Sihanoukville: A US cruise ship on an around-the-world voyage that touted its cabins as floating homes suspended its three-year voyage in Cambodia due to fuel costs, forcing hundreds of passengers to disembark.
The MV Odyssey set sail two years ago on a voyage to the seven continents marketed as combining long-term living at sea with global travel.
Its operator had offered to “make the Odyssey your permanent home”, with the purchase price of a suite for the lifetime of the vessel starting around USD 230,000.
The 650-passenger capacity ship has been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members, according to Cambodian officials.
The cruise began its journey from Northern Ireland in 2024.
Its Florida-based operator, Villa Vie Residences, said monthly fuel expenses per cabin that historically averaged USD 1,800 have reached an estimated USD 6,000 to USD 8,000 in parts of Asia due to the war in Iran.
The company said it sought to reduce fuel consumption by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but was unable to offset the surging costs.
Traffic has been curtailed in the Strait of Hormuz since the war in Iran began, squeezing supplies of all kinds of petroleum-based fuels.
“We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” Villa Vie Residences said in a statement issued Tuesday.
“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.
“The company is working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements,” it said.
Passengers, however, said they received no support and had to make their own arrangements after being given seven hours’ notice Tuesday to disembark.
Paul and Lynn Montoya, a retired couple from Wyoming, said they bought a window cabin and had expected to sail for years.
They boarded the ship 17 months ago in Panama.
Paul praised the concept of residential cruising but said the shipowner lacked the expertise to make the business financially sustainable.
While rising fuel costs had been cited publicly as the reason for the suspension, he said the company had already been struggling.
Changes to itinerary, unreliable internet access and declining food quality had pushed many residents to leave the ship in recent months, he said.
The ship arrived in Sihanoukville last Friday and was scheduled to depart Wednesday, according to a statement from Long Dimanche, the deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province.
He said it was now expected to refuel and depart Cambodia Saturday, but the ship’s operator has not yet publicly confirmed any date.
