Fuel bills hit $8,000 a month, halting 200 passenger cruise

The MV Odyssey has stopped its around-the-world journey, leaving 200 residents stranded in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, with no confirmed departure date.

The ship, which began its current voyage in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in October 2024, was marketed as a permanent residence at sea. Villa Vie Residences, the Florida-based operator, sold lifetime suite passes starting at approximately $230,000. The vessel now carries 203 passengers, primarily Americans, and 156 crew members, though it is designed to hold 650 people.

Fuel costs drove the suspension. Monthly expenses per cabin historically averaged $1,800. In parts of Asia, those costs reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 due to the war in Iran. Traffic restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz squeezed petroleum supplies and sharply increased prices in Southeast Asia. The company said slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port failed to offset the losses. It stated that passing the full increase to residents was not realistic.

Villa Vie Residences said it is restructuring and focusing on supporting residents, crew, and employees. The company noted it has been unable to continue carrying the operating losses.

Residents received seven hours of notice on Tuesday to disembark. Paul and Lynn Montoya, a retired couple from Wyoming who boarded in Panama 17 months ago, said they bought a window cabin expecting to sail for years. Paul praised the residential cruising concept but said the owner lacked the expertise to make the business financially sustainable.

Lynn Montoya said residents were repeatedly asked for additional money for fuel and other expenses. Crew members were also not paid. "We were tired of every two to four weeks being asked for money for fuel, money for everything," she said. "We had hopes but they just kept sinking further and further into the hole through mismanagement."

Carol Larson, 69, and her sister Crystal Lavering, 72, lived in separate cabins for 18 months. They described the suspension as heartbreaking. Larson said she hopes a movement for residents to buy the ship succeeds. "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," she said.

Long Dimanche, the deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said the ship arrived last Friday and was originally scheduled to depart Wednesday. He said it is now expected to refuel and leave Cambodia on Saturday. The ship, built in 1993, was purchased by Villa Vie Residences in 2023 after being becalmed by the pandemic in 2020. The current cruise was intended to last three and a half years, with a second voyage tentatively scheduled to end in August 2030.