For Hawaii couple Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin and Wyoming pair Paul and Lynn Montoya, life at sea was meant to be permanent, leading them to sell their businesses and homes in 2024 and 2025, respectively, and join the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey.
However, their plans unraveled earlier this week when surging fuel costs forced the vessel to suspend operations.
Highlights
- Two USA couples were among hundreds who sold their homes and businesses to live permanently aboard Villa Vie Odyssey.
- They were given just eight hours to pack their belongings and disembark in Cambodia after rising fuel costs forced the ship to suspend operations.
- The evacuation followed the cruise company’s request for additional contributions from residents to cover soaring energy expenses.
The four passengers have since described their ordeal in separate interviews, recounting how they were left without a place to stay while revealing a common demand made by the company behind the voyage.
“It shocked us,” they said of the ask.
Villa Vie Odyssey passengers spoke out after being left homeless when the ship halted operations
Canen and Bodin lived aboard Villa Vie since it first set sail in September 2024.
The 56-year-olds paid $100,000 to acquire a cabin on the ship and were charged a monthly maintenance fee of $3,500.
Canen ran a windshield replacement company from the vessel, while the pair documented their experience on the ship through their YouTube channel, Living Life on a Cruise.
However, at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27, the couple received a notice from CEO Kathy Villalba informing residents that they had to pack their belongings and disembark in Cambodia, where the ship was docked, by 2 p.m. that day.
Speaking to Business Insider, they said they had known leaving was a possibility because rumors of financial difficulties had circulated onboard. Nevertheless, the short notice still came “as a surprise.”
Canen additionally told The Independent, “Our immediate reaction was a deep sense of heartbreak at having to leave the home and community we had built over the past two years.”
“It was difficult to process the news while packing up our life and saying goodbye to the place we had come to love.”
Meanwhile, the Montoyas received the news at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and told LADbible that they, too, had until 2 p.m. to pack their belongings.
Lynn recalled that fellow passengers experienced “every emotion” following the announcement.
“Disbelief, crying, sadness and then the immediate rush that you’re losing your home and you have to pack everything up or take whatever you can with you,” she shared.
“We left a lot of our stuff behind in the cabin.”
Both couples confirmed that the cruise company, Villa Vie Residences, had asked residents to make additional payments in the days leading up to the suspension of operations.
The passengers recalled being caught off guard by the unexpected financial request
In a statement shared with the press, Villa Vie Residences said its monthly fuel expenses per cabin had risen from $1,800 to between $6,000 and $8,000.
The company attributed the 344% increase to the conflict between the United States and Iran that began in February.
It added that it had taken “significant steps to reduce fuel consumption,” but these efforts had ultimately proved insufficient.
Canen said, “Villa Vie has not given us a date for returning onboard.” As a result, she explained, “regardless of whether operations resume, we have decided to move on.”
“The company was planning to increase our maintenance fees, which would have priced us out,” she added.
Paul Montoya corroborated her account, saying the proposed increase had “shocked” him and his wife, although it had not come entirely out of the blue.
He also said he believed the company had been experiencing financial difficulties for some time.
On August 1, Villa Vie passengers received a message titled “Urgent Operational Update” through the cruise ship’s internal messaging platform.
The communication referred to a “fuel contribution” that residents had previously been asked to make.
Villa Vie asked passengers to contribute toward fuel costs more broadly and pay extra if possible
“When the fuel contribution was requested several months ago, participation was not universal,” Villalba wrote in the message, according to Business Insider.
“The contributions received helped some, but they covered only part of the extraordinary increase in fuel costs.”
“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 creative operational decisions to preserve the voyage,” the message added.
It continued, “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 requirement.”
She described the financial assistance as “real, immediate and necessary” to keep Villa Vie moving.
The message further stated, “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.”
Netizens have suggested various solutions to the passengers of Villa Vie following its suspension
One X user encouraged passengers stranded in Cambodia to explore the country, describing it as “beautiful and very affordable.”
“The Cambodians are very pleasant and will take good care of you,” another person added.
A third suggested that the passengers “sue” the cruise company, arguing that promising a lifetime of travel without delivering on that commitment could constitute a “breach of contract.”
A fourth user argued that residents should be allowed to “stay on board,” even if the ship remained docked, given that they had already paid the company in full.
However, that suggestion caused pushback.
One commenter pointed out that the vessel would “still require fuel to keep its electricity, water, and sanitation systems running.”
Another warned that passengers’ frustration could make the situation “unpleasant very soon.”
Ultimately, a separate user proposed that “the vessel’s owners should sell it off and pay back on a pro-rata basis.”
"You've got to be really stupid to sell your home for a cruise," a social media user said
