Joel Greiff, 57, was new to the Villa Vie Odyssey. He had boarded the residential cruise ship on October 1 and kept his belongings to a minimum.

Traveling light came in handy when all passengers were abruptly told to leave the ship on Tuesday in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, amid what management has described as an oil-price crisis.

"I unpacked in an hour and I packed back up in an hour," Greiff told Business Insider.

Villa Vie Residences, which operates the cruise, said it had to shut the ship down because of the spiking price of fuel amid the Iran War. On Wednesday, founder Mikael Petterson told Business Insider the prices were part of a "cascading effect" that brought the ship to a standstill.

"I'm the villain in the story, but I'm doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution," he said.

Greiff is among the many Odyssey passengers who have to figure out what to do next, now that their floating mobile home is suddenly no longer so mobile. In interviews with Business Insider in the days since residents were told to disembark, they shared reactions that range from heartbreak and despondence to gratitude for the good times on board — and a buoyant hopefulness that the ship will sail again.

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Villa Vie Residences marketed the Odyssey as a "home at sea." It offered five-year residency packages starting at $59,999, permanent residency packages starting at $119,999, and a multi-cabin "Home Suite Home" option starting at $229,999.

Passengers were promised a lifestyle of continuous travel around the world, stopping at more than 400 ports in over 140 countries.

Jim and Chris Guld are no strangers to a life in motion. They spent 14 years living in an RV and traveling around the US before settling in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They run Geeks on Tour, a small company that offers tech training for travelers.

When they sold their townhouse to move aboard the Odyssey in April 2025, they kept a small camper van with a friend near Gainesville.

"It was going to be our lifeboat in case, early on, the Odyssey didn't pan out," Jim Guld, 72, told Business Insider.

That "lifeboat" is still waiting in Florida. The couple is in Cambodia.

In a notice on its website, Villa Vie Residences said it was helping coordinate residents' disembarkation and temporary accommodation. But the Gulds said that was not how their departure unfolded.

"We found our own hotel," Guld said. The company provided a shuttle, but he said it dropped them at "a park in the middle of town."

At least the couple had a long-planned trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to look forward to. They expect to continue traveling afterward, visiting places that should have been next on the Odyssey's itinerary, such as South Asia and Africa.

"We don't plan on going back to the States anytime soon," he said.

Claude Sadovsky paid about $100,000 in December 2023 for his cabin on the Odyssey. He told Business Insider he had left the ship about three weeks before the shutdown.

The retired doctor, 69, said he had started to feel the cruise was no longer delivering the round-the-world experience he had signed up for.

"It started out great," Sadovsky said. "Early on, I remember eating dinner with a group, and I looked at them and said, 'I really think this is worth twice what I'm paying.' As time went on, that feeling kind of dissipated," he said.

As more ports were dropped and the ship revisited places he had already seen, Sadovsky left in early October and returned to his apartment in Maui, Hawaii.

"I was amazed we made it as far as we did. And I was always prepared for it to end," he said. "I'm kind of surprised we made it two years, to be honest."

For now, he's happy to spend some time back home, though he said he'll consider returning if the cruise operators find a way forward, "especially if they could get it back anywhere close to when it first started."

"I really enjoyed that portion of it," he said.

The news has left others trying to stitch their dream life back together.

That includes a group of residents trying to raise enough money to buy the ship, said a 68-year-old resident named Paul Montoya: "If there is any option for us to move ahead, we kind of think that would be the only way."

"It's a Hail Mary," he added. For now, he and his wife plan to head to Malaysia for some medical check-ups, and then to Singapore. After that, their plans are vague, but he said they'll stay in the region "with the hope that things could change with the ship."

"It breaks my heart to think that this may be over," said Angela Nuran Gokturk.

She said she, her husband, and other passengers "are willing to do whatever we can that makes financial sense, of course, because we want to make this continue."

"This was our retirement," she said. "This is what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives, and it really was a dream lifestyle."

'I would do it again'

Dwight and Sheila Greene of Fort Worth, Texas, weren't on the ship when it halted operations. They spent the past month traveling around Cambodia and Thailand on their own schedule.

The Greenes, who run a Facebook page called "All Over the World with Dwight and Sheila," said they had made a habit of hopping on and off the ship to spend more time in places they wanted to explore.

"We use it like an aircraft carrier," said Dwight, 64.

On Wednesday, the couple flew to Singapore, where they'll be boarding a different, preplanned, 11-day cruise on Friday.

Dwight said their Royal Princess cruise was due to end in Singapore on November 10, around the time when the Villa Vie Odyssey's original itinerary was expected to return to Singapore.

"I thought, 'Oh, this is perfect. They'll arrive, we'll arrive, and we'll just change ships,'" Greene said.

That still is the plan, he added. Most of their belongings are still in their cabin. The Odyssey's recent travails have left them undaunted.

"If you told me this was going to happen, I would do it again," Greene said. "I would spend the same money. I would do it again in a heartbeat, because that's how rewarding it has been for Sheila and myself."

As for Greiff, the Odyssey newcomer, he's staying in a hotel near the ship while helping other residents collect their belongings. His next step will be to take a train to Kampot, Cambodia. He's already found a place to rent there and expects to spend a few weeks settling in, checking on the status of his Cambodian visa and getting a local SIM card. Longer term, he's considering Chiang Mai, Thailand, as a potential base.

One thing is clear: He doesn't plan to return to Florida. He used to own a condo and a car there, but he's sold both.

"I can live in Asia for $2,000 a month and live very well," he said. "It would be very hard in the United States."

• The boss of Villa Vie Residences sent passengers an "urgent" appeal for financial help in August.
• Three months before the cruise halted in Cambodia, CEO Kathy Villalba warned of soaring fuel costs.
• "We have now reached a critical point," she wrote. Read the full message to residents below.

Almost three months before Villa Vie Residences suspended operations on Tuesday, leaving residents of the "never-ending" cruise stranded in Cambodia, the company had already warned the Odyssey's residents that it was running out of money for fuel.

In an August 1 memo to residents labeled "urgent," Villa Vie CEO and founding partner Kathy Villalba asked residents for financial contributions to buy fuel.

The memo, which Business Insider reviewed, said the company needed to make "immediate and creative operational decisions to preserve the voyage."

The company behind the 509-cabin ship had promised a permanent life at sea and a voyage around the world every three-and-a-half years for its residents. That came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday, when residents were told to disembark with only a few hours' notice.

In a Tuesday statement announcing it had halted operations, Villa Vie said it had taken "significant steps to reduce fuel consumption" after prices rocketed following the onset of the US-Israel war with Iran in February, but that these steps had not been enough.

Villa Vie founder Mikael Petterson told Business Insider in a phone call on Wednesday that the fuel price surge triggered a "cascading effect" that culminated in the suspension of operations.

Financial pressures became clear to residents in April, two months after the war in Iran began, when Villa Vie asked residents to loan the company money, offering interest rates of 12% to 24%, according to a separate letter viewed by Business Insider.

And by August, Villa Vie had reached a "critical point," according to Villalba's message, which you can read in full below.

Villalba, Petterson, and Villa Vie did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Business Insider.

URGENT OPERATIONAL UPDATE

Confidentiality Reminder: This communication contains confidential and proprietary information intended solely for current Residents and authorized participants of the Villa Vie community. It is being shared through Circle as part of our commitment to transparency and open communication. We respectfully ask that you do not repost, forward, or otherwise distribute this information outside of Circle without the prior written consent of Villa Vie Residences.

Dear Residents,

We want to provide you with a direct, straightforward update regarding Odyssey's current operational realities.

When the fuel contribution was requested several months ago, participation was not universal. The contributions received helped some, but they covered only part of the extraordinary increase in fuel costs. Since then, the company has exhausted its available reserves covering the remaining shortfall and keeping Odyssey moving.

We had hoped that improving conditions in the region would begin to stabilize fuel prices. Unfortunately, the continued conflict and renewed market disruption have caused prices to rise sharply again. This is not simply an itinerary issue. It is an immediate cash-flow challenge that directly affects our ability to purchase the fuel required to continue the voyage.

Odyssey currently needs approximately 650 metric tons of fuel. Under normal market conditions, that fuel would cost approximately $450,000. At today's prices, the cost is nearly double ($800,000).

We have now reached a critical point. The lack of full participation, combined with the unprecedented increase in fuel costs, means we must make immediate and creative operational decisions to preserve the voyage.

We are working toward receiving a partial fuel delivery as early as Monday. Our berth is available until Friday, August 7 at 4:00 p.m., subject to final confirmation from the port agent and Singapore Port Authority. The current recommendation is to remain alongside until August 7 and then sail at a slower, more economical speed to Nha Trang for our scheduled arrival on August 12.

We are asking every Resident who did not previously contribute to please do so now. We are also asking those who are able to provide additional support to consider helping with this immediate fuel requirement.

While every Resident has a contract with Villa Vie, this international crisis has created costs far beyond the circumstances contemplated when those agreements were made. The financial need is real, immediate, and necessary to keep Odyssey moving. This is a moment when preserving our home and continuing the voyage requires support beyond contractual minimums from those who are able to provide it.

To conserve fuel and reduce operating costs, we will cancel Brunei and proceed directly from Singapore to Nha Trang. This will help reduce the expense, but it does not eliminate the need to fund the required bunkering.

We will provide another update as soon as the fuel, berth, and departure arrangements are confirmed.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

— VVR Management."

Survivors tell rights group that serving officers who worked as guards administered electric shocks and beatings

Cambodian police and military officers worked as private security guards in scam compounds where thousands were forced to work in the online fraud industry, according to a report by Amnesty International.

The global rights group alleged they worked for security companies as part of a system that enabled slavery and rape in the compounds, with some guards using electric batons to keep people trapped.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

The luxury MV Odyssey ship slated for a years-long voyage around the world suspends operations amid high fuel prices

A luxury cruise ship that had embarked on a years-long voyage around the world was forced to suspend its operations and leave passengers stranded in Cambodia because of high fuel prices.

The ship, known as the MV Odyssey, had been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members, Cambodian officials told the Associated Press. The ship has a 650-passenger capacity.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Heng Sinith/AP

© Photograph: Heng Sinith/AP

© Photograph: Heng Sinith/AP

In late September, China and Laos opened a Beijing-funded training and support center and an aviation academy at Ban Keun airport, about 50 kilometers north of Vientiane. China’s Ministry of National Defense says the facility will train Lao Air Force pilots and is “not directed against any third party.” Even so, much of the commentary […]

The post Cambodia and Laos are not pawns in a Chinese encirclement appeared first on Asia Times.

Last week, eight Chinese-made light attack jets sat on a half-finished runway at Ban Keun, flanked by more than two dozen military support vehicles, offering the first aerial glimpse of a new Chinese-Lao military facility north of the Lao capital, Vientiane. The speed of the buildup and the earthmoving visible around the airstrip in the […]

The post Belt and Road paving way for China’s military presence in SE Asia appeared first on Asia Times.

In February 2026, weeks after Cambodia’s National Assembly approved a draft law to ratify the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a convention Phnom Penh signed in 1983 but never ratified, Japan unveiled plans to extend Official Security Assistance (OSA) to Cambodia. The announcement did not come out of nowhere and […]

The post Cambodia’s Japan security aid is a hedge, not a pivot from China appeared first on Asia Times.

The EU welcomes Cambodia’s decision to join the Multi-party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) for WTO members, contributing to efforts to uphold a rules-based multilateral trading system. 

With Cambodia’s participation, the MPIA now covers 62 World Trade Organization (WTO) members and 60.4% of world trade.  

The MPIA brings together participants from all continents and at different levels of development, united by a shared commitment to upholding the rules-based trading system. 

The MPIA preserves the right to appeal in trade disputes among participating WTO members, at a time when the WTO’s Appellate Body remains non-functioning. It helps ensure that disputes can continue to be resolved in an orderly and binding manner, avoiding appeals 'into the void'. 

“I welcome Cambodia to the MPIA. The arrangement plays an important role in upholding the rules-based trading system. Each new participant helps reinforce the predictability, stability and credibility of global trade rules. I encourage other WTO members to join the MPIA,” said EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. 

Background 

The MPIA was established in 2020 and has proven its effectiveness in many WTO disputes.  

Under the MPIA, appeals are heard by arbitrators randomly selected from a pool of 10 standing appeal arbitrators set up by the participating WTO members. These arbitrators are persons of recognised authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and WTO agreements.  

The MPIA is open to all WTO members as a practical tool for appeal arbitration, pending the restoration of a reformed and fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system. 

As of 1 June 2025, the MPIA has an updated pool of appeal arbitrators to ensure that appeals continue to be heard by independent arbitrators of the highest calibre. 

At the WTO Ministerial Conference that took place earlier this year, MPIA ministers stressed the importance of the MPIA for the security and predictability of the multilateral trading system.  

The current MPIA participants are Australia, Barbados, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union (and its Member States), Guatemala, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Macao (China), Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Vietnam.

More information

MC14: Supporting the rules-based multilateral trading system: the role of the MPIA