A British mother who was left stranded in Cambodia after being aboard the 'never-ending' cruise has described how the journey was doomed from the very start.
Passengers of the operator Villa Vie Residences' ship Odyssey were given a frantic seven-hour window on Wednesday and dumped at a planned stop in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Villa Vie announced it had 'suspended operations' amid rising oil prices resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, despite some passengers having sold everything they owned to pay for the journey.
But claims have since emerged that visible cracks had already formed in the very foundation of the company's business plan, leading to calls for money from its own guests – and the voyage's ultimate demise.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Hertfordshire-born Julia Witt described how she predicted the Odyssey's ill fate.
Yet despite her prediction becoming an eventual reality the 70-year-old believes the journey was worth every penny of the £110,000 taken from her retirement savings.
Ms Witt said it was obvious from the outset that the ship's operators were charging too little and spending more money than they were taking in, making the venture 'unsustainable'.
'It was scuppered. It was always scuppered,' she said. 'We all knew it was going to happen and saw it coming. There was no way the ship could sustain itself for the 15 years it was set to. Anybody with a modicum of business intelligence could have recognised that.'
Julia Witt set sail on Villa Vie Residences' ship Odyssey with partner Keith Gallocker (Supplied: Julia Witt)
A drone view of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship docking at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Cambodia
Mr Gallocker is pictured alongside other guests in front of the Odyssey (Supplied: Julia Witt)
On top of the $440,000 fee for a premium cabin, some permanent couples also forked out as much as $9,000 (£6,700) per month in maintenance costs, including food.
In addition, guests were also contracted to pay per-cabin monthly fuel expenses at an average of $1,800 (£1,354) – figures that jumped to an estimated $6,000 (£4,516) to $8,000 (£6,021) in parts of Asia as oil prices surged due to the Iran war.
'I signed up knowing this was an unrealistic promise,' Ms Witt, who travelled with partner Keith Gallocker, from Hampshire, said.
'It is cheaper than living in Gibraltar and certainly cheaper than living in the UK. It was undersold. We have been able to explore so many destinations we could only dream to go to.
'It has been worth every penny for what you effectively pay for. It covers your food, entertainment and services like cleaning. It also includes all your travel while onshore. It is absolute peanuts.'
However, this approach stood in stark contrast to other residents on the trip who had allocated their retirement savings to life on the Odyssey.
'Very sadly a lot of people spent silly money and didn't understand it was unsustainable,' Ms Witt, who is a Gibraltar resident, said.
'People are now really struggling. It hasn't been easy for those who perhaps thought they would be able to live for $2,500 (£1,866) a month for 15 years with no annual increases.
Mr Gallocker is pictured dining with other residents in a restaurant on the Odyssey(Supplied: Julia Witt)
Residents of the Odyssey are pictured celebrating Diwali on the ship as part of the cruise's entertainment (Supplied: Julia Witt)
'That was the company. They were trying to sell the dream, and they were trying to get people on board as quickly as possible, with no experience in this field, and nobody has experience in this field.'
The British mother-of-four attributes Villa Vie's failure to it 'getting the figures wrong' and 'making a mistake'.
'The mistake is they didn't charge enough,' Ms Witt said. 'They undersold their product from day one to get the bums on seats and to get the cabins sold.
'The company had to get good income and can't go selling the cheaper cabins for a couple of thousand dollars. It will cost you around £200 ($268) just to fill up a basket of little things in a UK supermarket.
'The ship's leadership team wanted to make the trip affordable and didn't get the figures right. We all make mistakes.'
But Ms Witt remains hopeful for its future, she adds, describing the potentiality of 'utopia' should a sustainable business model be created.
'Whoever gets this right as a business model will be delivering the most fantastic way of life and the most fantastic community,' Ms Witt said.
It is a failure founder Mikael Petterson has since spoken out and apologised for, blaming US President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran in February.
Ms Witt said it was obvious from the outset that the ship's operators were charging too little and spending more money than they were taking in, making the venture 'unsustainable' (Supplied: Julia Witt)
The 200m (656ft) Odyssey (pictured) left Northern Ireland in October 2024 and was set to sail for 15 years (Supplied: Julia Witt)
'I feel awful,' he said on Wednesday. 'I'm the villain in the story, but I'm doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution.'
Mr Petterson claimed he was in talks with a potential investor and had been waiting for a cash injection before the plans folded, which left the company with no viable option for its survival.
The reality led to three months of stalled payments to crew members, as well as the rapid deterioration of conditions aboard the ship – and 'strategically' timed requests for money.
Odyssey residents Paul Montoya, 68, and his 64-year-old wife Lynn described how the company continuously asked for funds from its residents since the Middle East conflict sparked.
This included a collective loan of $2.2million (£1.6million) in April – which they have not received a cent back from – and further calls for funds a few months later.
'Residents started donating to keep us on our journey,' Mrs Montoya told the Daily Mail. 'In September, the company asked for $1.5million (£1.2million) and then $360,000 this past week while we've been stranded in Cambodia.'
The retired couple from Wyoming, US, believe the requests for money were strategic and came when the ship was docked at different ports.
This then left the residents feeling vulnerable and 'coerced' into giving up their money.
'We felt manipulated and when that happened time after time, it began to wear us down and frustrate us,' Mrs Montoya, who sold the couple's house to fund the trip, said.
Villa Vie asked 22 residents for a collective loan of $2.2million (£1.6million), Mrs Montoya said
'We'd arrive at the port and six hours before we were meant to leave they would say, "Oh, we can't leave. We haven't got the money".
'Everybody then felt pressured to come up with these funds. We joked that we felt we were being held captive.'
Questions began to arise as conditions on the ship began to get progressively worse, despite donations having been made specifically to pay for fuel.
'The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,' Villa Vie said in a statement this week.
'It started becoming apparent that the company is in significant debt - and we started losing a lot of our services,' Mrs Montoya described.
She added: 'Our internet was interrupted several times so we weren't able to check our bank accounts or pay bills, or call home.
'Our TV service then went down and so more questions started being asked. But despite this the company asked us again for money for fuel.'
Meanwhile, food quality deteriorated and crew members started disclosing with residents that their payments had been stalled.
This prompted residents to again shell out, although this time voluntarily, to financially support crew members.
The turmoil peaked this week when the hundreds of travellers were given just hours to pack their bags and disembark.
According to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia, 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, where they were left behind by the cruise.
This came after the company asked for more money and received a further $360,000 (£270,049), Ms Witt said.
'We were given literally two days to conjure up $360,000 or we would off the ship,' she added.
'We effectively had enough of the company requesting money so very few people were prepared to put money upfront.
'We were given an ultimatum and we weren't prepared to put our hands in our pockets anymore. We just saw the end was coming.'
The request for money was followed by an official notice at 8am on Tuesday telling the travellers to disembark, which they must do by 2pm.
The group of stranded residents were then shuttled off in groups and dumped in the centre of town.
Villa Vie said it was 'working with residents to co-ordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements'.
'Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop,' the firm said.
However, residents have disputed this and revealed they have received no help whatsoever.
Yet, despite Ms Witt's current reality, she is to wait patiently in Cambodia for a month until her life on the sea is 'resurrected' – and attaches no regret to her decision.
'From my point of view, I don't see what I have lost. I rather see what I have gained,' she explained.
'It's been the most remarkable journey. It's been very special, particularly meeting different people around the world.'
Ms Witt will then 'buy into' the next 'chapter' of the Odyssey's journey.
The ship, built in 1993, contains several bars and restaurants, a pool deck and a pickleball court, according to its website. It has sailed for several different cruise lines, including Cunard (as Crown Dynasty) and, most recently, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines as Braemar.
The 200m (656ft) Odyssey left Northern Ireland in October 2024 and was set to sail for 15 years.
Villa Vie has been contacted for comment.
Do YOU have a story? Email
Source link
