It was billed as an endless round the world cruise that would let you 'explore the world without leaving home.'
asserted
you → bill → home
Launched in September 2024, residents onboard the Villa Vie Odyssey paid up to $440,000 for 15 years at sea in their own cabin.
asserted
residents → launch → cabin
The plan was to visit 425 destinations in 147 countries, including Antarctica.
asserted
plan → visit → Antarctica
But – after just two years on the ocean – the Odyssey abruptly ceased operations on Monday leaving passengers stranded in Cambodia.
And the Daily Mail can now reveal that life on board the ship was for some time not as rosy as Villa Vie claimed it to be.
asserted
it → cease → time
Florida-based Villa Vie Residences blamed the spiraling cost of fuel since the Iran War began as the reason for the shut down.
asserted
War → base → shut
Current and former passengers, however, claimed that the enterprise was 'doomed from the start' after a four-and-a-half month delay setting sail in 2024 left Villa Vie in a financial black hole.
asserted
delay → claim → hole
They claimed the air conditioning and internet frequently went off and that the pool was often out of service.
asserted
pool → claim → service
Meals were starchy 'canteen food' designed to fill people up even if it was unhealthy: fries, potatoes and mac-and-cheese were often served at the same meal.
asserted
fries → design → meal
Villa Vie Residences' cruise ship Odyssey promised passengers a life of adventure at sea, with cabins costing up to $440,000 for a 15-year residency
Passengers pictured disembarking the Odyssey after it was docked at Sihanoukville port in Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia on Wednesday
Four people have filed lawsuits against Villa Vie Residences, including two in federal court – with one woman claiming she was removed from the vessel over her 'negativity.'
asserted
she → promise → negativity
Those are unlikely to be the last legal cases involving the Odyssey, which had around 200 passengers onboard when it made its final stop in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, last Friday.
asserted
it → involve → Sihanoukville
On Tuesday at about 6.30am, the message went out to passengers that they had seven hours to get off the boat with all their belongings.
asserted
they → go → belongings
What followed next was, according to one guest, 'chaos' – with people cramming their belongings into suitcases in the corridors.
uncertain
people → follow → corridors
People were suddenly stranded in the 90F Cambodian heat, with Villa Vie not paying for any accommodation.
asserted
Vie → strand → accommodation
According to Randy Cassingham, who had been traveling on board with his wife, Kit, the cruise line has agreed to arrange a charter flight back to the US at a cost of $1,100 per person.
uncertain
line → accord → person
On his website, Cassingham wrote that passengers were told: 'No passport returned until your bill is paid.'
Randy Cassingham and his wife, Kit, were on board the cruise ship when they were suddenly alerted that they had to leave on Monday morning (Source: Used with permission by Residentialcruising.com / Randy Cassingham)
Cruise passengers sit on an EV vehicle at a hotel in Sihanoukville, in the Cambodian province of Preah Sihanouk, after disembarking
He said: 'They want the last penny, even though we all have already paid for November.'
Passengers who tried to go back to their cabins found them 'sealed' by security, Cassingham wrote.
asserted
Cassingham → write → security
It was a very different experience from the one sold to them in the summer of 2024, when the Odyssey was supposed to be embarking on its maiden voyage from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
asserted
Odyssey → sell → Belfast
The company website claimed residents could travel 'continuously around the world while enjoying the comfort, stability, and community of home.
uncertain
residents → claim → home
Cabins with a view were priced at $440,000 for 15 years, or less for one with no windows.
asserted
Cabins → price → windows
Widow Cheryl Ethrington, who boarded the Odyssey eight months ago, paid $365,000 for a cabin that she hoped would be her home for the rest of her life.
asserted
she → board → life
Using the life insurance money from her late husband, the 68-year-old spent another $50,000 on a package that included free manicures, pedicures, massages and doctor visits.
asserted
that → use → manicures
'I bought the Golden Passport package,' she said from a Sihanoukville apartment she had to scramble to rent.
asserted
she → buy → apartment
The Cassinghams, pictured during another interview at a hotel in Sihanoukville, described the chaotic final hours aboard the Odyssey, claiming passengers were told their passports would not be returned until outstanding bills were settled
Randy Cassingham shared an image that he took of a building in Sihanoukville, and captioned it with a comment his wife made after they were left there.
asserted
they → picture → comment
'This is the picture of my new life – a shell that I get to build into something new and exciting.
asserted
I → get → something
The Odyssey has reached the end of its sailing days – at least for now.
asserted
Odyssey → reach → days
It abandoned us in Cambodia.'
asserted
It → abandon → Cambodia
'I paid in advance for the next 15 or 20 years of my life.
asserted
I → pay → life
Another passenger who boarded at the start of the trip was Shirene Thomas, 61, an actress from Madison, Wisconsin.
asserted
who → board → Madison
She told the Daily Mail that she paid in the low six figures for what should have been a three-year trip on the Odyssey, meaning she lost out on her final year.
asserted
she → tell → year
'We did go to six continents and I adopted the world's first cruising kittens, which I adopted on the cruise, so there were good sides,' she said.
asserted
she → go → cruise
But Thomas admitted she soon began to get frustrated with day-to-day life on board.
asserted
she → admit → board
'I don't believe we ever went more than three days without a problem with HVAC, no hot water, no internet.
asserted
we → believe → HVAC
We initially got cruise-ship food which looked good and was supposed to be fancy.
asserted
which → get → food
Then it became more similar to cafeteria-style food, trying to serve people on a limited budget and trying to make it calorically dense.
asserted
it → become → budget
Widow Cheryl Ethrington, 68, invested $415,000 in what she hoped would be her home for the rest of her life, only to find herself scrambling for accommodation in Cambodia after the ship shut down
'
asserted
ship → invest → Cambodia
I kept trying to get them to understand we wanted healthy food, but that costs more.
asserted
that → keep → more
If I complained, I was told it was my fault.'
Breakfast was usually tan or cream-colored foods and dinner would often be starchy like mac-and-cheese, potatoes or French fries and lots of root vegetables.
Eggplant was frequently on the menu as was lamb, which was often overcooked, Thomas said.
asserted
Thomas → complain → menu
Cassingham, a former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee, described the Odyssey as 'hardly a luxury cruise ship.'
'The cabins were small and sparse, but that was OK: cabins were really our bedrooms and a place to shower,' he said.
asserted
he → describe → ship
The living area was spacious: Lounges and restaurants to meet and talk.
asserted
area → meet → ?
But it wasn't 'luxury' – it was promoted, after all, as 'affordable' and it was, until the company started begging for money.
asserted
company → promote → money
According to one former passenger, cracks began to show on the 30-year-old vessel, formerly known as the MS Braemar, before it sailed out of Belfast.
uncertain
it → accord → Belfast
…and 49 more, not listed.
The Aporia
