- Victoria Cruises Line is selling apartments on a residential ship that would sail around the world indefinitely.
- The launch of the Victoria Majestic, advertised as a floating retirement home, has been repeatedly delayed.
Randy and Kit Cassingham sold everything for a dream: to live out their retirement years on a residential cruise ship.
They sold family heirlooms, lifelong collectibles, and their Colorado "dream" home of 20 years with views of the Rockies. Randy, 64, re-homed his cat. Kit's was so old that she had to put her down.
"Those are really hard things to do," Kit, 69, said. "But we're really committed to this lifestyle."
But the Victoria Majestic ship, where the married couple planned to rent a $7,200-a-month suite, never departed last December as planned. It was the trip's fourth launch delay in just 10 months.
Now, instead of peeping polar bears in Norway or snorkeling off Caribbean islands as part of an indefinite itinerary at sea, the Cassinghams say they are struggling to get repayment for their $10,000 deposit to the cruise company, Victoria Cruises Line.
The Cassinghams aren't alone. Business Insider spoke to four couples and three solo travelers who said they gave up hope on the Victoria Majestic and requested deposit refunds. Only one person said they received repayment. The rest said they were still waiting — including five people who requested refunds more than four months ago.
Victoria Cruises Line, for its part, has pushed its latest launch date to July 26. But as of last month, there was still no ship: The company said it would need to reach higher occupancy levels to charter a vessel for the Victoria Majestic.
Once chartered, the ship would embark from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, then travel to more than 200 destinations and 115 countries — including Taipei, Taiwan; Douala, Cameroon; and Mykonos, Greece — for about 2 ½ years before circumnavigating the globe again, Victoria Cruises Line has said.
Victoria Cruises Line declined to comment on customers' claims of delayed refunds, citing pending legal proceedings.
"As the solution to the problematic cases is not the internet and print media, customers who have any problems with VCL have the possibility to initiate legal proceedings as stated in the contract," the company said in a statement.
Victoria Cruises promised an all-inclusive, affordable life at sea
A new crop of residential cruise companies has been advertising floating condos with price tags exceeding $100,000. Victoria Cruises has taken a more accessible approach, offering rentable cabins instead for as low as $3,840 a month.
Unlike some other companies, which have been building custom residential ships or buying used vessels, Victoria Cruises planned to lease a 1,350-guest ship, formerly Holland America's Veendam, sales manager Gabor Nagy-Ferenc told BI in an email in February 2023.
At the time, Nagy-Ferenc said travelers would have to sign a minimum six-month lease. He said the company was targeting passengers 65 years or older who would live in the "retirement home on the water" indefinitely.
Brochures and other marketing materials for the cruise promised that in between destinations, travelers could relax at the ship's two pools, refine their serve at the tennis court, and dine on beef tenderloin with polenta and truffle sauce at the Italian restaurant on board.
To encourage lengthy stays, the cruise company has offered a 40% discount on monthly rent for passengers who signed leases lasting a minimum of 37 months.
Victoria Cruises attracted retired cruisers
The opportunity to live a discounted life at sea lured Florida husband-and-wife Bill and Carol Plaut, both 77 years old. The self-described cruise lovers said they retired about 20 years ago.
In August 2023, the couple put their home on the market. Two days later, they paid Victoria Cruises a $15,000 deposit to secure a $7,200-a-month suite, according to a copy of their wire transfer viewed by BI. They began getting travel vaccinations, stocking up on medications, and getting rid of belongings in preparation for the cruise.
"Cruising is so expensive, and Victoria Cruises made this seem affordable for us," Carol told BI. "We decided this would be our last great adventure, our last big hurrah."
Will, 70, also sold his home last year in anticipation of boarding the "Victoria Majestic" in December. (Will asked to be identified by his first name; BI knows his full name).
Will said he's an experienced cruiser, retiree, and widower with no children who was excited by the opportunity to live at sea.
"I have no responsibilities to anybody right now," he told BI.
So, in August 2023, Will put a $10,000 deposit down for a $5,280-a-month cabin, a copy of his rental agreement reviewed by BI shows. He sold his home in Washington two months later.
"Victoria Cruises would've been cheaper than living at home with the freedom of no home, car, bills, internet payments, or insurance," he said. "It was clearly very economical."
Customers' dreams of starting the New Year on the Victoria Majestic quickly fizzled
Victoria Cruises announced in an October 1 email to customers that it would postpone its December launch, citing issues with occupancy levels.
The email said it had been targeting an 80% occupancy rate before chartering the ship, according to a copy of the message viewed by Business Insider.
Occupancy levels had dropped to 63% in September 2023 — down from 72% three months prior — due to "misbookings" and cancellations related to "illness, death, and financial reasons," Marco Benigni, an operation manager with Victoria Cruises, wrote in the email.
At that point, Will gave up hope on Victoria Cruises. He asked the company to refund his $10,000 deposit in a November 2023 email viewed by BI.
In booking materials posted to its site, Victoria Cruises said customers would receive a full refund within 90 days of a request, as long as they canceled at least 30 days before embarkation.
120 days after Will first asked for a refund, he said he was still waiting for reimbursement.
"To be honest, I don't think Victoria Cruises has the money," Will said. "I can lawyer up and drain my enthusiasm for life. But in the end, there'll be nothing. I won't get any money."
Will is one of nine people who told BI they are waiting on refunds from Victoria Cruises Line. BI reviewed the customers' refund request forms and email correspondence with Victoria Cruises.
Taryna Wawn, a 64-year-old resident of Australia, said she doubts she'll get a refund.
"I refuse to let it get to me at this age," Wawn told BI. She and her husband, Dennis, 65, have been waiting for their $10,000 deposit since October 2023. "We still need to live life and not let it get us down. It's really made both of us angry."
In a February 2 blog post, the company blamed repayment delays on customer errors on the refund form — like "illegible" handwriting or failure to provide accurate bank wire instructions — as well as a Google Drive error.
Victoria Cruises said it was impacted by "Google Drive's data loss" in December 2023. Customers who canceled their contract after September 1, 2023, were asked to resend their refund form and rental agreement, which would make the processing "slower," the company said. (Google declined to comment, instead directing BI to a post in late November 2023 that said the Google Drive issue "only affected local file changes that had yet to be synced to Drive." It released a solution a week later).
Bill Plaut said he was skeptical that Google Drive was to blame for delays, calling it "one of many excuses."
At least one customer, Janie Coffey, has received a refund, however.
Coffey, 55, said she sent Victoria Cruises dozens of emails over the course of several months, including three iterations of her refund request form, all with different banking information.
When the company ultimately emailed her proof of the wire transfer, she noticed it had mistyped her account number.
"I chose Victoria Cruises because my dream is to travel to every country in the world," Coffey told BI. "I thought they were just messy business people. Now I'm looking at everything in hindsight and wondering: Was it a scam from the beginning?"
Coffey received her refund in December 2023 — four months after her initial request.
It was $28 short of the full $10,000, according to a copy of the transfer.
After Will sold his home, he said he "wandered around" before temporarily relocating to France. But he hasn't given up on his cruising dreams: In May, he hopes to board competitor Villa Vie's residential cruise ship.
Unlike Victoria Cruises, the competing startup says it has already acquired a ship for its indefinite cruise around the world.
Some Victoria Cruises customers are now betting on a rival cruise line
Villa Vie has drawn interest from other former Victoria Cruises hopefuls, including the Cassinghams and Holly Hennessy, 67, who emailed Victoria Cruises her refund request form in October.
A number of new residential cruise ship ventures have popped up in recent years, but none have launched yet.
In November 2023, Life at Sea Cruises canceled its never-ending voyage before it ever embarked, citing a lack of a ship and investor withdrawal due to "unrest in the Middle East." Former would-be travelers are now demanding a criminal probe into Life at Sea, accusing the company of withholding about $16 million in customer refunds.
Startup Storylines has promised a new luxury floating condominium, but has yet to begin construction on its $900 million, 18-deck ship. In 2023, nine former employees, consultants, and investors told BI they doubted it would ever be built.
The World, launched in 2002, is the only residential cruise ship in operation. But with limitations: Only about 10 to 12 of its 547 cabins are resold annually between $2 million and $15 million. Buyers must have a net worth of at least $10 million to even be considered.
With costs that high, many travelers had hoped Victoria Cruises could be the next best option.
But on February 2, the company reported a 53% occupancy level — still well below its target of 80%.