Life at Sea Cruises’ three-year cruise that was supposed to set sail this month has officially been canceled.
Passengers who had signed up for the headline-grabbing voyage — originally scheduled to depart Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 1 and visit seven continents, 135 countries and 375 ports — received word of its cancellation on Nov. 17, CNN reported.
According to the report, the cruise was postponed to November 11 and moved from Istanbul to Amsterdam shortly before the original departure date of November 1. Then it was pushed back again, this time to November 30.
Finally, less than two weeks before the third and final departure date, the trip was canceled entirely.
Life at Sea did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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On Nov. 17, Life at Sea revealed to passengers that the inaugural cruise was canceled and there was no ship, CNN reported.
The company also promised refunds to those who signed up for the cruise, whose costs ranged from $29,999 a year for a standard inside cabin to $109,000 a year for a luxury suite with a large balcony.
On March 1, cruise line Miray International, which owns Life at Sea, officially began taking reservations for the first world voyage of its kind on its MV Gemini, but later decided the ship was too small for the cruise.
Instead, Life at Sea planned to buy a larger ship, the AIDAaura, which was to be renamed the MV Lara, CNN writes. However, after telling his passengers that the sale was taking longer than expected, news broke that another cruise company, Celestyal Cruises, had bought the ship on November 16.
The next day, former Life at Sea CEO Kendra Holmes — who resigned just days before the sale fell through — informed guests that the cruise had been canceled. Holmes relayed the information in a 15-minute video given to passengers, one of whom provided it to CNN.
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On November 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 depart, CNN writes.
In his message, Ugurlu also confirmed that the cruise was canceled because the company could not afford the ship.
He claimed that Miray was not “big enough” to afford the ship, but the cruise company “presented the project to investors and had official approval from some of them to buy the ship”, and after paying for the ship, the investors “refused to support us further due to unrest on Middle East,” writes CNN.
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Some potential passengers on the cruise ship were in Istanbul, where the ship was originally scheduled to depart, when they received word of the cancellation, according to CNN.
Many have been left in dire straits because they spent tens of thousands of dollars on a now-cancelled trip that could take months to recoup — and, in some cases, sold or rented their homes before the cruise.
“There are a lot of people who have nowhere to go right now, and some of them need a refund to even plan to go anywhere — that’s not good,” one guest told CNN. (Passengers who spoke with the branch wished to remain anonymous until they were issued a refund for their cruise.)
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“Sad, angry and lost” is how one potential passenger described their current situation to CNN.
“I planned to live an extraordinary life for the next three years of my life, and now [I have] nothing. It’s hard for me to move forward,” they continued. “I was proud and felt brave, now I no longer trust anyone or anything. I know it will work out and life will go on, but I’m not sure in which direction.”
Another told the newspaper they felt “incredibly sad and incredibly betrayed.”
“The company seems to have no regard for what they have done to our lives,” the passenger said, adding, “I never imagined I would be in this position as a senior citizen.”
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Source: HIS Education