Cruising into her golden years.
A California retiree is sailing into the next stage of her life as she traded in her home in a retirement community for the open seas.
Sharon Lane, a former high school foreign language teacher, purchased an interior villa aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey, the world’s first perpetual cruise, since she claimed it was cheaper to live at sea than remain in the Golden State.
“Not only was it affordable to me, 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,” Lane told NBC Los Angeles.
The 77-year-old has made it her life goal to live on a cruise ship and she snagged her spot on the ship, moving onboard on June 16.
“All the chores you do in life? Done!” said Lane. “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.”
Villa Vie is marketed as the “only affordable residential cruising option offering this lifestyle.”
The ship’s design allows the vessel to travel across oceans and navigate inland waterways and rivers, according to the Villa Vie website.
Odyssey is scheduled to sail on a three-and-a-half-year cycle, visiting 425 destinations in 147 countries.
The ship launched in October 2024, but Lane didn’t board until June.
She has sailed to Vancouver, up to Alaska, with plans to embark on a transpacific voyage to Japan and Taiwan in the coming weeks, according to Lane.
An inside villa, similar to Lane’s, costs a one-time fee of $129,999 or approximately $2,999 a month for a solo traveler.
Amenities aboard the ship include entertainment lounges, clubs, a library, a fitness center and a spa.
Residents have access to Wi-Fi, bars, a pickleball court and a pool.
Lane spent her life savings on the long-term excursion and plans to remain onboard for the ship’s entire 15-year journey.
“I’m finally able to do what I’ve wanted to do for years,” she told CNN Travel. “I buy the cabin, I live in the cabin, and that’s it. And then there’s no end.”
The ship had planned to set sail in May 2024, but problems with the rudders and gearbox forced a delay on the initial embarkation.
Passengers who had already purchased rooms onboard were forced to live on the docked ship in Belfast, Northern Ireland until October.
The delays meant some passengers have spent months living on the docked cruise ship — with no sail date in sight.
Odyssey set sail on Oct. 1, 2024, but returned to port hours later because final paperwork hadn’t been completed.
The eight-deck ship can hold 650 passengers.
Read the full article here
