The owner of a 'never-ending cruise' has spoken out after passengers claimed they were left stranded in Cambodia. Villa Vie Residences founder and executive chairman Mikael Petterson said he felt "awful" about the situation, as the Villa Vie Odyssey remains docked at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville with no confirmed departure date.
The ship's round-the-world journey halted earlier this week. It set sail two years ago on a voyage to the seven continents, marketed as combining long-term living at sea with global travel. The operator had offered to "make the Odyssey your permanent home," with the purchase price of a suite for the lifetime of the vessel starting around $230,000 (approximately £171,000).
Passengers Left to Make Own Arrangements
The ship was carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members, according to Cambodian officials. It has a 650-passenger capacity. Passengers allege they received no support and had to make their own arrangements after being given seven hours' notice to disembark on Tuesday. One passenger, Randy Cassingham, claimed they had been "dumped" in Cambodia.
A day after passengers made their way on shore, Petterson spoke to reporters. "I feel awful," he said when reached by phone Wednesday, Business Insider reported. "I'm the villain in the story, but I'm doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution." Petterson said letting passengers down was "incredibly deflating."
Fuel Costs Cited as Cause
He added: "Nobody that's tried residential cruising has succeeded, and we've gone further than anyone else. But I think we would have been absolutely fine - and we would have seen this through - if there was no Iran war."
In a statement released on Tuesday, Villa Vie Residences said monthly fuel expenses had rocketed in the wake of the US and Israel invasion of Iran. The per-cabin costs that historically averaged $1,800 (£1,340) reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia, the company said. The company said it sought to reduce fuel consumption by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but was unable to offset the surging costs.
Petterson told CBS News that the firm would "likely file for Chapter 11 here any day, right, which will put a stay on that while we go through the restructure process." CBS reported that sources claimed crew members had to buy food from local supermarkets to feed passengers because the company owed money to a food vendor that would no longer deliver food. A Villa Vie insider told the Express that staff had used a corporate credit card for provisions at times, but that all staff had now been paid.
Passengers Describe Heartbreak
Paul and Lynn Montoya, a retired couple from Wyoming, told AP News they bought a window cabin and had expected to sail for years. They boarded the ship 17 months ago in Panama. Changes to itinerary, unreliable internet access and declining food quality had pushed many residents to leave the ship in recent months, he claimed.
Carol Larson, 69, and her sister Crystal Lavering, 72, occupied separate cabins aboard the ship for 18 months. The siblings, from California, described the suspension as heartbreaking, and hoped the cruise would be resuscitated. "I hope there is a movement for the residents to buy the ship and I am hoping that goes through because it's a dream to live on the ship and I don't want it to end," Larson said.
The ship arrived in Sihanoukville last Friday and had been scheduled to depart Wednesday, according to a statement from Long Dimanche, the deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province. He said it was now expected to refuel and depart Cambodia on Saturday, but the ship's operator has not yet publicly confirmed any date.
Built in 1993 and operated under different names by several cruise lines over the years before being becalmed by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Odyssey was bought by Villa Vie Residences in 2023. Its current cruise, originally intended to last 3 1/2 years, began in October 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the ship had been refitted. A second cruise had been tentatively scheduled to end in August 2030.
