Passengers who sold homes to live on ‘endless’ cruise reportedly asked to 'raise $1 million' before being kicked off
Earlier this week, a cruise ship that’s become a ‘home’ to its residents halted operations and ordered them all to disembark.
Some of the passengers on board The Odyssey had sold all of their possessions to live on Villa Vie Residences’ 642-foot ship.
Paul and Lynn Montoya are among those, having paid $179,000 for their own cabin and travelling around the world on the ‘endless’ cruise.
But this stop comes 17-months into their voyage, with residents told to disembark in Cambodia. However, while passengers were ‘shocked’ there’s talk of not being ‘surprised’ as one claimed they were previously asked to help ‘raise $1 million’ so that they could leave Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.
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The ship’s operator said it suspended operations due to high fuel costs.
A release from Villa Vie Residences said it had taken ‘significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port’.
It’s said the monthly fuel cost per cabin in parts of Asia has rocketed up to as much as $8,000 from £1,800.
But the measures the operator says it has taken have been insufficient in ‘offsetting the ‘extraordinary increase’ in costs.
It added: “Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.”
Speaking to NBC News, Pamela Reckamp said she wasn’t surprised that the journey had ended.
She had rented a cabin with her husband and disembarked this month but recalled attending a meeting in early September where this alleged $1 million request was made.
Reckamp claims a company official told cabin owners: “If we don’t get this money, we have about four days of the ship running.
“Then the lights will go off, and the AC will go off.”
The passenger said she ‘dodged a bullet’, having not been a resident on the cruise ship and leaving before this halt of operations happened. Reckamp says she witnessed a woman who had sold her home to live onboard in August claim she hadn't been made aware of any issues.
Speaking to LADbible, residents Lynn and Paul said they had just hours to pack up and make arrangements in Cambodia, with ‘disbelief, crying and sadness’ experienced across the ship.
They claim they were several warning signs in previous weeks as Paul reckons there’s been ‘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.
And the couple also claim the company asked residents for money ‘a number of times’ to continue the journey. Paul and Lynn say they voluntarily contributed as well paying roughly $6,000 a month for their maintenance.
Paul adds that they’ve accepted they may never see that money again.
The LADbible Group has contacted Villa Vie Residences for comment.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Lifestyle, Travel, World News
Jess Battison