DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ I quit my job to go on the 3-year Life at Sea cruise that was canceled. I still haven't received a refund.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He wanted to be identified by first name only for privacy reasons; his full name is known by Business Insider. He and 77 other would-be passengers who have yet to receive refunds are asking the US Attorney in Southern Florida to investigate Life at Sea's parent company, Miray Cruise Lines, LLC, for fraud. When I first heard about Life at Sea Cruises, it sounded too good to be true. But we were very quickly told that while we could cancel and withdraw, our refund would be far reduced. [Bayramoğlu confirmed that Adam is a priority and "will be the first" to receive a refund when it begins the bank wires.]

Persons: —, Adam, Miray, Bayramoğlu, I've, Ethem Bayramoğlu, Vedat Organizations: Service, Business, Miray Cruise Lines, Sea Cruises, Miray Cruises, National Health Service, Miray Locations: British, Southern Florida, Alaska, Antarctica, Istanbul, Miray

☆ How the three-year cruise fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

CNN —In April 2023, George Fox was gearing up for the adventure of a lifetime: a three-year cruise taking him around the world. The high hopes and eventual failure of the Life at Sea cruise reads a bit like a Greek tragedy. When Miray objected, he resigned, along with much of his team, and told passengers the cruise was off. When the cruise was canceled in November, Bayramoğlu told passengers that only 111 cabins were booked. On October 24, Miray’s PR spokesperson told CNN that the departure date had been moved to November 30.

Persons: CNN —, George Fox, “, ”, ‘, Miray, who’d, Meredith Shay, Shay, she’d, Jenny Phenix, I’d, Mikael Petterson, Petterson, “ I’ve, Ethem, Miray’s, “ Vedat, ’ ”, Vedat, Cruises, hadn’t, Kendra Holmes –, –, Petterson –, they’d, Bayramoğlu, Sharon Lane, she’s, ” Shay, ” Holmes, Marit Hommedal, NTB Scanpix, Noel Hansen, Kendra Holmes, Hansen, ’ ” Hansen, ’ Rebecca Varner, Lorna Bolduc, Rebecca Varner, Holmes, Bonnie Kelter, Kelter, Varner, Ugurlu, Phenix, “ I’m, couldn’t, ’ George Fox, he'd, Bolduc, Miray’s Bayramoğlu, ” Miray, who’s, ” Hansen Organizations: CNN, Fox, Miray Cruises, Cruises, Passengers, Gemini, Carnival, Facebook, Life, Getty, US Foreign Service, ‘, Miray’s, ”, Miray Locations: Istanbul, ’, Turkey, Florida, Germany, Bayramoğlu, Petterson, AFP, Clermont , Florida, Costa Rica, New Jersey, Maine, that’s, Miami, Europe, Ecuador, Southern Florida

☆ Life at Sea passengers call for criminal investigation into cruise company as they try to claw back $16 million in refunds
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Miray Cruises ultimately did not purchase a vessel that could accommodate more than a thousand passengers for three years. A spokesperson for Lapointe's office and Miray Cruises did not immediately return a request for comment. For many, Life at Sea Cruises initially proposed an alluring offer: Travel around the world for three years for as low as around $38,500 a year. "Miray is not such a big company to afford to pay 40-50 million for a ship," Miray Cruises CEO Vedat Ugurlu said in a memo. AdvertisementManagement issues also plagued the company months before the voyage, culminating with Life at Sea and Miray Cruises severing ties in May.

Persons: —, they're, Markenzy Lapointe, Miray, Lapointe, Keri Whitman, Vedat Ugurlu, Weeks, Ugurlu, Kimberly Arizzi, David Purcell, Adam Pers, Adam Organizations: Service, Sea Cruises, Business, Southern, Southern District of, Miray Cruises, The New York Times, Times, The Times, Miray, Management Locations: Southern District, Southern District of Florida, The, Cincinnati, Bristol

☆ This 3-year cruise around the world was going to cost passengers less than the average rent in NYC—now it's cancelled
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In March, Life at Sea Cruises announced it was accepting reservations for its three-year cruise around the world. When the cruise was first announced, prices were starting at $29,999 a year/The three-year cruise was initially set to depart from Istanbul, Turkey on November 1. The company had been trying to buy AIDAaura, a 20-year-old ship, which was sold in November to another cruise company. In a statement to the news outlet, Miray Cruises owner Vedat Ugurlu said the cruise wasn't canceled but postponed until May 2024. Representatives for Life at Sea Cruises and Miray Cruises did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment.

Persons: Vedat Ugurlu Organizations: CNBC, CNN, Sea Cruises, Miray Cruises, ABC News, Miray, Life Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Amsterdam

☆ The three-year cruise is canceled
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But now the dream is over for passengers who’d signed up for Life at Sea Cruises’ inaugural three-year voyage. But on November 17 – less than two weeks before the third departure date – passengers were informed the cruise was off. “In case we weren’t clear, the Life at Sea cruise trip is canceled,” Bayramoglu wrote, giving instructions on the refund process, and how passengers can retrieve “pods” full of their belongings – which they’d shipped in advance of the cruise. If Life at Sea passengers didn’t take up the offer, she said, they’d also be looking to launch a long-term cruise in October 2024. The letter was sent to CNN November 21 and spoke about a potential upcoming cruise date – despite the cruise having already been canceled.

Persons: CNN —, who’d, “, –, ”, AIDA Cruises, Kendra Holmes –, Holmes, Vedat Ugurlu, Ugurlu, Miray, Mikael Petterson, Petterson, Ugurlu’s, Ethem Bayramoglu, ” Bayramoglu, they’d, Bayramoglu, Kendra Holmes, Holmes didn’t, HLC, – I’m Organizations: CNN, Cruises ’, Sea Cruises, Carnival Corp, Celestyal Cruises, Miray, Miray Cruises, Cruises, HLC Cruises, Petterson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Germany, Israel

☆ A 3-year cruise was called off less than 2 weeks before departure
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Life at Sea Cruises reportedly canceled its three-year voyage just two weeks before departure. Parent company Miray Cruises could not afford to buy the desired vessel, according to CNN. Miray Cruises planned to have successive three-year cruises and to allow passengers to pay extra to stay on board — potentially indefinitely. Life at Sea Cruises isn't the only residential cruise company navigating choppy waters. There is only one residential cruise ship in operation, The World, where condos sell for up to $15 million.

Persons: Miray, —, Vedat Ugurlu, Ugurlu, – Organizations: Sea Cruises, Miray, CNN, Service, Miray Cruises, Business, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Cruises Locations: Istanbul, Turkey

Search resuls for: "Vedat Ugurlu"

6 mentions found