‘Endless Cruise’ founder breaks silence after 200 passengers were left stranded: ‘I’m the villain’
The founder of the 'endless cruise' Villa Vie Odyssey has said he's 'the villain in the story' and laid the blame for the failure of the idea at the rising cost of fuel triggered by the US and Israel going to war with Iran.
Villa Vie Residences sold permanent cabins on their Odyssey cruise ship as residents thought they'd be able to spend the rest of their lives on the ship, with some of them even selling all of their other possessions to move on board.
However, earlier this week (27 October) the company announced it had 'suspended operations in Cambodia' and was working to get the people living on board to disembark and go into temporary living arrangements.
Speaking to Business Insider, Mikael Petterson said he felt 'awful', saying that the passengers who thought they'd be spending the rest of their lives on the ship were 'counting on me to make the decisions here' and it was his only focus.
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He explained that the US and Israeli war with Iran sent fuel prices up and it triggered a doom spiral which led to prices rising and passengers deciding to abandon ship.
Eventually it triggered a 'cascading effect' which led to the decision to shut down the endless cruise and tell the passengers on board it was time to leave.
He said: "Nobody that's tried residential cruising has succeeded, and we've gone further than anyone else.
"But I think we would have been absolutely fine - and we would have seen this through - if there was no Iran war."
The cruise ship founder said that until last week he'd been talking with another investor about putting more cash into the venture to keep it afloat but when that fell apart it really was the end of the voyage.
"I'm the villain in the story, but I'm doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution," he said of this end to the cruise ship drama, which had started with the vessel infamously being delayed from leaving port for months.
Villa Vie had said in a statement that 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), meaning they could no longer afford to operate.
Some of the residents who'd been living on the ship have reacted to the cruise concluding.
Wyoming couple Paul and Lynn Montoya who sold their house to live on board the ship told LADbible they had no regrets about their decision as they explained that at 8am on Tuesday they were all told they'd have to be off the ship in Cambodia by 2pm and sort out living arrangements.
While they said they'd still have signed up if they'd known how it was going to end, the couple said the mood on board was one of 'disbelief, crying, sadness' as people came to terms with their time on the cruise ship being over.
They also said they weren't surprised with how it ended as the signs that things had been in 'trouble for some time' had been there, including a loss of internet because of failing to pay Starlink and 'food levels went down dramatically over the last few months'.
They also described how the company kept asking for money and in addition to their $6,000 a month maintenance costs they also made voluntary contributions.
They doubt they'll see that money again, but they've really enjoyed their time on the ship.
Another couple on the cruise ship, Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin, said they had a 'deep sense of heartbreak' about it being all over as they've said that whether or not the endless cruise resumes they'll not be getting back on board.
There were 203 passengers and 156 crew members on board the ship, while it had the capacity for 650 passengers.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel, Lifestyle
Joe Harker