A Brisbane woman who spent two years living aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey has described the heartbreak of watching the ship sail away from Cambodia without its residents, after the residential cruise was abruptly shut down and passengers were given just hours to pack up their lives and leave.

Rina Cavazza had been looking forward to rejoining the vessel in Bangkok on Monday, but instead found herself back in Australia, having scrambled to retrieve her belongings from the ship she had called home since it departed Belfast in October 2024.

A Dream Voyage Cut Short

The Villa Vie Odyssey carried Australians and other residents on a voyage that promised an "endless" journey of up to three and a half years, visiting more than 425 destinations across 147 countries. For Cavazza, a mother of five grown-up children, it was far more than a holiday.

"It wasn't just a little holiday where you just go away for a week or two and come back," she said. "This is where we lived."

The ship, which has capacity for 650 passengers, arrived in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on October 23 carrying 203 passengers and 156 crew, according to Cambodian officials. On October 27, residents were informed the operation was shutting down and that they needed to vacate within hours.

Villa Vie Residences suspended operations citing soaring fuel costs, which it said had made its business model unsustainable. The closure came after months of reported financial difficulties, with residents allegedly being asked to contribute extra money to keep the voyage going.

Cavazza's Rush to Retrieve Her Belongings

When the shutdown was announced, Cavazza was on an extended land trip in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She cut her travels short and made the 17-hour journey back to Cambodia to collect as much as she could from her cabin, where she had lived for roughly 25 months.

She managed to bring home five large suitcases totalling between 120 and 130 kilograms, but still has possessions on board. She flew back to Brisbane, arriving late on November 2, the same day she had originally planned to board the ship in Bangkok.

The Odyssey remained docked in Cambodia until November 3, when it departed for Singapore under the control of its lender, with only a skeleton crew and residents' belongings still aboard.

Watching footage of the ship leaving was a painful moment for Cavazza, who described the vessel as looking like a "ghost ship".

"It was really, really sad seeing it just sailing away like that," she said. "All dark. No one out on the bow or anything like that. Normally when we leave port, there's always someone out on the bow watching the land."

"It's not a cruise ship anymore," she added. "It's a ship that's been taken by the banks."

Residents Left Scrambling for Belongings and Answers

The abrupt end to the voyage has left some former residents in more serious difficulties than others. Those who were unable to return to Cambodia in time have had to rely on fellow passengers or crew members to collect and store their possessions. One group reportedly arranged to rent a house near the port where people could leave their bags for a month.

More pressing for some is the fact that medication and essential items remain aboard the ship, now under the lender's control and heading to Singapore.

The question of what happens next for residents, including whether they will be compensated or able to recover all their belongings, remains unresolved. For Cavazza, the sudden end to a carefully planned life at sea has left a void that is difficult to quantify.

The Villa Vie Odyssey's future, and that of the people who entrusted it with their homes, their possessions and their savings, remains deeply uncertain.