Retired Teacher Who Paid $200,000 to Live on ‘Never-Ending’ Cruise Reveals Woes on the Ship Before Passengers Were Stranded

NEED TO KNOW

• Sharon Lane, a former passenger on The Odyssey, claimed in an Oct. 29 interview that she noticed issues on the luxury ship months before it became stranded in Cambodia

• The retired teacher, who left the boat in August, alleged passengers faced food shortages and were asked to contribute toward fuel costs

• Villa Vie Residency, the company that owns and operates the ship, gave 200 passengers less than 24 hours to leave the ship in Cambodia amid rising fuel costs

A woman who left a luxury cruise ship months before it was stranded in Cambodia says she saw warning signs long before her exit.

Speaking to NBC Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 29, avid cruiser Sharon Lane revealed that she sold most of her belongings to spend the next 15 years as a passenger on The Odyssey.

However, health issues caused the 78-year-old retired teacher to leave the ship in August.

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Villa Vie Residency, the Florida-based company that owns and operates The Odyssey, gave the 200 remaining passengers less than 24 hours' notice that they would need to pack their belongings and leave the ship in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, The New York Times reported.

Villa Vie Residency cited "extraordinary increases in fuel costs" as one of the reasons for the sudden disembarkation in a press release .

The rising fuel prices have been attributed to the war in Iran , which has significantly impacted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Villa Vie Residency did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Lane told NBC Los Angeles that she noticed flaws months before The Odyssey became stranded, such as extended periods of time with no food.

"They went from lunchtime to almost 7 o'clock," Lane claimed, per the outlet. "They would put cookies out. That's not enough food. They were mad people were taking food and hoarding it in their food. You don't feed them. What do you expect?"

Recalling her time on the ship, she said, "We were literally floating out in the ocean, not spending gas to propel ourselves in any one direction or the other."

Lane also alleged that Villa Vie Residency began asking passengers on board The Odyssey to pay more for gas. She said she gave "hundreds" because she had friends on the ship who were not financially able to do the same.

"I went, 'They got to be out of their minds. How dare they?'" she said, later adding, "I have friends on that ship that couldn't afford [it]. They sold everything, and they live on Social Security, and they did not have high-end jobs when they were working."

She also claimed that her friends were not given hotel vouchers in Cambodia.

Lane, who paid more than $200,000 for her room at sea, now lives in a sparsely furnished apartment in Orange County and has no plans to return to any ships, per NBC Los Angeles.

"I won't do it now," she told the outlet. "I'm done." 

Villa Vie Residency said in its press release, "Since the conflict began in late February, we have taken significant steps to reduce fuel consumption, including slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port."

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"Those measures have not been enough to offset the extraordinary increase in fuel costs, and we have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses. Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution," the Florida-based company continued.

"Our focus now is on supporting residents, crew, and employees while we work toward restructuring and recapitalization over the next 60 days. That work is ongoing, and no outcome is assured," Villa Vie Residency added.

Read the original article on People