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Hotel accommodations in Istanbul will also be covered until Dec. 1, and “subsequent travel expenses to your chosen destination will be reimbursed,” Ugurlu said in his statement. The company said that anyone requesting a refund will get one, and that it will reimburse travel expenses related to the cruise. Many are stuck in a tough position, having spent tens of thousands of dollars on the now-canceled voyage that may take months to get reimbursed — and, in some cases, having sold or rented out their houses ahead of the cruise. On Nov. 17, Life at Sea revealed to passengers that the inaugural cruise was canceled, and that it had no ship, CNN reported.
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The company also told ABC News that anyone who wants a refund will receive it, including money spent on acquiring visas and other travel expenses. They also said people who have already paid will have a cabin when they set sail in May 2024. They are also inviting everyone on a separate, shorter cruise free of charge next summer.
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A three-year world cruise has been canceled less than two weeks before it was scheduled to set sail. According to CNN, the new HLC company would get a “temporary ship” to sail for a few months before acquiring a permanent vessel. Miray and Life at Sea cruises are also offering customers who bought into the original cruise a separate, shorter free cruise next summer. According to reports from ABC News and CNN, some passengers are now faced with what to do next after having sold their homes to embark on the three-year journey.
What are customers saying?
One passenger told USA TODAY he and his wife were notified of the cancellation on Nov. 17, after they had already arrived in Istanbul with plans to board the ship on Nov. 11. The guest asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from the company. The company had been trying to buy AIDAaura, a 20-year-old ship, which was sold in November to another cruise company. Instead, Life at Sea planned to buy a larger ship, the AIDAaura, which was set to be renamed the MV Lara, per CNN. After telling its passengers that the sale was taking longer than expected, however, news broke that another cruise company, Celestyal Cruises, bought the ship on Nov. 16.
But Miray Cruises' owner told ABC News this week they had only 150 passengers for a vessel with over 600 cabins. On Sunday, Miray Cruises issued a statement in Turkish, denying that the cruise is canceled. Instead, the company said the voyage is postponed — and it blamed a lack of enough passenger bookings, rather than problems finding an appropriate ship.
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The three-year cruise is canceled - CNN
The three-year cruise is canceled.
Posted: Fri, 24 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Life at Sea previously pushed the cruise’s departure back multiple times, USA TODAY reported, and passengers said they were most recently told the sail date would be Nov. 30. The brand, however, said to CNN at the same time that there was not a confirmed departure date or place. A three-year, around-the-world cruise that was supposed to set sail next week has been cancelled at the last minute, leaving passengers who sold or rented out their homes and made their way to the starting port stranded and very upset. Now, less than two weeks before its maiden voyage, Life at Sea has acknowledged to anxious passengers that there is no ship, and that the once-in-a-lifetime trip has been canceled, CNN reported. When the cruise missed its planned departure date, the company promised to resolve lingering issues.
Life at Sea Cruises was unable to acquire a vessel for the once-in-a-lifetime journey.
3-year cruise canceled weeks before setting sail, prompting passenger backlash - ABC News
3-year cruise canceled weeks before setting sail, prompting passenger backlash.
Posted: Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
To prepare for the trip, Witman sold her Oakley home, signing a short-term apartment lease nearby. She paid for her spot on a three-year cruise, on which she would work while traveling the world. "Miray is not such a big company to afford to pay million [dollars] for a ship," he said, adding that while the company made a down payment, investors "declined to support us further due to unrest in the Middle East."
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Miray and Life at Sea CEO Kendra Holmes resigned from the company in November, according to CNN, which also reported that she is behind a new start up world cruise under the HLC Cruises banner. Holmes resigned last week, according to CNN, days before Ugurlu officially announced the cancellation. "How did I feel about it? Devastated, disappointed, sad. I packed up my belongings, put them in storage, sent four boxes to Miray Cruises," Shay explained of her efforts before the trip was canceled. The Life at Sea guest said he and his wife planned to stay in Istanbul until they get a full refund. “We’re at a complete loss as to what to do or where to go without having our money,” he said. And rather than portioning the cruise for sale in smaller stages, the company required customers to commit to the full three years.
In exchange, passengers — or residents, as the company called them — were promised a long list of amenities, including an onboard hospital and doctor. Some cabins could host cats; travelers were also promised high-speed internet, free dining, alcohol and laundry service, and "enrichment seminars." Some would-be cruise passengers were in Istanbul, where the ship was originally scheduled to depart from, when they received news of the cancellation, per CNN.
However, in a statement to ABC News, Ugurlu said nothing had been canceled, only postponed until the spring. Life at Sea Cruises’ three-year sailing around the world has been canceled. "Our residents are changing their lives for this opportunity, and we are honored to be a part of their personal journeys," Holmes said in June. "Some people read the headlines and think, 'Oh, that was a scam,' but I really did my homework before I put a deposit down," Keri Witman of Cincinnati told NPR. The company also vowed to refund those who signed up for the cruise, whose costs ranged from $29,999 a year for a standard interior cabin all the way up to $109,000 per year for a luxurious suite with a large balcony.
When the Life at Sea cruise line failed to purchase the German cruise ship AIDAaura, seen here in 2020, its plans for a worldwide cruise embarking in November began to unravel. In his message, Ugurlu also confirmed that the cruise was canceled because the company could not afford the ship. On Nov. 19, two days after Holmes’ announcement, guests received another message, this time from Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray International, who also stated that the cruise would not be departing, per CNN. Witman, who lives in Oakley and runs the marketing agency Clever Lucy, said most of her work is remote, so she saw the Life at Sea cruise as an opportunity to manage her business while also fulfilling her love of travel. She was looking for stability in her travels while also having a space to work.
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