The Villa Vie Odyssey, a residential cruise marketed as an endless voyage, came to an abrupt halt in Cambodia after 755 days at sea, leaving elderly passengers homeless with less than 24 hours' notice.
The ship, which had promised visits to more than 425 destinations in 147 countries over three and a half years, was forced to stop due to funding problems, fuel shortages and too few passengers on board, according to Captain Emanuele Giudice. Some residents had sold their homes to fund the trip, while others paid $450,000 for a luxury suite.
Passengers asked to leave
Captain Giudice explained that the fuel situation had become critical. He said the ship needed to shut down one generator, chiller and non-essential lights, which would have caused discomfort to residents. He said residents were kindly asked to get off the ship because the fuel situation was critical.
Monthly fuel expenses had rocketed from $1,800 per cabin to $8,000, and the company had previously asked 22 residents for a collective loan of $2.2 million (£1.6 million) to keep the ship going.
Residents speak out
Paul Montoya, 68, and his wife Lynn, 64, told the Daily Mail they paid $450,000 (£337,840) in total, with more than half of that coming in unexpected costs on top of the $179,000 (£134,366) they paid for their lower-end cabin. Mrs Montoya said the company had not made any payments to them, and that on July 31 they were told a payment would arrive in the next three days, but two days later they were told there was no money.
She said residents started donating to keep the journey going, and that in September the company asked for $1.5 million (£1.1 million) and then $360,000 (£270,049) while they were stranded in Cambodia.
Criticism of conditions and support
Randy Cassingham, who has been blogging his experience aboard the ship, said the company has done absolutely nothing to help stranded passengers. He said shuttle buses dropped them in the middle of town in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and that they were not given a list of hotels, let alone help getting there or paying for them.
Cassingham, who was receiving cancer treatment in Thailand, also criticised the media depiction of the ship as a 5-star luxury vessel. He said the cabins were small and sparse, but that was acceptable as they were really bedrooms and a place to shower. He said the living area was spacious, with lounges and restaurants, but it was not luxury, as it was promoted as affordable, until the company started begging for money. He said the luxury crowd would not have considered the ship anywhere near a 5-star experience.
On his own treatment, he said between drugs and radiation he has very limited energy and stamina, and that it was easy to be on the ship where he could go and lie down in his own bed whenever needed.
Cassingham described residents' moods as ranging from anger to resentment to bewilderment to asking what they are going to do. He said many feel betrayed, questioning how they could leave a safe and easy-to-deal-with place like Thailand to be dropped in Cambodia. He said a few are shell-shocked because they spent the majority of their nest-eggs to be there and do not know how or where they will live, with some choosing to stay in Thailand or Vietnam because of the lower cost of living.
He said Cambodia is certainly not a bad place, but it is not the first choice of anyone he has spoken to, and all want to go somewhere else.
Company response
Mikael Petterson, Villa Vie's founder and executive chairman, said he is the villain in the story but is doing everything he can. He said nobody that has tried residential cruising has succeeded, and they have gone further than anyone else. He said he thinks they would have been absolutely fine and would have seen the voyage through if there was no Iran war.
