Passengers Stranded by ‘Never-Ending’ Cruise Speak Out After Being Forced to Leave the Ship: ‘It Was a Magical Way to Live’

Madison E. GoldbergThu, October 29, 2026 at 2:18 AM UTC

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Villa Vie Residences’ cruise ship OdysseyCredit: Suy Se/AFP via Getty -

About 200 residents were given less than 24 hours to leave Villa Vie Residency’s Odyssey cruise ship in Cambodia on Wednesday, Oct. 28

Villa Vie Residency cited soaring fuel costs linked to the war in Iran as the reason for abruptly ceasing operations

The ship had promised residents visits to 147 countries over three years, the BBC reported

Several passengers who were left stranded in Cambodia after their “never-ending” residential cruise ship halted operations are speaking out.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Florida-based company Villa Vie Residency’s Odyssey cruise ship gave 200 passengers less than 24 hours’ notice that they would need to pack their things and leave the ship in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, The New York Times reported.

The company had taken “significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port,” Villa Vie Residency said in a statement to the BBC. However, these steps were not enough to “offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs.”

“Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution,” Villa Vie Residency told the BBC.

Cabins on the ship were available for rent or sale, according to NBC News. Pamela Reckamp, a rental resident with her husband, told the outlet she suspected the voyage would end soon after the ship appeared to run into similar fuel issues in Vietnam in September.

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Passengers attended a meeting in September led by a company official who asked cabin owners to help them raise $1 million so they could leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, Rechamp, 59, told NBC News.

“She said, ‘If we don’t get this money, we have about four days of the ship running. Then the lights will go off and the AC will go off,’ ” she told NBC News.

The rising fuel prices are attributed to the ongoing war in Iran, which has significantly impacted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“It was a magical way to live,” passenger Holly Hennessey told the BBC. “And I have zero regret. It’s unfortunate that there was a war, and a fuel situation that put nails in our coffin.”

The ship had initially promised it would bring passengers to 147 countries in three years, according to the outlet.

PEOPLE has reached out to Villa Vie Residency.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”