Passengers on a live-aboard round-the-world cruise say they were abruptly asked to leave the ship and given only hours to disembark.
Villa Vie Residences, which operates the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey, said on Tuesday it had halted operations due to surging fuel costs.
The ship was docked at the port of Sihanoukville in Cambodia when the announcement was made, with passengers saying they were given only eight hours to disembark.
“On October 27, 2026, we received notice from the CEO at around 6 a.m. that all residents had to disembark by 2 p.m. that day,” passengers Lanette Canen and John Bodin told Business Insider by email.
Canen and Bodin have been on the Odyssey since it first set sail in September 2024 and run a YouTube channel called Living Life on a Cruise about their experiences on board.
“We knew leaving was a possibility, but the eight-hour notice still surprised us,” they said.
The couple shared a video on their YouTube channel that appears to show the moment a staff member announced that passengers must leave the ship.
“Unfortunately, they were unable to secure the fuel necessary to continue operations,” a male voice says in the video.
A notice on the Villa Vie Residences website says the company is working with residents to arrange temporary living arrangements and that it is evaluating restructuring options over the next 60 days.
Mikael Petterson, executive chairman of Villa Vie Residences, told Business Insider he understood residents’ feelings of shock and sadness.
“I get it. I get it. I feel awful,” he said in a phone interview. “They’re counting on me to make the decisions here and there’s nothing else I’m focused on. I’m the villain in the story, but I’m doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution forward.”
Petterson said that until last week, he was in talks with a potential investor and was expecting a new infusion of cash. When the deal fell apart, he said, the company was out of options.
Villa Vie Residences Chief Executive Kathy Villalba didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Soaring fuel costs
TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP via Getty Images
Villa Vie Residences said in a statement Tuesday that the surging cost of fuel since the beginning of the Iran war had made operating the cruise liner increasingly difficult.
The company said its monthly fuel expenses per cabin, which had previously averaged about $1,800, had risen as much as 344% in parts of Asia, to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000.
“Since the conflict began in late February, we have taken significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port,” Villa Vie Residences said.
“Those measures have not been enough to offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs, and we have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses.”
On August 1, Villalba, the CEO, sent residents a message titled “Urgent operational update” on an internal messaging platform. In the message, she referenced a “fuel contribution” that had been previously requested of residents. Business Insider has viewed a screenshot of the message.
“When the fuel contribution was requested several months ago, participation was not universal,” she wrote in the message. “The contributions received helped some, but they covered only part of the extraordinary increase in fuel costs.”
Villalba wrote that the “cash-flow” challenge had continued, and the Odyssey needed 650 metric tons of fuel, adding that fuel prices had almost doubled.
“We have now reached a critical point. The lack of full participation, combined with the unprecedented increase in fuel costs, means we must make immediate and creative operational decisions to preserve the voyage,” her message said.
It continued, “We are asking every Resident who did not previously contribute to please do so now. We are also asking those who are able to provide additional support to consider helping with this immediate fuel requirement.”
Villalba described the financial need as “real, immediate, and necessary to keep Odyssey moving.” It went on, “This is a moment when preserving our home and continuing the voyage requires support beyond contractual minimums from those who are able to provide it.”
Residents scrambled to leave their cabins
Among the passengers asked to disembark on Tuesday with only a few hours’ notice was Barbara Fiegel, 62, who has lived with her partner aboard the ship since December 2024.
“Everybody’s just shocked, everybody’s just saddened by this whole issue,” she said. “We’re still processing, trying to debate what we’re going to do.”
Fiegel said she and her partner booked a hotel room in Cambodia, then returned to the ship Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon to empty their safe and pack their belongings. “Today, as we approached, as we went back on the shuttle back to the ship, I couldn’t stop crying,” she said.
They plan to return on Thursday to collect their remaining items. Fiegel described the atmosphere on the Odyssey as a “ghost town.”
Joel Greiff, 57, moved aboard the ship at the start of the month and planned to live on the ship for 10 or 20 years or more. “I don’t think that will be happening,” he said.
When residents were told to disembark, Greiff emptied his cabin. “I personally grabbed everything,” he said.
He said he would like to return if Villa Vie Residences resumes operations. If not, he is planning to move to Thailand. In the meantime, he has rented an apartment in Cambodia for a month.
Greiff said he plans to return to the Odyssey on Thursday to assist other residents and “help with their luggage, help them find a place, and just start getting them and all their stuff off the ship.”
Jacob Shamsian contributed to this story.
Have you spent any time on the Villa Vie Odyssey as a cabin owner, renter, or staff member? If you have a story to share, get in touch with this reporter: [email protected].
