A US cruise company offering lifelong voyages around the world has run out of funds and abruptly halted its global voyage, leaving 203 foreign passengers stranded at Cambodia’s Sihanoukville port.
AFP reported that US-based cruise operator Villa Vie Residences announced on Tuesday (27 October) that it had decided to suspend operations to address a financial crisis, as the war in Iran had driven up fuel costs.
The Bahamas-flagged, 200-m-long Odyssey set sail from Northern Ireland in October 2024 on a voyage around the world. Carrying 203 passengers and 156 crew members, the ship arrived in Sihanoukville from Thailand on 23 October and had been scheduled to leave for Vietnam on Wednesday (28 October), but its voyage was abruptly halted.
Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said passengers were suddenly told on Tuesday that they had seven hours to pack their belongings and disembark. “The sudden order to disembark has left many retirees and remote workers homeless thousands of miles from their home countries.”
He said some passengers had flown out, while others remained in the area awaiting arrangements. The ship was expected to leave port on 31 October after refuelling.
Marketed as a “never-ending journey”, the cruise allowed passengers to make the ship their home while travelling around the world. Some had sold all their possessions to pay for their passage and now faced hardship following the suspension.
The cruise company explained that average fuel costs per cabin had soared from US$1,800 (about S$2,430) to between US$6,000 and US$8,000. It had tried to reduce fuel consumption by sailing more slowly and extending port stays, but these measures had not been enough to offset rising costs.
The statement said the company could no longer absorb operating losses, nor could it pass all the additional costs on to passengers. It was coordinating passengers’ disembarkation and seeking temporary accommodation for them while pursuing a restructuring of its business.
Passenger Randy Cassingham, who runs a cruise blog, wrote that the order to disembark was the outcome of a “cascade of problems”, and accused the company of providing “absolutely no help” to stranded passengers.
In a blog post titled "Abandon Ship!", he wrote that the ship’s maiden voyage from Belfast had been delayed by four months. Although it could accommodate 650 residents, it had never been full, with only about 350 people on board at its peak.
He also said it was not a luxury cruise ship and had been reasonably affordable until the company began “begging for money”.
