Thanks for sharing, hope you enjoy your new "Villa" and I'm looking forward to following you guys on this awesome adventure! Bon Voyage, wish I could join you! ❤🎉🚢🇨🇦
We sailed on this ship in 1998, pre-stretch, when it was the "Norwegian Dynasty". Some of the public spaces are the same: the Neptune Lounge (with its "trolley" console lights), the main dining room, and the elevator atrium with its pastel murals. And that's fine - we liked the feel of the ship and its decor. I think you are timing this right in terms of your own lives. We are approximately the age now that you will be in 15 years. I think by then you may not want to be far away from quality healthcare for months at a time. But now you are free to wander.
It is interesting to hear how the ship has evolved over the years. We hear you about the importance of healthcare. That’s one of the main reasons why we kept our land home and plan to return every 6 months for checkups and such even now. Wander we shall! Thanks!
It's a great idea for those that love cruises. No doubt investors will create more residential cruise lines - someone just needs to prove the concept. Many might be scared off from plunking money on old ships. Hopefully Villa Vie is a success story but we won't know for another 3 or more years.
What do you see as your payback period compared with your present travel budget. I would imagine it's somewhere around three years but I'm just guessing. On that basis if you get say 6 years you're ahead. I think you have to look at the capital payment as an advance rent payment and then amortise it over the expected term. To this you need to apply a risk factor reflecting the ability of the provider to perform. Going forward I can see these products being more popular if there is a shared risk taker who guarantees your capital for say six years (on a reducing basis) and oversees the release of passenger capital to the operator on an agreed basis. Looking forward to hearing about your travels and how you plan your port days in advance. Controlling your port day expenses while maximising your enjoyment is always a challenge Great video... thanks for making it
Oh goodness, you are extremely clever. Impressive. Yes you are right in the ballpark, and your approach/formula is practically what we took. We’ve made a note of your video ideas. Planning port days in advance is an especially good idea. Thanks!
Really looking forward to your room tour. You obviously have excellent taste in your home decor, and I’m sure that will translate over to your cabin. My guess is you will at least have a balcony, and a room with a table. I recall you saying that you once took a cruise some 40 plus days on Viking. It makes me wonder how you will adjust (putting the cost aside) to a ship that isn’t in the same class, so to speak, being that Viking is more lux and much newer. Even though Viking ships are larger than the VVO, they are obviously much smaller than the large cruise ships, and can get into smaller areas too. Are you going to miss such things as afternoon tea and other included amenities? You seem like you fit well into the saying, “Viking is the thinking person’s cruise”.
I would not assume the monthly will stay flat. Defies economic logic. 3 months in and they have already changed a few items. It would be helpful if you could explain how the 15 year contract works. What protections are built in if things dont go as expected? I really doubt there is going to be much of a secondary market for resale but you seem economically positioned to be able to walk away and lose the up front buy in as long as you dont get stuck paying the monthly fees.
We are contractually bound to pay the same, but please ask us again in a few years to prove it. But yes as cabins turn over and short termers leave, new contracts will be at a higher price. That, in addition to other mechanisms, is how the business model is feasible. For the contract, it’s built in that if you get tired of it then you can sell it back guaranteed to the company and rolling percentages you can see on the website. Or sell it privately at whatever price you negotiate. We think as the company proves itself demand will skyrocket. Yes this is a new company startup, and we know that is never without risk and can walk away.
Villa Vie needs to hire you as their spokespersons. You are both knowledgeable and well spoken on your subject matter and I really enjoy listening to you. Looking forward to following you on your new adventures.
New to your channel and happy to subscribe. Been following other Villa Vie vloggers and really enjoying learning about the lifestyle. Looking forward to seeing your cabin and hearing how the adventure goes for you! Wishing you all the best!
I was one of the ones that got scared off by some of the early issues and delays. I’m definitely going to be getting on, probably as a renter to start.
Really enjoyed your information and it gives me encouragement that my husband and I will be making the right decision when we are able to join the Odyssey. Thank you 🙏
I look forward to following you on your adventures! As you’ve mentioned, you will get to go to smaller towns and not just the big cities. I love smaller, not-too-touristy places. Happy travels! ❤
Wait a minute, VVR have not kept their contractual word, on the $200 a day reimbursements, which now they want the residents, to "pay them back over $8,000!" Plus, they want to charge a daily drink fee, which was included. The dining room is now to be closed five days a week, leaving only the buffet. They will raise your rates, no matter what your contract says!!!
We think your description doesn’t capture what is truly happening. At the very least it doesn’t capture that is a brand new company startup, and recently launched ship. It’s not going to come out of the gate perfect; that would be an unrealistic expectation. What we have personally witnessed is a commitment and track record on following through with and delivering an amazing product under extremely difficult circumstances.
@@dchiddengems You can give this all the PR spin you want, but these are all self inflicted wounds, by CEO. This mantra you keep spouting off, is getting old.
@bodyloverz30 we are curious. We are actually the ones living here, we are the ones who spent the money. Why are you so emotionally invested in this? Do you have some undisclosed stake in this that we should know about?
Do you receive any compensation or discount from Villa Vie? I like your channel and presentation style but important to me to understand if you are independent or in some way sponsored/supported by VV.
No answer probably tells us all we need to know. If you are not getting compensation then you would have no reason to hold back on a response. Nothing inherently wrong with receiving compensation but not disclosing this is in my opinion a clear reason to stop watching. Please clear this up for the good of your channel.
Sorry @norarivkis2513 but this is untrue. Feel free to go back and review. We are not paid for our opinions. We are just living our lives and decided to share it with you.
Hi @sandiegowildcat no we don’t receive anything from Villa Vie for our opinions. We just learned today that they never heard of our channel LOL. Oh well. We are just living our lives and decided to share with nice people like you and to document our travels as we get old.
How do you justify the devaluation of your “investment” when the ship is already over 30 years old? Do you think you can sell your cabin after a couple of years for a profit? How do you tolerate the VVR’s ability to change the contract at will? Isn’t that unpredictable? At any rate you two are in an economic class I can only imagine and justifying a cabin on any ship full time is realistically way beyond my pocketbook…
Hi. That is an older ship for the American market but there are certainly other ships in that age class. It depends if a cruise line wants to invest in the upkeep, and VVR can do that because the ship was acquired for so little money. Yes we believe we can sell our cabin, but at a profit is unlikely. Fortunately that is not why we are doing this; this is our discretionary spending for travel that we would most definitely lose. Recall us saying that we were spending quite a bit of money for our adventure travel. Yes ownership is not for everyone but paying just for the short term cruise segments could work for you.
Hi @melodyn6419 no our monthlies can't increase because we purchased a cabin and it is fixed as part of our contract. However, keep in mind that if a new person tried to buy today, their fees will be more because we purchased earlier. It's a benefit to taking the risk earlier in a startup company but that is not appropriate for everyone.
You mentioned that the monthly rates will stay the same for the 15 year contract. In today times that doesnt sound possable. Just look back 5 years and you will see almost everything has gone up. Its called inflation. That is just the way it goes. Hourly wages go up and so do all other costs. Actually it is impossible for your costs to stay the same. If the ship owners are having money problems there must be a way for them to increase your monthly fees. Other wise they go out of business. We live in a over 55 housing development. We own our home but pay monthly dues for the upkeep of the development. In those dues are also what is called Impounds. Everything in our development like gardeners, streets, club house, pool security is alloted a precentage of the monthly dues so there is enought funds to keep things up in the community when needed. For that reason our dues go up every couple of years to cover those cost. Same thing it going to happen on your cruise ship. I think you must really know that. I do enjoy yor videos......
Staff and officer salaries do not remain constant for 15 years or the life of the ship. I noticed they mentioned the fees are fixed for the life of the ship.... it's so old and was in disrepair I wonder what the life of the ship is?
Well no, we are contractually bound to pay the same, but please ask us again in a few years. But yes as cabins turn over and short termers leave, new contracts will be at a higher price. That, in addition to other mechanisms, is how the business model is feasible.
I would not put all your eggs in one basket with the Gurantee that your monthly fees will not change for 15 years. This is a New Company with an OLD Ship and them being able to hold costs for 15 years is doubtful. Recently the people who were waiting around for the ship to launch were given $200 per day per diem from the Company, only to find out when the ship launched they are attempting to reduce the per diem after the fact to $140 per day and sticking residents with $9000 pay backs to the Company. Go in with eyes WIDE open on this and adjust that budget for "escalations" of that fee in the future.
We'll certainly keep that in mind. Yes startups are unpredictable. Unlike the situation you mentioned, we have a contract here. Also despite indications you may have heard elsewhere, we feel that the integrity the owners showed in trying to resolve a difficult and messy situation was admirable. However yes mistakes were made…we felt that in trying to do everything possible to make people happy during the delay that too many promises were made.
The financial model for this is broken. It is impossible to Keep payments the same for 15 years. The ship needs more major repairs. You will get dumped somewhere when the funds run out. Are you going to speak to the problems?
@stevefrancis6236 we don’t think the financial model is impossible, but as we’ve said many times, this is a brand new startup company and that invariably involves risks and ramp up time. Our next video speaks more directly to the risks so see if that addresses some of your concerns.
Sorry guys, that contract isn't worth the paper it is written on. If people don't like you, they can cancel it. Unheard of. Things promised, not delivered. Renegging on an amount of reimbursement and calling it a maintenance charge before the ship sailed??? You know the rest.
@dchiddengems Did you get on in St Lucia as you said you might? If not have you decided on a port? Also you speak a lot about an "investment ". Does that indicate you are Founders who have also invested money in the company?
Hi @RetiredZGrt we did get on in St Lucia. No spoilers but there will be lots to report. We do say "investment" and mean it broadly, but perhaps that term doesn't mean the same to everyone. For example, we don't just mean investment financially but also investment in our quality of life. That means more to us in this time in our lives frankly. Yes for those who don't know what a Founder is that means we not only put in the significant upfront costs to purchase the cabin, we added extra funds on top of that. That does get us a few stock that frankly don't bring value to us. The actual cost of the cabin is far more. The more important benefit is that the extra upfront costs we pay up front means that our monthly fees are lower; so as long as we stay aboard for the full 15 years that helps us long term. And in case this comes up, the owners/company barely know who we are are and have never seen our channel. They don't influence one bit what we say. And not to be Dr Obvious though, yes generally we want the ship to succeed because we love this and want it to be the next 15 years of our lives.
A small cabin on a cheaply semi-renovated old cruise ship with ongoing mechanical and maintenance problems (is there any water in the pool yet?) is not an “investment” like a proper apartment, house or even a real villa. It’s a money pit. And believing that the monthly fees will remain fixed for the next 15 years is naive and unrealistic.
You’re right…it’s not an apartment or house. But it is at least for us as intended; a small second home that lets us see the world. No actually, we are contractually bound to pay the same, but please ask us again in a few years. But yes as cabins turn over and short termers leave, new contracts will be at a higher price. That, in addition to other mechanisms, is how the business model is feasible.
Thanks for sharing, hope you enjoy your new "Villa" and I'm looking forward to following you guys on this awesome adventure! Bon Voyage, wish I could join you! ❤🎉🚢🇨🇦
We appreciate you coming along for the ride! We hope you get to join us but in the meantime we are happy to share.
We sailed on this ship in 1998, pre-stretch, when it was the "Norwegian Dynasty". Some of the public spaces are the same: the Neptune Lounge (with its "trolley" console lights), the main dining room, and the elevator atrium with its pastel murals. And that's fine - we liked the feel of the ship and its decor.
I think you are timing this right in terms of your own lives. We are approximately the age now that you will be in 15 years. I think by then you may not want to be far away from quality healthcare for months at a time. But now you are free to wander.
It is interesting to hear how the ship has evolved over the years. We hear you about the importance of healthcare. That’s one of the main reasons why we kept our land home and plan to return every 6 months for checkups and such even now. Wander we shall! Thanks!
I think your channel is my favorite of all the Villa Vie vloggers. I look forward to following your adventures.
Thanks so much! That is so sweet! We hope to keep it interesting.
It's a great idea for those that love cruises. No doubt investors will create more residential cruise lines - someone just needs to prove the concept. Many might be scared off from plunking money on old ships. Hopefully Villa Vie is a success story but we won't know for another 3 or more years.
What do you see as your payback period compared with your present travel budget. I would imagine it's somewhere around three years but I'm just guessing. On that basis if you get say 6 years you're ahead.
I think you have to look at the capital payment as an advance rent payment and then amortise it over the expected term.
To this you need to apply a risk factor reflecting the ability of the provider to perform.
Going forward I can see these products being more popular if there is a shared risk taker who guarantees your capital for say six years (on a reducing basis) and oversees the release of passenger capital to the operator on an agreed basis.
Looking forward to hearing about your travels and how you plan your port days in advance. Controlling your port day expenses while maximising your enjoyment is always a challenge
Great video... thanks for making it
Oh goodness, you are extremely clever. Impressive. Yes you are right in the ballpark, and your approach/formula is practically what we took. We’ve made a note of your video ideas. Planning port days in advance is an especially good idea. Thanks!
Really looking forward to your room tour. You obviously have excellent taste in your home decor, and I’m sure that will translate over to your cabin. My guess is you will at least have a balcony, and a room with a table.
I recall you saying that you once took a cruise some 40 plus days on Viking. It makes me wonder how you will adjust (putting the cost aside) to a ship that isn’t in the same class, so to speak, being that Viking is more lux and much newer. Even though Viking ships are larger than the VVO, they are obviously much smaller than the large cruise ships, and can get into smaller areas too. Are you going to miss such things as afternoon tea and other included amenities? You seem like you fit well into the saying, “Viking is the thinking person’s cruise”.
I would not assume the monthly will stay flat. Defies economic logic. 3 months in and they have already changed a few items. It would be helpful if you could explain how the 15 year contract works. What protections are built in if things dont go as expected? I really doubt there is going to be much of a secondary market for resale but you seem economically positioned to be able to walk away and lose the up front buy in as long as you dont get stuck paying the monthly fees.
We are contractually bound to pay the same, but please ask us again in a few years to prove it. But yes as cabins turn over and short termers leave, new contracts will be at a higher price. That, in addition to other mechanisms, is how the business model is feasible. For the contract, it’s built in that if you get tired of it then you can sell it back guaranteed to the company and rolling percentages you can see on the website. Or sell it privately at whatever price you negotiate. We think as the company proves itself demand will skyrocket. Yes this is a new company startup, and we know that is never without risk and can walk away.
Villa Vie needs to hire you as their spokespersons. You are both knowledgeable and well spoken on your subject matter and I really enjoy listening to you. Looking forward to following you on your new adventures.
@joycefoose2049 that is so nice of you to say. Thanks so much! Glad to have you with us.
New to your channel and happy to subscribe. Been following other Villa Vie vloggers and really enjoying learning about the lifestyle. Looking forward to seeing your cabin and hearing how the adventure goes for you! Wishing you all the best!
Thanks so much and welcome aboard! We are excited to share our journey with you. We will see the cabin soon!
I was one of the ones that got scared off by some of the early issues and delays. I’m definitely going to be getting on, probably as a renter to start.
We totally understand. Glad to hear you are giving it another look!
Really enjoyed your information and it gives me encouragement that my husband and I will be making the right decision when we are able to join the Odyssey. Thank you 🙏
So glad you found it helpful! Looking forward to welcoming you both to the Odyssey family!
I look forward to following you on your adventures! As you’ve mentioned, you will get to go to smaller towns and not just the big cities. I love smaller, not-too-touristy places. Happy travels! ❤
We're so glad to have you along! We love those off the beaten path places too.
Wait a minute, VVR have not kept their contractual word, on the $200 a day reimbursements, which now they want the residents, to "pay them back over $8,000!" Plus, they want to charge a daily drink fee, which was included. The dining room is now to be closed five days a week, leaving only the buffet. They will raise your rates, no matter what your contract says!!!
Good grief. It just gets worse and worse. Doesn’t it 😮
@@janegerow5974 Very true, fantasy vs reality.
We think your description doesn’t capture what is truly happening. At the very least it doesn’t capture that is a brand new company startup, and recently launched ship. It’s not going to come out of the gate perfect; that would be an unrealistic expectation. What we have personally witnessed is a commitment and track record on following through with and delivering an amazing product under extremely difficult circumstances.
@@dchiddengems You can give this all the PR spin you want, but these are all self inflicted wounds, by CEO. This mantra you keep spouting off, is getting old.
@bodyloverz30 we are curious. We are actually the ones living here, we are the ones who spent the money. Why are you so emotionally invested in this? Do you have some undisclosed stake in this that we should know about?
I’m new to your channel & am so excited to watch your journey!
We're so glad you're here!
@ thank you!!
Excellent video. Looking forward to seeing your adventures on the Villa Vie!
Thanks so much! It's going to be a fun journey.
Can’t wait to follow you along on this journey!
Glad to have you! Should be interesting!
Do you receive any compensation or discount from Villa Vie? I like your channel and presentation style but important to me to understand if you are independent or in some way sponsored/supported by VV.
I would love to know this too.
They have been asked this repeatedly before, and have consistently avoided answering.
No answer probably tells us all we need to know. If you are not getting compensation then you would have no reason to hold back on a response. Nothing inherently wrong with receiving compensation but not disclosing this is in my opinion a clear reason to stop watching. Please clear this up for the good of your channel.
Sorry @norarivkis2513 but this is untrue. Feel free to go back and review. We are not paid for our opinions. We are just living our lives and decided to share it with you.
Hi @sandiegowildcat no we don’t receive anything from Villa Vie for our opinions. We just learned today that they never heard of our channel LOL. Oh well. We are just living our lives and decided to share with nice people like you and to document our travels as we get old.
How do you justify the devaluation of your “investment” when the ship is already over 30 years old? Do you think you can sell your cabin after a couple of years for a profit? How do you tolerate the VVR’s ability to change the contract at will? Isn’t that unpredictable? At any rate you two are in an economic class I can only imagine and justifying a cabin on any ship full time is realistically way beyond my pocketbook…
Hi. That is an older ship for the American market but there are certainly other ships in that age class. It depends if a cruise line wants to invest in the upkeep, and VVR can do that because the ship was acquired for so little money. Yes we believe we can sell our cabin, but at a profit is unlikely. Fortunately that is not why we are doing this; this is our discretionary spending for travel that we would most definitely lose. Recall us saying that we were spending quite a bit of money for our adventure travel. Yes ownership is not for everyone but paying just for the short term cruise segments could work for you.
Can cruise increase your monthly fee?
Hi @melodyn6419 no our monthlies can't increase because we purchased a cabin and it is fixed as part of our contract. However, keep in mind that if a new person tried to buy today, their fees will be more because we purchased earlier. It's a benefit to taking the risk earlier in a startup company but that is not appropriate for everyone.
You mentioned that the monthly rates will stay the same for the 15 year contract. In today times that doesnt sound possable. Just look back 5 years and you will see almost everything has gone up. Its called inflation. That is just the way it goes. Hourly wages go up and so do all other costs. Actually it is impossible for your costs to stay the same. If the ship owners are having money problems there must be a way for them to increase your monthly fees. Other wise they go out of business.
We live in a over 55 housing development. We own our home but pay monthly dues for the upkeep of the development. In those dues are also what is called Impounds. Everything in our development like gardeners, streets, club house, pool security is alloted a precentage of the monthly dues so there is enought funds to keep things up in the community when needed. For that reason our dues go up every couple of years to cover those cost. Same thing it going to happen on your cruise ship. I think you must really know that. I do enjoy yor videos......
Staff and officer salaries do not remain constant for 15 years or the life of the ship.
I noticed they mentioned the fees are fixed for the life of the ship.... it's so old and was in disrepair I wonder what the life of the ship is?
Well no, we are contractually bound to pay the same, but please ask us again in a few years. But yes as cabins turn over and short termers leave, new contracts will be at a higher price. That, in addition to other mechanisms, is how the business model is feasible.
It sounds like you've really thought this out. I know that you are going to have a wonderful experience. Wish I could go with you. Bon Voyage!
Thank you so much! We really appreciate the well wishes, and we hope you enjoy following along.
It’s nice brothers travel together
Right! 😉
I would not put all your eggs in one basket with the Gurantee that your monthly fees will not change for 15 years. This is a New Company with an OLD Ship and them being able to hold costs for 15 years is doubtful. Recently the people who were waiting around for the ship to launch were given $200 per day per diem from the Company, only to find out when the ship launched they are attempting to reduce the per diem after the fact to $140 per day and sticking residents with $9000 pay backs to the Company. Go in with eyes WIDE open on this and adjust that budget for "escalations" of that fee in the future.
We'll certainly keep that in mind. Yes startups are unpredictable. Unlike the situation you mentioned, we have a contract here. Also despite indications you may have heard elsewhere, we feel that the integrity the owners showed in trying to resolve a difficult and messy situation was admirable. However yes mistakes were made…we felt that in trying to do everything possible to make people happy during the delay that too many promises were made.
The financial model for this is broken. It is impossible to
Keep payments the same for 15 years. The ship needs more major repairs. You will get dumped somewhere when the funds run out. Are you going to speak to the problems?
Btw, stopping in a port even for a couple days, isn’t “seeing the country or the world”.
@stevefrancis6236 we don’t think the financial model is impossible, but as we’ve said many times, this is a brand new startup company and that invariably involves risks and ramp up time. Our next video speaks more directly to the risks so see if that addresses some of your concerns.
Sorry guys, that contract isn't worth the paper it is written on. If people don't like you, they can cancel it. Unheard of. Things promised, not delivered. Renegging on an amount of reimbursement and calling it a maintenance charge before the ship sailed??? You know the rest.
We don’t agree, but that’s okay.
@dchiddengems Did you get on in St Lucia as you said you might? If not have you decided on a port? Also you speak a lot about an "investment ". Does that indicate you are Founders who have also invested money in the company?
Hi @RetiredZGrt we did get on in St Lucia. No spoilers but there will be lots to report. We do say "investment" and mean it broadly, but perhaps that term doesn't mean the same to everyone. For example, we don't just mean investment financially but also investment in our quality of life. That means more to us in this time in our lives frankly. Yes for those who don't know what a Founder is that means we not only put in the significant upfront costs to purchase the cabin, we added extra funds on top of that. That does get us a few stock that frankly don't bring value to us. The actual cost of the cabin is far more. The more important benefit is that the extra upfront costs we pay up front means that our monthly fees are lower; so as long as we stay aboard for the full 15 years that helps us long term. And in case this comes up, the owners/company barely know who we are are and have never seen our channel. They don't influence one bit what we say. And not to be Dr Obvious though, yes generally we want the ship to succeed because we love this and want it to be the next 15 years of our lives.
A small cabin on a cheaply semi-renovated old cruise ship with ongoing mechanical and maintenance problems (is there any water in the pool yet?) is not an “investment” like a proper apartment, house or even a real villa. It’s a money pit. And believing that the monthly fees will remain fixed for the next 15 years is naive and unrealistic.
You’re right…it’s not an apartment or house. But it is at least for us as intended; a small second home that lets us see the world. No actually, we are contractually bound to pay the same, but please ask us again in a few years. But yes as cabins turn over and short termers leave, new contracts will be at a higher price. That, in addition to other mechanisms, is how the business model is feasible.
Legs crossed against each shows you are not in alignment
Fascinating! One of us is a clinical psychologist and don’t remember learning that. Thanks for the observation. All the best.