American Couple Stranded in Istanbul After Failed Three-Year Cruise

Kara and Joe Youssef await $80,000 refund from Miray International Cruises after the 'Life at Sea' trip falls through.

An American couple, Kara and Joe Youssef, are stranded in Istanbul after selling everything to join a three-year cruise that never happened. The cruise, announced by Miray International Cruises, fell through and the couple is waiting for an $80,000 refund.
The cruise, named 'Life at Sea', was the brainchild of Miami entrepreneur Mikael Petterson and Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray. It promised a three-year 'ultimate bucket list world cruise', with pricing starting at $90,000 for an inside cabin and going up to $975,000 for a suite.
Concerns arose as the Nov. 1 launch date approached that the ship proposed for the trip, MV Gemini, was not adequately fitted out for the 1,095-day journey, despite a $10 million refurbishment from Miray. Petterson and Ugurlu also clashed over how to collect payments, leading Petterson to abandon the project by June.
Despite the issues, passengers like the Youssefs were reassured that the trip would go on as planned. However, on Oct. 27, when the Youssefs and other passengers were in Istanbul, ready to board, Life at Sea delayed the launch to Nov. 11 in Amsterdam, and then again to Nov. 30.
On Nov. 20, Miray confirmed that the cruise was officially canceled. Passengers were asked to sign agreements to spread refund payments over three months, from December 2023 through February 2024. However, the first deadline passed with only some passengers receiving any funds.