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That’s little comfort to some passengers who did not renew leases, or sold their homes or rented them out to travel the world for three years. The company has said it will make refund repayments in monthly installments starting mid-December and will complete them in late February, according to CNN. It has also offered to pay for accommodations until December 1 and flights home for anyone who has already traveled to Istanbul.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The trip of a lifetime has been canceled, leaving many passengers high and dry. Now, Life at Sea is promising customers repayment for the minimum US$115,500-per-person package, saying that monthly refund instalments would begin mid-December. It has also offered to pay accommodation until Dec. 1 and flights for those who had already made their way to the departure destination in Istanbul ahead of time. Organizers have scuttled a heavily promoted three-year cruise, which promised to let remote workers (and more) travel the world for $30,000 per year, saying the company has no ship on which to ferry those adventurers. Miray and Life at Sea cruises are also offering customers who bought into the original cruise a separate, shorter free cruise next summer. In a statement to the news outlet, Miray Cruises owner Vedat Ugurlu said the cruise wasn't canceled but postponed until May 2024.
3-Year World Cruise Canceled 2 Weeks Before Departure Date - PEOPLE
3-Year World Cruise Canceled 2 Weeks Before Departure Date.
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Along the way, they would explore wonders of the world, visit UNESCO World Heritage sites and have plentiful chances to go diving and snorkeling, the company said. What was once the trip of a lifetime has become the phantom trip from hell. Around the world in three years sounds more doable—one would think. A representative for Life at Sea Cruises did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Travel + Leisure. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
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Others are still in Istanbul, where the cruise was originally supposed to depart from. And many are waiting for a refund, which the company said it will pay in installments through late February. The cruise, which first started accepting reservations earlier this year with cabins starting at $29,999 per year, was canceled after the company Life at Sea Cruises admitted it didn’t have a ship, CNN reported. The cruise was initially set to launch from Istanbul on Nov. 1, but had since been postponed to Nov. 11 with the start port relocated to Amsterdam and then postponed again to Nov. 30. 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.
Similarly, construction on Storylines' luxury residential vessel has been repeatedly postponed, prompting at least one buyer to ask for a refund. Because of the dramatic changes to the itinerary, Norwegian Cruise Line has provided generous compensation to guests onboard. The letter goes on to confirm that the situation has been resolved, though details of the technical issue have not been disclosed. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean.
In October, delays in the ship's acquisition forced the company to postpone its launch twice. Amid this, Mediterranean cruise operator Celestyal announced in mid-November that it had purchased the AIDAAura, now renamed the Celestyal Discovery. Life at Sea Cruises is "facing challenges" because of investor withdrawals, according to a memo to customers written by its parent company's CEO and obtained by Business Insider. A three-year-long cruise meant to take travelers to 135 different countries across seven continents has been canceled.
The intense fallout is drawing comparisons to infamous debacles such as the Fyre Festival — the "luxury" music festival that was more like a "disaster relief area." But Life at Sea still has yet to acquire a vessel it would use for the around-the-world itinerary that was set to sail next week. And unless it's able to find one that doesn't require extensive refurbishments, this once-in-a-lifetime vacation could soon be called off. After this 1,095 days at sea, the vessel would continue its global circumnavigation on a different route every three years. Would-be travelers could pay extra to stay on board — potentially indefinitely.
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Despite the setback, Witman says she's been able to form connections with other would-be passengers, who have been keeping in touch via apps and group texts. Some of them are even making plans to travel together this winter. Terms of the deal help illuminate the would-be passengers' financial and logistical plight. Under its 12-month payment plan, the first draw came due one month ahead of the sail date.
I spent half a million dollars on a three-year cruise, but the ship never turned up. Still, always be positive - The Guardian
I spent half a million dollars on a three-year cruise, but the ship never turned up. Still, always be positive.
Posted: Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Life at Sea Cruises initially announced the three-year voyage in March and took on additional passengers in June. But after twice delaying the initial Nov. 1 departure date, it cancelled it altogether on Nov. 17, reports CNN. That’s leaving many passengers without a place to call home and some stuck in Istanbul, from where the cruise was set to depart.
I started having questions about the cruise that went unanswered. But it wasn't so much as to demand money back because, at some point, the most you could get back was the 10% of the money you put down. A representative for Miray Cruises denied the passengers' fraud accusations and said they would refund the passengers by February 15.
Furthermore, the ship’s planned visit to Kona was cancelled completely. Fortunately, the visit to Kahului, Maui took place as planned from 8 a.m. Life at Sea had promised customers a renovated vessel with “world-class” amenities, including a business centre, a library, a 24-hour on-call hospital with free medical visits and education classes for adults. There were also promises of a state-of-the-art wellness centre, multiple dining options and philanthropic initiatives that guests could register for. “There’s a whole lot of people right now with nowhere to go, and some need their refund to even plan a place to go — it’s not good right now,” a passenger who wanted to remain anonymous told CNN. In June, Life at Sea announced it had acquired a larger vessel for the trip, allowing it to accommodate 200 additional passengers.
CNN reports that passengers faced “weeks of silence” from Life at Sea Cruises and at least two postponements since the beginning of the month. The big ship was originally scheduled to leave port on Nov. 1, which was first postponed to Nov. 11 and then Nov. 30. But then in a message to passengers, Life at Sea said the sale had fallen through. Another company bought the ship that was to be rechristened the MV Lara, and Miray Cruises, the parent firm of Life at Sea, couldn’t afford to buy another ship. The company says it will refund passengers, who put down tens of thousands of dollars on the cruise as deposits. But that money won’t come quickly, as repayments will be made in monthly installments and won’t begin until next month.
With that ship, the MV Lara, the company raised the price of the trip from $30,000 to $38,513. He said all passengers would be given full refunds in installments between December and February. 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. "In two days' time, we own this vessel," Life at Sea itinerary planner Robert Dixon said in late September, speaking in a promotional video from the bridge of a ship he called the "MV Lara." Aboard the yet-to-be-acquired vessel, the company had promised staterooms with per-day costs cheaper than many mass-market world cruise itineraries.
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 cruise company Life at Sea recently told customers who bought passage on a three-year voyage that rather than visiting 140 countries, their trip was called off. Life at Sea Cruises had promised passengers of its inaugural three-year voyage the trip of a lifetime — they were supposed to set sail on Nov. 30, travelling to 382 ports across 140 countries over the span of three years. The company had been trying to buy AIDAaura, a 20-year-old ship, which was sold in November to another cruise company. Charging $38,513 to $98,226 per person per year for double occupancy cabins, the entire trip would cost at least $230,000, a relative steal when it comes to cruise prices. The company said its ship, to be called the MV Lara, would have a capacity of 1,266 passengers, and it expected to be 80 percent booked.
Royal Caribbean announced its 9-month world cruise would be re-routed around Africa as well. The original plan was for Serenade of the Seas to go through the Suez Canal in May. Instead of sailing through the Suez Canal, Anthem of the Seas will sail without any passengers around Africa. Guests booked on the October 14, 2024 sailing of Anthem of the Seas were informed by Royal Caribbean that they have decided to cancel a Middle East cruise because of concerns for the ship's safety. According to CNN, the ship that Life at Sea was buying for the cruise was bought by another company.
