By now, they were supposed to be well into the first leg of the three-year Life at Sea cruise, sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia.
On Tuesday, 78 would-be Life at Sea passengers sent a letter to Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, asking him to investigate whether Miray, a Turkish cruise company, defrauded them out of millions of dollars.
They claim that the company collected an estimated $16 million and used it toward a deposit to acquire a new ship that it did not end up purchasing.
Dozens of passengers quit their jobs, sold their homes and withdrew their life savings to pay for what promised to be the adventure of a lifetime: a cruise with 382 ports of call over 1,095 days.
But in late November, just days before the cruise was scheduled to depart, the voyage was canceled because Miray had failed to acquire a suitable ship.
Persons:
Markenzy Lapointe, Mr, Lapointe, Miray
Organizations:
Punta Arenas, Southern, Southern District of
Locations:
Ushuaia, Argentina, Punta, Chilean Patagonia, Istanbul, Ecuador, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Turkish