A British mother stranded in Cambodia after travelling aboard the so-called “never-ending” cruise has said she believed the voyage was doomed almost from the moment it began.

Passengers on Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey were given just seven frantic hours on Wednesday before being left at the ship’s scheduled stop in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Villa Vie said it had “suspended operations” as oil prices climbed amid conflict in the Middle East, leaving some passengers stranded after selling everything they owned to fund their new life at sea.

However, claims have since surfaced suggesting that serious weaknesses in the company’s business model had appeared much earlier. The problems reportedly led the operator to seek additional money from its own passengers before the voyage ultimately collapsed.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Hertfordshire-born Julia Witt said she had foreseen the Odyssey’s troubled future.

Even though her prediction eventually came true, the 70-year-old insists the experience was worth every penny of the £110,000 she withdrew from her retirement savings.

Ms Witt said the company appeared to be charging too little while spending more than it brought in, making the long-term operation “unsustainable” from the outset.

“It was scuppered. It was always scuppered,” she said. “We all knew it was going to happen and saw it coming. There was no way the ship could sustain itself for the 15 years it was set to. Anybody with a modicum of business intelligence could have recognised that.”

Alongside the $440,000 price of a premium cabin, some couples living permanently aboard the vessel paid as much as $9,000 (£6,700) a month in maintenance charges, including food.

Passengers were also required to cover monthly fuel costs for their cabins, averaging $1,800 (£1,354). In parts of Asia, those bills reportedly rose to between $6,000 (£4,516) and $8,000 (£6,021) as oil prices surged during the Iran war.

Ms Witt, who travelled with her partner Keith Gallocker from Hampshire, said she joined the venture fully aware that its promises were unrealistic.

“I signed up knowing this was an unrealistic promise,” she said. “It is cheaper than living in Gibraltar and certainly cheaper than living in the UK. It was undersold. We have been able to explore so many destinations we could only dream to go to.

“It has been worth every penny for what you effectively pay for. It covers your food, entertainment and services like cleaning. It also includes all your travel while onshore. It is absolute peanuts.”

Her view was markedly different from that of other residents who had committed their retirement savings to spending their later years aboard the Odyssey.

“Very sadly a lot of people spent silly money and didn’t understand it was unsustainable,” said Ms Witt, a Gibraltar resident.

“People are now really struggling. It hasn’t been easy for those who perhaps thought they would be able to live for $2,500 (£1,866) a month for 15 years with no annual increases.”

‘That was the company. They were trying to sell the dream, and they were trying to get people on board as quickly as possible, with no experience in this field, and nobody has experience in this field.’

The British mother-of-four attributes Villa Vie’s failure to it ‘getting the figures wrong’ and ‘making a mistake’.

‘The mistake is they didn’t charge enough,’ Ms Witt said. ‘They undersold their product from day one to get the bums on seats and to get the cabins sold.

‘The company had to get good income and can’t go selling the cheaper cabins for a couple of thousand dollars. It will cost you around £200 ($268) just to fill up a basket of little things in a UK supermarket.

‘The ship’s leadership team wanted to make the trip affordable and didn’t get the figures right. We all make mistakes.’ 

But Ms Witt remains hopeful for its future, she adds, describing the potentiality of ‘utopia’ should a sustainable business model be created. 

‘Whoever gets this right as a business model will be delivering the most fantastic way of life and the most fantastic community,’ Ms Witt said. 

It is a failure founder Mikael Petterson has since spoken out and apologised for, blaming US President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran in February.

‘I feel awful,’ he said on Wednesday. ‘I’m the villain in the story, but I’m doing everything I can to support the residents on a solution.’ 

Mr Petterson claimed he was in talks with a potential investor and had been waiting for a cash injection before the plans folded, which left the company with no viable option for its survival. 

The reality led to three months of stalled payments to crew members, as well as the rapid deterioration of conditions aboard the ship – and ‘strategically’ timed requests for money. 

Odyssey residents Paul Montoya, 68, and his 64-year-old wife Lynn described how the company continuously asked for funds from its residents since the Middle East conflict sparked.

This included a collective loan of $2.2million (£1.6million) in April – which they have not received a cent back from – and further calls for funds a few months later.   

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‘Residents started donating to keep us on our journey,’ Mrs Montoya told the Daily Mail. ‘In September, the company asked for $1.5million (£1.2million) and then $360,000 this past week while we’ve been stranded in Cambodia.’

The retired couple from Wyoming, US, believe the requests for money were strategic and came when the ship was docked at different ports.

This then left the residents feeling vulnerable and ‘coerced’ into giving up their money.

‘We felt manipulated and when that happened time after time, it began to wear us down and frustrate us,’ Mrs Montoya, who sold the couple’s house to fund the trip, said.

‘We’d arrive at the port and six hours before we were meant to leave they would say, “Oh, we can’t leave. We haven’t got the money”.

‘Everybody then felt pressured to come up with these funds. We joked that we felt we were being held captive.’

Questions began to arise as conditions on the ship began to get progressively worse, despite donations having been made specifically to pay for fuel.

‘The company cannot simply pass increases of that scale on to residents, and the resulting shortfall has placed its current operating model under unsustainable financial pressure,’ Villa Vie said in a statement this week. 

‘It started becoming apparent that the company is in significant debt – and we started losing a lot of our services,’ Mrs Montoya described.

She added: ‘Our internet was interrupted several times so we weren’t able to check our bank accounts or pay bills, or call home.

‘Our TV service then went down and so more questions started being asked. But despite this the company asked us again for money for fuel.’

Meanwhile, food quality deteriorated and crew members started disclosing with residents that their payments had been stalled.

This prompted residents to again shell out, although this time voluntarily, to financially support crew members.

The turmoil peaked this week when the hundreds of travellers were given just hours to pack their bags and disembark.

According to Long Dimanche, deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia, 203 guests and 156 crew had arrived at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, where they were left behind by the cruise.

This came after the company asked for more money and received a further $360,000 (£270,049), Ms Witt said. 

‘We were given literally two days to conjure up $360,000 or we would be off the ship,’ she added. 

‘We effectively had enough of the company requesting money so very few people were prepared to put money upfront. 

‘We were given an ultimatum and we weren’t prepared to put our hands in our pockets anymore. We just saw the end was coming.’ 

The request for money was followed by an official notice at 8am on Tuesday telling the travellers to disembark, which they must do by 2pm.

The group of stranded residents were then shuttled off in groups and dumped in the centre of town.

Villa Vie said it was ‘working with residents to co-ordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements’.

‘Villa Vie Residences recognises that this is a difficult and disruptive period for residents, crew members, and employees, and is working to support those affected as plans develop,’ the firm said.

However, residents have disputed this and revealed they have received no help whatsoever.

Yet, despite Ms Witt’s current reality, she is to wait patiently in Cambodia for a month until her life on the sea is ‘resurrected’ – and attaches no regret to her decision. 

‘From my point of view, I don’t see what I have lost. I rather see what I have gained,’ she explained. 

‘It’s been the most remarkable journey. It’s been very special, particularly meeting different people around the world.’ 

Ms Witt will then ‘buy into’ the next ‘chapter’ of the Odyssey’s journey. 

The ship, built in 1993, contains several bars and restaurants, a pool deck and a pickleball court, according to its website. It has sailed for several different cruise lines, including Cunard (as Crown Dynasty) and, most recently, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines as Braemar.

The 200m (656ft) Odyssey left Northern Ireland in October 2024 and was set to sail for 15 years.

Villa Vie has been contacted for comment.

READ MORE: Inside the ‘never-ending cruise’ that dumped its passengers in Cambodia: ‘It got worse and worse. Crew begged us for money. We gave them $450k after they pressured us’

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A University of Cambridge scientist has been identified as one of the victims of the devastating train crash in Spain earlier this week.

Dr Marta Shahbazi, 41, was among 69 people killed on Wednesday when a train travelling from Madrid to Seville struck a stationary train on the same route near Toledo.

The “apocalyptic” collision, which left more than 100 people injured, is being investigated. Early findings indicate that up to four separate system failures may have contributed to the crash, which witnesses described as resembling the aftermath of a bomb blast.

Dr Shahbazi, who had children aged three and seven, was initially reported missing. She had been travelling to south-west Spain to collect an award recognising her pioneering research into IVF and early embryo development when the trains collided.

A Spanish research institute later confirmed the death of the “inspiring, talented and passionate” scientist in an online statement. The institute also expressed its condolences to Shahbazi’s aunt, who is herself a scientist.

Remembered as a “brilliant young researcher”, Shahbazi was an Affiliate Associate Professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. She lived in Cambridge with her husband, Mirco Petruzzelli, and their children.

Her brother Carlos told The Times: “She lived for science and her kids. That was her whole life.” Colleagues have described her death as “a profound shock and a huge loss”.

The Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases wrote: “The CiMUS community would like to express its support and deepest sympathies to our dear PI María José Alonso, following the death of her niece, Marta Shahbazi, in the railway accident that occurred on 28 October.”

“Marta was a brilliant young researcher, Group Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Affiliate Associate Professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge.

“At this difficult time, we extend our heartfelt condolences to María José and her family, as well as to Marta Shahbazi’s colleagues and collaborators. Our thoughts are with them all, and we wish them strength and comfort as they come to terms with this profound loss.”

The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, where Dr Shahbazi led a research group, had previously said she was missing after the crash.

The laboratory has since announced: “The LMB is deeply saddened by the tragic death of our colleague Marta Shahbazi, Group Leader in the Cell Biology Division.

“Marta was on a train that collided with another near Urda, Spain, on Wednesday 28th October, as she was travelling to receive the scientific excellence prize from the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology.

“Marta was an inspiring, talented and passionate scientist. Her death is a profound shock and a huge loss. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues at this extremely difficult time. The LMB is offering support to members of its community as they navigate this tragic loss.”

The Daily Mail has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.

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The crash is being treated as one of Spain’s worst transport disasters. The country observed three days of national mourning after the tragedy.

All trains along a 63-kilometre (39-mile) stretch had been stopped after a computer malfunction. However, central command instructed a Renfe train to resume its journey without imposing any speed restrictions.

A little more than 20 minutes later at 8.53am, it smashed into the back of the stationary Iryo train 100 miles south of Madrid, leaving carriages totally destroyed and derailed. It was reported that the locomotive was capable of travelling at speeds of 185mph. 

The first incident report released after the crash has suggested that there were a number of technical problems with the railway infrastructure that day.

There had been a failure in the security system which stops trains from colliding, leaving staff to enforce safety controls manually, like temporary speed limits.

Faults in communication systems and electrical disturbances on the track bed are also said to be to blame, although authorities are still unsure over what caused the outages. 

Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente said that a controller told a stalled train to restart and continue travelling up to 160km/h (99mph), despite the stationary train being up ahead.

He said the control centre ‘had more than enough time to verify the error, and they did not fix it’.

He added: ‘The decision to resume traffic, while that system had not been restored, belongs to the control centre.’

The collision has caused a political crisis for Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is heading towards an election in a month, with many critics blasting his administration for under-investing in its railway infrastructure.

They have highlighted that the crash came less than a year after 46 people died in January when a train jumped the track and hit an incoming one in southern Spain.

Up to 27 nationalities are believed to have been among those injured or killed in Wednesday’s crash. 

One survivor, Sebastian Herrero, 46, who was travelling on the Iryo train, said he was ‘thrown against the seats’ when the trains collided, and described how he was ‘in the air for about four or five seconds’, which felt like ‘a lifetime’.

He described the crash as ‘a twisted mass of metal’ while another survivor, Jesus, said he ‘saw a boy with an amputated arm walking away from the wreckage’.

Architect Joaquín Torres described the death of a horrifically injured fellow passenger.

He said: ‘I went up to a woman who said she was cold… she died in my arms. It was horrible, [she was] without legs, without arms.’

One carriage caught fire and smoke was still pouring from the mangled wreckage as emergency responders reached the scene. 

Fatima Banez, Spain’s former employment minister, has also been confirmed among the dead, as well as 24-year-old athlete Julieta Gallego.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has dismissed reports of tension between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, calling the speculation “overblown”.

The comments follow reports of disagreements over government spending and the broader direction of its economic policy.

Speaking with David Speers on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, Gallagher rejected suggestions of a rift after Chalmers said he accepted responsibility for government decisions. Reports had also portrayed him as the strongest advocate for tighter spending controls.

Asked whether Chalmers appeared to be the only senior minister accepting responsibility for the government’s political and economic challenges, Gallagher said she had not interpreted his comments that way.

“I think he was simply saying that he takes responsibility for the decisions he makes as Treasurer, just as I make them as Finance Minister, but collectively, and it’s not just the ERC, it’s the cabinet and the caucus, stand behind the decisions we’ve made.”

Gallagher stressed that policy decisions are made collectively, with all ministers sharing responsibility for the government’s actions.

“These are collective decisions, all of us are part of those decisions, and we all take responsibility for them,” she said.

The Finance Minister also rejected claims that Chalmers had been engaged in an internal dispute with Albanese.

“I’ve seen the stories written in the last few days. I think, from my point of view, they’re overblown,” she said.

Gallagher said it was normal for the Treasurer and Finance Minister to present different options during economic updates, budget discussions and the mid-year economic update.

She added that vigorous debate was expected within government and could be constructive, particularly because senior ministers had distinct responsibilities.

“I think it’s a very professional and respectful relationship,” she said of Albanese and Chalmers.

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“They’ve known each other a long time. We’ve worked in these roles, the three of us, for a number of years now.”

Pressed on whether differences between a prime minister and treasurer inevitably created tension, Gallagher acknowledged that ministers brought different perspectives but denied there was any personal conflict.

“We’ve all got slightly different jobs and come at things from slightly different perspectives as you would expect,” she said.

“Robust discussions as part of that through our processes, I think, is actually a good thing.”

“There is always a contest of ideas and I think that’s healthy and good.”

Gallagher also defended Labor’s fiscal management, arguing the government had improved the budget position since taking office while still funding essential services.

The Reserve Bank is widely expected to raise rates on Tuesday, which would mark its fifth increase this year, as Labor faces pressure to rein in spending amid stubborn inflation.

‘We’ve improved the bottom line in every budget and every budget update,’ she said.

Gallagher acknowledged mounting spending pressures from the NDIS, Medicare, aged care, defence and interest payments on government debt but rejected suggestions the government was ignoring the problem. 

‘The pressures on the budget are real,’ she said.

‘They are increasing and we have to deal with them, and we are dealing with them.’