Villa Vie’s Residents Deserved a Better Exit Plan

Villa Vie Odyssey’s residents were told to leave the ship in Cambodia by 2 p.m. Residents say they had seven hours’ notice. No date has been set for them to return.

That is a painfully abrupt way to suspend a service sold as a long-term home. I would expect a residential cruise operator’s shutdown plan to put accommodation ashore near the top of the list. Whether Villa Vie delivered meaningful help is now disputed, and the company’s search for fresh capital does nothing to settle that immediate problem.

The Florida-based operator suspended Odyssey’s world voyage at Sihanoukville on Tuesday, October 27, forcing 203 residents to disembark roughly two years after the ship began sailing. Villa Vie blamed escalating fuel costs that it said it could no longer absorb.

Its figures describe a serious operating problem. The company estimates monthly fuel expenditure in parts of Asia has reached $6,000 to $8,000 per cabin, against a historical average of about $1,800. Executive Chairman Mikael Petterson attributed the increase to the war in Iran. Restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began have constrained petroleum supplies, particularly in Southeast Asia, and pushed prices higher.

Slowing the itinerary and spending longer in port had not brought costs under control, Petterson said.

“We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” he said. “Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.”

Those numbers explain why sailing became difficult. They do not answer where residents were supposed to sleep once the ship closed to them.

The disputed help ashore

Odyssey arrived on October 23 for a five-day call before a planned departure for Vietnam, according to Sihanoukville Autonomous Port. Its passengers represented 15 nationalities, mostly Americans, and were accompanied by 156 crew members.

An onboard notice published by resident Randy Cassingham on his Residential Cruising blog set the 2 p.m. disembarkation deadline. It said the vessel would enter temporary layup because fuel could not be secured. Crew would remain aboard to maintain the ship and its essential systems.

Residents unable to remove all their belongings immediately could arrange a return through Guest Services, with shuttle access continuing until 6 p.m. the following day. That provided some breathing room for luggage. It did not resolve accommodation.

Villa Vie said it was coordinating disembarkation and helping identify temporary accommodation. Cassingham disputed that account, saying residents were transported into central Sihanoukville.

“They didn’t even give us a list of hotels, let alone help us get there or pay for them,” he wrote.

Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said some passengers had flown out while others remained in the city. He expected the ship to refuel and leave Cambodia on Saturday, although Villa Vie had not publicly confirmed that departure. A departure for the vessel would not, by itself, establish when residents could move back aboard.

Years aboard, with more requests for money

The commitments residents made help explain why this disruption carries more weight than a cancelled cruise.

Villa Vie marketed lifetime-of-the-vessel suite purchases starting at approximately $230,000. Other arrangements cost less. California resident Carol Larson said she paid $120,000 in installments, plus monthly maintenance charges, under a plan offering the possibility of living aboard for up to 15 years.

The approximately 25,000-gross-ton Odyssey was built in 1993 and previously sailed as Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Braemar. Villa Vie acquired it in 2023 and prepared it in Belfast for residential cruising. Cambodian officials put its current residential capacity at 650.

Repairs delayed its departure by roughly four months before the voyage began in October 2024. The initial itinerary covered three and a half years and all seven continents, while residents could potentially remain aboard much longer.

Some residents say problems had been building before Cambodia. Paul Montoya, a retired Wyoming resident who bought a window cabin with his wife, Lynn, cited itinerary changes, unreliable internet and deteriorating food quality as reasons residents had left in recent months.

Lynn Montoya said the latest request was for money to fund the ship’s departure from Cambodia. She also alleged that crew members had not been paid.

“We were tired of every two to four weeks being asked for money for fuel, money for everything,” she said.

Villa Vie did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Some residents remain attached to the project. Larson, who had lived aboard for 18 months, considered the experience worthwhile and hoped residents could purchase the ship. Cassingham also told AFP he would return if operations resumed. Their willingness to go back matters. It does not make the uncertainty over accommodation or refunds any less pressing.

A financing timetable is not a housing solution

Petterson said Villa Vie would pursue restructuring and recapitalisation over the next 60 days. No financing arrangement or transaction has been completed.

“That work is ongoing, and no outcome is assured,” he cautioned.

That is a necessary warning about the company’s prospects. Before asking residents for another contribution, Villa Vie owes them a concrete account of what support is available ashore and what must happen before they can return. People who paid for years aboard should not be left arranging their lives around an unfunded restart.