Lifetime cruise, but you have to pay for fuel

A couple paid $1 million for a lifetime cruise package, only to be abandoned by the cruise line—but they still don't regret it.

A US couple stranded in Cambodia after their cruise line refused to cover rising fuel costs paid $1 million for the trip of their dreams—but they still insist they have no regrets.

Blogger Randy Cassingham and his wife Kit told AFP they paid the hefty sum to sail on the Odyssey because they believed the all-inclusive voyage would last at least 15 years.

Instead, they and more than 200 other passengers were ordered off the ship after the cruise company Villa Vie announced it could no longer absorb soaring fuel costs.

"It was a great time," Randy said of the cruise they began two years ago.

"Money aside, it was a wonderful adventure," he said, insisting that despite the abrupt end to the journey—and the cruise line offering "absolutely no help" to passengers in finding accommodation—he and his wife have no regrets.

Kit Cassingham told NewsNation on Wednesday that the couple initially paid about $370,000 to $380,000 for their cabin on the Villa Vie Odyssey, and had been spending at least $7,000 a month since then.

Asked whether she expected to get any money back, she replied: "No, no, no, no."

The MV Odyssey set sail from Northern Ireland in October 2024, promising to take passengers to all seven continents and offering lifetime onboard suites priced from $130,000 to $440,000, plus monthly fees of $2,000 to $10,000.

It was marketed as a continuous round-the-world voyage—some passengers even sold all their belongings to pay for it.

The Cassinghams said it seemed like the perfect way to fulfill their dream of traveling the world.

"My wife and I both love to travel. But we really hate airports and airlines. This way you pack once, sleep in your own bed every night, and wake up in a new place every few days," Randy told AFP by phone from a hotel in Sihanoukville.

Operator Villa Vie said in a statement that fuel costs per cabin per month in parts of Asia had soared from an average of $1,800 to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000, blaming the sudden spike on the war with Iran.

Some of the 203 passengers on board, most of them American, said they had sensed the ship was sinking in its final months because they were being asked to help keep the vessel operating.

"We knew something was wrong because they kept asking us for more and more money," 62-year-old Barbara Figiel told AFP.

"But the question is, how much money can you put in to save a sinking ship?" she said.

Figiel said she and her husband had been living "a great life" on the Odyssey. They boarded in December 2024 because she had always wanted to live on a cruise ship in retirement.

She also doesn't believe they were scammed, believing Villa Vie simply "underestimated the costs."

Carol Larson, a 69-year-old from California, told AFP she initially paid $120,000 for her cabin (not including monthly maintenance fees), and the voyage was supposed to last 15 years, or the lifespan of the 650-foot ship.

She said passengers were given only seven hours to pack their bags and disembark, and she is now "stuck" in Sihanoukville port.

Still, she said the journey was "well worth it."

"I'm honored to have been part of the residential cruising experiment."

Villa Vie said it tried to reduce fuel consumption by slowing the voyage and spending more time in port, but could not offset the cost surge caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

"We can no longer absorb the resulting operating losses. Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic option. Our focus now is on supporting residents, employees and crew," Villa Vie Residences said in a statement Tuesday, while working on a restructuring.