Around-the-world cruise halted due to fuel costs. Passengers disembarked in Cambodia

The cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey interrupted its around-the-world journey due to extremely high fuel costs. Passengers are being disembarked in Cambodia, writes the BBC.

The American vessel operator announced that it is currently handling passenger disembarkation and organizing their "temporary accommodation." The number of passengers is not specified; the maximum capacity of the approximately 200-meter vessel is up to 650 passengers. According to available data, there were about 200 passengers on board. They have been instructed to disembark in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville.

In October 2024, the liner departed from Belfast on a "continuous around-the-world journey." Since then, due to the US and Israel's war against Iran, global fuel prices have sharply increased. According to the operator, in some regions of Asia, fuel costs per cabin increased from $1800 to $8000 per month.

The company stated that it took "significant measures to reduce fuel consumption, including lowering cruising speed and increasing port stay times." However, these measures proved insufficient to "offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs."

"Shifting the entire burden of this price increase onto the passengers is an unrealistic solution," the company noted.

Over the next 60 days, the company plans to engage in "restructuring and recapitalization," although, as management admits, "the success of these measures is not guaranteed."

According to information on the website, the Villa Vie Odyssey's around-the-world journey was supposed to last three and a half years and cover almost 150 countries. Departure was repeatedly delayed due to repair work; as a result, passengers were "stuck" in Belfast for several months, and the company had already incurred multi-million dollar losses at that time. Until this Tuesday, when the suspension of the around-the-world journey was announced, the cruise had already lasted more than 750 days.

"'I definitely didn't expect such a turn of events — I never thought I'd spend so much time here,' one of the passengers, Holly Hennessy, told the BBC. 'We were all placed in different hotels; in the hotel where I'm staying, there are a few other people from the liner. We are just waiting.'"

Павялічыць

According to information on the website, the Villa Vie Odyssey vessel features several bars and restaurants, a pool deck, and a pickleball court.

The cost of permanent residency in cabins ranges from $120,000 to $440,000. Cabins can also be rented — prices start from $3500 per month.

Last year, the company launched a lifetime residency program which allows spending years at sea after retirement.

In 2024, a few days after Donald Trump won the election and secured a second presidential term, Villa Vie Residences announced a four-year service package called "Skip Forward". At that time, the company's CEO stated in an interview with Fox Business that it was "the perfect product for those who promised to leave the country if a certain candidate won the election."

According to Holly Hennessy, the vessel's residents were previously offered to pay a fuel surcharge due to the sharp rise in global fuel prices, and their travel itinerary was "significantly shortened." Some passengers decided to disembark and continue their journey by land.

However, others — including Hennessy — decided to stay in Cambodia in the hope that the Villa Vie Odyssey liner would soon set sail again.

"'Until they officially announce that it's all over — completely and irrevocably — I won't give up. I won't be able to live this kind of lifestyle anywhere else. Go home? That would be so mundane,' she says. 'After all, Cambodia isn't the worst place to hang out.'"

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