Stories of deceived clients who wanted to embark on a round-the-world cruise
Kara and Joe Joseph, a couple from Ohio, dreamed of traveling around the world. When they heard about Miray Cruises' Life at Sea voyage, they decided to take the plunge and buy tickets. They were to spend 1,095 days at sea and stop at 382 ports. To make it happen, the couple sold their possessions and even real estate. However, at the last minute, they were told that the cruise was canceled.
Now Kara and Joe are afraid that they will be left homeless. According to the Daily Mail, the couple is "stuck" in a Turkish hotel and hopes to be reimbursed for the money they spent. Read further in our article to find out how this story has developed.
Around the world cruise: problems and possible reasons for cancellation
Joe and Kara were looking forward to this trip, which was supposed to start on November 1st. But less than two weeks later, the cruise was canceled.
"We sold everything we had to make this dream come true. We feel completely devastated".
According to the Times, entrepreneur Mikael Petterson came up with the idea for the cruise with the cruise line Mireille in June 2022. She announced the cruise in March 2023, and despite the high prices - cabins ranged from $90,000 for the smallest to a whopping $975,000 for a suite - people began to book their seats en masse.
But questions began to arise a month later when concerns emerged about the amount of fuel needed to reach certain destinations. Almost at the same time, another problem arose related to the "processing of credit card transactions" and thus the "lack of a deposit account."
Tensions continued to rise: Mikael broke off relations with the cruise line. Meanwhile, many passengers were worried about the money they had deposited.
After that, they organized several webinars hosted by Kendra Holmes, Vice President of Business Development Strategy (spoiler alert: she later left the company). According to customers, she seemed convincing, which calmed everyone down a bit. On May 31, Kendra held an online meeting and informed everyone that the company had decided not to use an escrow account but to use a bond filed with the Federal Maritime Commission to protect customers. However, the bond was never filed, as reported by the Times.
A month later, Life at Sea announced that it was experiencing "unprecedented demand" and was purchasing a ship with 627 cabins to accommodate everyone. However, the truth was that the company was attempting to purchase a larger ship with investments.
How the company defrauded other passengers
Mary Rader, 68, took a different approach: she decided to research Mireille before depositing any money. After checking it out, she invested $80,000 of her savings. But she never received a receipt. It was then that she realized she was trapped.
People have sold their property, real estate, and are dealing with visas and documents to go on a cruise. But the trip was still not going to happen. At the same time, the company informed them that if they canceled the reservation, they would receive only 10% of the deposit. What about the rest? There is still no answer.
Passengers will not receive refunds
On October 27, just a few days before the cruise was to begin, the company announced that the trip had been postponed to November 11 and would now depart from Amsterdam, despite passengers already waiting in Istanbul. Just a few days later, it was postponed again to November 30. In the end, it was canceled anyway.
Passengers had to sign documents stating that Mireille would refund them within three months. However, no one received any money. And although the hotel where Joe and Kara are staying is paid for by the cruise line, they are worried that they may be left homeless. The passengers are so desperate that they are no longer waiting for a refund.
Meanwhile, the media reports that the company is working on a new cruise. Although after this story, it is unlikely that anyone will dare to travel with such partners.
