A pensioner who was dumped in Cambodia while aboard the 'never-ending cruise' has revealed the turmoil passengers went through.
asserted
passengers → dump → turmoil
Around 200 passengers were given just seven hours to pack their bags and leave a scheduled stop in Cambodia this week after operator Villa Vie Residences announced it had 'suspended operations'.
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it → give → operations
The 200m (656ft) Odyssey left Northern Ireland in October 2024 for a continuous voyage.
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Odyssey → leave → voyage
Residents could rent rooms for a holiday or buy for life at a cost of up to $440,000 (£330,000), with some passengers selling everything they had to pay for it.
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they → rent → it
The retired couple from Wyoming, US, described 'investing in a dream' when they chose to dedicate at least four years of their lives to travel the world - and signed on the dotted line in 2023.
But their vision of an intrepid retirement rapidly deteriorated when conditions began to worsen aboard the ship - and calls for money from the company to cover rising fuel costs began.
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calls → describe → costs
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Mrs Montoya shared how the couple has shelled out a staggering $450,000 (£337,840) in total, with more than half of that coming in unexpected costs on top of the $179,000 (£134,366) they originally paid for their cabin.
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they → share → cabin
The calls for money, the grandmother described, started in April as Villa Vie cited surging oil prices - and said the journey could not continue with their current budget.
uncertain
journey → describe → budget
Paul Montoya and his wife Lynn described 'investing in a dream' when they chose to dedicate at least four years of their lives to travel the world on cruise ship the Odyssey
A drone view of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship docking at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Cambodia
Former permanent residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship return to the vessel to collect their belongings after being forced to disembark in Cambodia
The company asked 22 residents for a collective loan of $2.2million (£1.6million), Mrs Montoya said, which the company said would be paid back monthly with interest by April 2027.
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company → describe → April
'We have not received any payments,' she said.
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she → receive → payments
'On July 31, they told us we would get a payment in the next three days.
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we → tell → days
But two days after we were told there was no money.'
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we → tell → ?
Despite already handing over millions of dollars, the company called on the residents - and their retirement savings - again a few months later.
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company → hand → residents
'Residents started donating to keep us on our journey,' Mrs Montoya said.
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Montoya → donate → journey
'In September, the company asked for $1.5million (£1.1million) and then $360,000 (£270,049) this past week while we've been stranded in Cambodia.
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we → ask → Cambodia
'
The couple believe the requests for money were strategic and came when the ship was docked at different ports, leaving the residents to feel vulnerable and 'coerced' into giving up their money.
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ship → believe → money
'We felt manipulated and when that happened time after time, it began to wear us down and frustrate us,' Mrs Montoya said.
'
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Montoya → feel → us
We'd arrive at the port and six hours before we were meant to leave then they would say "Oh, we can't leave.
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we → arrive → port
We haven't got the money".
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We → get → money
'Everybody then felt pressured to come up with these funds.
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Everybody → come → funds
We joked that we felt we were being held captive.'
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we → joke → ?
The retired couple from Wyoming, US, described 'investing in a dream' when they chose to dedicate at least four years of their lives to travel the world
A security staff member is pictured standing guard near the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship docking at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port
Former permanent residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship waited inside the vessel to collect their belongings after being forced to disembark in Cambodia
Questions naturally began to rise as conditions on the ship began to deteriorate, despite donations having been made specifically to pay for fuel.
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donations → describe → fuel
Villa Vie said in a statement this week that per-cabin monthly fuel expenses had gone from an average of $1,800 (£1,354) to an estimated $6,000 (£4,516) to $8,000 (£6,021) in parts of Asia.
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expenses → say → Asia
'The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,' it said.
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it → pass → pressure
'It started becoming apparent that the company is in significant debt - and we started losing a lot of our services,' Mrs Montoya described.
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Montoya → start → services
She added: 'Our internet was interrupted several times so we weren't able to check our bank accounts or pay bills, or call home.
'
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we → add → home
Our TV service then went down and so more questions started being asked.
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questions → go → ?
But despite this the company asked us again for money for fuel.'
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company → ask → fuel
Meanwhile, food quality deteriorated and crew members started disclosing with residents that their payments were stalled.
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payments → deteriorate → residents
This prompted residents to again shell out, although this time voluntarily, to financially support crew members 'whose pay began being affected in August'.
The couple's vision of an intrepid retirement rapidly deteriorated when conditions began to worsen aboard the ship - and calls for money from the company to cover rising fuel costs began
Passengers pictured disembarking the Odyssey after it was docked at Sihanoukville port in Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia
'
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it → prompt → Cambodia
We were able to give 128 crew members at least $100 (£75) each,' Mrs Montoya said.
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Montoya → give → 100
The turmoil came to a head this week when the hundreds of travellers were given just hours to pack their bags and disembark.
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hundreds → come → bags
According to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia, 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, where they were left behind by the cruise.
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they → accord → cruise
This came after the company asked for more money and received a further $360,000 (£270,049), the grandmother said, which came after the majority of residents declined to donate to.
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majority → come → residents
'Most people said no, we will not give you anymore money,' Mrs Montoya said.
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Montoya → say → money
'We're not going to do it.
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We → go → it
I honestly believe that they believed people would give up their money again and they would just continue this.
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they → believe → this
'
Permanent residencies on the cruise cost between $120,000 (£90,000) and $440,000 (£330,000), with cabins costing £3,500 per month to rent.
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residencies → cost → month
The request for money was followed by an official notice at 8am on Tuesday telling the travellers to disembark, which they must do by 2pm.
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they → follow → pm
'We were unsure whether we needed to take everything or just an overnight bag.
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we → need → everything
We were told our cabins would be double locked so we packed enough supplies for 14 days,' Mrs Montoya said.
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Montoya → tell → days
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
