Luxury Cruise Dream Ends as Villa Vie Strands 200 Passengers in Cambodia

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The founder of the doomed “never-ending” cruise company, Villa Vie, has admitted that he is the “villain” in the story, after 200 passengers were left stranded in Cambodia when the ship ran out of fuel.

“I feel awful,” Mikael Petterson said, adding that he is considering bankruptcy for his company, during an interview with Business Insider.

Villa Vie Residences promised customers a choice of 509 cabins on its luxury cruise ship, the Odyssey, for a six-figure sum, allowing them to sail around the world for the rest of their lives.

But unexpected mechanical problems, combined with the war in Iran sending fuel prices soaring, ended up scuppering the dream cruise, Petterson claimed.  

Petterson received the ship he purchased from Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines in early 2024, with the maiden voyage scheduled to depart from the UK in May that year, promising a continuous three-and-a-half-year world tour visiting more than 400 ports.

But the project hit snags when refurbishment work in Belfast docks uncovered issues with the 30-year-old ship’s rudder shafts, greywater tanks, engines and regulatory certifications.

In late September 2024, four months behind schedule, the Odyssey finally passed sea trials and clearance from maritime authorities and departed Belfast, setting sail for its first scheduled stop, the port of Brest in northern France.

Between late 2024 and early 2025, the ship toured Western Europe, Northwest Africa, and the Caribbean, before transiting the Panama Canal and visiting South America.

But ongoing itinerary cutbacks, fuel surcharges and maintenance delays led some residents to cut their losses and disembark permanently, despite spending between $119,999 and $439,999 for a permanent cabin.

Then, earlier this month, while docked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Villa Vie Residences suddenly announced the immediate suspension of operations, citing soaring fuel costs, unpaid obligations and mounting debts.

The 200 resident passengers were given just seven hours’ notice to disembark, with many left stranded.

“I couldn’t stop crying,” resident Barbara Fiegel, 62, who had lived with her partner aboard the Odyssey since December 2024, told Business Insider.

Despite it all, Petterson insisted, “Nobody that’s tried residential cruising has succeeded, and we’ve gone further than anyone else.”

“But I think we would have been absolutely fine — and we would have seen this through — if there was no Iran war,” he added.

A metric ton of fuel for Odyssey typically cost Villa Vie around $600 to $700 before the start of the conflict, Petterson explained.

By March, that price had soared to nearly $2,000 per metric ton, according to data from trade publication Ship & Bunker.

Villa Vie didn’t have the scale to absorb higher prices, unlike larger cruise lines, Petterson admitted.

“They’re able to hedge and take away some of that risk, but we’re too small of a company to do that,” he said.

Petterson said until last week he had been in talks with a potential investor to bring in a much-needed new infusion of cash.

When that deal fell apart, his company was out of options, leaving him considering bankruptcy, he said.

“I’m the villain in the story, but I’m doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution,” Petterson said.

In a statement, Villa Vie Residences said: “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. 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. Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.

“Our focus now is on supporting residents, crew, and employees while we work toward restructuring and recapitalization over the next 60 days. That work is ongoing, and no outcome is assured,” the company concluded.