Villa Vie Residences ordered passengers off the Odyssey in Cambodia as the Florida-based company confronted soaring fuel costs and financial pressure.
SIHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA — Florida residents who made a residential cruise ship their home are speaking out after Villa Vie Residences suspended operations and ordered passengers to leave the Odyssey in Cambodia, leaving some travelers scrambling for lodging and wondering whether their life at sea will resume.
The Florida-based company said Tuesday that unusually high fuel costs had made its current business model unsustainable. The Odyssey, which has been marketed as a long-term or permanent home at sea, was docked in Sihanoukville when residents were told to disembark. Villa Vie said it plans to spend the next 60 days examining restructuring and recapitalization options, but it cautioned that no financing deal has been completed and no outcome is guaranteed.
Joel Greiff, who moved from Naples, Florida, to the Odyssey 26 days before the suspension, told WESH that he had paid $350,000 upfront under what he described as a lifetime prepaid contract. Greiff said he had expected to remain aboard for years while traveling around the world. His short time on the vessel included a stop in Thailand, where he visited an elephant sanctuary with a friend.
Another resident, Shirene Thomas, previously lived in Citrus Hills, Florida, before moving to North Carolina. She had lived aboard the ship for nearly two years and described the abrupt shutdown as deeply unsettling. “Being stranded in Cambodia is not ideal,” Thomas told WESH. She said there was “a lot of panic” among residents who had spent most of the previous two years aboard the ship and suddenly had to make plans on land.
The Odyssey was carrying 203 passengers, most of them Americans, and 156 crew members, according to Cambodian officials cited by the Associated Press and Reuters. The ship can accommodate about 650 residents. Passengers said they were given only several hours to leave the vessel, and some told news organizations they had to arrange their own hotels and transportation after disembarking.
Villa Vie said fuel expenses had climbed dramatically in the regions where the ship had been operating. The company said its monthly fuel expense had historically averaged about $1,800 per cabin but had recently reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 per cabin in parts of Asia. It said efforts to conserve fuel, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, had not been enough to offset the increase.
The company said it could not continue absorbing the operating losses or simply pass the full increase on to residents. Villa Vie said it was working to coordinate disembarkation and temporary living arrangements while supporting residents, crew members and employees. Some passengers, however, told reporters that the assistance available immediately after the shutdown fell short of what they expected.
Thomas said signs of financial strain had appeared before the suspension. She told WESH that residents had repeatedly been asked for additional money through fuel surcharges and other requests for cash. Other passengers interviewed by the Associated Press also described repeated requests for additional funding and broader concerns about the way the operation was being managed.
The suspension interrupted an ambitious residential cruising project that began sailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2024 after earlier delays. The Odyssey was promoted as a way for residents to combine long-term housing with continuous world travel. Some customers bought cabins intended to serve as permanent homes, while others purchased multiyear arrangements. For residents who sold property or reorganized their lives around the voyage, the shutdown has created questions that extend beyond a disrupted vacation.
Passengers have offered different views on what caused the company’s troubles. Villa Vie has emphasized the sharp rise in fuel costs, while some residents have said the business had shown signs of financial and operational strain before the latest increase. The company has not announced a final plan for restarting the voyage, and it has said the restructuring process remains uncertain.
The Odyssey remained in Cambodia as of Wednesday while residents weighed whether to stay nearby, leave the country or wait for further information from the company. Cambodian officials indicated the vessel could refuel and depart in the coming days, but Villa Vie had not publicly confirmed a firm sailing date. For Greiff, Thomas and other residents who treated the Odyssey as home rather than a temporary cruise, the central question is whether the voyage can be revived before the company’s financial review ends.
Author note: Last updated October 28, 2026.