A 3-year cruise is cancelled for lack of a ship

ISTANBUL - If you are going to organise a three-year round-the-world cruise, a good first step is probably to acquire a ship.

For months, Life at Sea Cruises has been signing up travellers, taking their money and marketing this unusual offering, which it announced in March.

Its website, which was promoting the cruise as of Nov 27, described the ship, the MV Lara, and promised visits to the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal.

Prospective passengers might pause before booking, though, when they see that the voyage was already supposed to set sail on Nov 1. And they may be more alarmed to learn that the ship, under its original name, the AIDAaura, was acquired in mid-November by Celestyal Cruises, not by Life at Sea.

The day after that sale, Life at Sea announced it was cancelling its round-the-world voyage.

Miray Cruises, the parent company of the cruise line, said it could not afford the US$40 million (S$53 million) to US$50 million that was being asked for the ship and said that investors had dropped out because of the unrest in the Middle East, CNN reported.

Neither Life at Sea nor Miray responded to requests for comment on Nov 27. The cruise itinerary and links to book passage remained live.

The cruise was charging between US$38,513 to US$98,226 per person per year for double occupancy, so a couple planning to take the full circumnavigation would pay a minimum of US$230,000, a cost appreciably lower per day than many long-term cruises.

The MV Lara was to have had a capacity of 1,266 passengers, with 80 per cent of them expected to be booked, the company said. Less than half the cabins appeared to be booked as of Nov 27 morning.

The cruise was initially delayed to Nov 11, then to Nov 30, and its departure city was changed to Amsterdam. Then it was cancelled outright Nov 17.

Passengers were promised repayment in monthly installments through February, CNN reported. NYTIMES