The couple who ‘sold everything’ to live on cruise ships for the rest of their lives
John and Melody Hennessee plan to spend the rest of their lives cruising around the world – and they reckon it could be as much as half as expensive as their life on land.
The couple, originally from Florida, sold almost everything they owned three years ago, including their main business and their home, and bought a motorhome to travel around the United States.
But then John, 76, got tired of driving, says Melody, 64.
Then they saw an advert on Facebook for a 274-day cruise with Royal Caribbean, and their journey to a permanent life at sea began.
On camels in Egypt
The pair are currently cruising around the Dominican Republic as part of the latest in a series of long-term sailings, which have taken them to places including Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
But while their new life is more exciting, they say it is cheaper too.
“We now have a telephone bill, a ship bill, and a few credit card bills for when we go ashore, but that’s it,” says John.
“We no longer have a mortgage or the expense of homes. We no longer have vehicle insurance, property insurance, or utility bills. The list goes on. We are certain cruising is cheaper.
“Right now it is probably close to half of what it was when we lived on land.”
Halibut fishing in Holmer, Alaska
At the moment, their life is planned in monthly chunks, as they hop from ship to ship – and they are booked up to December 2024.
But soon they will be taking up a more permanent residence on Villa Vie’s residential cruise ship – one of the first of its kind – where as many as 30% of those on board will be permanent residents.
The ship will circumnavigate the world every three years, largely following the warm weather, but life on board Villa Vie won’t come cheap.
An inside cabin starts from $99,000
An inside cabin starts at $99,000 (£78,000), but a balcony villa with views of the ocean costs $249,000 (£198,000) – and that is not forgetting the almost $8,000 (£6,369) monthly fee.
The ship is still being constructed, so while they haven’t set foot in their new home, they have seen digital renderings that have given them a good idea of what to expect.
It will be bigger than a traditional cruise ship room, with a kitchenette and pull-down bed in the living room for guests.
One of the balcony rooms
“We wanted to buy a cabin so we can design it how we want. It’s going to be home for us, for probably a minimum of 15 years on the ship,” Melody says.
Housed in a former Fred Olsen cruise lines ship, the Villa Vie Odyssey is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound transformation and will enter service in May 2024, launching from Southampton.
“Every operator has its own world cruise,” says founder and CEO Mikael Petterson.
“And they just get longer and longer and longer. So why not push the envelope and create the ultimate world cruise where you don’t stop and you just keep going?“
At a glacier in Alaska
Mikael has a background in cruising and is the former managing director of Life at Sea Cruises.
Life At Sea advertised three-year global sailings, but the project was cancelled before the ship could depart. Mikael had stepped away before it ran aground, after voicing concerns over the choice of ship.
“We learned a huge amount from that experience,” he told Sky News.
So far, around 85% of occupants are American, but Villa Vie have just signed their first British couple.
The ship has a business centre for digital nomads to work
Those living on board will be able to bring their families on to the ship for free – once they’ve paid the port fees – and a set number of cabins will be reserved for them.
There will be a business centre and private offices, allowing digital nomads to work from anywhere in the world.
Read more:
The viral dating trends of 2023
Celebrity deaths 2023: The famous faces we said goodbye to this year
Mikael says almost half of cabins are singles, with a third being business owners and those who can work from anywhere in the world.
With the ship averaging an age of almost 60, residents have a dentist and doctor on board for routine procedures. For more serious health scares, there is a hospital – and a two-person morgue for the worst-case scenario.
In the French Riveria
Melody and John say “overindulging” is their biggest problem on board. They try to walk as much as possible around the ship, and on a day at port can walk as many as eight miles exploring.
The ship will dock slightly longer in ports – for three to five days at a time – and the couple can even choose to stay longer and fly on to meet their new floating home at a later place.
In Canada
John’s son is 54, and Melody’s daughter is 43, but they aren’t worried about losing touch with them.
Several cabins aboard Villa Vie will be reserved for friends and family to visit, and with the itinerary planned years ahead, Melody says some family members have already staked a claim on when they are going to come join them.
And they aren’t worried about getting bored.
“We are just water people. We are both boaters, and we love being on the ocean,” Melody says.
A man has been taken into custody two days after a US politician and her husband were shot dead in Minnesota, law enforcement officials have said.
Authorities had urged the public not to approach Vance Boelter, 57, who they warned could be armed, and who was reportedly posing as a police officer.
A massive manhunt was launched on Saturday after Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at their home in Minneapolis in what Minnesota governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.
Police said the same gunman that killed the Hortmans had earlier shot and wounded Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home nine miles away.
Representative Melissa Hortman and Senator John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook/Minnesota Legislature
Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Hoffman and his wife.
The FBI released this image of Vance Boelter posing as a police officer. Pic: FBI.
Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.
They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.
“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.
Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside the vehicle.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Governor calls it ‘targeted political violence’
‘We are both incredibly lucky to be alive’
Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.
The text from Yvette Hoffman added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”
She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.
Read more:
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Neighbours of killed US politician stunned
Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.
However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.
Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.
Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.
She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The motive behind Melissa Hortman’s killing remains unclear. Pic: Instagram.
Mrs Hortman used her position to champion protections around abortion rights, including laws to cement Minnesota’s status as a safe refuge for people from restrictive states, who travel there for an abortion.
Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.
US
Minnesota manhunt continues for gunman who ‘posed as cop’ to kill Melissa Hortman and her husband
A manhunt is continuing after the gunning down of a Democrat politician and her husband – with police saying they’re acting on the assumption he is still alive and dangerous.
Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at home in a Minneapolis suburb on Saturday in what governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.
Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times at their home nine miles away, but survived.
A search is under way for Vance Boelter, 57, who authorities believe wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were found inside.
Melissa Hortman and Senator John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook / Minnesota Legislature
Boelter was last caught on camera wearing a cowboy hat – a similar hat was found near another vehicle belonging to him on Sunday.
Authorities said at their latest news conference they assume he is still alive.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for Boelter, who escaped from the Hortmans’ house on foot after an exchange of gunfire.
Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.
The text from Mr Hoffman’s wife, Yvette, added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”
She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.
“We believe [Boelter’s] somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Senator Klobuchar told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“Everyone’s on edge here,” she added, “because we know that this man will kill at a second.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Neighbours of killed US politician stunned
Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.
They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.
“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.
Read more:
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
Another vehicle belonging to Boelter was searched on Sunday in Minnesota’s Faxon Township. A cowboy hat similar to the one seen in the police appeal was found nearby.
It’s been revealed that the suspect texted friends around 6am on Saturday to say he had “made some choices” and was “going to be gone for a while”.
According to AP, which has seen the messages, he reportedly said: “May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way… I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Governor calls it ‘targeted political violence’
Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.
However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.
Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.
The motive behind Melissa Hortman’s killing remains unclear. Pic: Instagram
Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.
She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Mrs Hortman used her position to champion protections around abortion rights, including laws to cement Minnesota’s status as a safe refuge for people from restrictive states, who travel there for an abortion.
Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.
“Holy, holy, holy” they sang at the Church of St Timothy in Blaine, Minnesota.
But the congregation is struggling to comprehend an act of evil – the brutal murder of one of their own.
The church congregation remembered Melissa and Mark Hortman
Melissa Hortman grew up here. The former state speaker and her husband Mark were shot dead in their home on Saturday morning.
Her friend and party colleague, Erin Koegal, was among those attending mass.
Erin Koegal says her friend’s death feels like a ‘bad dream’
“It still feels like a bad dream. I woke up this morning and was like, okay, so that was real,” she said.
“It’s hit me in waves, the grief, and the anger, and the sadness. She was a leader, a true definition of a leader.
“I’ve never known our party without Melissa as the leader and so I can’t, I don’t even know how we’re going to go forward as a caucus without her.”
The bullet holes on Melissa Hortman’s front door.
State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette had already been shot and wounded.
Police sent to check on his colleague, Melissa Hortman, didn’t get there in time.
Police are extensively searching for 57-year-old Vance Boelter
They named the suspect as Vance Boelter, a 57-year-old former Christian missionary.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called it a “politically motivated murder”.
Read more here:
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
Manhunt after Minnesota politician and husband shot dead
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Neighbours of killed US politician stunned
Friends of Ms Hortman have told Sky News that her two children feared for their mother’s life after reading divisive rhetoric directed at her online.
Matt Norris, another political colleague of Ms Hortman, was also at church, reflecting on the rise of political violence in America.
Matt Norris
“We’ve going to have to do some serious introspection as a state, as a country, and figure out how do we get beyond this,” he said.
“How have we been laying the seeds that have led to horrific acts of violence against public servants like this?
“And it’s going to be incumbent upon us as leaders to set a different tone, to set a different direction for our state and our country so that horrific tragedies like this never occur again.”
Tributes left for Melissa Hortman and her husband outside the Minnesota State Capitol
But there’s no sign of division at the State Capitol Building, where flags fly at half-mast and flowers are being left in tribute.
This is a community united in grief and in its hope for an end to gun violence in America.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut