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 voyage was canceled last minute.

Kara and Joe Youssef, from Ohio, were ecstatic when they heard about Miray Cruises' Life at Sea trip - which was scheduled to leave on November 1 and spend 1,095 days at sea, stopping at 382 ports across the globe.

They decided to give up both of their homes and spent almost all of their 'life savings' on a ticket - only to be told it wasn't happening just days before it was set to depart.

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

(When Kara and Joe Youssef, from Ohio, heard about Miray Cruises' Life at Sea trip - which was supposed to leave on November 1 and spend 1,095 days at sea, they were ecstatic)

They kept leading us on, making us hold out hope until the very last minute, just days before we were supposed to depart,' Kara told The New York Times recently.

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

According to the Times, the idea to create a cruise that sailed around the world came from an entrepreneur named Mikael Petterson in June 2022. He connected with Miray owner Vedat Ugurlu, who suggested a vessel called the MC Gemini, which had 400 cabins and could hold about 1,000 passengers.

The company announced the cruise in March 2023, and despite the steep prices - cabins ranged from $90,000 for the smallest to a whopping $975,000 for a suite - it was an instant success and hundreds started booking their reservations.

But problems started to arise a month later, when concerns over the amount of fuel it would take to reach certain destinations were raised.

(Cruise passengers who signed up for a three-year world cruise were left devastated after the company pulled the plug on the trip with less than two weeks to go)

(Kara and Joe decided to give up both of their homes and spent almost all of their 'life savings' on a ticket )

(Now, the couple is still waiting on their $80,000 refund - and are stuck residing in a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey)

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

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

Ref: 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 (dailymail)