SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — A United States cruise ship on a residential round-the-world voyage has suspended its operations in Cambodia because of soaring fuel costs, forcing the 203 passengers who lived aboard to abandon their floating homes, the Associated Press reported.

Source: Associated Press via KCAU 9

The Odyssey, operated by Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, docked at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on October 23 for what was meant to be a five-day visit, the port said in a statement. The ship was due to sail on to Vietnam, but it was still sitting in the Cambodian port on Wednesday, and passengers have been told to leave. The ship carried 203 passengers of 15 nationalities, most of them Americans, along with 156 crew, against a capacity of 650 residents, AP said.

The fuel bill that sank the voyage

Villa Vie said monthly fuel expenses per cabin that historically averaged about $1,800 have recently reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia during the war in Iran. The company said it tried to cut fuel use by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but could not offset the surge. “We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” it said. “Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution. Our focus now is on supporting residents, crew, and employees” while it tries to restructure.

Put simply: fuel that once cost about $1,800 per cabin per month — yaani roughly ₹1.6 lakh — now costs up to $8,000, yaani roughly ₹7 lakh a month for a single cabin. That is more than four times as much, on a ship whose residents had already paid for their homes up front.

Hours to pack up a home

For the people aboard, the end came fast. An internal notice posted on Monday morning, as published by long-term resident Randy Cassingham and reported by cruise-industry outlets, told residents the ship would enter a temporary layup that afternoon and that all residents must disembark by 2 p.m., with crew staying aboard to maintain the vessel. Many residents had sold or given up their homes on land to live at sea, turning the sudden stop into a housing emergency rather than a simple change of itinerary.

Bloomberg reported that Villa Vie founder Mikael Petterson said the company is covering lodging and local transportation for disembarked residents, but has not provided funding for passengers to fly out of Cambodia. About 200 residents were on board when the company asked them to disembark, he said.

Source: Bloomberg Law

What happens next

Villa Vie confirmed the suspension in a statement on Tuesday, October 27, saying it will spend the next 60 days evaluating restructuring and recapitalisation options — and warning that no outcome is assured. AP said the status of the crew was unclear. The Odyssey had a confirmed itinerary into November 2027, and the company had planned a second residential ship for early 2029; Tuesday's statement did not address that second ship.

The Odyssey set sail from Belfast in October 2024 on a three-and-a-half-year voyage to the seven continents, marketed as combining long-term living at sea with global travel, and was more than 750 days into the journey, BBC News reported. Cabins were sold as long-term homes, at prices reported by Bloomberg to range from $120,000 to $440,000 — yaani roughly ₹1 crore to ₹3.9 crore for a home that now sits in layup in Cambodia.

Source: BBC News via World Right Now