Cruise ships leave Cambodia - without passengers

The luxury cruise ship Odyssey stranded more than 200 passengers in the port city of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, last week. The voyage, which was planned to last three and a half years, was canceled after only two years. The reason was that the ship's owner, American Villa Vie Residences, made the assessment that the fuel price increases due to the war in Iran had made the operation far too expensive.

According to information to CBS News, the lenders have now taken control of the ship to move it to Singapore. According to the same information, the luxury cruise ship will be auctioned there.

Now the ship has left Cambodia, but without its passengers. On board were only about 50 crew members, reports Reuters.

Taing Sochitkrishna, head of Sihanoukville's tourism department, told Reuters that a number of passengers chose to travel on to other parts of Southeast Asia, and that around 100 passengers have remained in Cambodia.

Mary Ann Demsar from Canada stated that the owners of the luxury cruise ship had not been clear about whether the voyage would continue its journey.

- We get no clear indication from the owners of Villa Vie about what is happening. They have been so quiet, the only information we get is from the government and representatives here in Cambodia, she told Reuters.

During Tuesday, the passengers were allowed to pick up their last belongings.

- There are still many things on the ship that I wish I could take with me, says Shirine Thomas from North Carolina, to Reuters.

The ship was scheduled to depart Belfast in May 2024, but was delayed due to repairs and instead departed in late September 2024. At 196 meters, Odysseys has a capacity of 650 passengers.

On the company's website, the ship is described as a "permanent home" and a long-term stay in a cabin costs $100,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.

During the promised three and a half years, the ship would take passengers to countries on all seven continents of the world, stopping at 425 ports.