For some, living full-time on a cruise ship is a dream come true. And while it’s a relatively small niche of cruising compared to your classic sailing to the Caribbean, there are residential cruise ships where passengers live aboard full-time. These ships sail around the world with residents who either live aboard permanently or for an extended period.
But one ship just hit a major roadblock, suspending operations and leaving passengers scrambling for what to do next.
Villa Vie Residences, the line behind the Villa Vie Odyssey residential cruise ship, announced on Tuesday that it “has suspended operations in Cambodia as the company works to address extraordinary increases in fuel costs and evaluate restructuring and recapitalization alternatives.”
According to the company, “monthly fuel expense that historically averaged approximately $1,800 [per cabin] has recently reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia.”
Villa Vie’s press release about the situation says that they cannot pass along such large increases to those onboard, and that “the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure.”
As a result, the company suspended operations and reportedly had to debark about 200 passengers from the ship on short notice. Business Insider reports a couple onboard were told at 6 a.m. that they would need to be disembarked by 2 p.m. the same day.
One passenger, Randy Cunningham, lived aboard Villa Vie Odyssey and wrote about his experience at ResidentialCrusing.com.
Mr. Cunningham says that company has offered limited assistance to passengers forced to leave the ship.
“The company has done absolutely nothing to help: we couldn’t even walk out of the port, so there were shuttle buses that dropped us in the middle of town, Sihanoukville, Cambodia, the end. They didn’t even give us a list of hotels, let alone help us get there or pay for them,” he wrote in a post.
He later updated the situation, saying that the company offered a charter flight to the United States (at a reported cost of $1,100 per person), as well as passport assistance and a list of hotels, although this reportedly came a day after having to leave the ship.
Cunningham says he plans to go to Thailand following the ordeal but he says other’s aren’t sure what they will do.
“A few are shell-shocked because they spent the majority of their nest-eggs to be here, and don’t know how or where they’ll live,” Cunningham wrote.
Despite how the trip ended, he still insists that the mood overall is “it was a fantastic adventure and it was great while it lasted.”
Villa Vie Odyssey first set sail in 2024. According to the company website, permanent residency onboard starts at $119,999 with a $5,000 per month monthly fee for a couple. Balcony cabins are shown for $329,999 with a $9,000 monthly fee.
There are also 5-year residency options starting at $59,999 plus monthly fees.
Before ceasing operations in Cambodia, the cruise had been scheduled to visit Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia over the next month. In total, the ship’s plan was for a 3.5 year circumnavigation of the globe with 425+ ports of call in 147 countries.
