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‘Never-ending’ cruise founder breaks silence after 200 passengers are suddenly forced off ship with less than 24 hours’ notice
The founder of a residential cruise company that promised passengers the chance to travel the world indefinitely has admitted he "messed up" after around 200 people were told to leave their ship in Cambodia with less than 24 hours' notice.
Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey was docked in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville on Wednesday, October 28, when passengers were reportedly informed they needed to pack their belongings and disembark.
Cruise founder shares update
The Florida-based company has since halted operations, leaving residents facing uncertainty over what happens next.
Speaking to Business Insider, founder and executive chairman Mikael Petterson said he felt "awful" about the situation, blaming soaring fuel prices linked to the US conflict with Iran for playing a major role in the company's financial difficulties.
He said: "Nobody that’s tried residential cruising has succeeded, and we’ve gone further than anyone else."
Petterson, referring to the concept of people living permanently aboard a cruise ship, suggested the business could have survived without the conflict, adding: "But I think we would have been absolutely fine — and we would have seen this through — if there was no Iran war."
Admitting how difficult it had been to disappoint the people living aboard the vessel, he said: "I feel awful."
He described the situation as "incredibly deflating", explaining that residents had trusted him to make the right decisions.
"They’re counting on me to make the decisions here, and there’s nothing else I’m focused on. I’m the villain in the story, but I’m doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution," he added.
Cabins aboard the Odyssey had been available to buy or rent, with prices ranging from $119,999 to $439,999. Villa Vie had originally promised to take residents to 147 countries over the course of three years.
Cruise cut adrift due to external factors
However, the voyage was not without its problems. Unexpected mechanical issues began to emerge, while the conflict involving Iran contributed to a dramatic rise in fuel costs.
Petterson said Villa Vie had previously paid between $600 and $700 per metric ton for marine gas oil (MGO), the fuel used to power the ship.
But the cost increased sharply, with MGO prices in Singapore, where the vessel had previously been docked, reaching almost $2,000 per metric ton by March. In Cambodia, the price has now climbed to around $2,200, he said.
The founder admitted the company was not big enough to absorb such a significant increase in operating costs.
"[Larger cruise companies are] able to hedge and take away some of that risk, but we’re too small of a company to do that," he told Business Insider.
With finances under increasing pressure, Petterson attempted to secure further funding to keep the operation afloat.
In April, Villa Vie reportedly asked residents to lend the company money, offering interest rates of between 12% and 24%, according to Business Insider.
Then, in September, a company representative held a meeting asking cabin owners to help raise $1 million to allow the ship to leave Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, NBC News reported.
Petterson said some residents became "scared" after discovering the extent of the company's financial problems, prompting them to sell their cabins to other people interested in living aboard.
However, this created another challenge for Villa Vie, with its sales team reportedly struggling to find buyers for the remaining available cabins.
The company had previously told the BBC that it had introduced measures to limit its fuel consumption, including changing its schedule.
It said it had taken "significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port", but admitted these changes were insufficient to "offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs".
Villa Vie also told the broadcaster: "Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution."
The future of the company remains uncertain, with Petterson explaining that it could enter a court-supervised restructuring process, potentially allowing the existing management team to retain control. Alternatively, it could be forced to liquidate.
Speaking about the financial situation, he told Business Insider: "We just don’t have the financial ability to sustain normal operations for the time being."
He continued: "So we’re protecting the asset and laying it up until we can find a solution going forward."
Despite the setback, Petterson insisted he was still trying to find a way to save the business.
"I’m working day and night to find a way to get through this," he added.