Travelers booked the residential cruise of their dreams. Now, some doubt it'll happen — and say they've waited months for refunds.

08.03.2024 - 12:26 / insider.com

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 just10 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 yearsbefore 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.

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