Want to cruise through life?
A luxury cruise company is making waves with a groundbreaking offer: the chance to live at sea indefinitely.
Villa Vie Residences is offering what it calls an “Endless Horizons” package, allowing guests to retire aboard its ship, the Villa Vie Odyssey, for as little as $349,999.
For many, it’s a dream come true — and surprisingly, a more affordable lifestyle than life on land.
The Odyssey is the world’s first perpetual cruise ship, designed for long-term living and travel. It offers a rotating itinerary that covers 425 destinations across 147 countries on a three-and-a-half-year cycle.
With stops lasting five or more days, residents can explore global cities and exotic locales at a leisurely pace — far from the rush of traditional cruises.
One of the most budget-friendly options is the Ocean View Villa package, which starts at $349,999 for a solo occupant and $599,999 for a couple.
The premium package, called Our Suites, starts at $1.24m for someone traveling alone, and $1.74m for two.
These offer more spacious accommodations, including queen-sized beds, large en-suite bathrooms, and dedicated workspaces. For an additional $50,000, residents can upgrade to the Endless Horizons Unleashed package, which adds medical care, spa treatments, and personal grooming services.
The ship boasts a wide range of amenities, including 24/7 cabin service, a library, fitness center, pickleball court, entertainment lounges, bars, and a spa. All packages include food, drink, and internet.
Sharon Lane, 77, a former high school foreign language teacher, decided to leave behind her California retirement community and move permanently onto the Odyssey.
She boarded the ship on June 16 and plans to spend the next decade at sea in her interior villa.
“Not only was it affordable to me,” Lane told NBC Los Angeles, “it would actually cost me less money to live here like this, have everyone taking care of me instead of me taking care of everybody.”
“All the chores you do in life? Done!” Lane said. “If you put your to-do list on a piece of paper and you cross off anything that wasn’t a fun activity, then you end up with the life we have now.”
The Odyssey was originally scheduled to set sail in May 2024, but technical issues with the rudders and gearbox delayed departure.
Early residents spent several months aboard the docked ship in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The ship finally launched on October 1, 2024 — but was forced to return to port just hours later due to incomplete paperwork.
Since then, operations have stabilized, and Lane has already begun to explore the world.
Capable of holding 650 passengers across eight decks, the Villa Vie Odyssey is billed as “the only affordable residential cruising option offering this lifestyle.”
For Lane and others, it’s a floating home and a retirement dream realized. “I’m finally able to do what I’ve wanted to do for years,” Lane told CNN Travel. “I buy the cabin, I live in the cabin, and that’s it. And then there’s no end.”
