Founder of 'never-ending' residential cruise apologises after stranding passengers who paid up to $440,000
The founder behind an ambitious "never-ending" residential cruise has publicly broken his silence after 200 passengers were abruptly stranded in Cambodia with less than 24 hours' notice, admitting: “I messed up.”
Mikael Petterson, the founder and executive chairman of Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, addressed the sudden operational collapse after travellers who paid up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to live permanently at sea were ordered to pack their bags and vacate the Villa Vie Odyssey in the port city of Sihanoukville.
Speaking to Business Insider, Petterson admitted he feels “awful” and acknowledged his personal responsibility for the catastrophic fallout.
“I feel awful,” Petterson said, describing the situation as “incredibly deflating” after letting paying residents down. “They’re counting on me to make the decisions here, and there’s nothing else I’m focused on. I’m the villain in the story, but I’m doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution.”
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Pitched as the ultimate perpetual getaway, cabins aboard the Odyssey were offered for rent or outright purchase ranging from $119,999 to $439,999, promising an open-ended voyage stopping at 147 countries across three years.
However, the dream quickly unraveled due to mechanical setbacks and catastrophic surges in operating costs. Petterson pointed to geopolitical turmoil—specifically rising fuel prices linked to the U.S. conflict with Iran—as the decisive factor that crippled the venture.
According to Petterson, marine gas oil (MGO) that previously cost Villa Vie between $600 and $700 per metric ton surged to nearly $2,000 in Singapore and reached approximately $2,200 in Cambodia.
Unlike major corporate cruise liners, Petterson explained that Villa Vie lacked the financial scale to absorb the blow.
“[Larger cruise companies are] able to hedge and take away some of that risk, but we’re too small of a company to do that,” he explained.
Before halting operations, the company resorted to increasingly desperate measures to remain afloat.
In April, management asked residents to loan the company money with offered interest rates between 12% and 24%.
By September, an official held a meeting asking cabin owners to raise $1 million simply so the vessel could leave Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
As panic spread, terrified residents began selling off their cabins, compounding the company's financial spiral by gutting remaining vacancy sales.
Despite efforts to slow itineraries and spend more time docked to conserve fuel, the company admitted that passing mounting overheads onto residents was impossible.
With the ship now laid up, Petterson revealed the company faces either court-supervised restructuring or complete liquidation.
“Nobody that’s tried residential cruising has succeeded, and we’ve gone further than anyone else,” Petterson told the outlet. “We just don’t have the financial ability to sustain normal operations for the time being. So we’re protecting the asset and laying it up until we can find a solution going forward.”
One couple who have been forced from the ship, are Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin, who swapped their lives in Hawaii more than 500 days ago, to travel the world on board.
The couple locked in the cabin for a monthly fee of around $3,500 for two people, with all necessities including food, drink, housekeeping, laundry, WiFi, gym access, entertainment and gratuities included in the flat rate fee.
However, despite selling 31 cars to fund their alternative lifestyle, the duo have now sadly confirmed their dream life has now come to an end.
Speaking exclusively with UNILAD, Lanette and Johan said: "We’ve just finished packing up and leaving the place we called home for two years.
"It’s been emotional and exhausting, but we’re grateful for the places we’ve seen and the friendships we’ve made. This wasn’t how we hoped it would end.”
Given just six hours to pack up their belongings and depart, the couple admitted it was a bittersweet end to their time at sea, but did concede: "Our life at sea may be over, but our adventures together will continue."
Topics: Cruise ship, Travel
Phoebe Tonks