The West Asia conflict has left many people stranded at sea over the past few months—literally. Sailors on ships that had crossed into the Persian Gulf, many of them Indian, found their tours worryingly extended when the Strait of Hormuz was sealed. This week, the conflict posed a rare problem for more than 200 families that had paid fancy sums to buy cabins on a ‘forever cruise’. They were abruptly forced to leave MV Odyssey in Cambodia after the cruise company demanded extra fuel surcharges due to rising costs. The ship was later seized by Singaporean authorities over unpaid fuel bills. As the cruise craze picks up among Indians, those boarding would do well to read the operator’s financial responsibility clause first.