Luxury cruise’s ‘Resident Wikipedia’ CEO deletes apology letter to stranded passengers after offering hope of saving its ‘never-ending’ voyage

CEO of the luxury cruise ship company that was on a years-long voyage to circumnavigate the globe apologized to residents, some of whom are now stranded in Cambodia after being forced to disembark due to a critical fuel shortage. However, to their dismay, it was deleted hours later on Friday, October 30.

Kathy Villalba, Villa Vie Residences CEO and founding partner, sent the residents of Odyssey, who were promised to sail “continuously around the globe,” a message on Circle, the ship’s internal messaging platform, saying she was deeply sorry for the “pain, the loss, and the uncertainty” they face after “global living” came to an abrupt halt, Business Insider reported, citing screenshots of the memo.

Also Read: ‘I am not giving up’: Passengers speak out after luxury cruise ship promising a ‘new way to live’ leaves them stranded in Cambodia


The outlet cited three Villa Vie residents who had access to the messaging platform and confirmed the memo's contents and that it was no longer visible. Villalba said in the letter that media scrutiny had become so “overwhelming” that reporters are now contacting their families, “including people who have nothing to do with the company.”

Business Insider shared the entire message to its platform, in which a part goes like, “I think part of me has been in denial that this could really be happening. Even now, we continue to speak with potential investors, holding on to whatever hope remains because I simply cannot imagine letting this dream go.”

She shared that her team called her “Resident Wikipedia,” because she knew all of the passengers' names and even their stories. “That meant so much to me, because getting to know each of you individually was the best part of all of this,” she said, adding, “the thought of losing it leaves a hole in my heart that I cannot begin to describe.”

The Florida-based company announced on Tuesday, October 27, that it has “suspended operations in Cambodia as the company works to address extraordinary increases in fuel costs and evaluate restructuring and recapitalization alternatives.”

Blaming the ordeal on the US-Iran war in the Middle East, they added that “Fuel costs have risen sharply in the regions where the company has been operating. On an equivalent per-cabin basis, monthly fuel expense that historically averaged approximately $1,800 has recently reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia.”

The company further said it “cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure.”