Villa Vie Residences’ residential cruise ship Odyssey waited months to depart Belfast, Northern Ireland on its inaugural 3.5-year circumnavigation. While enduring both repair-related and administrative delays from its planned May departure, frustrations were many. But residents who were hunkered down in the city were able to spend their days aboard the docked vessel and found that the angst of the wait yielded several positives.
They made good use of the time by getting to know their new home (and one another) and establishing onboard routines. The ship’s remote workers were among the first to set up shop, ensuring uninterrupted schedules from their new shipboard workspaces.
The remote worker and digital nomad phenomenon of recent years has been a godsend for those with wanderlust, or just an aversion to being stuck in an office all day. Particularly since the pandemic, employers have opened up to the idea. Folks are working from home, during vacations and even relocating to remote destinations around the globe.
But, living and working aboard a cruise ship?
From cruise ship to tech hub?
When I joined Odyssey, I knew the majority of my fellow residents were retirees, with a few remote workers in the mix. But I never expected such a vibrant work environment. Aboard the ship, which finally set sail in early October, there are/will be workers and students of all stripes. From marketing professionals to tech execs, a prominent attorney, an adjunct professor, writers, travel advisors and more (not to mention the requisite array of bloggers and Youtubers), careers abound. There are even remote students, from high schoolers to adult art majors.
So, I began to wonder: Could a residential cruise ship actually be a Digital Nomad destination? While it once may have been seen as a stretch, it seems clear that we’re indeed witnessing the advent of yet another occupational phenomenon.
Envisioning future vessels even designed exclusively as tech hubs is not much of a stretch at all.
According to ACT/The App Association, the concept of a “tech hub” has evolved. It represents a dynamic ecosystem where talent, innovation, and connectivity converge to drive progress and prosperity.
Key tech hub components include:
• access to affordable office space,
• broadband and global connectivity,
• a high-level quality of life including housing, healthcare, a vibrant cultural scene and access to recreational amenities.
Hmmm … sounds a lot like Villa Vie Odyssey.
A whole new world
Odyssey offers its residents the included benefit of Starlink (a division of SpaceX) for seamless Internet service. Because of the significant numbers of workers and students onboard, reliable connectivity was crucial. Although still in the early days of our maiden voyage, this writer has heard of no complaints thus far.
A business center that includes private offices for rent, conference rooms, and a number of workspaces that are available without charge, is proving adequate for the residents currently on board, totaling less than 150. It remains to be seen whether Villa Vie will consider expansion as the resident population grows.
Yesterday I approached the office of one of my shipmates, an attorney with a thriving nationwide practice, to invite her to join me for happy hour. I didn’t realize she was on the phone.
“Just a moment,” she mouthed silently, “I’m in court.” Of course she was.
It’s a whole new world, I reminded myself.
Figuring out life at sea
Factors for digital nomads to consider for their future at sea include plusses and minuses. Not having to navigate the bureaucratic maze of residency applications in many countries (including my former home in Italy) is a huge plus. But, because residential cruising is a relatively new concept, things like international health insurance that meets our unique needs can be tricky.
Individual requirements may also depend on your job description so, as I’ve aways cautioned in this space, do your homework!
While many of us are still figuring out how to “do life” at sea, the workers among us seem to have transitioned to our new reality without skipping a beat. Of course, some had practice runs aboard previous two-to-four-month world cruises.
But this is not that.
Odyssey is their new home, with many signed on for 15 years and others for a lifetime. (Imagine planning your retirement in the same place you spent your career!) Villa Vie Residences’ startup is a first of its kind, so there are certainly kinks to be worked out.
But it is happening, and Odyssey’s remote workers seem to agree that a career at sea is indeed doable and becoming more and more attractive with every nautical mile.
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Read more about the Villa Vie Residences Odyssey here in Dispatches’ archives.
Carla Bastos is a former journalist and newspaper editor. An American expat in Italy for several years, she now makes her home traveling the world aboard Villa Vie Odyssey.
