Villa Vie Residences

[rebeccalouiseagain]

5 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Are you aware of the detail of the “handover”?

 

Did the LAS customers lose all of their money?  Were they offered any “consideration” by him if they moved with him and purchased VVR?  Were those early adopters expected to make up-front payments to VVR?

 

 

Yes- Mike said they could transfer their deposit over to VVR.  See how clever that was?  Others were given a "discount" for transferring their deposit to VVR.  This is a scam

[UKCruiseJeff]

1 hour ago, rebeccalouiseagain said:

Yes- Mike said they could transfer their deposit over to VVR.  See how clever that was?  Others were given a "discount" for transferring their deposit to VVR.  This is a scam

 

Thanks.

 

It’s truly remarkable that he has got this far.  I guess we will see how long it lasts for and how many other customers feel sufficiently good to share experiences etc.  This is going to be a vicarious experience for many of us. 

 

It’s a fascinating project.

 

Jeff

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Backroads Tourist just posted an update on Villa Vie over on his YouTube channel. Short summary of the key points he reported below:

 

- On the way to Brest, residents were told to not do any laundry. 

- Hot water was turned off until further notice 

- The resident who posted the above information online was subsequently told to remove their post by VVR management. 

- While in Brest, the bilge is being serviced. 

- Jeff also reported that residents have apparently not been allowed to get off the boat in Brest, despite some of them having shore excursions planned. Reasons why are unknown at this time. 

- The itinerary has been adjusted to account for bad weather as a result of Hurricane Kirk

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by Zap Rowsdower
Further info added

[as3369]

22 minutes ago, Zap Rowsdower said:

Backroads Tourist just posted an update on Villa Vie over on his YouTube channel. Short summary of the key points he reported below:

 

- On the way to Brest, residents were told to not do any laundry. 

- Hot water was turned off until further notice 

- The resident who posted the above information online was subsequently told to remove their post by VVR management. 

- While in Brest, the bilge is being serviced. 

- Jeff also reported that residents have apparently not been allowed to get off the boat in Brest, despite some of them having shore excursions planned. Reasons why are unknown at this time. 

- The itinerary has been adjusted to account for bad weather as a result of Hurricane Kirk

 

 

My husband just said they are in a prison!  I guess some of the cabins are about the size of a cell.  

[Papadog]

Can't imagine if there is no hot water and bilge not working  during a Transatlantic crossing....This  is only the start .  

[UKCruiseJeff]

49 minutes ago, Zap Rowsdower said:

Backroads Tourist just posted an update on Villa Vie over on his YouTube channel. Short summary of the key points he reported below:

 

- On the way to Brest, residents were told to not do any laundry. 

- Hot water was turned off until further notice 

- The resident who posted the above information online was subsequently told to remove their post by VVR management. 

- While in Brest, the bilge is being serviced. 

- Jeff also reported that residents have apparently not been allowed to get off the boat in Brest, despite some of them having shore excursions planned. Reasons why are unknown at this time. 

- The itinerary has been adjusted to account for bad weather as a result of Hurricane Kirk

 

 

 

 

Out of interest, how do you know he was told to remove the post rather than deciding autonomously to do so - or did you just reasonably presume so?

 

If he was then I think the question is, what was the sanction threatened to Jeff if his post wasn’t removed. That is the key question the answer to which would provide a clue and some light to the trajectory of this project. 

 

This degree of extraordinary oppression by what is morphing into a dictatorship is certainly counter to the free spirited nature of the people onboard and is not good or sustainable.  How long will they remain quietly and collectively compliant. In normal life Mikael would be seen as being the servant of these people not their master. This further implies a short game due to it’s unsustainability.

 

Someone (or more) will soon register a false posting ID(s) and tell us anonymously what is going on. 

 

Jeff

Edited 17 hours ago by UKCruiseJeff

[gkbiiii]

2 hours ago, rebeccalouiseagain said:

Yes- Mike said they could transfer their deposit over to VVR.  See how clever that was?  Others were given a "discount" for transferring their deposit to VVR.  This is a scam

Yes again, this is why the two women were removed and soon others will follow.  Just remove passengers and resell their cabins (if they find buyers), for new cash flow $200,000 a pop.

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, Papadog said:

Can't imagine if there is no hot water and bilge not working  during a Transatlantic crossing....This  is only the start .  

Not sure how a "bilge" doesn't work, since it is just the bottom area of the engine room.  What I think is a better explanation is that bilge water is being disposed of ashore for one of two reasons, either they didn't have enough time on the crossing to process all the bilge water through the oil/water separator, or the separator isn't working, and that is pretty much a "no sail" item for most countries' Coast Guards when doing port state inspections.

[chengkp75]

8 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

I think the question is, what was the sanction threatened to Jeff if his post wasn’t removed.

I don't know if this guy is an owner or a renter, but I'd say it's simple, depending on the wording of the contracts, he's going to be "voted off the island".  Sometimes it's amazing what people will sign without reading it thoroughly.

Edited 17 hours ago by chengkp75

[as3369]

7 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

 

I think the question is, what was the sanction threatened to Jeff if his post wasn’t removed. That is the key question the answer to which would provide a clue and some light to the trajectory of this project. 

 

This degree of extraordinary oppression by what is morphing into a dictatorship is certainly counter to the free spirited nature of the people onboard and is not good or sustainable.  How long will they remain quietly and collectively compliant. This further implies a short game due to it’s unsustainability.

 

Someone (or more) will soon register a false posting ID(s) and tell us anonymously what is going on. 

 

Jeff

In any group setting there are a multitude of personalities, desires, needs, wants and tolerance levels.  While some of the residents seem to be "free-spirited", this will not apply to the whole.  The censorship truly is eye-opening!

[UKCruiseJeff]

4 minutes ago, as3369 said:

In any group setting there are a multitude of personalities, desires, needs, wants and tolerance levels.  While some of the residents seem to be "free-spirited", this will not apply to the whole.  The censorship truly is eye-opening!

 

True, but it only needs a few percent to spill the beans. 

 

Jeff

[as3369]

Just now, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

True, but it only needs a few percent to spill the beans. 

 

Jeff

Just takes one.... and I'm sure they will not be one of the "Founders"

[Zap Rowsdower]

11 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

 

Out of interest, how do you know he was told to remove the post rather than deciding autonomously to do so - or did you just reasonably presume so?

Hi Jeff, I'm quoting it as what was reported by Backroads Tourist on his video (i.e. Told to remove) , however I haven't seen the original resident post to which he refers to. 

 

I agree with you, whatever way you look at it, it doesn't bode well! It would certainly imply that VVR actively keep an eye on the social media accounts of their residents. 

[UKCruiseJeff]

11 minutes ago, Zap Rowsdower said:

Hi Jeff, I'm quoting it as what was reported by Backroads Tourist on his video (i.e. Told to remove) , however I haven't seen the original resident post to which he refers to. 

 

I agree with you, whatever way you look at it, it doesn't bode well! It would certainly imply that VVR actively keep an eye on the social media accounts of their residents. 

 

Thanks.

 

I have some nagging doubts about Backroads Tourist.

 

At first he was very supportive of Jenny Phenix when he needed her cooperation and sought her trust and posted her two detailed uploads. I found her balanced and reasonable. Then he seemed to turn on her.

 

So I’m wary.

 

Jeff

Edited 17 hours ago by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

18 minutes ago, as3369 said:

Just takes one.... and I'm sure they will not be one of the "Founders"

 

I say “a few” because in this highly charged scenario you cannot ignore the malice or retribution factor (particularly by those that feel “wronged” for potentially several different reasons in th history of this) and it’s only when you get a few plausible contrary accounts they can be considered a possibly trustworthy pattern.

 

We’ll see in due course, I’m sure.

 

Jeff

[as3369]

28 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Thanks.

 

I have some nagging doubts about Backroads Tourist.

 

At first he was very supportive of Jenny Phenix when he needed her cooperation and sought her trust and posted her two detailed uploads. I found her balanced and reasonable. Then he seemed to turn on her.

 

So I’m wary.

 

Jeff

I think he needs this saga to continue to keep his YouTube channel afloat.   However, it seems his channel is the only one that isn't deleting comments.  This is truly fascinating!

[UKCruiseJeff]

 

Transatlantic crossing anyone?

 

Any volunteers?

 

Jeff

[as3369]

27 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Transatlantic crossing anyone?

 

Any volunteers?

 

Jeff

Not even if this were a brand new ship..  5'6 draft sounds like a rocky life at sea!

[chengkp75]

7 minutes ago, as3369 said:

Not even if this were a brand new ship..  5'6 draft sounds like a rocky life at sea!

Sorry, the draft is 5.4 meters (17' 9")

[jturks7]

Surely even the most calmest of cruisers onboard would be starting to think the worst at this stage. There’s gonna be a netflix docu-series about this trip, like Fyre Festival, only at sea 

[Travel_Around_The_World]

5 hours ago, rebeccalouiseagain said:

Yes- Mike said they could transfer their deposit over to VVR.  See how clever that was?  Others were given a "discount" for transferring their deposit to VVR.  This is a scam

It was even worse than that. He called LAS customers (while he was still working for LAS), sweet talked them into canceling with LAS and rebook with VVR. 

 

He basically told them that the ship was not right,  too old and not up to the task. It was better for them to cancel now, get the money back and rebook with him, since he has plans in the works.

The early cancelations got their money back and sent it to Mike (before VVR was founded). When he went public with 'his rejection ' of the ship, it was a rush of the rest of the customers and some couldn't get their money back. 

 

It was a very crappy thing to do. 

 

[Travel_Around_The_World]

3 hours ago, Zap Rowsdower said:

Backroads Tourist just posted an update on Villa Vie over on his YouTube channel. Short summary of the key points he reported below:

 

- On the way to Brest, residents were told to not do any laundry. 

- Hot water was turned off until further notice 

- The resident who posted the above information online was subsequently told to remove their post by VVR management. 

- While in Brest, the bilge is being serviced. 

- Jeff also reported that residents have apparently not been allowed to get off the boat in Brest, despite some of them having shore excursions planned. Reasons why are unknown at this time. 

- The itinerary has been adjusted to account for bad weather as a result of Hurricane Kirk

 

 

All that while sailing for the first 24 hours. My goodness. 

 

Why couldn't they get off the ship?

Edited 14 hours ago by Travel_Around_The_World

[gkbiiii]

Real Ongoing Costa of living: The World.

I was emailed some sales information on the only successful Residential Ship, The World.

Here is an example (real figures) of what realistically is needed, for successful operation.

Below is the smallest Studio offered, with 846 sq ft, at $4,950,000.

3% Transfer Fee, & $200,000 Initiation Fee.

 

Here are the annual costs of ownership, rounded up:

Operational Expenses  $160,000

Fuel  $45,000

Food & Beverage (minimum)  $34,000

Administrative Expenses  $65,000

Capital Reserve Contribution  $62,000

Annual Total:  $365,000

 

So the smallest studio is much larger than the average VV cabin.  However, the costs are more inline with realities of life at sea, than VV's crazy low pricing.  So if you had 200 sq ft cabins, reasonably you would need 1/4 this annual amount per cabin, $91,250.  Notice too, The World was a new build, plus has a minimum net worth of $10 million Dollars.  The Economics of VV don't work, I can see an "Upper Middle Class to Wealthy" future new build, but realistically units would be at least $1 million Dollars with a $100,000+ annual expenses.  

 

 

[Travel_Around_The_World]

1 minute ago, gkbiiii said:

Real Ongoing Costa of living: The World.

I was emailed some sales information on the only successful Residential Ship, The World.

Here is an example (real figures) of what realistically is needed, for successful operation.

Below is the smallest Studio offered, with 846 sq ft, at $4,950,000.

3% Transfer Fee, & $200,000 Initiation Fee.

 

Here are the annual costs of ownership, rounded up:

Operational Expenses  $160,000

Fuel  $45,000

Food & Beverage (minimum)  $34,000

Administrative Expenses  $65,000

Capital Reserve Contribution  $62,000

Annual Total:  $365,000

 

So the smallest studio is much larger than the average VV cabin.  However, the costs are more inline with realities of life at sea, than VV's crazy low pricing.  So if you had 200 sq ft cabins, reasonably you would need 1/4 this annual amount per cabin, $91,250.  Notice too, The World was a new build, plus has a minimum net worth of $10 million Dollars.  The Economics of VV don't work, I can see an "Upper Middle Class to Wealthy" future new build, but realistically units would be at least $1 million Dollars with a $100,000+ annual expenses.  

 

 

In all fairness, The World is super luxurious. 

But you can create a smaller, a little less luxurious and less expensive version of the The World. Point is it has to be apartment style with balconies. Has to have a living room, bedroom, and bathroom. But this crap taking a 30-year old ship and selling small rooms (especially ocean view and insides), designed for short term cruising, as 'Villas' is absurd. 

[gkbiiii]

3 minutes ago, Travel_Around_The_World said:

In all fairness, The World is super luxurious. 

But you can create a smaller, a little less luxurious and less expensive version of the The World. Point is it has to be apartment style with balconies. Has to have a living room, bedroom, and bathroom. But this crap taking a 30-year old ship and selling small rooms (especially ocean view and insides), designed for short term cruising, as 'Villas' is absurd. 

But oddly, the same amount of staffing is required, costs of fuel (are less on The World, vs 30 year old ship) port charges, etc. are fixed costs, not different on same sized ships. I wonder how it would work, to buy an old Seabourn, "all suite" vessel and sell the "Suite Cabins" for a cool Million, & $150K Annual Dues?