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Life at Sea Three Year World Cruise Cancelled

Host Jazzbeau

By Host Jazzbeau,
in Residence Ships

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GeezerCouple Holiday Sharing Rare

GeezerCouple

Posted
Posted

Oh my.... that 3-year cruise is finally cancelled.  They never actually got a ship!

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/three-year-cruise-canceled/index.html

 

"...Some of the passengers who booked the 111 cabins sold are still in Istanbul, having made their way there ahead of the original departure date. Others say they have nowhere to return to, having sold or rented out their homes in anticipation of the round-the-world voyage, as well as jettisoning their possessions..."

 

I can't even begin to imagine those who not only are already ready to board (but where!? when!?), but especially those who, even very early, SOLD homes so they could take the multi-year cruise.

 

"What now!?" 😱

 

GC

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GeezerCouple Holiday Sharing Rare

GeezerCouple

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

And, no one saw this coming?

 

Right.

 

*How* could people sell their homes, pack up and head for the cruise when there still wasn't an actual ship ready to go?

Apparently some sent "pods" of their belongings to bring along for the multi-year trip.

 

And if even part of the linked story above can be believed (??), the nonsense continued (continues?) with short-lived promises/assurances of "another ship" or even a completely new company that presumably will have a ship ready to board in a couple of weeks.

Really!?

 

GC

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ontheweb Holiday Sharing Rare

ontheweb

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Right.

 

*How* could people sell their homes, pack up and head for the cruise when there still wasn't an actual ship ready to go?

Apparently some sent "pods" of their belongings to bring along for the multi-year trip.

 

And if even part of the linked story above can be believed (??), the nonsense continued (continues?) with short-lived promises/assurances of "another ship" or even a completely new company that presumably will have a ship ready to board in a couple of weeks.

Really!?

 

GC

Once again P.T. Barnum proven to be correct.

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted (edited)

Since the ship was never delivered as promised, I wish them luck with the refunds as promised - especially since one of the reasons provided for the lack of ship was the company couldn't afford to buy it in the first place and their promised investors withdrew.  Sounds like a lot of broken promises.... 

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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jsn55

jsn55

Posted
Posted

This story takes stupid to a whole new level.  I hope these poor, and I mean literally now poor, souls manage to put their lives back together after such a debacle.  So very sad.  I expect that travel insurance is non-existent for a situation like this, if they even bought any in the first place.

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, jsn55 said:

This story takes stupid to a whole new level.  I hope these poor, and I mean literally now poor, souls manage to put their lives back together after such a debacle.  So very sad.  I expect that travel insurance is non-existent for a situation like this, if they even bought any in the first place.

Not taking shots at those who made the decision - and I feel bad for those who did - but why would you place any money on a plan as speculative as this where the entire program is contingent upon buying a ship requiring further renovations by a certain date just to be able to fulfil the plan in the first place?  Especially when the price was prohibitive to begin with and requiring the defined "small company" to depend on non-committed outside investors to accomplish this?  Sorry but that is far too much risk and speculation for me to part with my hard earned money.

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GeezerCouple Holiday Sharing Rare

GeezerCouple

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Lois R said:

So, many are stuck in Istanbul.....and now have no home to go back to😧geezzz

 

That's only part of the "problem" in terms of ... what... "situational awareness", if not more general "issues", ahem.

It was already announced that "The Ship" would be sailing from...

... AMSTERDAM:

 

"...The cruise was originally due to depart Istanbul, Turkey, on November 1, but shortly before that date, departure was postponed to November 11 and relocated to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and then to November 30, again from Amsterdam..."

 

Why were any of them still in Istanbul if they were told a few weeks ago that the ship would be sailing on November 11th, and from Amsterdam?

 

GC

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Lois R Great Review Rare

Lois R

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

That's only part of the "problem" in terms of ... what... "situational awareness", if not more general "issues", ahem.

It was already announced that "The Ship" would be sailing from...

... AMSTERDAM:

 

"...The cruise was originally due to depart Istanbul, Turkey, on November 1, but shortly before that date, departure was postponed to November 11 and relocated to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and then to November 30, again from Amsterdam..."

 

Why were any of them still in Istanbul if they were told a few weeks ago that the ship would be sailing on November 11th, and from Amsterdam?

 

GC

Oh, I missed that part.....sounds like a lot of poor planning.......

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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted (edited)

Unless I am missing something in the article, something else doesn't make sense.  They notified the passengers "a little before November 1" of the departure delay and then ultimately, "two weeks before the rescheduled departure date" they were notified of the cancellation.  They lost the bid on the ship in September with other options falling out shortly after. 

 

First, why would they wait until just before the original departure date of November 1 to advise them of a delay?  They had no ship, so they had no ship to delay. So why wait until two weeks before the departure to finally announce the cancelation? It would seem to me they knew they had no option to sail shortly after they lost the bid on the ship in September!

 

Second, with a two week notice prior to sailing of the cancelation, why would anyone be in Istanbul (or anywhere else) waiting for a ship that was already canceled? I realize many passengers sold everything in anticipation of this cruise and maybe had nowhere else to be, but why would anyone go to a port to wait for a ship that they knew two weeks earlier did not exist - and wasn't scheduled for that port even if it did exist?  Sorry, this all just doesn't make sense and I just don't get it!

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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GeezerCouple Holiday Sharing Rare

GeezerCouple

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Second, with a two week notice prior to sailing of the cancelation, why would anyone be in Istanbul (or anywhere else) waiting for a ship that was already canceled? I realize many passengers sold everything in anticipation of this cruise but why would anyone go to a port to wait for a ship that they knew two weeks earlier did not exist?  Sorry, this all just doesn't make sense and I just don't get it!

 

Yes.

There has been SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY about which ship... or any ship... or when, not to mention what about time for renovations, what about crew/training, and who knows what else...


It *NEVER* made sense that there would be a ship sailing in a matter of months, or, worse, a matter of weeks, when they were still dealing with the purchase of the ship, or even the purchase of *which* ship!?


No, it has never made sense.

So when I first read that people had not just planned to sell homes in anticipation of a multi-year cruise, but... some had already done so... and ... WERE IN ISTANBUL WAITING TO BOARD... uh, waiting to board WHAT?

I was... flabbergasted is perhaps a good word to use.

 

Were some of the supposed passengers being given different information?

Are there even *really* passengers in Istanbul who have sold homes?

(I'm losing track:  Has anyone posted who *personally* sold their home and went to Istanbul to "meet The Ship"?)

 

And the nonsense about the quickly changing stories very recently.

As I described this to DH earlier today, I prefaced it with, "Yes, I know this will sound like a skit from Saturday Night Live..."

 

Befuddled is another good word...

 

GC

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Essiesmom "Live from...." Rare

Essiesmom

Posted
Posted

This reminds me of the hopeful beginning of the residence ship Storylines that has been in the planning for ten years or so.  People put down big bucks, they talked about purchasing a ship and showed Costa’s neo-Romantica (I think) which was sailing for Bahamas Paradise ( now Margaritaville at Sea).  I think they are building a ship…maybe.  It’s a long time to tie up big bucks…. EM

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Omax4

Omax4

Posted
Posted (edited)

I read an article about this on CNN today. They interviewed people who sold their homes  and were stuck in Istanbul waiting for the cruise to start. I feel sorry for them but I don’t understand why you would sell you homes and travel when the company doesn’t have a ship yet and the company has no prior history of making this work yet. Makes no sense.

Edited by Omax4
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leaveitallbehind

leaveitallbehind

Posted
Posted (edited)
27 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

This reminds me of the hopeful beginning of the residence ship Storylines that has been in the planning for ten years or so.  People put down big bucks, they talked about purchasing a ship and showed Costa’s neo-Romantica (I think) which was sailing for Bahamas Paradise ( now Margaritaville at Sea).  I think they are building a ship…maybe.  It’s a long time to tie up big bucks…. EM

There is at least this one ship - The World - which according to their website currently is in operation.

https://aboardtheworld.com/

 

But I agree that anything speculative for sometime in the future is not a venture I wish to invest in.

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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Heidi13

Heidi13

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, jsn55 said:

This story takes stupid to a whole new level.  I hope these poor, and I mean literally now poor, souls manage to put their lives back together after such a debacle.  So very sad.  I expect that travel insurance is non-existent for a situation like this, if they even bought any in the first place.

 

Most, if not all policies we have purchased included Bankruptcy or Default as one of the exclusions.

 

Don't believe it is available in the USA, but a number of countries do have Consumer Protection Laws that include a Travel Fund. Must purchase from a licenced agent and a few other requirements, but these are generally available as a last resort. 

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