A round-the-world, three-year cruise costing passengers $230,000 has been cancelled.
Why? They were lacking one vital ingredient: a boat.
Maybe they should check out this giant cruise ship.
The once-in-a-lifetime journey was intended to set sail from Europe to Asia to Africa and back.
READ MORE! Inside incredible concept for $7.5 million mega mansion in shape of a cruise ship
And, yes, that would take far longer than 80 days.
In fact it would take roughly three years.
However would-be seafarers were left in limbo after already buying tickets for the voyage
Per CNN on Friday (29 November), The Life at Sea Cruises’ trip was called off because the company wasn’t able to acquire a ship.
The cruise was due to set sail on 1 November from Istanbul, Turkey.
However, shortly before that the cruise was postponed to 11. November and relocated to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Then again to 30 November from Amsterdam.
But much to passenger chagrin, on 17 November passengers were told the cruise wasn’t happening after all.
In fact, on November 16, another company announced it had bought the ship.
“I’m very sad, angry and lost,” one anonymous passenger said to the news outlet.
“I had the next three years of my life planned to live an extraordinary life, and now [I have] nothing. I’m having a hard time moving forward.”
Because of the protracted nature of the cruise, some travelers had given up their homes and possessions ahead of a life at sea.
And this nomadic way of life seems to be spreading.
A Meta employee recently bought a six-figure apartment on a cruise ship to WFH while exploring the world.
While this man recently shared what life back on land was like after spending two decades on a cruise ship.
Plus this couple also sold their home deciding life at sea was for them.
Most are still in Istanbul awaiting a refund, which the company will be repaying in installments until February.
The three-year adventure had been announced in March.
Would-be travelers were hold they’d see the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, and more, per The New York Times.
The cost of a ticket per person per year? From $38,513 to $98,226 for double occupancy cabins.
That means the trip would cost at least $230,000 in total.
Far less than the price of regular, shorter cruises.
The cruise was supposed to take place on the MV Lara.
The ship has a capacity of 1,266 passengers – and was at 80% occupancy with over 100 cabins sold.
Vedat Ugurlu, owner of Miray Cruises, Life at Sea’s parent company, explained to passengers that his company couldn’t afford the $40 to $50 million price tag for the vessel.
He reassured them that he hoped a similar trip would happen in the future.
However, there are no plans for that currently – perhaps they can jump aboard this 2024 Taylor Swift cruise, instead.
