Dream of Retirement at Sea Ends in Disaster as 203 Cruise Passengers Are Stranded in Cambodia

Retirement Media ^ | 29 October 2026 | Demetirus Gardner

[fella]

What began as an extraordinary opportunity to spend retirement exploring the world has turned into a financial and logistical nightmare. A residential cruise ship promising years of international travel has abruptly suspended operations, leaving more than 200 passengers, many of them Americans, searching for accommodations thousands of miles from home.

---

TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS:

[Bonemaker]

I’d have joined the Navy instead of the Air Force if I wanted to be trapped on a ship.

[Fireone]

Yup, if your business model doesn’t factor in a rise in costs, your business is going to fail.
This is 7th grade social studies.

[bgill]

Another day, another cruise ship problem.

[LastDayz]

I can wholeheartedly recommend MSC Seascape with the Yacht Club package. It was our first cruise earlier this year for seven days. Thoroughly enjoyed it and frankly.... didn’t want to leave. That boat was awesome with tons of things to do and some of the most delicious cuisine I’ve ever had.

When we go again.... it’ll be with MSC.

[JimRed]

“ They’re probably all sick of each other anyway. It’s a blessing in disguise.”

If they lived in an adult community with all the amenities of a cruise ship, would they be less sick of each other?

[Track9]

I don’t know but extended stays on a cooped up ship sounds trying at best.

[Bobbyvotes]

There is more freedom on a Oasis class ship than any hotel, any restaurant, any shopping mall, any individual home. You know why? because it is impossible to have have mass shootings, burglaries, holdups, fatal car accidents, or any other violent crimes on a cruise ship. There are no guns, no weapon size knives, no bombs on a ship. They check every item brought on ship with X-rays and sniffing dogs.

As for being trapped, if one gets separated from their travelmate on an Oasis class ship, one is never going to find them unless they make arrangement to meet at a certain location at a certain time. My wife and me always returned to the cabin if we got separated by mistake.

But I am glad you do not go on cruises. Ships are already sailing full. We do not need more people competing to sail and raise prices more.

[ConservativeMind]

I thank all of you for your insight. I will go through these with my wife.

A new one was MSC Seascape. One I noticed all of you staying away from was Carnival.

This is good stuff!

[Bobbyvotes]

MSC ships are very nice and modernistic. On our first MSC cruise we thought the food was rather bland, European style. Next MSC cruise, the food was a bit more Americanized. They have 2 classes on the ship. Standard and Concierge. I can’t recall that on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity or Regency. There are areas on ship reserved for concierge class passengers only. May be even a restaurant.
Standard class prices on MSC are usually lower than other lines.

[rlmorel]

Interesting. I would not have concluded that, but your explanation makes sense.

They did tell the newbies on the carrier we had bowling alleys! Once in a while, one would bite...:)

[fredhead]

I did 20 years in the Navy, 5 deployments to the Mediterranean with part of the last one into the Persian Gulf.

All on aircraft carriers.

[Bonemaker]

At least you had space!

[Bull Snipe]

Compounding the problem may have been a doubling in the price of ship’s bunker fuel since February.

[USAF1985]

The company is based in Miami. You could sue, but if they have no money for operations...what makes someone think they can get it back from a broke company?

[USAF1985]

“Could you rank the cruise companies you’d pick or have used?”

I got stationed at Patrick AFB in 2000 and live 20 minutes from Port Canaveral. I like to cruise...my wife can take it or leave it, but she does go. I like it, because I spend a lot of time on-call, and if I’m on a ship, I can turn off my cell phone, and NOBODY can get hold of me until I’m back.

We’ve been on a few different cruises. If I had to rank them:

1. Princess
2. Royal Caribbean
3. Disney

Others we tried and will NOT go on again...
4. Disney makes both lists. The smaller ships were good. The larger ships are horrible. The larger ships were designed by a company that builds hotels...not ships. Too many chokepoints on the bigger Disney ships and with 6000+ people, it gets crowded really fast. Also...they’ve just become too expensive.
5. Viking Ocean. Small ship was great, itinerary was outstanding. One would think that with an expensive cruise, the cabin would be comfortable. The bed was extremely “firm”, and I almost needed a chiropractor after my 2-week European cruise. Food was too gourmet with too much seafood on the menu. Not worth the cost to go on this one.
6. Carnival. I went on one many years before the Spirit Airlines crowds took it over. I would never go on one again.

Others I have yet to try, but will eventually (MSC, Holland America, Norwegian).

Pick your cruise according to your own expectations. If you like to stay busy all the time, the mega-ships are the way to go. If you go on a cruise to relax and get away from it all, the small and mid-size (3,000 passenger) ships are good to go. Personally, I like the Princess mid-size ships. Slightly older (like me) crowd, and I can stay as busy or idle as I choose. We have a Princess cruise in late November out of Port Canaveral. Can’t wait to get out of my cubicle!

[fella]

There’s an idea,

A retirement home modeled after a large top of the line cruise ship. Most likely would be much cheaper to operate.

[fella]

There’s an idea,

A retirement home modeled after a large top of the line cruise ship. Most likely would be much cheaper to operate.

[Bobbyvotes]

Simple reason is the bigger ships are huge, and there are a dozen choices to go eat, including a few small cost free cafe’s, free pizza joint, and specialty restaurants with surcharge. Our main assigned dining room on Oasis of the Seas was never full.