US couple who sold everything and paid $179,000 to live on 'endless' cruise ship share the eight warning signs they spotted before being left stranded

An American couple who sold everything and paid $179,000 for an ‘endless’ cruise ship lifestyle have revealed the five warning signs they spotted before being left stranded.

You’ve undoubtedly seen the shocking scenes in Cambodia, where Villa Vie Residences suspended its operations and told its passengers to disembark.

This was put down to financial costs, particularly when it comes to the price of fuel.

Now a couple who were caught up in this debacle have revealed the warning signs they saw before things came to the front.

What’s happened to the Villa Vie Odyssey?

It was the cruise cancellation heard around the world.

When Villa Vie Residences told the passengers on board the Villa Vie Odyssey to disembark in Cambodia, it quickly became a global news story.

Plenty of people have spoken out about their experience, including Lanette Canen and Johan Bodin, who sold 31 cars to live out at sea for 15 years.

“The crew were wonderful helping everyone with luggage and getting ashore, and we’re grateful to them,” they told Supercar Blondie.

“For now, we’re staying in a hotel in Sihanoukville for about a week, then heading to Phnom Penh. We’re taking things one step at a time and planning to continue traveling through Southeast Asia while working and sharing our experiences on ‘Living Life on a Cruise’.”

What went wrong for Villa Vie Residences?

The company has cited the cost of fuel as a primary issue, with prices in Asia jumping from $1,800 to an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 per cabin.

This led the company to suspending operations and all passengers onboard being told to disembark in Cambodia.

This couple has pinpointed five warning signs they noticed

Paul and Lynn Montoya from Wyoming are another American couple who were living life on the cruise ship and documenting it for YouTube.

Having spent $179,000 for their cabin, they were left devastated by what unfolded.

“Disbelief, crying, sadness, and then that immediate rush that you’re losing your home and you have to pack everything up or take whatever you can with you,” Lynn told LadBible.

Despite the turmoil, they acknowledged that there had been warning signs in the months leading up to the climax.

“They’ve changed itineraries, we’ve lost our internet because of non-payment to Starlink, food levels went down dramatically over the last few months,” Paul said.

There was also the fact that the company was facing rising financial pressures and passengers were being asked for extra money on top of the $6,000 a month in maintenance costs.

In their video, they highlighted more, including the venture ‘being under-capitalized’ from the beginning.

“[The founders] were sincere in their vision, but they had some problems when the ship was in dry dock,” Paul said.

A rudder stock replacement and a move from Southampton to Belfast pushed departure back by months.

Then there was the lifetime-style programmes with no ongoing fees – they took large upfront payments in exchange for no maintenance fees.

A reliance on selling more cabins proved problematic.

“It’s like the timeshare market – eventually you run out of inventory,” Paul said.

“Their model was flawed,” Lynn agreed.

Ultimately, all of this leads to one inevitable conclusion – the company’s revenue was running far below its running costs.

“Expenses were somewhere around $3 to $3.2 million a month, and their revenue was only about $700,000,” Paul said.

“That’s a big difference, and it’s not sustainable.”

Despite the trouble, the couple have no regrets about the cruise ship lifestyle

Although the end of the experience had been upsetting, the couple have no regrets about embarking on their cruise ship experience.

“You know, I don’t think you go into it saying that it’s going to fail. But if it was an 18-month trip, it would have been marvelous too. We got to see a lot of wonderful places,” Paul said.

They also pointed to meeting ‘incredible people’ as a particular highlight.