Hundreds Stranded in Cambodia as Residential Cruise Ship Suspends Operations Over Fuel Costs

The MV Odyssey is tied up at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, and the people who lived aboard it have been told to leave. Passengers on the residential cruise ship were given seven hours to disembark. Many of them had bought their cabins as permanent homes.

The ship left Belfast, Northern Ireland, in October 2024, after a refit there. It was marketed as a world voyage to the seven continents that combined long-term living at sea with travel. Its Florida-based operator, Villa Vie Residences, invited buyers to make the Odyssey their permanent home. Suites for the lifetime of the vessel started at around US$230,000 (about A$326,556).

Cambodian officials say the ship has been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members. It can hold 650 passengers. It has now suspended operations, and there is no certain departure date.

Villa Vie blames fuel costs. The company says monthly fuel expenses per cabin, which historically averaged US$1800, have climbed to an estimated US$6000 to US$8000 in parts of Asia because of the war in Iran. It says it tried to cut consumption by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but that was not enough to offset the increase. In a statement, the company said it could no longer carry the resulting operating losses, and that passing the full increase on to residents was not a realistic solution. It says it is focused on supporting residents, crew and employees while it tries to restructure, and that it is working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and find temporary living arrangements.

Passengers describe something different. They say they received no support and had to make their own arrangements after the seven-hour notice. Some were devastated, and some hope a new company will step in and rescue the venture so life at sea can continue.

Paul and Lynn Montoya, a retired couple from Wyoming, had bought a window cabin and expected to sail for years. They boarded 17 months ago in Panama. Paul still praises the idea of residential cruising, but says the shipowner lacked the expertise to make it financially sustainable. He says fuel costs were the public explanation, yet the company was already struggling. In recent months, he says, itinerary changes, unreliable internet and declining food quality pushed many residents to leave the ship.

Lynn says residents were repeatedly asked for extra money for fuel and other expenses, including a fresh request to raise funds for fuel to get out of Cambodia. She says crew members were not paid either. "We were tired of every two to four weeks being asked for money for fuel, money for everything," she said, adding that the company kept sinking deeper through mismanagement.

The company could not immediately be reached for comment on the passengers' accounts. What to watch next is whether a new operator takes over the Odyssey, and what happens to the prepaid lifetime cabin purchases of residents now ashore in Cambodia.