A 'never-ending' cruise has halted operations and told residents to disembark in Cambodia after fuel costs rose over 300%

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A 'never-ending' cruise has halted operations and told residents to disembark in Cambodia after fuel costs rose over 300%

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Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey cruise ship

Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey cruise container set sail from Belfast in September 2024. PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images

A cruise container marketing the commitment of a permanent existence at sea has arrive to an abrupt stop.

Villa Vie Residences, which operates the residential cruise container Villa Vie Odyssey, announced on Tuesday that it had suspended operations in Cambodia amid steep increases in energy costs.

The business stated its monthly energy expenses per cabin, which had earlier averaged concerning $1,800, had risen as much as 344% in parts of Asia, to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000.

The US-Israeli war alongside Iran began in February, and Iran's consequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for earth oil shipments — sent energy prices soaring about the world.

"Since the battle began in delayed February, we have taken important steps to decrease energy consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending additional period in port," Villa Vie Residences said.

"Those measures have not been adequate to offset the bonzer addition in energy costs, and we have been unable to continue carrying the resulting functioning losses."

Villa Vie Residences sold imperishable cabins on its 509-cabin ship, the Odyssey, ranging from $119,999 to $439,999. Its throw to residents was a never-ending cruise about the earth alongside stops at additional than 400 ports of call and a earth circumnavigation all three-and-a-half years.

The ship, which has a pond deck, spa, and a pickleball court, additionally offered five-year residencies, starting at $59,999.

The rising energy expenses put the company's functioning example under unsustainable financial pressure, Villa Vie Residences said. The business added that it was evaluating options, but that no financing or transaction had been finalized.

"Passing the complete addition on to residents is not a realistic solution," the business said. "Our concentration now is on supporting residents, crew, and workforce during we activity toward restructuring and recapitalization complete the next 60 days. That activity is ongoing, and no outcome is assured."

The media publish stated the business was operating alongside residents to coordinate disembarkation in Cambodia and to acknowledge impermanent living arrangements for them.

The Odyssey archetypal set sail from Belfast in September 2024 following four months of delays.

Villa Vie Residences did not say how many residents were affected and did not immediately react to a petition for comment from Business Insider.

Have you spent period on the Villa Vie Odyssey? If you have a narrative to share, get in contact alongside this reporter: [email protected].

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Joshua Nelken-Zitser is an award-winning equal at Business Insider’s London agency covering the affordability of contemporary life.Through features, investigations, on-the-ground reporting, and As Told To essays, he explores the changing disbursal of important existence milestones, what group choose to expend on whenever they can’t oversee everything they want, and how they modify as traditional markers of achievement rotate into small attainable.Joshua previously spent five years on the news desk, reporting from the US, across Europe, and the Middle East.  In 2025, he moved to the endeavor array to shield wealth, spending, and person culture.In 2024, he received the Axel Springer Award for Change — Journalistic Piece of the Year and was highly commended at the British Journalism Awards for an inquiry into state-subsidized gender-transition surgeries in Iran.His debut publish (TRAUMA BONDS: How Generational Trauma Shapes, Divides and Connects Us) will be published by HarperCollins in January 2027.Got a tip? Email [email protected]. You can additionally prosecute him on X or Instagram.

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