Creditor Takes Control of 'Forever Cruise' Ship Stuck in Cambodia as Residents Told to Pack
The lender behind Villa Vie Odyssey has taken over the vessel and plans to move it to Singapore, where it could be auctioned, while the company says a restructuring is still possible.
Residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey, the around-the-world residential cruise ship that remains stuck in Cambodia, have been told the vessel is now under the control of its lender, according to a message sent to residents and obtained by CBS News.
The ship will soon be moved from Cambodia to Singapore, where it could eventually be auctioned off, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Passengers had only the weekend to remove their belongings before the ship became inaccessible to them, as the lender took over its operating costs.
Company leadership said it is still optimistic. "This is a 30- to 90-day process, and, during that process, we have time to get a restructure done," Mike Petterson, the company's founder and executive chairman, told CBS News. He said the lender is now responsible for paying the crew, fuel and operations and for keeping the vessel safe, and that it would consider a funded plan. "It's not like you get your car repossessed and you can't get it back," he said.
The message to residents struck a similar note: "The lender has taken possession of the ship, but that does not mean the Odyssey's future has been decided. No sale has been scheduled." It said a Chapter 11 bankruptcy would cost about $3 million for the first 60 days, and that the company is pursuing a plan funded by debtor-in-possession financing and resident maintenance payments.
Some passengers said the upbeat tone offered false hope. An effort by residents to buy the ship from the company also failed after a lender denied them funding, according to sources who spoke with CBS News. That effort had pledges from 169 residents willing to put in more money.
Internal communications reviewed by CBS News showed the ship had been in financial distress for at least three months before it reached Cambodia. An internal presentation in early August said a "significant new line of inquiry" was the need to distinguish between residents' actual inability to contribute and their unwillingness to contribute more.
Joel Greiff of Naples, Florida, spent $350,000 on a cabin and lived aboard for just 26 days after moving in in October. He paid an initial deposit in August 2025 and the remainder in May 2026. In late July, he said, the company wrote to say it was struggling and asked residents for more money. "This is gonna fail. Every sign is there," he said. He has since rented a place in Kampot, Cambodia, for $200 a month and says he may never see his investment again.
Petterson said the company is entirely owned by employees and residents, so residents are "by definition the shareholders" and are asked to contribute when money is needed. Before it was stranded, Villa Vie's parent, Residential Cruise Holdings, had been working to acquire at least one more ship. Petterson said his focus is now "100%" on the Odyssey.
