The problem with not traveling full-time is that I'm always thinking of the "next" adventure. Connie and I have already made travel plans for the next two years. This gives us something to look forward to and plan for. A several weeks ago, while I was watching some YouTube videos on cruising, Connie got online and booked us a 4-day local cruise. We had the time for a short trip, and she said, "why not?" and Happy Father's Day!

A friend of ours announced that she was selling her home and moving onto a cruise ship to travel full-time. Hmmm... this sure gave us something to think about. After plenty of research, I think we came up with a plan. Do we travel full-time on a cruise ship, or not? Here's our upcoming travel plans:

• August 2025 - A short 4-day cruise from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to San Pedro, California. No ports, just 4 days of being pampered and cruising.
• September 2025 - This is our 2025 "Epic" trip. We'll fly to Barcelona, Spain and rent a campervan for 3-weeks. We'll drive around and explore Spain, a little of Southern France, into Andorra, down to Portugal, with a stop in Gibraltar. After this, we're catching a 3-week Mediterranean cruise with port stops in Spain, France, Italy, Montenegro, Greece, and Turkey.
• January 2026 - This is a week or two with the motorhome to Quartzsite, Arizona. We hope to catch up with long time RV friends.
• February 2026 - While still in the planning stages, we'd like to go to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico with our neighbors.
• May 2026 - We've already reserved a week trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We'll be staying in an all-inclusive resort for the week, with local day trips.
• September 2026 - We'll head out for a couple months in the motorhome. The ultimate destination is the Natchez Trace trail. In 16-years of traveling in a motorhome, we've never done the entire Natchez Trace. Along this trip, we'll visit friends and family in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas.
• February 2027 - We're not moving onto a cruise ship full-time, but we are taking an extended cruise for 135 days. We'll have 55 port stops in 25 countries. Starting in the Maldives, this cruise goes down the eastern edge of Africa to Cape Town, South Africa, then back up the western edge of Africa, ending in Lisbon, Portugal. This cruise is on the recently refurbished Villa Vie Odyssey. 

The Villa Vie Odyssey was recently converted as a "residency" cruise ship. Passengers can purchase their cabin and own it to travel/cruise full-time. The ship is currently on a three- and half-year itinerary visiting 425 ports in 147 countries. Owners (residents) own their cabins and can arrange and decorate as they wish (within safety reasons). Buying a cabin starts at $130,000 and goes up to $440,000. In addition to the purchase, there is a monthly maintenance fee from $3,000 to $11,000. The monthly fee covers all meals, alcohol drinks at lunch and dinner, housekeeping (including laundry) twice a week, port fees, gratuities, Wi-Fi, and operating the ship fees. We considered buying a cabin with a window for $170,000 with a monthly fee of $5,000 (for a couple), but we're not ready to cruise full-time yet. Owners are free to sell or rent their cabins when not being used.

We're renting our cabin directly from Villa Vie. Their three- and half-year itinerary is broken down into segments of two or three months. We're going on segments 14 and 15. Instead or purchasing your cabin, you can rent a cabin for a segment. Rentals are a set price per day. An inside cabin rents for $250 a day for double occupancy or $125 a day for a single. A window cabin rents for $360 a day for double occupancy or $180 a day for a single. Balcony cabins rent for $700 a day for a double, $350 a day for singles. There is no monthly fee with the rentals. Everything is included in the rental fee. Of course, not all cabins are available for rentals.

Living onboard the Odyssey isn't the same as a normal cruise ship. This is a floating neighborhood, not a pleasure cruise. There are no fancy stage shows or a casino. There is periodic entertainment, and residents do organize various events on board. There is a buffet and dining rooms, and lounges and bars with piano type entertainment. Two pools and hot tubs, a spa, an exercise room, a craft room, and a medical facility. The Odyssey is a small cruise ship with up to 650 passengers. They have the ability to reach parts of the world that larger ships cannot access and stay up to 5 days in a port. The Odyssey is an older ship that has had a few different owners and has been refurbished a few times.

What do you think? Could you move onto a cruise ship and travel the world full-time?