A couple spent their entire savings on a three-year cruise. When the trip was canceled at short notice, they received no refund.
Kara and Joe Youssef sold their apartment and flew to Turkey to board the Life at Sea cruise, The New York Times reports.
Instead, the couple has been living in a hotel room in Istanbul for a month.
A couple sold almost everything to go on the three-year Life at Sea cruise. They have now been living in a hotel room in Istanbul for a month after the organizer couldn’t find a ship and had to cancel the trip.
“We sold everything we had to make this dream come true,” Kara Youssef told the New York Times, “We are completely devastated.”
The Life At Sea cruise was canceled at the last minute after the operator couldn’t find a ship. He said investors had pulled out. The cruise, to be operated by Turkish company Miray Cruises, was to have been a three-year voyage covering 140 countries and 382 ports. The company had claimed on its website that there was “overwhelming demand” for the trip.
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The cheapest cabins cost about $115,500 per person in a double cabin for the three-year voyage, rising to nearly $300,000 for a room with a balcony. The price includes meals, drinks, entertainment, seminars and medical advice, says Miray. Kara and her husband Joe Youssef said they sold their two homes, withdrew their savings and gave away most of their possessions to finance the trip.
The couple left for Istanbul at the end of October, where the trip was scheduled to begin on November 1st. The trip was then postponed to November 11th and the departure port was changed from Istanbul to Amsterdam. Ultimately, the cruise was postponed until November 30th before the organizer ultimately canceled it. “They kept putting us off and keeping us hoping until the last minute, just a few days before we were scheduled to leave,” Kara said.
“We could soon be homeless”
As of December 28, the Youssefs had already been living in a hotel in Istanbul for a month – paid for by the cruise company – and were still waiting for a refund of $80,000 (around 72,000 euros). “We could soon be homeless,” Kara told the New York Times. The company had previously said it would offer shoppers alternative departure dates or “expedited refunds” if it was unable to depart on December 1, Business Insider in the US previously reported. Reports said Miray asked passengers to sign an agreement. This would have provided for reimbursement payments between December and February.
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“I haven’t received anything yet, but I didn’t expect that,” Mary Rader told the New York Times. She is a retired social worker from New York. She took $80,000 from her savings to finance the trip. “I suspect the company will close or restructure and everything I put in will never be paid out,” Rader said.
Not enough cabins were sold
The cruise was originally scheduled to take place aboard the MV Gemini, owned by Miray. However, due to concerns about her capacity and suitability, she was moved to a ship the company named MV Lara. However, it was later sold to another cruise operator.
The planned trip was hampered by the exit of investors and a lack of interest from potential passengers. Conflicts between Miray and Mikael Petterson, the Miami-based entrepreneur who came up with the idea for the three-year trip, also had an impact. “We tried everything to find a solution. But ultimately we couldn’t find investors and couldn’t sell enough cabins,” Miray owner Vedat Ugurlu told the New York Times.
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Some people have compared the planned cruise to the Fyre Festival. “They promised so much and maybe too much,” one person who backed out of the cruise in April told Business Insider.
Life at Sea’s website now states that the cruise is scheduled to take place in November 2024. On some websites, however, the fall of 2023 is still specified. The trip is still advertised as a trip aboard the MV Lara. Potential passengers can still express their interest in the trip on the website. It is unclear whether Miray will ever make the trip.
Business Insider has reached out to Miray for comment.