Queensland woman pays $63,000 for 3-year ‘endless’ cruise, then trip is canceled before she boards: ‘Absolutely devastating’

The Villa Vie Odyssey cruise, a supposed never-ending cruise, came to an unexpected halt. According to CBS News, the cruise guaranteed passengers at least fifteen years aboard the Odyssey. However, just two years in, passengers are already being told to disembark.

At 6:00 a.m. on October 30, Friday, Johan Bodin and Lanette Canen posted a video on TikTok about an announcement in their cabin to disembark the Villa Vie Odyssey. After taking their passports, Bodin confirmed with the hotel director that he and all of the other passengers would be getting off the boat.

“All residents are required to leave the vessel by 2:00 p.m. today. They can still leave their belongings secured in their villas. We still don’t know at this moment that the outcome in the future. Therefore, we kindly and strongly recommend everybody to take only the essentials items for the following day,” the captain announced in a message recorded by Bodin and Canen. The ship docked in Cambodia, and the captain confirmed that the passengers will have daily transportation to the ship available to residents.

Disappointed and crushed

Bodin and Canen recorded fellow passengers leaving the ship and getting into a shuttle bus. “It might be the last time I leave this place. This is not easy,” Bodin commented while he bade some crew members goodbye. Canen also said, “I feel like my dream of traveling the world has been crushed. But I guess we could still do it by land.”

Lisa McKay, another resident from The Villa Vie Odyssey from Queensland, Australia, was also heartbroken by the announcement. “I don’t have that money to waste and lose. It’s just been devastating, absolutely devastating,” she told ABC News. McKay expected the cruise to be the trip of her lifetime. Instead, she was left stunned when she and other passengers were told to disembark midway through the fifteen-year voyage. Although living full-time on a cruise ship isn’t common, another woman, formerly of Houston, has lived on a cruise ship for three years while keeping her budget tight. However, the same couldn’t be said for McKay, who reportedly spent over $63,000 of her retirement to live at sea.

Why did The Villa Vie Odyssey dock so soon?

Emanuele Giudiece, the captain of The Villa Vie Odyssey, told Reuters that the ship’s fuel situation was critical. When asked whether he blames rising fuel costs on the Middle East War, Giudiece only confirmed that fuel prices have affected their sea travel.

Mikael Petterson, founder of Villa Vie Residences, also told CBS News that the company will likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it goes through a restructuring process. Because of the sudden turn of events, roughly 200 passengers are now stuck in Cambodia.

“I want it to continue because to find a whole community of people who really want to help each other, who enjoy traveling in community, who are open-minded and open-hearted—there’s nothing else like it,” Benjamin Schatz, a retiree and passenger of the Villa Vie, told CBS News. It’s unconfirmed whether passengers will receive a refund after the cruise ship’s abrupt end. But while stuck in Cambodia, passengers like Schatz are paying for their own housing while waiting for a resolution.

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