Luxury cruise passengers stranded in Cambodia due to soaring fuel costs
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The Villa Vie Odyssey was more than 750 days into its voyage around the world when it came to a stop in Cambodia A luxury cruise ship on a years-long voyage around the world said it suspended operations due to extraordinarily high fuel costs, leaving passengers stranded in Cambodia.
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The US-based operator of Villa Vie Odyssey said it was working with passengers on disembarkation plans and "temporary living arrangements".
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It is unclear how many were on board but the nearly 200m (656ft) vessel can carry up to 650 passengers.
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It departed Belfast in October 2024 for a "continuous voyage around the world". Global fuel prices have soared since the Iran war started earlier this year.
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The ship's operator said the monthly fuel cost per cabin in parts of Asia has risen to as much as $8,000 (£6,000) from $1,800. The company said it had taken "significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port".
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But those measures turned out to be insufficient to "offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs". "Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution," it said.
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The company would spend the next 60 days on "restructuring and recapitalisation", though "no outcome is assured", it said.
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There were reportedly around 200 passengers on board when they were ordered to disembark in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, a once sleepy beach town that has gained global notoriety in recent years as a hub for scam centres.
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The Villa Vie Odyssey's voyage was expected to span 3.5 years and cover nearly 150 countries, according to its website.
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Its departure had faced delays as the ship underwent repairs, leaving passengers stranded in Belfast for months and costing the company millions of pounds.
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The ship was more than 750 days into its circumnavigation before announcing its suspension of its journey on Tuesday - which means its passengers would now be stranded in Cambodia.
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Cruise passenger Holly Hennessey and her cat, Captain, have now found themselves in Cambodia "It was not on my bingo card of places where I'd be spending a lot of time," one passenger, Holly Hennessey, told the BBC from Cambodia.
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"We're all in different hotels; there are a number of shipmates in the hotel that I'm in.
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We're just waiting."
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The Villa Vie Odyssey is equipped with several bars and restaurants, a pool deck and a pickleball court, according to its website. Permanent residencies in its cabins range from $120,000 to $440,000.
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These cabins are also also available for rent from $3,500 a month.
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Last year, the company launched a lifetime residence programme for people to spend their retirement years at sea. In 2024, days after US President Donald Trump won his second term, Villa Vie Residences announced a four-year "Skip Forward" package.
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Its CEO told Fox Business at the time that it was the "perfect product for those who said they'd leave the country if 'XYZ' wins the election".
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Hennessey said the ship's residents had earlier been asked to consider paying a fuel surcharge as global prices soared, and that their itinerary had been "severely curtailed". Some people decided to disembark and travel on land, she said.
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But some, like Hennessey, have decided to stick around in Cambodia in the hopes that the Villa Vie Odyssey will set sail again soon. "Until they say we are done - done done - I am not giving up.
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I could never duplicate this lifestyle.
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The idea of going home? It would be so trite," she said. "Cambodia's not the worst place to hang out." Are you affected by issues covered in this story?
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Are you a passenger on the Villa Vie Odyssey?
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