News 116K views since yesterday

Odyssey residents say fuel surcharge broke lifetime-price promise

DW News adds passengers' accounts of a contract dispute and reports that residents had seven hours to leave the ship in Cambodia.

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DW News Story of October 30, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of DW News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 116,021 views.

Passengers from the 'Cruise for life' cruise ship stranded in Cambodia | DW News

The price was supposed to last as long as their life aboard. Randy Cassingham tells DW News that residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey were asked to pay an extra fuel surcharge despite contracts that guaranteed their price.

His account adds a contractual dispute to the story of passengers stranded in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, after the residential cruise ship suspended operations. Cassingham says the contracts contained no provision for the surcharge, and many residents refused to pay extra.

Fellow passenger Steve Skulnich describes the immediate consequence: "We got thrown off the ship yesterday." He says the company had run out of money for fuel. DW reports that the operator attributes the shutdown to rising fuel prices, and that residents received just seven hours' notice to leave.

The report drew roughly 116,000 views since yesterday. It shows cabins marketed for lifelong residency, followed by passengers gathered around a table ashore and aerial views of the ship's empty upper deck.

For resident Russ Borman, the central problem is not a disrupted vacation. He says some passengers sold their homes and committed their money to living aboard, leaving them without somewhere to return to. "And that's the situation that we're in, too," he tells DW.

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