Cruise ship residents stranded in Cambodia as operator suspends operations

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia – Around 200 passengers who paid to live aboard a cruise ship while travelling the world were abruptly left in a Cambodian port after the company ran out of money, an official said on Wednesday.

US-based operator Villa Vie Residences announced on Tuesday that it had “suspended operations in Cambodia” as it worked to address “extraordinary increases” in fuel costs following the Iran war.

The 200-metre (656-foot) Odyssey left Northern Ireland in October 2024 for a continuous voyage, offering residents the option to buy or rent rooms for a holiday or for life. Some passengers sold everything they owned to pay for the arrangement.

However, passengers were given just seven hours to pack their bags and leave during a scheduled stop at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, according to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province.

In a statement, he said 203 guests and 156 crew members had arrived aboard the Bahamas-flagged ship from Thailand on Oct 23 and were due to continue to Vietnam.

“The sudden order to disembark has left many retirees and remote workers homeless thousands of miles from their home countries,” he said.

Some passengers took flights out of the country while others remained in the city, he said, adding that the ship was due to refuel and leave on Oct 31.

Randy Cassingham, a passenger who runs a cruise blog, wrote that the disembarkation order followed a “cascade of problems”.

In a post titled “Abandon Ship!”, he said the ship's departure from Belfast had been delayed by four months and that it never reached its capacity of 650 residents, peaking at around 350.

He said it was not a “luxury” ship but an affordable option, until the company started “begging for money”.

Villa Vie said in its statement that monthly fuel expenses per cabin had risen from an average of US$1,800 to an estimated US$6,000 to US$8,000 in parts of Asia.

“The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,” it said.

Cassingham accused the company of doing “absolutely nothing to help” stranded passengers.

Villa Vie said it was “working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements”.

“Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop,” it said. –AFP