ABANDON SHIP! The Villa Vie Odyssey, a cruise ship on a years-long “continuous voyage around the world,” has suspended operations over sky-high fuel costs, leaving passengers stranded in Cambodia, the BBC reported.
The US-based operator, Villa Vie Residences, says the monthly fuel cost per cabin in parts of Asia has jumped to as much as $8,000, up from $1,800, as global fuel prices soared after the Iran war began. Slowing down and sitting in port longer didn’t cover it, and the company said “passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.”
Roughly 200 passengers were reportedly aboard when they were ordered off in Sihanoukville. Passengers Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin told the BBC the chief executive told them at 6am on Tuesday that they had to leave by 2pm. “It felt like our dream had been crushed,” they said.
The ship left Belfast in October 2024, after months of repair delays, on a trip meant to span 3.5 years and nearly 150 countries. It was more than 750 days in. The company now plans 60 days of “restructuring and recapitalisation,” and says “no outcome is assured.”
Passenger Holly Hennessey summed it up: “It was not on my bingo card of places where I’d be spending a lot of time.”
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC News
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