J004-CAMBOYA VUELTA AL MUNDO BARCO

The captain of the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship described on Thursday (October 29) how "painful" it was for him and his crew to request hundreds of people who were living permanently on the vessel to disembark after soaring fuel prices forced them to cease operations.

The Villa Vie Odyssey had been cruising the world for at least 755 days as one of only a handful of ships that offered passengers the opportunity to rent or buy long-term or even permanent residences on board.

"Unfortunately, due to the shortage of fuel, we needed to shut down one generator, chiller, non-essential lights. And this, of course, would have created discomfort to the residents, which we don't want that. So we kindly asked the residents to get off the ship because our fuel situation was critical," said Emanuele Giudice.

Giudice said the residents were given more than 24 hours’ notice and that the ship could not offer more than that.

Asked who was to blame, he pointed to very high fuel prices, which he said had a big impact on the ship’s travel. When a reporter asked whether the Middle East war and Donald Trump were responsible, he declined to comment.

Cambodia’s tourism minister, Huot Hak, boarded the cruise ship at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on Thursday, to meet with Giudice and his crew and to see what kind of cooperation the crew or residents may require.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SIHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. TRUCK MOVING PAST VILLA VIE ODYSSEY CRUISE SHIP DOCKING AT SIHANOUKVILLE AUTONOMOUS PORT

2. VILLA VIE ODYSSEY CRUISE SHIP

3. WRITING ON SHIP, READING (English): "VILLA VIE RESIDENCES"

4. STAFF OF CRUISE SHIP SPEAKING INSIDE SHIP THROUGH GLASS PANELS

5. TEXT ON SHIP’S HULL, READING (English): "ODYSSEY"

6. VARIOUS OF DECORATED WINDOWS ON SHIP

7. VILLA VIE ODYSSEY CRUISE SHIP AT DOCK

8. VARIOUS OF CAMBODIAN TOURISM MINISTER, HUOT HAK (IN PLAID SHIRT), GETTING ABOARD SHIP

9. CAMBODIAN OFFICIALS SITTING IN MEETING WITH SHIP’S CAPTAIN AND CREW

10. HUOT SPEAKING IN MEETING

11. VARIOUS OF SHIP’S CAPTAIN, EMANUELE GIUDICE, LISTENING DURING MEETING

12. MEETING IN PROGRESS

13. HUOT AND GIUDICE STANDING AT MEDIA INTERVIEW OUTSIDE OF SHIP

14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VILLA VIE ODYSSEY CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN, EMANUELE GIUDICE, SAYING:

"203 passengers had to leave the ship even if it was really painful for us. Because we consider our residents, we call residents not passengers, as a family. Unfortunately, due to the shortage of fuel, we needed to shut down one generator, chiller, non-essential lights. And this, of course, would have created discomfort to the residents, which we don't want that. So we kindly asked the residents to get off the ship because our fuel situation was critical."

15. LIFEBOAT HANGING ON SHIP

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VILLA VIE ODYSSEY CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN, EMANUELE GIUDICE, STANDING WITH HUOT HAK AND OTHER CREW MEMBERS, AND SAYING:

"We gave at least 24 hours' notice. We gave more than 24 hours' notice. So beyond this, we were not in the position to provide more."

17. LIFEBOAT HANGING ON SHIP

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VILLA VIE ODYSSEY CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN, EMANUELE GIUDICE, SAYING:

REPORTER: "So for this problem, who should you blame for it?"

GIUDICE: "....the fuel prices that is very high."

REPORTER: "Mr. Donald Trump and the Middle East war?"

GIUDICE: "I don't have any comment about that, but the fuel has had a big impact on our traveling."

19. HUOT AND GIUDICE STANDING AT MEDIA INTERVIEW OUTSIDE OF SHIP

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAMBODIAN TOURISM MINISTER, HUOT HAK, SAYING:

"We understand how worrying this situation can be, especially when the passengers affected are far from home and family."