Odyssey Cruise Ship Halts in Cambodia as Fuel Costs Rise

Residents of a residential cruise ship were ordered to leave their homes on Tuesday after the vessel halted operations in Cambodia. The U.S. company that operates the ship, Villa Vie Residences, issued a news release stating that soaring fuel costs forced the pause. The company is now searching for temporary living arrangements for the passengers.

The Odyssey, a 642-foot ship, launched from Belfast three years ago. It was designed to carry 650 residents who bought or rented cabins while touring the planet. It is not clear how many people were aboard when the ship stopped or exactly where in Cambodia they disembarked. Mikael Petterson, an executive with Villa Vie Residences, declined to provide further details in an email.

Global oil prices have surged since the war with Iran began earlier this year. This conflict disrupted the world’s flow of fuel, pushing prices to their highest levels since spring. The company said it took measures to reduce fuel consumption, but those steps did not offset the cost spike. It stated that passing the full increase on to residents was not a realistic solution.

Randy Cassingham, a resident on the boat, said he learned his journey was over after a company official posted a note on a message board shortly after 7 a.m. local time on Monday. The message stated the ship was entering a temporary lay up period and that everyone had to disembark by 2 p.m. that day. Cassingham, who runs ResidentialCruising.com, attributed the development to a cascade of problems.

Pamela Reckamp, 59, rented a cabin on the Odyssey with her husband and disembarked earlier this month. She said she was not surprised the ship’s journey had ended. Reckamp recalled attending a meeting in early September where a company official asked cabin owners to help raise $1 million to leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The official warned that without the money, the ship would have about four days of fuel left before the lights and air conditioning went off.

During a meeting a few weeks later, Reckamp said a woman who bought a cabin in August stood up to say she had not been made aware of the financial issues. The woman said she sold her house and car to buy a home on the ship. Reckamp said she felt terrible for the residents and staff, calling them lovely. She added that she felt they dodged a bullet.

A lawsuit filed last year alleges that Villa Vie Residences misrepresented its financial stability to cabin buyers. One company bought a cabin for $469,000 and accused the operator of fraud, claiming the business model was precarious rather than sound. The plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial and damages of more than $100,000. Villa Vie Residences denied the allegations in the ongoing suit.

The company said in 2024 that prospective residents could secure a home on the ship starting at $119,000, even though 85% of the cabins were already sold. Petterson said in July that the company set out to prove residential cruising was sustainable. Villa Vie Residences did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night.