Reading the marketing material, it’s easy to see why Jenny Phenix was so keen to book herself on to the Villa Vie Odyssey.
The cruise ship was set to travel to 425 destinations, including 100 tropical islands, as well as offering passengers gourmet dining, spa facilities, excursions and onboard entertainment.
‘Imagine a life unlike any other,’ the website reads. ‘Imagine waking up each morning to a new horizon, a new culture, a new adventure. Imagine a vibrant community where you’re surrounded by friends, discovering the world together.’
But as many a village spat has proved over the years, being part of a small community – even a ‘vibrant’ one – doesn’t guarantee harmony, something Jenny, a 68-year-old divorcee, has found to her cost.
For when the Villa Vie Odyssey finally embarks on its maiden voyage after a series of hold ups, which has seen passengers living out of their suitcases in Belfast for months, Jenny will not be on it.
Despite having wound up her holiday home caretaking business and selling her possessions to pay for a cabin for what she thought would be the trip of a lifetime, her dreams were shattered when more than a dozen formal complaints were made by other passengers – she says she has ‘no idea’ who – about her behaviour, following criticisms she made on a private WhatsApp group about the delays and other areas where she said expectations had not been matched by reality.
She was unceremoniously booted off after being told by the company that her ‘complaints and negativity’ impacted on the the well-being of other would-be residents.
Villa Vie residences managing director Mike Petterson said: ‘She didn’t just complain in the chats but created a very hostile and toxic environment amongst residents.’
But other cruisers, Jenny claims, took her side, some 15 fellow passengers signing a letter supporting her. It said that Jenny, and another passenger whose contract was also terminated, should not have been cancelled so unilaterally and deserved the chance of an adjudication process. Sadly, it was to no avail.
‘The ship was going everywhere I’ve dreamed of going for years, places like Bora Bora in the South Pacific, Japan, China and ,’ Jenny told the Mail this week. ‘I’ve worked hard all my life, and this was supposed to be the reward.
‘I was excited at the thought of seeing all these amazing destinations and meeting like-minded people aboard.
‘Now I’m being portrayed as this horrible woman who complained about everything when I was simply standing up for myself and voicing legitimate concerns to management about certain aspects of the project and the fact that the launch kept being postponed.’
Now Jenny has no alternative than to lick her wounds and rethink her retirement plans.
The Villa Vie Odyssey is a residential cruise ship, where passengers live on board long term, and with no intention of spending her later years knitting and watching television, it was a lifestyle that appealed to Jenny, a Florida-based mother of two and grandmother of five. She relished the prospect of a new social life – and maybe even finding love again on board among the 920 passengers.
She was attracted to Villa Vie Residences because it was pitched to middle-class retirees like herself and is a fraction of the price of The World, until now the only operational residential ship which is reserved exclusively for millionaires.
In 2023, she had signed up for a residential cruise scheme start-up called Life At Sea. Unfortunately, it later filed for bankruptcy, leaving her $30,000 (£22,401) out of pocket, so when she heard about Villa Vie she couldn’t wait to get on board, literally.
Jenny signed her contract in December 2023 after being enthralled by details on the company’s website which offered ‘an intimate new cruise lifestyle that would leave participants with cherished memories for a lifetime’.
There were varied residency options. One, called ‘villa ownership’, was for a period of 15 years starting at $119,999 (£89,598) for an inside cabin, along with monthly fees of $1795 (£1,340) per person and rising to $349,999 (£261,330) for a balcony suite, with monthly fees of $4499 (£3,359) per person.
Meanwhile the Endless Horizons package was the most expensive, a pay-once option that allows passengers to cruise for the rest of their lives, if they wish, with unlimited access to an ocean view cabin at a cost of $299,999 (£224,008) for solo occupancy and double occupancy at $499,999 (£373,347).
Finally, there was the pay-as-you-go option, which Jenny chose, offering short-term rentals of 35-120 days on different segments of the trip, such as two months in the Caribbean from $16,479 (£12,305) single to $23,542 (£17,579) double.
If you wanted – and had the funds – you could live aboard for the full three-and-half-year voyage around the globe, or even undertake another circumnavigation. Jenny says she was planning to be away for at least one voyage and possibly the rest of her life.
‘The only thing I could afford was one of the smallest inside cabins, but I figured that it was really only somewhere to sleep and shower because I could roam the rest of the ship and go on all these amazing excursions,’ says Jenny.
The cruise was scheduled to leave from Southampton on May 15 this year and Jenny, like the other passengers, was initially only mildly worried when they were first notified of a delay.
The ship, built in 1993 and formerly owned by the Fred Olsen line, had been out of service for four years because of the pandemic before being bought by Villa Vie in March this year and the refurbishment and re-certification process was taking longer than expected, it was explained.
But passengers were forced to make other arrangements as the delays continued. Some embraced the sights of Northern Ireland, while others took off for destinations further afield.
Jenny went to the Canary Islands for a month because it was cheaper than staying in Belfast and also went on a one-week cruise through the Norwegian fjords.
Villa Vie has said it paid more than $2million (£1.4million) for passengers’ hotel stays and trips to keep them entertained during the delay but earlier this month asked people to start paying pay for their own accommodation, saying the financial outlay was ‘unsustainable’. Their costs would be compensated with onboard credit worth $200 (£149) a day when the boat finally sets sail, the company said.
Jenny acknowledges that Villa Vie paid for her two trips up front – she stayed longer in the Canary Islands at her own expense – but was outraged when the money was deducted from the 40 per cent refund she has so far received.
‘In essence, I paid for everything,’ she says.
On July 19, she was back in Belfast when she learned her contract had been ‘terminated’ by email and told that she would not be sailing on the Odyssey.
Chief operating officer Kathy Villalba told her: ‘We have received over a dozen formal complaints from residents regarding your continuous complaints and negativity. This behaviour has significantly impacted the morale and well-being of other passengers.’
So, what were Jenny’s complaints? She lists some of the things that had concerned her.
Her cabin size was reduced significantly from what was advertised on the original website, from 160sq ft to 130sq ft and planned refurbishments did not take place.
‘The cabins were going to be significantly remodelled, but the final versions had only minimal changes and looked nothing like the beautiful renderings on the original website,’ Jenny says.
She was particularly disappointed that ‘virtual windows,’ screens that would show outside views and were a big selling point in the inside windowless cabins, were removed with no offer of compensation.
The original all-inclusive package included all food but that was changed, she adds, with a $35 (£26) cover charge added to one restaurant and fees added for room service and snacks outside of dining hours.
Another concern – since many retirees would be on board – was that the promise that two doctors – one male and one female – would be available at all times was changed to only one at a time.
Cabins on Jenny’s deck – Deck 3 – would not be available when the ship eventually sailed because they were still being used by workers and she and others would be assigned temporary cabins, she was told. In addition, construction work would be ongoing during the cruise for an undetermined period of time in several areas of the vessel.
Crucially for Jenny, the Canadian and US ports were eliminated from the itinerary. She had planned to pick up her belongings when the ship stopped in Florida, but now she would have to pay to get them shipped to the Bahamas where the Odyssey would be stopping.
Jenny claims Villa Vie started making these changes before the planned embarkation on May 15 but after she had signed her contract.
‘Many of the benefits we were promised were altered or taken away entirely. I think [the company] were annoyed that I asked so many questions and pointed out things that I didn’t think were fair,’ she says.
But perhaps Jenny’s biggest concern was the four months and counting of delays to the launch. While some passengers appear to have embraced the unorthodox start to their trip – North Americans Angela Harsanyi and Gian Perroni this week announced their engagement after they met in Belfast during their enforced stay – Jenny says she found the uncertainty exhausting and stressful.
‘We were notified of delays quite often with only a few hours’ notice,’ she says. ‘I was a solo traveler in a foreign country. My life revolved around waiting for this cruise, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.
‘I was bored as I spent hours alone every day so I probably did post “chronically” but I take offence to claims of complaining continually. I am the kind of person who speaks up if something isn’t right, but I did it in a respectful manner and I never attacked anyone. There was no name calling or belittling.’
Speaking from her daughter’s house in West Palm Beach where she is staying temporarily – she had rented her own home out in anticipation of being away for a significant time – Jenny says she is still upset about how she was treated.
‘I still get choked up when I think about it but I’ve been through all the stages of grief and I’m now getting into the acceptance stage,’ she says.
Sadly, she has given up the idea of life on the ocean wave and has just bought a camper van with storage for a fold-up electric bike and now plans to travel around the United States.
‘I’ve found out that there are many senior solo women travelers on the road and everyone’s helping each other with itineraries and advice and that’s so inspiring,’ says Jenny.
‘I used to work in a retirement community and so many people told me they regretted not doing more when they still had the opportunity. I’m fortunate to be in good health so I’m going to find other adventures.’
Meanwhile, Jenny says she still has many friends on board the Odyssey and wishes them well.
‘I hope they sail away soon and have a wonderful time, but when I get all my money back I’m moving on from what has been a very stressful and disappointing experience.’
Ms Villalba told the Mail that Jenny’s cancellation was not unexpected, as ‘she had already initiated the process herself’. According to her, while Jenny was in the Canary Islands she informed the company of her intent to cancel her first three segments.
The chief operating officer also said that an average estimate of the square footage of the rooms were initially provided as the specific ship had not been identified for use at the time Jenny put down a deposit.
‘When we announced the ship’s acquisition in November 2023, we promptly communicated the ship’s actual dimensions, including the specific cabin sizes and changes to some amenities,’ she added.
She said the group was transparent with all residents regarding refurbishments and that it had introduced a ‘specialty dining venue’ for a small cover fee but the all-inclusive experience was still available in other dining venues.
Ms Villalba added: ‘Ms Phenix was advised multiple times to consider cancellation if she was unhappy with the situation. Ms Phenix and I exchanged numerous emails and she was never fully satisfied with any of our offerings.
‘She had every opportunity to cancel yet she chose to remain and then chose to expressed dissatisfaction in resident chats. There were numerous complaints about her behaviour, where she was described as disruptive and combative, and creating a very toxic environment.’