Life at Sea Cruises Cancels Inaugural Three-Year Voyage

Passengers who had eagerly signed up for Life at Sea Cruises’ ambitious three-year world voyage have had their dreams dashed. The company, which had promised a unique 140-city cruise around the world, recently admitted to its customers that it has no ship, and thus no cruise.

Originally set to depart from Istanbul, Turkey, on November 1, the cruise faced multiple delays and venue changes, ultimately being rescheduled for November 30 from Amsterdam. However, less than two weeks before the latest departure date, on November 17, passengers were notified that the cruise was officially canceled.

Distressed passengers, some having already arrived in Istanbul and others left with nowhere to return after selling or renting out their homes, are now grappling with the aftermath of the sudden cancellation. Many had invested substantial amounts — with the three-year package amounting to a little over $115,500 — for what was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Life at Sea Cruises had intended to purchase the AIDAaura, a ship retired by AIDA Cruises. It was supposed to complete the sale in September and then renovate, and rechristen it as MV Lara, but the deal faced complications and uncertainty. Another company, Celestyal Cruises, announced on November 16 that they had acquired the ship.

Vedat Ugurlu, owner of Life at Sea’s parent company Miray Cruises, wrote to passengers to apologize and explain that the company ultimately could not afford the ship. He said that while they were able to make a down payment, the investors “declined to support us further due to unrest in the Middle East.”

CNN, which first reported the cancellation, noted that Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, which was a week after the sale of the AIDAaura should have been completed, and Life at Sea “didn’t respond to a query about what prior unrest they were referring to that could have impeded the completion of the transaction.”

There were two more attempts at buying a ship until the company finally announced that the voyage was not pushing through. The company’s Chief Operating Officer Ethem Bayramoglu wrote to passengers to confirm that the cruise was definitely off. 

“In case we weren’t clear, the Life at Sea cruise trip is canceled,” Bayramoglu wrote, giving instructions on the refund process, as well as how the ship’s jilted passengers can retrieve “pods” of belongings they had shipped in advance of the supposed voyage. 

The company has offered accommodation until December 1 and flights home for those stranded in Istanbul. Bayramoglu also met with passengers who had been stranded in Istanbul to help plan their trip back home. As of this writing, it’s unclear whether the refunds have started to come through.

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