The inaugural Life at Sea three-year cruise, scheduled to leave Istanbul in November 2023, was canceled just two weeks before its departure. Passengers had paid a substantial amount of money upfront for the journey, some of them paying as much as $300,000.
Initially, the company promised to refund all passengers in three monthly tranches, starting in December, but as of now, few have received any money. Passengers are left in limbo, some traveling together, while 78 of them signed a letter to the US attorney of Southern Florida, requesting an investigation into the fraud claims. Miray Cruises, the company behind the failed project, has offered passengers a free Mediterranean cruise this summer as compensation, and also promises to actually launch a Life at Sea cruise in November.
Overall, the failed Life at Sea cruise left over 100 would-be passengers waiting for refunds, and with doubts about the future of the project and the company’s intentions.
The news deeply explores different individuals’ commitments and disappointments, from George Fox who believes it was not a scam but the unfortunate crumbling of a dream, to Noel Hansen who attributes the failure to the company’s lack of control over the situation. This multi-faceted article offers a closer look into the complex aftermath of the canceled cruise.