Villa Vie Residences orders The Odyssey to dock in Cambodia as fuel costs spike

Villa Vie Residences, a Florida-based company, halted operations for The Odyssey, a 642-foot residential cruise ship, on Tuesday. The vessel is currently docked in Cambodia. The company ordered passengers to disembark because soaring fuel costs made continued operation unaffordable.

The Odyssey launched from Belfast three years ago with a promise of luxury travel. Cabins on the ship were available for sale or rent. The company stated the vessel can accommodate 650 residents. It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard on Tuesday or at which specific location in Cambodia they disembarked.

Mikael Petterson, an executive at Villa Vie Residences, declined to provide additional details in an email to NBC News. Earlier this year, Petterson announced that The Odyssey was 85% sold. In July, he said, “When we launched Odyssey, we set out to prove that residential cruising wasn’t just possible, it was sustainable.”

Global oil prices have surged since the war with Iran began earlier this year. This conflict disrupted the world’s flow of fuel. Oil prices climbed to their highest levels since spring earlier this month. The company said it took measures to reduce fuel consumption, but those steps failed to offset the cost spike.

In a news release, Villa Vie Residences said it was working to identify “temporary living arrangements” for the people aboard. The company noted that passing the full increase on to residents was not a realistic solution. It said its focus is on supporting residents, crew, and employees while it works toward restructuring and recapitalization over the next 60 days. The release added that no outcome is assured.

Randy Cassingham, a resident on the boat, learned his journey was over after a company official posted a note on a message board shortly after 7 a.m. local time Monday. The message stated that The Odyssey was entering a “temporary lay up” period. Everyone had to disembark by 2 p.m. that day. Cassingham, who runs ResidentialCruising.com, attributed the development to a “cascade of problems.”

Pamela Reckamp, 59, rented a cabin on The Odyssey with her husband and disembarked earlier this month. She said she was not surprised that the ship’s journey was over. Reckamp recalled a meeting in early September where a company official asked cabin owners to help raise $1 million to leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The official warned that if the money was not raised, they had about four days of the ship running before the lights and air conditioning would go off.

During a meeting a few weeks later, a woman stood up and said she had bought a cabin in August and had not been aware of the financial issues. “I sold my house,” Reckamp recalled the woman saying. “I sold my car. I bought my home on this ship.” Reckamp said she felt terrible for the residents and staff, adding that they were lovely. “We dodged a bullet,” she said.

A company that bought a cabin on The Odyssey for $469,000 filed a lawsuit last year accusing Villa Vie Residences of fraud. The suit alleges the ship operator misrepresented its financial stability. The plaintiffs argue the business model was precarious rather than financially sound. They are asking for a jury trial and unspecified damages of more than $100,000. Villa Vie Residences denied the allegations in the ongoing suit.

The company said in 2024 that prospective residents could secure a cabin starting at $119,000, even though the ship was 85% sold. Villa Vie Residences did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night.