MV Odyssey Leaves 200 Passengers Stranded In Cambodia After Villa Vie Suspends Operations

Odyssey cut short

The MV Odyssey suspended its around-the-world voyage in Cambodia and left 200 passengers stranded after Villa Vie Residences said it had “suspended its operations in Cambodia” while it tried to deal with “extraordinary increases” in fuel costs tied to the war in Iran. Long Dimanche, vice-governor of Preah Sihanouk province, said 203 passengers and 156 crew members arrived on October 23 aboard the vessel at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville and were supposed to continue on to Vietnam. Villa Vie Residences said the cruise planned to refuel and sail on October 31, but passengers had only seven hours to pack and disembark during the stop in Sihanoukville.

Randy Cassingham, a passenger who runs a cruise blog, wrote that the disembarkation order came after a “string of problems” and stated that the company was doing “absolutely nothing to help” the stranded passengers. The operator argued that monthly fuel costs per cabin had risen from about US$1,800 to an estimated US$6,000–US$8,000 in some regions of Asia, and it said it could not simply pass those increases on to residents.

Reporting for this sectionFolha de S.PauloEl Mundo

Disembarkation dispute

Villa Vie Residences told passengers it was working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and find temporary housing solutions, but passengers said they received no support and had to make their own arrangements after being given seven hours’ notice. AP reported that the MV Odyssey was docked at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port in Sihanoukville, and Cambodian officials said the ship was carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members. Frances Paroissien, a passenger from the U.S. cruise ship MV Odyssey, sat for an interview at the Independence Hotel in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, during the visit with passengers.

Paul and Lynn Montoya, a retired couple from Wyoming, said they bought a window cabin and expected to sail for years, and Lynn said residents were repeatedly asked to contribute additional money for fuel and other expenses. Lynn Montoya said, “We were tired of every two to four weeks being asked for money for fuel, money for everything,” and she added that crew members were also not paid.

Reporting for this sectionAP NewsNDTV

Money, health, and next steps

Villa Vie Residences said it sought to reduce fuel consumption by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but it said it was unable to offset the surging costs and that it had been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses.

The Guardian reported that the company’s statement said “Extraordinary increases in fuel costs have placed our current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,” and it said the operator was working with residents on “temporary living arrangements” while it evaluated restructuring and recapitalization alternatives over the next 60 days.

The Guardian also said the ship was docked at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand, with a departure date still unclear, and it said the monthly fuel cost per cabin in parts of Asia had risen to as much as $8,000 from $1,800.

Randy Cassingham wrote that the cancellation “It of course didn’t come from out of the blue,” and he said it was “a cascade of problems piling up on one another” including mistakes by management and the crisis in fuel cost and availability.

Carol Larson, 69, told the Associated Press she bought her cabin for $120,000 and paid in installments with additional monthly maintenance fees under a program that offered her the option of living onboard the ship for up to 15 years, and she said, “I still feel that way. I feel blessed to have been part of the experiment of residential cruising.”

Reporting for this sectionThe Guardian