“Longest cruise” still in port after 3 months

A few hundred passengers who signed up for one of the world’s longest cruise itineraries are wondering when or whether it’s going to start; for the moment they’ve been in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for more than three months waiting to start on what the company calls “the first perpetual world cruise.”

Ville Vie Odyssey, billed as a ‘residential cruise ship,’ was scheduled to leave Belfast on a three-and-a-half-year cruise May 30 has yet to leave its dock after three months of waiting on repair work to its rudders and gearbox.

During the repairs, the passengers, who have paid between $99,000 and $899,000 for their cabins, are able to use the ship’s facilities and entertainment during the day, but must sleep ashore in provided hotels. Management of the company say they are sure the problems will be solved soon, but they have been saying that all along.

The ship, built in 1993, originally sailed as Crown Dynasty for Cunard and then as Braemar for Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. The planned itinerary calls for 425 port calls in 147 countries on seven continents. If it ever leaves Belfast…

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