What was billed as a live-aboard cruise around the world has ground to a halt in Cambodia, where about 200 paying passengers have been ordered off a ship after its operator ran out of money, an official said.
Villa Vie Residences, the US-based company behind the voyage, said yesterday it had “suspended operations in Cambodia” while it tries to deal with “extraordinary increases” in fuel costs following the Iran war.
The 200-metre Odyssey departed Northern Ireland in October 2024, launching a continuous journey that allowed residents to buy or rent cabins either for a holiday or for life — an offer so enticing that some passengers sold everything they owned to afford it.
But during a scheduled call at Sihanoukville, passengers were given just seven hours to pack up and leave, according to the deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province.
In a statement, the official said 203 guests and 156 crew arrived on the Bahamas-flagged vessel from Thailand on 23 October, and the ship had been expected to continue onward to Vietnam.
“The sudden order to disembark has left many retirees and remote workers homeless thousands of miles from their home countries,” the governor said.
Some passengers have since flown out, while others stayed behind in the city, he added. The ship itself, he said, is scheduled to refuel and depart on 31 October.
Passenger Randy Cassingham, who operates a cruise blog, said the decision to disembark came after what he described as a “cascade of problems”.
Writing under the headline ‘Abandon Ship!’, he said the Odyssey’s Belfast launch was pushed back by four months, and the vessel never reached its advertised capacity of 650 residents, topping out at about 350.
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Mr Cassingham said the Odyssey was never positioned as a “luxury” ship, but as an affordable option — until, he wrote, the company began “begging for money”.
Villa Vie said in its statement that monthly fuel costs per cabin had climbed steeply, rising from an average of $1,800 to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia.
“The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,” it said.
Mr Cassingham accused the company of doing “absolutely nothing to help” passengers left stranded.
Villa Vie said it was “working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements”.
“Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop,” it said.
