A three-year cruise, hosted by Life at Sea, has allegedly left several passengers stranded after it suddenly cancelled the excursion just weeks before its scheduled departure.
According to CNN, the once-in-a-lifetime experience was called-off just two weeks before the boat was set to sail due to a lack of ship availability. The boat was initially scheduled to depart from Istanbul, Turkey, on 1 November, but the trip was postponed a number of times. The next “confirmed” date was 11 November with a relocation from Turkey to Amsterdam. Then, the company pushed the date back again, this time to 30 November.
Ticketed guests, who paid between $29,999 a month and $109,000 per year depending on room size, were planning on visiting seven continents, 135 countries, and 375 ports aboard the ship.
On 17 November, without any word from the company for weeks, per an ABC report, guests who had sold their homes, shipped their belongings, and had already travelled to Turkey, were notified of the voyage cancellation. The former CEO of Life at Sea, Kendra Holmes, sent out a 15-minute video to explain the devastating situation. According to the outlet, Holmes had resigned from her post a few days before.
Many passengers who had reserved one of the 111 cabins weren’t anticipating the last-minute cancellation, and now reportedly have nowhere to return home to. The company is promising to refund all passengers who were prepared to set sail aboard the ship, but payments will only be made in monthly installments, resulting in an estimated full refund around late February. Additionally, Life at Sea has offered to pay for transportation and accommodation until 1 December for any guest who has already travelled to Istanbul.
Speaking to CNN, a passenger who chose to remain anonymous, said: “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.”
Another guest named Kimberly Arizzi sold her entire apartment, all her clothes and furniture to pay for the luxurious trip, which she’d hoped would kick off her retirement, according to Insider.
Miray International, the parent company for Life at Sea, had started accepting payments and booking for the first-of-its kind trip at sea on 1 March. At the time, the plan was to use the MV Gemini Ship. Yet, upon further…
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