Boss of US 'never-ending' cruise plans to file for bankruptcy after stranding 200 passengers in Cambodia with hours' notice
The Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship, whose passengers paying up to £260,000 for permanent residency were told to disembark in Cambodia with no clear refund plan.A cabin suite aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey. Residents had been paying around £70 a day for rent, utilities and food on what was sold as a permanent floating home.
Villa Vie Residences CEO Mikael Petterson has announced that the Florida-based company plans to file for bankruptcy after the Iran war drove fuel costs from $700 to as much as $3,000 per ton, pushing monthly operating expenses up from $400,000 to $2 million. Passengers who had paid as much as $440,000 for a cabin were given as little as seven hours to vacate the ship in Sihanoukville and had to arrange their own accommodation. The vessel had been at sea since October 2024 on a promised 15-year voyage covering 147 countries.
Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin, 56, sold their business to fund a $100,000 cabin, plus $3,500 monthly fees.
Per-cabin fuel costs soared from $1,800 to $8,000 a month after the Iran war choked Strait of Hormuz supplies.
Petterson is now seeking financing to depart Cambodia 'quite quickly', but warned 'no outcome is assured'.
