Cruise Halt: Villa Vie Odyssey Stops in Cambodia Over Fuel Costs

The Villa Vie Odyssey has stopped its two-year global voyage in Cambodia.

The ship’s operator, Villa Vie Residences, announced Tuesday that it will disembark all passengers and crew to arrange temporary lodging on land. The company stated that fuel prices have risen sharply, making the current operating model financially difficult to sustain.

Villa Vie Residences, a U.S. based company, operates the vessel which can carry up to 650 people. The ship departed Belfast in Northern Ireland two years ago and was marketed as a permanent home at sea. Monthly rents for cabins reached as high as $11,000. Amenities aboard included three restaurants, five bars, a spa, a fitness center, and a business center.

The vessel had planned to reach the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc later this week. Its original schedule called for stops in India, South Africa, Brazil, and Australia before a final arrival in Gibraltar in August 2030.

The company cited extraordinary increases in fuel costs as the primary reason for the halt. Monthly fuel costs per cabin in parts of Asia climbed from $1,800 to $8,000. This represents a 344 percent increase according to calculations provided by CNBC. The statement noted that the company could not pass these costs directly to residents without creating an unsustainable financial pressure.

Villa Vie Residences said it would need to restructure and recapitalize its business within the next 60 days. The company warned that no outcome is assured. It also noted that since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, it had attempted to cut fuel use by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port. The company stated that those measures were not enough to offset the rise in expenses.