The Phantom Ship

Now You See It, Now You Don't

It’s been a busy week, as it always is with VVR. Just when you think nothing more could possibly happen, a big wave of unbelievable news comes crashing in. We have the long awaited and repeatedly promised announcement of a second ship (kind of). We’re all aware of which ship it is but that hasn’t been announced, possibly because the money to offer on it doesn’t yet exist and the hoodwinking of new, richer prospects with money to burn and lots to learn hasn’t yet started? Haven’t we seen this movie before?

Reportedly VVR intends to buy a 26 year old ship and spend $15MM in dry dock to serve a luxury clientele. Since the cruise line that previously had an agreement to buy it was going to spend $70MM in renovations, will that same clientele be satisfied with a “we can barely afford new paint” $15MM “refresh”? Likely many will remember Braemar (Odyssey’s previous name) was going to go through a $10MM “renovation in Belfast which aims to elevate the onboard experience to new heights, catering to the sophisticated needs of modern travelers...” and that “A new standard of luxury will be featured onboard.”

That renovation wound up costing $22MM and yet did not fix many of Odyssey’s key systems nor deliver many of the amenities which had been promoted to entice passengers to sign up. And, alas, that “new standard of luxury” was nowhere to be found onboard Odyssey.

A big question some will have with this as yet “phantom” second ship for the luxury market is — will VVR allow Odyssey’s Golden Passport, Endless Horizons and Endless Horizons Unleashed subscribers to “cruise for their lifetimes” (as they were sold) on this much more expensive ship with much bigger rooms and much higher fees? A bigger question will be — what kind of raise will Mike and Kathy grant themselves if a second luxury ship materializes? And perhaps the biggest question of them all — how many fully informed and prudent investors will be willing to entrust large sums of money to this team, given the company’s track record so far?

Could it really be true THIS time?

As a lead-in to residents being informed of VVR’s plans for the upcoming “phantom” ship, they were also told that Odyssey is 75% sold. Where have we heard that or similar exaggerations before? According to a January 2024 VVR press release (2 months before closing on the ship was even accomplished):

Across the board, all voyage segments and all villa categories have seen extraordinarily strong demand with close to half of the ship sold to capacity for its inaugural departure on May 15, 2024. More than 70% of the Inside Villas have been sold as well as more than 50% of the Balcony Villas.*

*Remember that at that time, and for close to a year after, VVR was saying full capacity was 900+ passengers.”

What happened that time? Odyssey launched with a mere 125 passengers. A May 30 2024 CruiseRadio article quoted the CEO stating they were 80% booked. [Wow, they are actually now 5% less booked than what Mike said they were in May 2024!]. The CEO (Mike at the time) always said more would sell as soon as they launched but then, of course, they launched into disaster. Subsequently the CEO said they’d be 100% sold by Christmas 2024, then it was by summer 2025. As is typically the case with VVR, there is often a use of creative accounting and/or intentionally misleading semantics in their statements. So what is the truth or where can the truth be found? Hard to know anymore.

Sometimes The Well Runs Dry

Operating a cruise ship is extremely expensive, especially when the ship is older and in constant need of regular maintenance and unexpected repairs. In that regard, Odyssey is no different and with cabin sales not meeting expectations despite innumerable creative sales programs being introduced, the budget is an alligator in need of continual feeding. Due to the overly-optimistic sales projections and miscalculation of other expenses, it is our understanding that management has been forced to go to the well on numerous occasions with multiple cash calls. And just when things were looking grim with the sudden unexpected exit of multiple high-profile social media cheerleaders…

Superman Arrives

VVR just announced a new “President of Project Lumina,” Christopher Cox, to “introduce a new tier of refined, residential ocean living”, i.e. the second luxury “phantom” ship. What does Chris have in common with the other VVR leadership? He’s a marketing guru with no real experience in cruise ship dry docks, certifications and regulations nor cruise ship operations! He should fit in nicely. Per the press release he’s a “senior executive specializing in luxury real estate strategy, brand development, and large-scale residential acquisitions. With an extensive background in high-end real estate, international marketing, and investor relations.”

According to a Cruise Industry News article dated 12/3/25, “Cox was most recently with Crescent Seas, which abandoned plans to charter the Regent Seven Seas Navigator and Oceania Insignia and turn them into residential cruise ships. His LinkedIn profile shows that he was director of sales and marketing for nine months.” His level of cruise industry experience prior to launching an ultra-luxury residential world cruise for VVR is eerily similar to that of the current management duo before they grossly mismanaged Odyssey’s dry dock, launch and first year. Rinse. Repeat.

We wish him great success but considering VVR’s ever-spinning revolving exit door, we hope that he has a flexible Plan B.

You Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Freedom of Speech 

What else happened this week? Keep up, people! Kathy succeeded in stifling yet another social media site. She’s building up quite a list at this point. Last year she used a Cease and Desist letter to threaten the owner of an innocuous little Youtube channel who was reporting developments with Odyssey as they unfolded. Rather than spend the money to fight, he chose to remove all the Odyssey-related videos and scale back to virtual nothingness.

With that notch in her belt, next Kathy got FaceBook to permanently “pause” the first unaffiliated Odyssey Discussion Forum by threatening the original Admin after first harassing her family members. Feeling emboldened, and looking for another notch in her belt, she then falsely accused the successor (Odyssey Discussion Forum #2) of trademark infringement and successfully convinced FaceBook to take down that site as well. There is now a Site #3 up and running under a different name; however, after reviewing the facts of the matter, FaceBook has said they will release the second site since it was “paused” (removed) under false pretenses. But Kathy really relishes those notches in her belt — any bets on how long it takes to get to Site #10?

And just so everyone understands The World According to Kathy, you can’t talk onboard and you can’t talk offboard. That is, unless you’re a VVR attorney with big dreams. In that case, fire away!

What Next?

Per VVR’s recent press release:

As part of Project Lumina, Villa Vie Residences will be making a major announcement in the coming weeks regarding the newest addition to its fleet—an ultra-luxury residential ship scheduled to launch under a new brand. This forthcoming vessel will feature: Fully owned private residences.

So much to unpack here just in a partial paragraph. Launching under a new brand? One must surmise that’s because leadership tarnished the current brand so badly and wouldn’t want those wealthy people googling “Villa Vie Residences” and running from THAT story.

And “Fully owned private residences”? Wow! Will they actually be “owned” this time? Fully? Really? Or is that only a marketing euphemism as it was for the Odyssey? Anyone with doubts can read VVR’s Motion To Dismiss as filed in the SignalWave lawsuit against them.  That amazing legal brief maintains that the “owners” of “villas” on Odyssey own nothing other than at-will permission to occupy a space on the ship that can be taken from them at any time for any reason without recompense.

Hopefully these wealthier “phantom” passengers will bring along their own bevy of lawyers to scrutinize Project Lumina’s contracts and Terms and Conditions, otherwise it really could be “up their’s.”

So Many Unanswered Questions…

So many overwhelming, big questions all remain to be answered:

• Will the “phantom” ship have a functioning crane?

• Will the Floaty Thing be transferred to the “phantom” ship to finally be taken out of the boxes and deployed?

• Will the slick DCHG Dynamic Duo return to take a window cabin (with a chair!) on the ultra-luxury “phantom” ship and then upgrade within weeks to a veranda cabin and commence a hard sell of the new endeavor, throwing away their stated desire for “slow travel”?

• Will Midlife Cruising kiss and make up and return for a discounted window cabin on the “phantom” ship and immediately commence filming the espresso machine?

• Will Livinglifeonacruise be given 4 free drinks per day on the “phantom” ship and be able to afford the drinks package on top of that?

• Will Charlie return to deliver as successful a dry dock for the “phantom” ship as he was able to deliver for Odyssey?

• Will Joe Rhodes give up the kangaroos and the Traipsmobile and return to complete his 3.5 years hobnobbing with the ultra-lux crowd aboard the “phantom” ship? Nah! Not a chance!

• What will happen to the Odyssey when its wealthiest residents leave for the “ultra-lux phantom” ship and Odyssey remains decaying on an accelerated basis with the public housing residents?

• In which country (or countries) will Project Lumina incorporate?

• Which ship will the Pirate and the Mermaid choose?

More exciting episodes of the made for Netflix docu-tragi-comedy As The Seas Churn are sure to come. Season 2 promises to be even crazier than Season 1.

Stay tuned, Explorers!