140-nation cruise tour for those wishing to avoid America during Trump’s term

A cruise company is offering Americans a four-year escape from President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.
Florida-based cruise company Villa Vie Residences recently announced the launch of its Tour La Vie programme, allowing passengers to spend up to four years visiting over 140 countries – all while avoiding the United States.
The Tour La Vie trip offers a variety of extended stays aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey, including a one-year “Escape from Reality” cruise, a two-year “Mid-Term Selection” cruise, a three-Year “Everywhere but Home” option, and the four-year “Skip Forward” trip.

“We came up with this marketing campaign before we even knew who would win. Regardless of who would have won, you would have half of the population upset,” CEO Mikael Petterson told Newsweek. “Quite frankly, we don’t have a political view one way or the other. We just wanted to give people who feel threatened to have a way to get out.”

While prices start at just under $40,000 per year, single-occupancy cabins for the full four years start at $256,000, with double-occupancy running up to $320,000 for the trip. All food and drinks are included in the price, as well as WiFi and medical visits. Housekeeping is provided weekly and laundry service is bi-weekly, each with no additional cost, while alcohol is only included at dinner.

Passengers will get the chance to spend a month in the Caribbean, before embarking on a four-month South American journey featuring two Panama Canal transits, two World Wonders, the Chilean Fjords, an Antarctic sail-by, Carnival in Rio and an eight-day endeavour into the Amazon River.

According to Petterson, Villa Vie Residences is already experiencing a “huge uptick” in calls after announcing the cruise on November 7.
For American residents who will be on board for the midterm election in 2026 and the presidential election in 2028, travellers will still be able to cast their votes through mail-in ballots sent to the cruise line’s corporate office and then to the ship.

Petterson said the cruise had hosted two separate watch parties for passengers on board during Election Night, with one group watching Fox News and the other viewing MSNBC.

“They didn’t want to talk to one another,” he told the outlet. “They wanted to stay away from one another. At the end of the day everyone there isn’t there to talk politics. They actually have similar lifestyles. There wasn’t any sort of issues or anything.”

Villa Vie Odyssey, which houses up to 600 residents, recently entered the second month of its 15-year tour around the world. The ship will visit all seven continents, 13 World Wonders, and over 100 tropical islands.
The vessel was previously stranded in Belfast for four months due to unexpected repairs. The Odyssey had been scheduled to leave the Northern Irish city in May for a three-year, round-the-world cruise, but eventually set sail from Belfast Harbour in late September.

The Independent