Inside the 'never-ending cruise' that dumped its passengers in Cambodia: 'It got worse and worse. Crew begged us for money. We gave them $450k after they pressured us'

A pensioner who was dumped in Cambodia while aboard the 'never-ending cruise' has revealed the turmoil passengers went through. Around 200 passengers were given just seven hours to pack their bags and leave a scheduled stop in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, this week after operator Villa Vie Residences announced it had 'suspended operations'. The 200m (656ft) Odyssey left Northern Ireland in October 2024 for a continuous voyage. Residents could rent rooms for a holiday or buy for life at a cost of up to $440,000 (£330,000), with some passengers selling everything they had to pay for it.This was the reality of Paul Montoya, 68, and his 64-year-old wife Lynn.The retired couple from Wyoming, US, described 'investing in a dream' when they chose to dedicate at least four years of their lives to travel the world - and signed on the dotted line in 2023. But their vision of an intrepid retirement rapidly deteriorated when conditions began to worsen aboard the ship - and calls for money from the company to cover rising fuel costs began. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Mrs Montoya shared how the couple has shelled out a staggering $450,000 (£337,840) in total, with more than half of that coming in unexpected costs on top of the $179,000 (£134,366) they originally paid for their cabin. The calls for money, the grandmother described, started in April as Villa Vie cited surging oil prices - and said the journey could not continue with their current budget. Paul Montoya and his wife Lynn described 'investing in a dream' when they chose to dedicate at least four years of their lives to travel the world on cruise ship the Odyssey A drone view of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship docking at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Cambodia Former permanent residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship return to the vessel to collect their belongings after being forced to disembark in CambodiaThe company asked 22 residents for a collective loan of $2.2million (£1.6million), Mrs Montoya said, which the company said would be paid back monthly with interest by April 2027. 'We have not received any payments,' she said. 'On July 31, they told us we would get a payment in the next three days. But two days after we were told there was no money.' Despite already handing over millions of dollars, the company called on the residents - and their retirement savings - again a few months later. 'Residents started donating to keep us on our journey,' Mrs Montoya said. 'In September, the company asked for $1.5million (£1.1million) and then $360,000 (£270,049) this past week while we've been stranded in Cambodia.' The couple believe the requests for money were strategic and came when the ship was docked at different ports, leaving the residents to feel vulnerable and 'coerced' into giving up their money. 'We felt manipulated and when that happened time after time, it began to wear us down and frustrate us,' Mrs Montoya, who sold the couple's house to fund the trip, said. 'We'd arrive at the port and six hours before we were meant to leave then they would say "Oh, we can't leave. We haven't got the money". 'Everybody then felt pressured to come up with these funds. We joked that we felt we were being held captive.' The retired couple from Wyoming, US, described 'investing in a dream' when they chose to dedicate at least four years of their lives to travel the world A security staff member is pictured standing guard near the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship docking at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port Former permanent residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship waited inside the vessel to collect their belongings after being forced to disembark in CambodiaQuestions naturally began to rise as conditions on the ship began to deteriorate, despite donations having been made specifically to pay for fuel.Villa Vie said in a statement this week that per-cabin monthly fuel expenses had gone from an average of $1,800 (£1,354) to an estimated $6,000 (£4,516) to $8,000 (£6,021) in parts of Asia.'The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,' it said.'It started becoming apparent that the company is in significant debt - and we started losing a lot of our services,' Mrs Montoya described. She added: 'Our internet was interrupted several times so we weren't able to check our bank accounts or pay bills, or call home.'Our TV service then went down and so more questions started being asked. But despite this the company asked us again for money for fuel.' Meanwhile, food quality deteriorated and crew members started disclosing with residents that their payments were stalled.This prompted residents to again shell out, although this time voluntarily, to financially support crew members 'whose pay began being affected in August'. The couple's vision of an intrepid retirement rapidly deteriorated when conditions began to worsen aboard the ship - and calls for money from the company to cover rising fuel costs began Passengers pictured disembarking the Odyssey after it was docked at Sihanoukville port in Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia'We were able to give 128 crew members at least $100 (£75) each,' Mrs Montoya said.The turmoil came to a head this week when the hundreds of travellers were given just hours to pack their bags and disembark.According to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia, 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, where they were left behind by the cruise.This came after the company asked for more money and received a further $360,000 (£270,049), the grandmother said, which came after the majority of residents declined to donate to.'Most people said no, we will not give you anymore money,' Mrs Montoya said. 'We're not going to do it.'I honestly believe that they believed people would give up their money again and they would just continue this.' Permanent residencies on the cruise cost between $120,000 (£90,000) and $440,000 (£330,000), with cabins costing £3,500 per month to rent. The request for money was followed by an official notice at 8am on Tuesday telling the travellers to disembark, which they must do by 2pm. Mr and Mrs Montaya are pictured in a room of a hotel they are staying at in Cambodia after being told to disembark the Villa Vie cruise ship'We were unsure whether we needed to take everything or just an overnight bag. We were told our cabins would be double locked so we packed enough supplies for 14 days,' Mrs Montoya said. 'But some people walked off the ship with 12 pieces of luggage.'The around 200 stranded residents were then shuttled off in groups and dumped in the centre of town, Sihanoukville.Villa Vie said it was 'working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements'.'Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop,' the firm said.However, Mrs Montoya claimed the residents received no help whatsoever.'Some residents were in their late 70s and 80s and were just forced to grab a Tuk Tuk and find a hotel,' she said.'Many of them had also dedicated the majority of their savings to the trip. This included the Endless Horizons package which cost up to half a million dollars upfront - and came with the promise they would never pay another penny as long as they were living on the ship.'The couple - who run blog Lynn and Paul's Excellent Adventure - were able to find a hotel alongside 40 other travellers, who are described as a 'community'. They claim, however, to not have received any communication from the company since walking off the ship.'We've been waiting for emails or a WhatsApp post. We've been looking for anything from a text, an email, something, and we have heard nothing from the corporate office,' Mrs Montoya said.Despite the setback, the couple plan to continue their travels and board a pre-booked flight to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.The Bahamas-flagged ship had arrived from Thailand and was due to go on to Vietnam. It was set to sail for 15 years. Mrs Montoya described remaining 'hopeful' about continuing their journey on the Odyssey, but under a different owner. This comes as Villa Vie seeks an investor, while owner Mikael Petterson told Business Insider he is doing his best to help the stranded passengers. He described on Wednesday feeling 'awful', adding the residents are 'counting on me to make the decisions here and there's nothing else I'm focused on'. The ship, built in 1993, contains several bars and restaurants, a pool deck and a pickleball court, according to its website. It has sailed for several different cruise lines, including Cunard (as Crown Dynasty) and, most recently, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines as Braemar.Villa Vie has been contacted for comment.