, when they met and fell in Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship was to depart from Northern Ireland but issues with its rudder stocks meant its guests were marooned in its capital in months behind schedule, and on the dry dock, the maintenance work was long enough for Angela Harsanyi and Gian Perroni to meet and get engaged by the River delays to departure, the next step was "I do" - on board the liner itself, off the coast of Costa Rica in April. They told BBC News NI the wedding ceremony on board was "incredible"."It's been magical, it's beyond my wildest dreams," said Angela."We're on a perpetual honeymoon now, for real."After we got engaged, he looked at me so sincerely and said, 'you know honey, I'm going to take you on a world cruise for our honeymoon'. "I just cracked up laughing of course, because that's what any woman would want to hear, but it's our life, so it's pretty wonderful. He was a man of his word." 'From Belfast to Forever' The pair had a private ceremony with family and friends on board, before a second ship-wide event with 300 guests the following day, including around 100 of their original Belfast had friends and family fly in "from the four corners" to the wedding off the coast of Costa Rica, before sailing north towards central America. Celebrations included conga lines, bubble machines, dolphins swimming in the ocean alongside them, and sunsets burning orange on the horizon. Angela and Gian met in August 2024, when they were commuting from hotels in Belfast city centre to the ship where they were worked remotely during the walking together back to their accommodation they "started to become friends, then best friends, and then romance bloomed", Gian got engaged on the banks of the River Lagan in Belfast - and Gian said the location was "just as exotic" as Costa Rica. Belfast delay 'a funny story' Their foundations in Northern Ireland played a part in the nuptials 5,000 miles away."From Belfast to Forever" was inscribed on the flooring used as the wedding aisle for Angela to walk the officiators at the two ceremonies mentioned Belfast in the weddings. The second ceremony was officiated by the ship's captain which the couple described as an "honour".Gian added: "He was there for the whole four months in Belfast as well, and he understood the frustrations."At the time it was a sore point - 'we're still here' - but now it's kind of a funny story." Gian said the couple will return to Belfast as soon as they can. "We can't wait to visit again to retrace our steps," he said."I'm half-Irish myself, but I truly understand the luck of the Irish now. It's pretty cool."The couple's families had met before the wedding, but it was a chance to meet each other's friends for the first time."It was really nice to get everyone in one place, and for them to have that destination wedding."
ITV News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Strangers from Villa Vie cruise ship who met whilst stranded in Belfast get married
Two passengers who spent four months in Belfast waiting to board the long delayed, infamous Villa Vie Odyssey cruise liner have tied the knot, despite having never met each other before arriving in Northern Ireland. Gian and Angela Perroni got married on the Villa Vie which is now off the coast of South America on its round the world cruise. , the ship's passengers were stranded in Belfast for months whilst it underwent repairs. 'We always say we're the only two people that didn't mind how long the delay was,' Gian told UTV in a video call from their home onboard. Over six months after leaving Northern Irish shores, the couple have had two wedding ceremonies, something Angela describes as 'unbelievable.' 'It was a dream come true to be able to have a private ceremony with friends and family, very intimate, beautiful, it was in the observatory right at sunset,' she said. 'We had all the residents help with decorations and photography and quite a community that we have here. They made it very unforgettable. 'On the second day we had a shipside wedding up on the pool deck, which was much more party, lots of dancing, a flash mob and we did a conga to the pool where we then took the plunge.' 'It was just, just magical. I don't know another way to describe it,' Angela added. The couple got engaged back in Summer 2024 whilst walking along the River Lagan. 'We had a nice romantic walk along the, the river and just the time was right,' Gian explained. 'It was a full moon and the time seemed right,' he said. 'The location was special because that's the place we walked by every day, to the ship, so it just really built a lot of memories there for us,' Angela added. Gian and Angela certainly attribute their coming together to the typical welcome they received in Belfast. 'The Guinness and Bushmills might have had an effect,' the couple joked. 'We spent a lot of time in the pubs, of course, but Belfast is such a great city to walk around,' Gian said. 'We got a chance to spend a lot of time exploring and getting to know each other in a really friendly city.' Next up the Gian and Angela, and all of Villa Vie's other passengers will continue their voyage, crossing the Pacific Ocean - and eventually their itinerary lists Belfast, but not for another three years. 'It's, it's all marked in red for some reason. I don't know what that's about. Everyone's afraid we'll get stuck again,' Gian laughed. 'We'll, we'll definitely make it back, but we'll be there before then, just, just to, to revisit the scene of the crime, as they say.'
The Star
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Yes, you can live full-time on a cruise ship just like this couple
American couple Jim and Chris Guld will be travelling around the world, living full-time aboard a cruise ship called Villa Vie Odyssey. Will it be exciting? Yes. Expensive? Kind of. Tight? Well, the Gulds say they're not worried about feeling cramped inside of a 13sq m stateroom for the 15-year option they just purchased. They recently spent 14 years together in a recreational vehicle, hitting each of the lower 48 states in the United States. 'We will not be in our room very much,' Chris says. 'Every morning I plan to walk up the three decks to the gym where there's an exercise class. And there's the buffet where we will eat, and there's entertainment in the afternoon.' That might get boring after a while if not for the port calls. The ship's itinerary includes stops at 425 ports in more than 140 countries over the three-and-a-half year 'Continual World Cruise'. The Gulds got on the ship during its stop at the Colombian port of Cartagena at the end of April, and are staying aboard for at least seven years, and longer if they love it. The ship is currently in its seventh month sailing as the flagship of a Pembroke Pines-based company called Villa Vie Residences that the Gulds say offers the only affordable option for living on the sea. The company caters to people who truly want to get away from it all while still remaining connected through the Starlink Internet service. Mikael Petterson, the company's chairman, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that 354 of 480 cabins have been sold (at the time of writing) to long-term residents since the company purchased the Villa Vie Odyssey, built in 1993, from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines in 2023. 'We are looking forward to having Jim and Chris onboard,' Petterson said during an interview earlier. 'We are sure they will love it.' A life of tech and travel The Gulds seem uniquely well-suited for permanent life aboard a cruise ship. They met while Chris, now 72, operated a computer training centre called Computer Savvy in Florida with her mother in the 1980s and 1990s. Local companies would send employees for training on programs like WordPerfect, Novell NetWare, and Microsoft's Excel and Access. Jim, now 71, worked for a Deerfield Beach company, building, installing and networking personal computers. Chris purchased computers from the company for her training centre, and Jim showed up to service them. 'So he had to keep coming back,' Chris said. Eventually, Chris hired Jim away from his company to focus full-time on her business. They bonded over their mutual love of scuba diving, computers and travel. A few years after Chris sold the centre and 'retired' in the late 1990s, they sold their first house and bought an RV (recreational vehicle). They spent 14 years from 2003 to 2017 travelling the US, holding seminars to teach RV enthusiasts how to get on the Internet, and creating computer training videos for a company they founded called Geeks On Tour. Subscribers to the Geeks On Tour website get access to a long list of class presentations, learning guides and tips. But anyone can click on the more than 900 videos the couple has posted over the years, mostly while wearing their trademark propeller beanies. Their earliest videos were a mix of travelogues and tutorials for types of software that travellers would use to take, upload and geotag photos, set up travel blogs, assign drive letters to external USB drives, and navigate highways. More recently, their videos focus on smartphone apps, including how to shoot time-lapse video, use Google's photo app, communicate over Zoom, and use WiFi calling if cellular service goes down. Video bloggers amok After seven years in another landed home, the couple is itching to travel again – but without the headaches of traffic and shopping. The Gulds plan to continue to post training videos from the ship that show how they respond to challenges that arise as they visit the various ports on the ship's itinerary. They've already started sharing their plans with their 16,700 YouTube subscribers and just under 1,000 paid Geeks On Tour members. They won't be alone using the Internet to work on the ship, Jim says. A large number of the ship's cabins are occupied by solo travellers who make their livings working remotely. Like the Gulds, many shoot and post videos. A search for the ship on YouTube turns up several accounts – Living Life On A Cruise, MidLife Cruising, and DC Hidden Gems – by residents documenting their lives aboard the ship. The cruise line offers a variety of pricing options, depending on the chosen size of living quarters and tour length. Residents can purchase for up to 15 years or rent their cabins for shorter periods. Purchasers have the option of selling back unused portions of their residency terms, trading up to larger, more expensive cabins, or leasing or selling their space 'with the potential of receiving a net return on your investment', according to the company's website. The Gulds learned about the ship by following one of its residents, Randy Cassingham, long-time author of an online entertainment newsletter, This Is True. Cassingham started a blog called Residential Cruising after moving aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey last year. 'Jim said, 'Take a look at this website about living on a cruise ship',' Chris said. 'And I looked at it and said, 'OK'.' Finding the right price The couple said said they were initially interested in buying a cabin with a balcony. But the company wanted US$340,000 (RM1.48mil) for a balcony cabin, plus US$8,000 (RM34,988) a month for amenities such as food, entertainment, health-club use and laundry services. During a week-long 'try before you buy' sailing, the Gulds tried out a cabin with a window and no balcony. 'Thankfully, I decided that I liked that because that was only only US$170,000 (RM743,496) up front and US$5,000 (RM21,866) a month,' Chris said. 'At that rate, we might actually be saving money compared to all that we spent on travel last year.' While on the 'try it' trip, the couple says they met and were impressed with many of the residents who are experts in their chosen fields. They keep each other entertained by giving seminars and TED talks, the Gulds said. 'One guy used to be an emergency medical technician, so he gave a talk about what that's like,' Chris said. 'One was a marine biologist that gave a talk about whales.' One amenity that won't be available: casinos. 'They actually had a poll, and they asked the residents if they would consider having a casino. And they said, not just 'no',' said Jim. 'They said, 'hell, no',' added Chris. Not everyone was happy about the Gulds' life-changing decision. While Chris has no children, Jim has a son from his previous marriage who lives near the couple. 'He was not for it at all at the very beginning when he first heard about it,' Jim said. 'He thought that it was just a horrible thing that we were going to leave him.' 'But hey, he's 44 years old, you know?' Chris said. She added, 'We're still, in our opinion, fairly young. And we're healthy, but we're definitely getting older, so if we want to have one more chapter in our adventure, this is the time to do it. 'This is the next chapter.' – South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune News Service
Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Telegraph
The future of retirement homes could be at sea
No one can accuse German shipbuilders Meyer Werft of a lack of vision. They are, in fact, currently looking far into the future. In 75 years, they tell us, the US will have the same number of over-80s as they do over-65s today. By 2100, then, there could just be a very interesting gap in the market. Instead of a conventional retirement home, octogenarians who still possess a spring in their step might opt instead for the Serenity, a ship designed just for them. 75 years, I hear you say – shall we put the baby's name down now? Fear not, the demographics are, of course, already changing and it may not be such a wait. In fact, if all goes according to plan, the Serenity could be afloat in 10 to 15 years. Meyer Werft presented their concept at the Seatrade Cruise Global trade fair: a ship that is climate neutral (courtesy of fuel cells, batteries, solar energy and a focus on low-speed itineraries) with dimensions of some 804ft (245m) top to tail and 148ft (45m) wide. For most cruise ships, this would indicate between 2,000 and 4,000 passengers (or even more) depending on the number of decks and the level of luxury. Living on a ship – as perpetual cruises like Villa Vie Odyssey have recently shown – is very different from a week-long cruise. You would surely need a bigger space of your own if you're to stave off inevitable cabin fever. Presumably then, the number of passengers, or in this case residents, would be lower. Having said that, the company doesn't see you spending too much time in your cabin. This is not, the shipbuilders say, a floating nursing home but 'a place at sea for dynamic and active people aged 80 and over, for whom travelling is part of life in old age'. And why not? Loneliness is currently regarded as one of the worst epidemics among the elderly, so how about an active, healthy lifestyle with plenty of social interaction and stimuli? You may not want to go scuba diving or water skiing in your 80s but, there again, you might want to do something other than sit in a corner and knit: Tai Chi, yoga or Pilates in a sunny studio, perhaps, or taking in lungfuls of ozone on a daily mile-long walk around the deck; how about a golf simulator, tennis, putting and – most obvious of all – swimming in a heated pool, maybe with a retractable roof so it's suitable for all climates. Deck games (shuffleboard, anyone?) are good for social interaction but I'd imagine, too, there'd be plenty of people wanting to sign up to arts and crafts, book clubs, bridge, quizzes, dancing, maybe a choir. For quieter moments, there could be a generous library and there are few more tranquil, meditative experiences than simply gazing out to sea. Of course, there are practical considerations, too – medical matters, for a start. The average GP in the UK has over 2,000 patients on their books. I would imagine the Serenity is going to offer something rather better than that (imagine having one doctor for every 10 people onboard – what luxury!), and they have also promised to fulfil other 'assisted living' requirements. But they could take the concept of health care on to a much more dynamic level. Their restaurants – they'll have to offer several for the sake of variety – could have menus pegged to individual health concerns (low cholesterol, heart health, diabetes control) but how about longevity diets featuring Mediterranean cuisine or a Japanese restaurant with the best of clean eating? The spa, meanwhile, could offer not just muscle-easing massages but the latest rejuvenation treatments. All this and you haven't even arrived in port. Being on the move all the time means continually discovering new places and there could be excursions to everything from a top Broadway show to a tour of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, from whale watching off the coast of New Zealand to seeing the Northern Lights in the far north of Norway. No lack of stimuli then. With everything still so hypothetical, there's no suggestion yet of what Serenity's itinerary might be – but hopefully she will be avoiding heavy seas (when it gets really rough, I have seen broken bones on board – even among the under-80s). Whatever her itinerary, she will, though, be constantly – if sedately – on the move to bucket list destinations. Could this be the ideal octogenarian lifestyle? Will Serenity's designers have this kind of vision? No one can say for certain – but one thing is sure: given the choice between staying home and watching daytime television, or shopping in the souk in Muscat, eating sushi in Okinawa or watching (and, OK, this one admittedly has odds that are a bit of a stretch) England reclaim the Ashes in Perth – I know which most of us would choose.
