Hundreds of cruise passengers including cancer patient left homeless, stranded in Cambodia after ship ran out of fuel

Some 200 passengers — including a cancer patient — were left homeless and stranded after their luxury cruise cut its three-year, around-the-world voyage short and dumped them in Cambodia when the ship ran out of fuel.The MV Odyssey, now sitting in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, set sail two years ago, promising passengers a trip to seven continents and offering lifetime suites on the vessel starting around $230,000.Its Florida-based operator, Villa Vie Residences, said it can no longer afford fuel costs, which it claims have quadrupled since the war in Iran began.Randy Cassingham, a blogger on the cruise who has been receiving cancer treatments, said that the company “has done absolutely nothing to help” passengers find accommodations.He said he’s decided to travel to Thailand to be with his doctors again.“I’ve taken two several-week breaks from the ship in Thailand for cancer treatment.

Between drugs and radiation, I have very limited energy and stamina,” Cassingham wrote on his blog.“It was easy to be on the ship where I could go and lie down in my own bed whenever needed; other kinds of travel are difficult,” he continued.Cassingham said the Villa Vie has provided shuttles between the ship and town since they are not allowed to walk around the cargo port area – but the operator “did not even give us a list of hotels to choose from.”“They have absolutely not offered to pay for that lodging, full stop,” he said.The ship, which has a capacity of 650, has been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members, according to Cambodian officials.It originally departed on a 3.5-year trip from Belfast in October 2024.Villa Vie said it tried to reduce fuel consumption by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but was unable to offset surging costs driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.“We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” Villa Vie Residences said in a ...