Residential Cruising to Expand with Addition of Former Cruise Ship
The residential segment of cruising is poised for rapid growth, with Villa Vie Residents set to announce the details of its second ship. The company, which launched two years ago with a smaller cruise ship, will reveal the details of its second ship on September 30 with an event to celebrate two years of sailing for the Odyssey as a residential ship.
Many companies have aspired to enter the residential segment, but only The World (43,000 gross tons with 165 residences) has been built and continues to operate as a floating residence. The ship was purpose-built and has been sailing since 2002.
Via Ville began sailing in 2024 with the former Braemar (24,344 gross tons), which had operated as a cruise ship from 1993 until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the industry. The ship has now been sailing for over 660 days on a first trip that was scheduled to run for over three years. The company purports that the ship has sold 85 percent of its available residences. It offers a short-term rental option or fractional ownership. It has a total capacity of 650 passengers.
"When we launched Odyssey, we set out to prove that residential cruising wasn't just possible—it was sustainable," said Mike Petterson, Founder of Villa Vie Residences. "Two years later, with Odyssey more than 85 percent sold, we've reached an exciting milestone. Legacy is the natural evolution of everything we've learned from our residents and operations around the world."
Odyssey has now been sailing for over 660 days on its first three-year voyage (Villa Vie Residences)
The company announced today plans for its second ship, which will be named Legacy and will start sailing in 2029. They are highlighting that the ship will have 50 percent larger cabins, expanded dining venues, larger public spaces, enhanced wellness facilities, and additional amenities.
They are offering a special sales promotion that permits the sale of 24 residences ahead of the launch, with the buyers having rights for three years to sail on Odyssey before transferring to Legacy. In addition, as a promotion, they will guarantee a lower maintenance fee for those buyers.
Villa Vie is declining to provide details on its deal for the second ship until the launch event. However, it released a rendering of the ship, which was recognizable as the former Holland America Line Veendam. Introduced in 1996, the 55,450 gross ton cruise ship with a capacity of 1,350 passengers was the fourth in a class built by Fincantieri, but she has a unique profile due to a renovation in 2009.
The ship operated for Holland America until the pandemic in 2020 and was sold during the industry’s pause. She went to a speculator called Seajets that acquired several other idle cruise ships, including the sisterships Maasdam and Ryndam. Seajets was successful in selling the former Maasdam, which returned to service in 2023 as Renaissance and now sails as part of Ambassador Cruise Line. The former Ryndam was sold and became Celestyal Journey in 2023, but the former Veendam, renamed Aegean Majesty, has remained idle in Greece, now for six years. Plans were announced by another company to sail it around the world, but it failed to launch.
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The founder of Villa Vie, Mikael Petterson, earlier this year also announced a sister company called Avora Residences. They agreed to a nine-year charter with a nominal purchase option for the cruise ship Seven Seas Navigator (28,800 gross tons), which will be handed over at the end of 2027. The ship is due to relaunch as Avora Lumina, a more luxurious residential ship, offering residences between 300 and 1,173 square feet for 496 passengers.
Several companies have explored or announced conversion plans for other cruise ships, but the efforts failed to launch ships. There are also proposed new ship constructions for the residential segment.
