A year ago, Sharon Lane stepped onto the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey, ready to embark on an adventure.
This was no week-long cruise, nor even a month-long sea sojourn. For Lane, the 642-foot, eight-deck ship was to become her permanent place of residence.
“I’m not on a trip,” Lane told CNN Travel via video call from the ship, a year after her departure. “This is our home. This is where we live.”
Villa Vie Odyssey is not an ordinary cruise ship. It’s a “residential” vessel, meaning passengers can purchase cabins and live on the ship full time. For Lane, this is a “forever” plan. She aims to continue living on board for as long as the ship is operational. Though recently renovated, the vessel has three decades of service behind it. Last year, the cruise company estimated the ship had 15 years of seafaring left.
“This is a home,” said Lane. “I’m just living on and loving the ship.”
