Couple who sold their apartment and most of their belongings to embark on three-year cruise forced to live in a hotel room after voyage gets canceled

A couple who sold their apartment and most of their belongings to embark on a three-year cruise around the world now fear they will be left homeless – after the trip was canceled at the last minute.

Kara and Joe Youssef of Ohio were excited to hear about Miray Cruises' Life at Sea voyage, which would depart on November 1 and spend 1,095 days at sea, with stops in 382 ports around the world.

They decided to give up both their homes and spent almost all of their 'life savings' on a ticket – only to be told it wouldn't happen just days before it was due to leave.

Now the couple is still waiting for their $80,000 refund and is stuck in a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.

“They continued to guide us, keeping us hopeful until the very end, just days before we were scheduled to leave,” Kara recently told The New York Times.

'We have sold everything we have to make this dream come true. We feel completely defeated.'

According to the Timethe idea to create a cruise that sailed around the world came from entrepreneur Mikael Petterson in June 2022.

He got in touch with Miray owner Vedat Ugurlu, who proposed a ship called the MC Gemini, which had 400 cabins and could carry about 1,000 passengers.

The company 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 — it was an instant success and hundreds began booking their reservations.

“It just blew up and we could barely keep up,” Mikael recalled to the Times.

But problems began to arise a month later, when concerns arose about the amount of fuel it would take to reach certain destinations.

“Even if you spend another $10 million on that ship, I don't think it's enough to do what we want to do,” voyage planner Robert Dixon said in an audio note sent to the rest of the team, according to the publication . .

Around the same time, the company was having trouble “processing credit card transactions” and “did not have an escrow account to secure deposits.”

In May, amid ongoing tensions, Mikael cut ties with the cruise and Miray, leaving the Youssefs concerned about the thousands of dollars they had already paid as a down payment.

“We felt very nervous,” Kara admitted, but added that they felt better after participating in a series of “webinars” with other passengers and vice president of business development strategy at Miray, Kendra Holmes.

'Kendra was very persuasive and committed. She was very realistic, while Mikael had promised us the sun and the moon.'

On May 31, Kendra hosted a webinar and told everyone that the company had decided not to use an escrow account — adding that it would instead use a bond filed with the Federal Maritime Commission to help protect passengers.

However, the bond was never filed, according to the Times.

A month later, Life at Sea claimed it was experiencing “unprecedented demand” and purchased a 627-cabin ship to suit everyone.

However, the truth was that the company tried to buy the larger ship with the help of investors.

Another passenger, Mary Rader, 68, decided to ask a travel agent to research Miray Cruises to find out if it was reputable before she made her deposit.

After receiving approval from the travel agency, the retired social worker from New York withdrew $80,000 from her retirement savings and made the payment in two installments.

However, she never received a receipt.

She told the Times: 'Then I started seeing all the warning signs, but I was trapped because I had already made the payments.'

Meanwhile, Kara and Joe had sold their apartment to cover payments for their upcoming cruise.

Other passengers began applying for visas, sending their belongings to Istanbul and even making arrangements for their dogs.

However, only 111 of the 627 slots were filled, but passengers were still told the flight would depart.

On September 26, Life at Sea was to purchase the larger ship, but after the lead investor withdrew, Vedat told Kendra he would look for other candidates.

At the time, Kendra revealed that passengers would only get 10 percent of their deposit back if they canceled.

On October 27, just days before the cruise was due to depart, the company announced that the trip had been postponed until November 11 and would now depart from Amsterdam – despite 30 passengers already waiting in Istanbul.

Just days later it was postponed again until November 30.

On November 16, Kara discovered that the ship she was supposed to be on had been purchased by another company.

And later learned that Kendra had resigned from Miray.

Three days later, Vedat revealed that investors had abandoned ship due to problems in the Middle East.

The next day the cruise was canceled.

Passengers were then asked to sign a document stating that Miray would give them their money back over the next three months.

However, when the first deadline passed on December 22 and only a handful of passengers received refunds, the cruise line stated that the delays were due to a problem with the bank.

On December 28, Kara and Joe announced that they had yet to be paid and that they had been living in a hotel in Istanbul for the past month paid for by the cruise line.

Kara noted that she was afraid that they would soon become homeless.

Miray, Kendra and Mikael are reportedly already working on a new three-year cruise, expected to launch next year.

Meanwhile, Mary revealed she wasn't expecting her money back.

She told the Times: 'I haven't received anything yet, but I didn't expect to. I suspect the company will be closed or restructured, and whatever I put in cash will never be paid out.”

Earlier this month, Miray's owner Vedat said the cancellation was due to a shortage of funds and interest.

“We tried everything to find a solution, but in the end we couldn't get the investors and we couldn't sell enough cabins,” he said, according to the publication.