Business & Finance
Villa Vie Odyssey Stranded in Cambodia, Residents Ordered to Disembark
For the past two years, Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin have posted about life aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey, a cruise ship that was sailing around the world until it ran out of fuel in Cambodia. The couple, along with hundreds of other residents, were shocked when the ship was ordered to disembark in Sihanoukville. The vessel has been stranded because it cannot afford fuel, which Villa Vie Residences says has risen as much as four‑fold since the Iran War. In a YouTube video on Tuesday, Johan said the Odyssey was ordering all passengers to leave by 2 p.m. that day. “I don’t want to leave,” Lanette replied. About 200 residents were aboard the 650‑passenger ship when the disembarkation order was issued. Villa Vie founder Mikael Petterson told a telephone interview that the company will cover lodging and local transportation, but not the cost of travel out of Cambodia. The company stated it recognizes the situation is difficult and disruptive for residents, crew members, and employees.
The Odyssey’s troubles reflect the impact of the U.S. war on Iran, which this week pushed Brent crude above $115 a barrel. The company sells cabins for permanent residency at prices ranging from under $130,000 to $440,000, plus monthly fees of $2,000 to $10,000. The ship began its world voyage in October 2024, visiting Thailand before arriving in Cambodia. It was next scheduled to go to Vietnam, with long‑term plans to travel to destinations such as Casablanca, the Caribbean, Greenland, Madagascar and Melbourne.
In the two months before the order, residents were repeatedly told the company was short of money, then given hope that investors or other solutions were on the way. When those plans fell through, the cycle began again. Residents were divided over how to save the ship. Petterson said residents had balked at a request to contribute toward fuel for the ship’s departure. Villa Vie proposed an extra $500 a month, plus a fuel surcharge, and was seeking financing. Fuel costs had risen from a historical average of about $1,800 per cabin a month to as much as $8,000 in parts of Asia. Fuel pushed monthly costs to $3 million, and the company is considering a financial restructuring and seeking new funding over the next 60 days.
The Odyssey never operated at full capacity. Resident Randy Cassingham, who documented his time aboard on his Residential Cruising blog, said the ship probably peaked at around 350 cabins, with about 200 still active at the end. He criticized Villa Vie for doing little to help the stranded passengers.
For some people who had looked into buying a cabin, the Odyssey’s stranding confirmed their decision to wait. A Reddit user said an aunt had planned to sell her home to buy one, but put the plan on hold after family members raised concerns. Several users also questioned whether the ship’s business model could work without a steady stream of new cabin buyers and payments from current residents.
The ship originally left Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a “continuous” voyage around the world, according to the company’s website. Johan said he and Lanette had hoped to live aboard for 15 years or more, and that they valued their two years at sea but worried about people who had joined recently or invested their savings and retirement income.
Holly Hennessy has been traveling the world aboard the Odyssey with her cat, Captain, narrating their journey on a Facebook page called Captain the Cruising Kitty. Her posts capture their unexpected life ashore, with Captain on a bed at Sihanoukville’s Independence Hotel, where Jacqueline Kennedy once stayed, and riding through the city in a tuk‑tuk. “We’ve had a few months to anticipate this happening; most shipmates have gotten to a place of acceptance,” Hennessy said. “It’s still utterly heartbreaking though.”