Stranded cruise passenger seeks to buy vessel after journey ends

A passenger stranded in Cambodia following the sudden end of a multiyear residential cruise hopes to buy the ship to resume the voyage, the Daily Mail reported. Whitney Olson, a 47-year-old retired car dealership owner from Montana, is seeking to purchase the vessel after its trip came to a halt. Around 200 passengers were left stranded after the journey ended. [1]

The cruise aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey was suspended in Cambodia due to soaring fuel prices, the Daily Mail reported. As FTMQ News reported earlier, passengers on the continuous world cruise were given seven hours to disembark when operations were halted. The vessel originally departed from Belfast in October 2024, but monthly fuel costs per cabin reached up to 8,000 dollars in parts of Asia following the war in Iran. [1][5][6]

The executive power in Cambodia is held by Prime Minister Hun Manet, while King Norodom Sihamoni serves as the ceremonial head of state. [4]

Olson stated that she is not ready to be done with the journey and intends to acquire the vessel to bring the around-the-world voyage back, according to the Daily Mail. Other passengers are preparing to move past the experience after the voyage ended abruptly. [1]