A cruise ship on a years-long voyage around the world has suspended its journey and ordered roughly 200 passengers to disembark in Cambodia, after its operator said fuel costs had risen so sharply it could no longer afford to keep sailing.
The Villa Vie Odyssey, a nearly 200-meter vessel that can carry up to 650 passengers, left Belfast in October 2024 on what its operator billed as a "continuous voyage around the world" expected to last 3.5 years and visit nearly 150 countries. By the time it halted this week in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, the ship was more than 750 days into the trip. Its US-based operator said global fuel prices have soared since the war between the US, Israel and Iran began earlier this year, pushing the monthly fuel cost per cabin in parts of Asia as high as $8,000, up from $1,800.
"Not on my bingo card"
The company said it had already slowed its itinerary and spent more time in port to cut fuel use, but that those steps proved insufficient. "Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution," it said, adding that it would spend the next 60 days on "restructuring and recapitalisation," while cautioning that "no outcome is assured." The operator said it was working with passengers on disembarkation plans and "temporary living arrangements."
"It was not on my bingo card of places where I'd be spending a lot of time," passenger Holly Hennessey, who was stranded in Cambodia with her cat, Captain, told the BBC. The voyage had already faced delays before it began, with passengers stuck in Belfast for months as the ship underwent repairs, costing the company millions of pounds even before it departed. Sihanoukville, once a sleepy beach town, has in recent years become better known internationally as a hub for online scam operations — an unplanned backdrop for passengers now waiting to learn whether their round-the-world cruise will ever resume.
