A former Montana auto dealer who sailed on the disastrous ‘never-ending cruise’ now wants to buy the ship herself, declaring: ‘I’m not ready to be done.’
Whitney Olson, 47, a retired car dealership owner, is among 200 passengers left stranded in Cambodia after their multiyear voyage aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey came crashing to a halt last week amid soaring fuel prices.
But while others may be ready to put the nightmare behind them, Olson is already plotting a comeback, hoping to snap up the vessel and bring the around-the-world journey back to life.
The ship, marketed as a ‘home at sea’ promising an endless voyage with more than 400 port stops across the globe, is now headed to Singapore, where it is expected to be auctioned off.
‘It was so special. I’m not ready to be done,’ Olson told The New York Times. ‘I’m still going to watch to see what happens with the Odyssey at auction, and see if there is a way to pick it up for cheap.’
The potential purchase comes after the dream voyage descended into chaos, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded in Southeast Asia and exposing months of mounting financial turmoil.
Residents have since revealed how executives ‘begged’ them for money, with their dream of paradise becoming an increasingly desperate fight to keep the ship afloat.
Just over a year after departing Northern Ireland in October 2024, passengers said company leaders suddenly warned them they were just two weeks away from running out of money, the Times reported.
Whitney Olson, 47, a retired car dealership owner in Montana who sailed on the ‘never-ending cruise’ (pictured), now wants to buy the ship herself, telling the NYT: ‘I’m not ready to be done’
Olson is among 200 passengers left stranded in Cambodia after their multiyear voyage aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey came crashing to a halt last week amid soaring fuel prices (pictured: residents walk into Cambodia hotel)
The ship (pictured), marketed as a ‘home at sea’ promising an endless voyage with more than 400 port stops across the globe, is now headed to Singapore, where it is expected to be auctioned off
By April, Villa Vie’s financial crisis had become so dire that executive chairman Mikael Petterson turned to the very passengers who had paid to sail around the world, asking them to loan the company $3 million.
The massive sum was pitched as a loan to cover fuel costs, with Petterson dangling annual interest rates of between 12 and 24 percent.
Even as the voyage teetered on the brink of collapse, passengers remained attached to the life they had built aboard the Odyssey, convinced that no land-based alternative could ever compare.
For Olson, that devotion came at an eye-watering cost.
The solo traveler was not simply a paying passenger but one of the ship’s original ‘founders,’ having invested additional money in exchange for an equity stake in the company, according to The Times.
In total, she has spent more than $1.5 million on two cabins, her ownership stake and further contributions intended to keep the ship afloat.
Her commitment ran so deep that even as the company’s finances unraveled, she considered lending Petterson another $2 million in April to revive the dream.
But Olson wanted a full financial audit and assurances that her investment would be protected if the company went bankrupt, details she said Petterson refused to provide, the outlet reported.
Just over a year after departing Northern Ireland in October 2024, passengers said company leaders suddenly warned them they were just two weeks away from running out of money
In April, Villa Vie’s financial crisis was so dire that executive chairman Mikael Petterson (pictured) turned to the very passengers who had paid to sail around the world, asking them to stump up $3 million
‘He was more interested in taking the money from the residents at these exorbitant interest rates than giving me what any investor would ask for,’ she said.
Refusing to let the ship slip away without a fight, Olson began plotting a way to bring it back under passenger control.
She joined forces with two fellow travelers to start an investment company that would pool residents’ money, settle the ship’s debts and take the vessel in an entirely new direction.
The plan was inspired by The World, the only successful residential cruise ship currently operating, whose model offered an alternative to the one Villa Vie passengers had repeatedly criticized.
Residents had raised concerns that Villa Vie had priced itself into trouble, with monthly fees set in 2023 failing to account for the impact of inflation.
There were several ways to make the Odyssey home, from lifetime suite ownership costing between $120,000 and $440,000, plus monthly fees of $3,500 to $11,000, to five-year ownership plans starting at around $50,000.
Those unwilling to tie themselves down for years could opt for flexible, short-term stays aboard the vessel.
But the repeated requests for passengers to open their wallets soon raised alarm bells, with residents beginning to wonder whether the company could even sustain itself.
Olson told the NYT: ‘It was so special. I’m not ready to be done. I’m still going to watch to see what happens with the Odyssey at auction, and see if there is a way to pick it up for cheap’
Many passengers have remained attached to the life they had built aboard the Odyssey, convinced that no land-based alternative could ever compare
Canadian passenger Mary Ann Demsar (pictured), 67, previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Unfortunately, it was not expensive enough. It did seem too good to be true that it could cover its costs, and we kind of felt that way’
‘This whole concept is a fabulous idea, there’s no two ways about it,’ Canadian passenger Mary Ann Demsar, 67, previously told the Daily Mail.
‘Unfortunately, it was not expensive enough,’ she added. ‘It did seem too good to be true that it could cover its costs, and we kind of felt that way.’
Olson’s company, however, proposed a different approach: adjusting fees in real time to account for fuel costs, port charges and crew wages, eliminating the need for outside loans, according to the Times.
But her plan hit a wall when investors uncovered millions in unexpected debt and failed to reach a deal with its primary lender, NRP Maritime Asset Management AS.
They warned that residents could inherit a financial and legal nightmare, with debt repayments and legal bills alone expected to hit $3 million in the first two months.
Petterson has blamed the company’s financial woes on soaring fuel costs amid Trump’s war with Iran, claiming that before the conflict erupted in February, sales were strong enough to put Villa Vie on track for profitability in early 2026.
Residents, among them Harvard-educated lawyer Benjamin Schatz, disputed the executive’s account, saying many had little to no idea just how deep the company’s financial troubles were, particularly those who had signed on as founders.
‘Founders knew surprisingly little about the state of the finances,’ he told the Times.
Investors warned that rescuing the vessel could come at a steep price, potentially leaving residents on the hook for $3 million in debt repayments and legal bills within just two months
The uncertainty has left residents in limbo, with some making plans to travel across Asia and others choosing to remain in Cambodia (pictured) as they await word on whether the ship has a future
‘Few, if any, understood that all the money from cabin sales was spent immediately to keep the ship afloat,’ he added. Petterson, however, maintains that he shared financial updates with founders every few months.
The uncertainty has left residents in limbo, with some making plans to travel across Asia and others choosing to remain in Cambodia as they await word on whether the ship has a future.
Olson’s immediate plan was to cross into Vietnam, put her belongings in storage and then join her family in India for a previously arranged trip to see the Taj Mahal and Bengal tigers.
But despite the detour, Olson has no intention of giving up a life aboard the Odyssey.
