The ship is known as the Villa Vie Odyssey in some reports and as the MV Odyssey in others. It was formerly the MS Braemar, was turned away from Caribbean ports during the pandemic, and was then converted into a residential vessel. Villa Vie said a surge in fuel costs made the voyage unsustainable. Fuel costs in parts of Asia rose from $1,800 to as much as $8,000 per cabin, according to one account. Mikael Petterson, the company's founder and executive chairman, blamed the war in Iran and the wider Middle East crisis, and called himself the "villain in the story."

Passengers were told to disembark in Sihanoukville, a port known for its casinos and scam centers, and were given seven hours to do it. According to one report, they were left without financial aid or lists of hotels, and the company later offered charter flights to the US. Another report says Villa Vie is arranging temporary housing and exploring financial restructuring, but that a potential investor deal has fallen apart and bankruptcy is under consideration.

The trouble had been building. In August, the company warned of a "critical point" because of a lack of full participation and sharply higher fuel costs, and it asked residents for additional financial support.

The ship, which could carry up to 650 passengers, had been pitched with stops at more than 400 ports and a trip around the globe every three and a half years. Permanent cabins sold for between $119,999 and $439,999. The four-year voyage was marketed as an escape from political turmoil at $319,998 per couple, with monthly fees on top covering amenities such as a pool, a pickleball court and a theatre.

Kit Cassingham and her husband Randy had spent two years aboard. She said the experience of being put off the ship ran the "gamut of the five stages of grief." The ship had been due to visit Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India. The Indian leg would have docked in Kolkata on November 29, then called at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Sri Lanka, Mangalore, Mumbai, Goa and Kochi, with a return on December 24.

Andrew Coggins, a professor and industry analyst, said residential ships are a niche market with notoriously difficult finances. He pointed to the 2023 cancellation of a Miray Cruises residential program over similar problems.