Residents on 'endless' Odyssey cruise reveal warning signs before ship's shock end
Residents have said amended itineraries and changes to onboard services were some of the early warning signs they saw in the last few months before the ‘endless’ Odyssey residential cruise came to an end.
The Villa Vie Residences cruise promised its residents a unique opportunity to have a permanent home onboard a cruise ship that was continually sailing traveling around the world.
Rooms onboard the Odyssey cost between $119,999 (£90,000) and $349,999 (£263,000), and there were also rental options, including rent-to-buy and three-year terms.
Several of those onboard said they had sold their home and possessions to take part in the adventure, which was set to make stops in more than 400 ports, taking around three-and-a-half years to circumnavigate the world, before setting off again.
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However, last week, news broke that the ‘never-ending’ cruise had come to an end in Cambodia with residents told to disembark due to rising fuel costs.
In a press release, the company said its fuel costs had risen from an historical average of $1,800 (£1,350) per cabin to an estimated $6,000 (£4,500) to $8,000 (£6,000) in parts of Asia.
Speaking to LADbible, US couple Paul and Lynn Montoya said passengers went through ‘every emotion’ when being told they would have to leave the cruise.
However, Paul also said that while the news had come as a shock, it hadn’t been a surprise as there had been warning signs that the company was ‘in trouble for some time’.
“They've changed itineraries, we've lost our internet because of non-payment to Starlink, food levels went down dramatically over the last few months,” he said.
Residents have said their changes to itineraries
Now, other residents have also opened up about the changes to itineraries, the removal of services, and the ‘constant appeals’ for fuel money from the company.
Resident Claude Sadovsky recently told Business Insider that the Odyssey began circling one area as the financial situation seemingly worsened.
"We were going in a smaller and smaller circle,” he told the publication.
"I signed up for a world cruise, and I was in purgatory."
He joined the ‘lifetime’ cruise when it first set sail in September 2024, but decided to hop off and head home in October after becoming increasingly frustrated with the itinerary changes.
Business Insider compared several amended itineraries and found that it visited 54 nations between October 2024 and October 2026, but only called at 198 ports - 28 percent fewer than originally planned.
Former Odyssey resident, Angela Nuran Gokturk said: “We have revisited some of the same ports countless times in the last several months.”
Just weeks before Sadovsky left the cruise, fellow Odyssey resident Starr Davis also made the decision to leave after becoming ‘so sick of all the cash calls’.
"The ship was just a pressure cooker," Davis said.
"You know, 'Are we going to exist?'"
Services on board also took a hit
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Lynne said: "It started becoming apparent that the company is in significant debt - and we started losing a lot of our 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.
"Our TV service then went down and so more questions started being asked. But despite this the company asked us again for money for fuel."
Last week, Villa Vie Residences cofounder and executive chairman Mikael Petterson said that the company had been forced to make cost-cutting measures.
"There were itinerary changes," he told Business Insider.
"Of course there were."
He said the company ‘had no choice’ but to make changes due to the rising price of fuel.
Commenting on the changes to services, which included amendments to how meals were served and internet disruptions, Petterson told Business Insider: “We were cutting back where the residents would feel it the least, and that balance sometimes was difficult.”
LADbible has reached out to Villa Vie Residences for comment.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel, World News
Claire Reid