Dozens of American passengers have been left stranded in Cambodia after the company running their 15-year-long cruise around the world abruptly suspended business.
asserted
company → leave → business
Hundreds of people aboard the Ville Vie Odyssey, which is owned by Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, have been left abandoned in Sihanoukville, the Daily Mail can reveal.
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Mail → own → Sihanoukville
Among those on board is Randy Cassingham, who is from California and writes about cruises on his website Residentialcruising.com.
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who → write → website
The former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee, who is on board with his wife Kit, wrote a post titled ‘Abandon Ship!’ in which they said residents were given just seven hours’ notice to leave - with all their belongings.
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residents → write → belongings
On cruise ship forums, residents and former residents fumed at the ‘floating disaster’ and posted pictures of grim-looking buildings in Sihanoukville, where they had been marooned.
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they → fume → Sihanoukville
In an official statement, Villa Vie Residences blamed the high cost of fuel due to the Iran War for the decision.
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Residences → blame → decision
This has created ‘unsustainable financial pressure’, and the company will seek additional funding over the next 60 days.
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company → create → days
Launched in 2024, the 720-capacity Villa Vie Odyssey promised a ‘new model of global living at sea’ by allowing residents to live on board for months or years at a time.
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residents → launch → time
Hundreds of people aboard the Ville Vie Odyssey, which is owned by Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, have been left abandoned in Sihanoukville, the Daily Mail can reveal
Randy Cassingham and his wife Kit (pictured together) were on board the cruise ship when they were suddenly alerted that they had to get off on Monday morning
Dubbed ‘The First Perpetual World Cruise’, the voyage was due to last 15 years and cost up to $440,000 per cabin to visit 147 countries around the world.
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voyage → own → world
One key advantage of being on the ship is that residents did not have to pay any property or state taxes, though they still had to pay federal income tax.
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they → have → tax
According to Cassingham, the news of the eviction arrived around 7am Eastern time on Monday, October 26th.
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news → accord → Monday
Posted on the internal messaging board by Villa Vie chief executive Kathy Villaba, it read: ‘Good morning, everyone.
‘Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the fuel necessary to continue operations.
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we → post → operations
As a result, the Odyssey will enter a temporary layup this afternoon, with crew remaining onboard to maintain the vessel and its essential systems.
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crew → enter → vessel
‘All residents must disembark by 2:00 PM today’.
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residents → disembark → PM
Anyone who was unable to remove all of their belongings had to speak to guest services and coordinate an ‘orderly return’ to take them away.
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who → remove → them
Cassingham wrote that residents on the Odyssey had been ‘well aware of the problems’ on board and the announcement ‘didn’t come out of the blue’.
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announcement → write → blue
He said it was a ‘cascade of problems piling up on one another, from the business model to mistakes by management to the mentioned crisis in fuel cost and availability, and more’.
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it → say → cost
He also shared an image that he took of a building in Sihanoukville, and captioned it with a comment his wife made after they were left there.
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they → share → comment
'This is the picture of my new life - a shell that I get to build into something new and exciting.
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I → get → something
The Odyssey has reached the end of its sailing days - at least for now.
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Odyssey → reach → days
It abandoned us in Cambodia,' Kit stated
Cassingham also criticized Villalba for failing to apologize and said: ‘She’s the freaking CEO, and couldn’t bring herself to say it’.
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She → abandon → it
He also shared an image that he took of a building in Sihanoukville, and captioned it with a comment his wife made after they were left there.
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they → share → comment
'This is the picture of my new life - a shell that I get to build into something new and exciting.
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I → get → something
The Odyssey has reached the end of its sailing days - at least for now.
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Odyssey → reach → days
'It abandoned us in Cambodia,' Kit stated.
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Kit → abandon → Cambodia
Shirene Thomas, who is from Madison, Wisconsin, wrote on Facebook that she had been left ‘homeless’ by Villa Vie stopping business.
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Vie → write → business
‘This time in Cambodia,’ she said.
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she → say → Cambodia
‘Note that as per usual Villa Vie has put their spin on things; they are offering no help with lodging, travel arrangements or anything’.
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they → note → lodging
According to Thomas, she was ‘evicted’ at 2pm on Monday.
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she → accord → Monday
She wrote: ‘They told us at 6:30 AM!’
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They → write → AM
In the message to residents, Villaba said that was all the information they had at the time, but the following day Villa Vie put out a statement explaining the ‘temporary layup’ was far more serious.
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layup → say → statement
Others took to Reddit to share their thoughts after hearing the startling news
The company said that fuel costs had ‘risen sharply’ in Asia, and per cabin, their expenses had risen from $1,800 a month to between $6,000 and $8,000.
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expenses → take → 6,000
‘The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,’ the release said.
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release → pass → pressure
Villa Vie was ‘working with residents to identify temporary accommodation’, and acknowledged it was 'a difficult and disruptive period’ for the passengers and crew.
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it → work → passengers
According to Villa Vie, they had already taken ‘significant steps’ to reduce fuel consumption, like slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port.
uncertain
they → accord → port
‘Our focus now is on supporting residents, crew, and employees while we work toward restructuring and recapitalization over the next 60 days,’ the company said.
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company → support → days
On Facebook, crew members told how they were ‘heartbroken’ at the news, including Lucas Clyne.
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they → tell → Clyne
He wrote: ‘As a crew member of Villa Vie Residences, it hurts to see residents leaving the place they have called home.
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they → write → place
‘For many people, this is not just a ship or a place to live.
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this → live → people
It is a home filled with memories, friendships, laughter, and moments that have become part of our lives’.
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that → fill → lives
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
