Lisa McKay, a retired teacher from Queensland, Australia, has said she was devastated after paying more than $63,000 for a place aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey, a residential cruise promoted as an “endless” trip around the world. She was due to board on November 15, but the cancellation means the journey will not take place as planned.
Passengers already aboard the ship were told to disembark on October 27 while it was docked in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The voyage had been expected to last more than three years, but ended almost 12 months earlier than planned.
Villa Vie Residences attributed the decision to rising fuel costs. The company said fuel expenses had increased from $1,800 per cabin per month to approximately $8,000, and that it did not want to transfer the higher cost to passengers.
McKay told ABC that losing the money would be extremely difficult and said she believed recovering it was unlikely. She also said her travel insurance did not cover boutique ships.
The former teacher acknowledged that she had seen negative reviews about the operator online, but said she was reassured that bookings would not be accepted if the cruise was not expected to proceed. That led her to pay for what she described as a trip of a lifetime.
The cancellation has also affected passengers who sold their homes or spent large sums to travel around the globe. Some described the final weeks aboard the ship as tense, with divisions between groups of passengers, while one person called the period emotionally exhausting.
It is unclear whether the cruises will resume. Villa Vie Residences had planned for a second residential cruise ship to enter service in early 2029, but the future of that plan remains uncertain.
Sources: Dexerto.