Gee, thanks, BBC. They started it — how we’re “stranded” in Belfast.
As the Brits might say, bollocks. Or as I might say, bullshit.
Yet scores of other “news” publications picked it up, running their own versions of gloom and doom story of would-be Residential Cruising waifs.
We are not marooned. We are not castaways. We’re not in the land of “No Phones, No lights, No motorcars, not a single lux-u-ry…” with Gilligan and the Professor.
In fact, many of us have not even been in Belfast. Some went home to wait. The horror!
We don’t have a home, so we chose to wait in Belfast because we like it here. Except for the three weeks we went to the Canary Islands — fully paid for by Villa Vie Residences, from airfare to resort hotels to meals. There have been other “excursions” offered, including cruises, trips to Europe, and more.
Luxuries Mary Ann and Ginger could only dream about. Talk about First World Problems!
The key, of course, is we’ve all had a choice. “Stranded” people don’t.
If it had to go with the “stranded” idea, The Irish News is closest with their headline: “Inside the cruise ship Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey stranded in Belfast with three restaurants, five bars and a pool” (emphasis added). It ran photos (or renderings) of one of the ship’s suites, a restaurant, business center, golf simulator, spa, and outside lounge.
Gosh: Don’t You Feel So, So Sorry for Us?
But hey, don’t let reality get in the way of a good clickbait headline!
Full Disclosure: there are only a maximum of (best guess) 100 Residents actually waiting in Belfast right now, only one of the restaurants and one of the bars were open, the pool won’t be filled until we depart, and the golf simulator hasn’t been built yet: only “critical before sailing” work is being done, and they’ve been very clear about that from the start.
Still, get a load of these sample headlines from news sources all over the world — just a small sample of scores of “news” “reports” echoing what they read on BBC:
They then reasonably quote Johan as saying, “We’ve had good time but we didn’t sign up for a ship to stay in one port! Everyone on the ship is pretty positive…. There are worse places to be stuck!”
Yet a Belfast-based reporter stopped a Resident who was arriving at the security gate to board for the day, asking to please give him a quote about being stranded. She refused, saying she is absolutely not “stranded.” He pushed again, and she again refused, saying that’s not true. Fine, he said, he’d go ask a different Resident, turned, and walked away.
Hello ethics?!
Ramifications
All this scrutiny, especially (I’d guess) the made-up parts, caused the ship’s insurance company to get cold feet: it demanded that Residents leave the ship and not return until the PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate) is granted after Sea Trials, which started today. This is despite there not being any real difference in risk of passenger injury while tied up at the dock.
My office is aboard the ship, and that’s where I’ve been doing my work. Luckily I brought my computer home yesterday, where I’m back at the little table in our Belfast apartment to get my work done.
In other words, all the news speculation had a quick, negative impact on the residents. Gosh, thanks you guys! 🙄
The impact on me personally is irritating: when the news came out that we had to leave the ship and not come back (“until”) came out when I was off the ship: I had taken a taxi to a same-day doctor’s appointment ($185) because I was feeling horribly ill: the treatment I got in the Canary Islands (mid-June, 3 days of antibiotics) for a sinus infection wasn’t enough, and I knew it was coming back.
With the repeated “just a few days more” really adding up, it got to the point of nagging pain and other symptoms, including terrible fatigue, but the shipboard medical clinic is not available until their contract starts, which is upon sailing. So even though there was a perfectly good doctor sitting there, I couldn’t be seen.
Another resident mentioned going to a doctor, so I asked him who and where. I went straight to my office and booked it. I taxied back to our apartment afterward to start the new meds and rest.
Yay: I’m now under treatment, which is a lot more comprehensive, and I’m feeling much better already. Yet I had no chance to get back to the ship to grab anything. I have no toiletries (I was showering in our cabin), and a limited supply of daily meds and supplements. Hopefully all will go well and the last “a few more days” will really be the last one so we can board again.
So, with all of this, “Good News” in the media should be celebrated, right? Not always. As I was writing this, another Resident alerted me to the latest in the local Belfast Telegraph newspaper:
Best case scenario is the weekend, and I’d be surprised if we could leave that fast (though hopefully we will be able to board by then).
Just 5 seconds of thinking should have brought out the folly of that idea, but apparently the reporter didn’t even spend that long in their pondering. Uninformed speculation + lack of thinking = awfully silly-looking reporters and, by extension, their publications.
The real good news is, the ship got through all but one of its Sea Trial tests successfully. The one is because they didn’t have time due to the falling night: their departure was delayed because the tugboat to move them from the dock had engine problems — if there’s not one silly thing getting in the way, there’s another.
They’re anchoring off-shore for the night and will finish tomorrow.
Irony Alert
Speaking of excursions for Residents while paused in Belfast, Kit and I went on one today: a 30-year This is True reader had popped me a line with a link to their report, knowing we were among those waiting. He invited us to a tour of BBC Northern Ireland: he has worked there for 40 years, and their complex is right up the street from our apartment.
We went today. I’ll write that up separately, but it was a very interesting inside tour for us, and a poor homeless couple “stranded” here in Belfast — other Residents.
And yes, I told our host that I was writing this up today, and that it all started with the BBC. He didn’t seem to mind: the reporter was out of London!
One Sample Photo from Our Tour
What is it?
Here’s a close-up: it’s a fly — obviously it’s the proverbial “fly on the wall” listening to everything that’s said in closed rooms. It’s got to be the BBC’s source for the scoop of the century! The poor, sad, full-time luxury Residential Cruising wanna-bes stranded (sob! STRANDED!) in the beautiful city of Belfast.
Thanks for the tour, Colin!
Last Updated September 4, 2024
Originally Published September 4, 2024
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Randy is the co-founder of Residential Cruising, and is best known as the founder of the oldest entertainment feature on the Internet, This is True. He and his wife, Kit, are to live full-time on the Residential Cruising ship Villa Vie Odyssey starting September 2024, where they will be “Digital Nomads” — continuing their work while aboard the ship.
Love your writing and sense of humor.
I have to admit, I am actually anxious each time I open an email from Residential Cruising and you still aren’t cruising yet. Both you and Kit have such a healthy attitude (adventure and all), but I really want you guys to get going already!!! I’m sure Belfast is amazing, but I am looking forward to an honest narrative on residential cruising already! 🙂
Now fill up the pool, stock up the bars, get the lobster boiling…and let me know when you’re on the west coast of the USA!
Signed,
Trying to Live Vicariously through You
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I sure hope to do that soon. Not sure how close to your city I’m getting [for others: I know what it is], but it won’t be until 2025 at the earliest. -rc
Good first hand accounting of the many stories. Thanx. Hope you and Kit have a much healthier, less complicated experience going forward. Life’s a trip.
I almost feel guilty laughing at your expense, but that was a very humorous write-up. I’m envious you got to tour BBC!
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It IS in many ways laughable. It’s a ridiculous situation on many levels, but it’s deadly serious for the two people who designed this business and are doing everything they can to make it happen, and then they get slapped by the press in an absolutely absurd way. I want them to succeed — and soon! -rc
You seem to be of the opinion that these reporters are reporting this way due to malice or greed, generating clickbait headlines and articles designed to sell rather than report.
But as the old saw goes, “Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence.” They may be malicious, they may be more interested in eyeballs than accuracy, but the truth is that most “reporters” are just plain stupid (in the case of the USA, no matter how much their parents spent on their Ivy League education). It’s one of the reasons we greatly appreciate your not-stupid observations and reporting.
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I don’t see any accusations of malice or greed here. What I did say was that “Uninformed speculation + lack of thinking = awfully silly-looking reporters and, by extension, their publications.” You may call it “stupid” for short, and that’s valid. If I had to attach a single word to it, it’d be “sloppy”. -rc
I caught a bit of that report, how badly off you all were. I was thinking, that’s not what Randy says.
That was the same reaction I had, Barb.
Been following your adventure since day one. Today THREE different stories of you all being stranded popped up on various pages I visit. Threw the proverbial “brown flag” at all of them. I actually only read one of them. No need to give the incorrect stories any more traction.
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Perfect! -rc
I was a little worried when I saw that Odyssey was still at sea at ~2300 local time; thanks for the update that all is well.
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Indeed, all is well. The CEO and COO popped a bottle of bubbly since it’s going so well. Let’s hope that wasn’t premature! -rc
To quote Mark Twain, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
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Yet the truth is arguably more interesting! -rc
I saw the news story on my Facebook feed and commented the idea the residents were “stranded” was poppycock. I think I even mentioned both “Gilligan’s Island” and “Survivor”. I knew damn well from your updates what the truth was, but somebody didn’t want that to get in the way of a splashy headline. They went shopping for a passenger who would give them the sound bite they wanted.
I’m not saying I wouldn’t be disappointed at the delays, and maybe even a bit frustrated at them. But you’re hardly stranded. You’re free to go anywhere in the world you want (as long as you have the valid VISAs) while waiting for the ship to enter service.
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“They went shopping for a passenger who would give them the sound bite they wanted” — and while I haven’t read them all carefully, I haven’t seen any of us quoted as saying it. Can’t get them to say it? Then put the word in their mouth for them! Hence, “Hello ethics?!” HELL YES we’re frustrated and disappointed! We wouldn’t be human otherwise. But we’re not hungry, not sleeping in the streets (or under the single palm tree on a desert island). We’re anxious to get going, but not exactly suffering the way so many are. We are fortunate to be in the position to not let this truly hurt us. -rc
Great tour opportunity! And unbelievable laziness on the part of those… I’m not going to dignify them by calling them “journalists.”
“Voyage to Nowhere”? How about “Voyage to Everywhere”!!!
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Starting soon …we hope. -rc
If they want a real story, why don’t they dig into the why(s) of the delay? From the apparent conflict of interest for the ship’s seller/dry dock owner to the latest bureacratic decree that you couldn’t board (even for toiletries) until sea trials are complete. I’m beginning to think some entity with deep pockets is working hard to try to sink this endeavor.
[Randy – permission to edit granted. I don’t want to make things worse!]
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Thanks, but no need. Indeed such conspiracy theories abound among our fellow Residents: hoteliers bribing the inspectors, inspectors not getting bribes (or are simply incompetent), the company spending millions and millions only to let it go bankrupt on purpose (for what gain I have no idea — and neither do the conspiracy theorists), etc. I don’t think anyone really takes any of them all that seriously, but the continued hitches are so ridiculous it’s no surprise that such theories are being thrown against the wall to see if any of it sticks. -rc
I was surprised they didn’t interview you! Poor research!
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Right?! -rc
Not that I would ever have wished the last few months on you and Kit, but in many ways it has graced your readers with the unique opportunity to experience both sides of this ‘news’ story as it developed. From the inevitable delays associated the refit, to the ordeals you’ve personally experienced with NCL, and getting medical services while ‘away’, these are all elements of the news articles you and the contributors have summarized over the years. Sometimes, you even get the opportunity to follow up on a long-brewing story. Well, this time, you have direct access to the primary sources! With all of the care that Villa Vie has been putting into getting the ship ready, it bodes well for the future of your floating home. Looking forward to the continuing adventure, lived vicariously through your writing (and Starlink)!
Hope the ship passes all of its test & gets all of its certifications ASAP. LOVE the stories of your various trials & tribulations, like your three week excursion to the Canary Islands — fully paid for by Villa Vie Residences, from airfare to resort hotels to meals (you actually had to make a decision & then they took care of everything else?! THE HORROR!!! (smh) 😁🤣😜).
Of the various newspapers you includes images of, I like the one from Belfast Live best. It’s the one about 2 of your fellow residents going to many local pubs at the request of various locals. I saw that & thought: that would be a *bad* thing?!?!?! 😁🤣😜
Continuing to live vicariously through you!
As a family historian/genealogist w/roots in Scotland, Northern Ireland/Ireland, England, Wales, and the Netherlands, I’d have been busy “making lemonade”! Three months wouldn’t be enough for visits to ancestors’ homelands along with rainy day trips to PRONI and myriad smaller records repositories. Glad y’all are flexible and made good use of your time!
PS: Did catch you in one of VV’s promotional videos… check your FB “other” messages.
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Yeah, I was in my office when I saw the marketing guys taping a “tour” video of the business center. When they finished with Jane’s standup, I poked my head up and asked the videographer, “Do you want some B-roll of someone working in an office?” He said “Yes!” and came running over. I’m at about the 3-minute mark in the resulting ship tour. -rc
Almost there! Frustration…check. Reality…check. Real life experience, just what you were looking for…check. Looking forward to your first story as you leave port for the open seas…check!
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Indeed my brain has been working on that in the background. 🙂 -rc
My wife and I hopped over to Belfast from our England-Scotland road trip and spent several hours with Randy and Kit touring Odyssey. It’s certainly still a work in progress, but it looks really good, entirely livable and comfortable even in its current state. And that was about three weeks ago; I’m sure it’s better now.
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It definitely is. When you were here there were panels open all over to provide access for testing and maintenance. Those are all buttoned up now. -rc
What a terrific slant on the so-called media coverage of our stay in Belfast. I was interviewed as a single (76yr old) female with limited mobility. Presumably to get a negative quote, which I failed to give. I noted that some of the USA reports were rehashed from the Daily Mail, London report, thus suggesting laziness as well as sloppiness. Thanks Randy.
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That article was about the very limited “Endless Horizons” program (one payment up front, sail for the rest of your life program which was a brilliant marketing ploy that generated a lot of positive press). Indeed a lot of that was simply rewritten/rehashed gee-whiz copycatism, even if mostly positive. -rc
I also hope to join the adventure soon. Thank you to all who are keeping us informed day by day.
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Which, sadly, often doesn’t include the “news”. What a sad state of affairs. -rc
When the Odyssey sails off into the sunset, I doubt the Media will be there doing a follow up on how Mike, Kathy and their crew have accomplished something that no one else has. A couple have tried and failed. It would be nice to see a positive story in the Media for a change but, I will not hold my breath!
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Those tried-but-faileds have been recounted here also: Victoria Cruises Line and Life At Sea. -rc
You and your fellow passengers must have the patience of Job and really are making the best of the delays. I can hardly imagine the frustration that the Captain and his crew are experiencing. I hope for you and the other passengers that you really do get underway on or immediately after the next weekend.
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The crew absolutely hates it! They loved having us aboard. They want to do their jobs, not sit on an empty ship in the harbor. They also want to sail the world and speak with interesting people; it’s why we’re all here. They can hardly wait to get going. -rc
I’ve been wondering how on earth they could have pax ‘living’ on the ship, albeit only in the daytime. Huge liability risk, or it would be in the States. So the BBC and all the other talking heads and dancing fingers did everyone a favor, actually. I hope you don’t get too exercised about this media attention … thinking human beings know what the media has become. It truly sounds as if your ship may sail soon, I’m so glad for you.
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No, out-and-out lying did not do anyone “a favor.” I also addressed this right in the article: “This is despite there not being any real difference in risk of passenger injury while tied up at the dock.” Cruise ships are used as hotels and emergency housing sometimes even when not in sailable condition, and this is a “huge liability risk” …how? I don’t see it, and I’m here. -rc
Excellent article!
I was looking forward to your truthful view of this situation & we got it. Looking forward to your next views on this developing story.
Your “plight” made national news (NBC?) and I laughed and cringed through the couple of minutes it took to exploit your tragedy. On the same evening I was finishing Kyla Scanlon’s In This Economy? * (which I commend for a young person’s adroit explanation of today’s economy) which had a graph of emotive headlines in 42 news sources over 20 years. I think it could be merged with another graph of the demise of local newspapers, where dying newspapers go down and emotive headlines (and WTF stories) go up. I really don’t understand the news’ purpose anymore.
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Journalists? You listening? -rc
Glad to hear it. The story didn’t seem to jibe with your recent posts. You got a doc appointment that fast? Wow. Around here it’s like the wait for what supposed socialized medicine appointments — months for a GP — take.
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Another resident went to an NHS clinic and got treated, but it took many hours. Of course I could only get an appointment that fast as I was willing to (and could afford to) pay for it in order to get treatment going rather than sit for hours in a waiting room of sick people. -rc
There is a common phrase among conservative punditry: “You don’t hate the media enough.” (although it’s usually ascribed to malice at least as much as incompetence)
Through their incompetence and desire to get a story with a good hook, they’ve managed to inconvenience all of you. And perhaps damage Villa Vie’s reputation.
As my mother discovered many years ago when a newspaper reporter wanted a quote… they already know what they want the story to say before they write it, any quotes that don’t fit will be discarded, or twisted until they fit the reporter’s opinion. Nearly cost her her job, I believe.
Great read, Randy! My other pet peeve is how they’ve not researched the pricing. Many headlines say £27,000 a month cruise! I’ve tried to clear that up.
I also made it clear that I was only stuck here because of Captain the Cruising Kitty. My cat, my problem.
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Yeah, I don’t think anyone is paying $35,550/month (almost $1,200/day) to live on this ship no matter how big their cabin is! -rc
Your radio interview was great — stopped me in my tracks (I was brushing my teeth). It came across as upbeat and they gave you the time to put the positive spin on it.
And in fairness it was the last item on that daily morning news programme, which is always humorous/quirky rather than disastrous/scandalous.
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Cool! -rc
Thank you Randy for confirming what I have been telling my friends all along. Had I not had the time we wouldn’t have had such amazing adventures in France, England, Belgium, Northern Ireland and the Canary Islands! I wonder where the next adventure will take me!
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You’re welcome to share the URL for this as desired. -rc
That is a shame they think they have to report news in a negative fashion to get people to read it.
I would think the negative reporting will have an impact on sales as well. At the very least more FUD for the sales team to deal with for prospective buyers.
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All we can hope is that prospective buyers listen to what unfiltered actual Residents are saying. Not just me, or many of the comments here from Residents. But also others, such as Steve and Angela (Midlife Cruising on Youtube) and Basia (Oceanview Blog). The news media isn’t just not doing their job, they’re now a major source of misinformation, and that’s a pathetic state of affairs. -rc
Love this!!! We say that EVERY time we are interviewed. We are NOT stranded or stuck, and some reporters still use it as their click bait!
It’s simply impossible to tell some “journalists” (most these days are copy/paste-ers who make no effort to verify their “facts”) that they have got it wrong.
I’ll be on the ship before it leaves. I’m not stuck in Belfast, I’m not even in Belfast. I’m also not paying £27k a month, and didn’t pay over £600k for my room.
There are a small handful of outlets that publish factual reports, but they are by far the minority, so much so that I notice them and my mind shouts “hallelujah”.
And that’s the truth!! Thanks, Randy
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And happy birthday to you, Jerry. (For others: yes, Residents interact and find out about personal milestones!) -rc
I only took one Journalism class in college, and was only on the staff of the newspaper for that semester (I loved it — and still have copies of the papers my articles were in, especially the one where I picked it up the day it dropped and discovered that it had been given the prime spot above the fold — but it was my last semester before graduation). I still remember my teacher’s admonitions against going into interviews or article premises with preset ideas. He asked one of my classmates once, “Did you conduct your interviews looking for confirmation, or looking for the truth?” It’s stuck with me.
I know the guys who write the articles aren’t the ones who write the headlines, but still, all of them should be doing a LOT more thinking. And that line about “could sail as early as tonight” is just lazy, really. Never cite anything that can be fact-checked without fact-checking it first. (Yet another Dr. Ruehlman axiom I’ve tried to incorporate into my daily life.)
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It used to be that the copy editor wrote the headlines. That hasn’t been the case for a long time now. Thanks to cost-cutting, many outlets don’t have any editor pass whatever, and the reporter writes the hed. -rc
In a world where everyone seems to be screaming for attention and a desire to monetize their presence in the digital world with sensationalized headline titles, THANK YOU for always being a voice of objective & fair ‘reporting’. We appreciate you & are looking forward to meeting you in person.
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I’m honored by your reaction. -rc
I have been following the World since 2002. Travel is my passion and cruising with a cabin that your own just fits the bill. Please continue to truthfully let us know how the maiden voyage goes. I envy all of you. 2024 was not a good year to join the group but hopefully will when you have finished your first around the world trip. I enjoy residentalcruising.com.
Great write up as usual Randy, I’m surprised none of the press have picked up on this site, very shoddy research 🤣🤣
Was delighted to see the sea trials going well, hopefully not too long till you’re off.
Loving the law of unintended consequences making itself known with the news articles actually making your situation worse.
We (the bold folk in the Isle of Man) had all sorts of teething problems with a new ship, and the poor Scots still don’t have their new ferries; so all in all you guys are doing not too bad.
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It does appear the sea trials went well. I’m anxiously awaiting full signoff by the inspectors. -rc
Keep up your sense of humor during this wait! Watching from the US as this ship makes progress towards certification. You all are doing something so unique and many of us here in the US want to see you succeed! Best of luck, and hopefully you will heal quickly.
You must have fans are CNN because their article popped up and started out with the zinger nonsense but then went (paraphrasing) “but this company has a ship and a semi-derailed plan and all its customers aren’t miserable”.
But they mentioned someone who got kicked off the voyage, that sure made me curious. The company wouldn’t do that unless there was a real problem, so I figured it’s bad reporting or something really bad/stupid/entertaining going on!
I cannot get over how bad editing is on most news nowadays. I can’t get through an article from a major news website without finding mistakes. And I was an editor when I lived stateside, so it just drives me crazy!
Keep us posted, we’re all wanting to see you get out to sea!
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Yep, that article came out after this one, and is much more reasonable. The strange “kicked off” tangent was so brief and lacking in detail that it created more questions than it answered. All in all, a pretty good version. -rc