Villa Vie Residence’s Odyssey is struggling yet one more delay earlier than its expansive world cruise even has an opportunity to start. Simply earlier than embarkation, the ownership-style cruise line has reached out to booked visitors to alert them to the delay resulting from points within the ship’s gray water tanks.
Luckily, the delay will simply be a couple of days, and embarkation has been rescheduled for June 4. Whereas one other delay will be understandably irritating and should even trigger better anxiousness for passengers, it should allow sufficient time for the ship to be at her peak earlier than setting sail.
“Throughout our closing DNV inspections yesterday, we recognized points with the steelwork in certainly one of our gray water tanks. To deal with this, we might want to lengthen our keep in dry dock by a further 4 days,” defined Mike Petterson, Villa Vie Residences Founder and CEO. “This extension ensures that we meet and exceed all DNV and MCA security requirements.”
Cruise ships endure tons of of checks, inspections, and certifications earlier than they start welcoming passengers. These checks and inspections look at each side of a ship’s operation, from security and navigation to propulsion, wiring, and waste processing.
A ship’s gray water tanks maintain used water from kitchen makes use of, showers, laundry services, handwashing stations, ornamental fountains, and related sources – however not bathrooms (which is classed as black water or sewage). Gray water is filtered and handled to excessive requirements, however could then be discharged into the encircling waters, relying on native and regional laws and necessities.
A “steelwork concern” might relate to the supplies utilized in establishing or coating Odyssey‘s greywater tanks, how the tanks could also be secured or supported, and even potential leaks or different structural issues. The precise particulars of the difficulty haven’t been revealed.
However, the difficulty can pertain to security, both for the structural integrity of the tanks, which might then create flooding of untreated or partially handled water, or for adjoining techniques that may be affected by any kind of leak or malfunction.
“The protection of our visitors is our high precedence, and we’re dedicated to making sure all the pieces is in good order earlier than we set sail,” stated Petterson.
Whereas the extra delay is irritating, it may be reassuring to visitors to know the ship shouldn’t be being rushed to completion when some particulars might not be as sailaway-ready as they could possibly be.
Odyssey was initially scheduled to exit the Harland & Wolff dry dock on Could 21, however was pushed again to Could 30 resulting from extra in depth refurbishment than first believed. The ship was first inbuilt 1993 and has had an extended service life with numerous cruise strains, most not too long ago with Fred. Olsen Cruises as Braemar earlier than it was bought to Villa Vie Residences in late 2023.
The ship has been in an in depth dry dock in Belfast, Eire since April 28, 2024. Technical updates, renovations, and ending particulars have all been deliberate whereas the ship is ready for her monumental 1,301-day world cruise.
Be International Residents Whereas Crusing Across the World
Whereas the 23,344-gross-ton Odyssey doesn’t have room for all of the bells and whistles widespread on fashionable mega-ships, she shouldn’t be with out luxurious.
Onboard, visitors will have the ability to take pleasure in a wrap-around promenade for expansive views, two whirlpool scorching tubs for rest, a state-of-the-art health heart to remain energized, a golf simulator, a library, and far more.
The cruise line’s distinctive world cruise method permits in depth exploration with the comfort of returning to 1’s residence each night time earlier than it units sail to a brand new vacation spot. In complete, the ship is deliberate to go to all seven continents, greater than 145 international locations, and a complete of 425 particular person ports each 3.5 years.
Learn Additionally: Continuous World Cruise Units Greatest One-Day Gross sales Report
Friends can select a full voyage (possession) or shorter segments (leases) from 35-131 days. Possession choices start at $99,000 for inside cabins, and go as excessive as $349,999 for a balcony suite.
Further month-to-month charges vary from $1,750 to $7,999 per individual, relying on the stateroom sort and whether or not passengers are solo vacationers or double occupancy.
