Villa Vie Odyssey Halts World Cruise, Disembarks Passengers in Cambodia Over Fuel Costs

A luxury residential cruise ship has stopped its round-the-world voyage and is disembarking passengers and crew in Cambodia, with its operator citing soaring fuel costs.

Villa Vie Residences, the U.S.-based company behind the Villa Vie Odyssey, said in a Tuesday online statement that guests and crew would leave the vessel and be placed in temporary accommodation. The ship, which can carry up to 650 passengers and offers cabins costing as much as $11,000 a month, had been sailing continuously for two years since leaving Belfast, Northern Ireland.

According to the company, monthly fuel costs per cabin have climbed from $1,800 to as much as $8,000 in parts of Asia. Villa Vie said it cannot pass increases of that size on to residents, leaving its operating model under what it called unsustainable financial pressure. The company said it will restructure and recapitalize over the next 60 days, adding that "no outcome is assured."

The Odyssey had been due to reach Phu Quoc, Vietnam, later this week, with stops in India, South Africa, Brazil and Australia planned before a scheduled docking in Gibraltar in August 2030. The ship features a fitness center and spa, a business center, three restaurants, five bars and lounges, and complimentary alcoholic drinks.