Celestyal Cruises bought the ship right out from under Miray Cruises while it was being stylishly retro-fitted for Miray's 3-houryear-tour, but there's no indication Miray put up any kind of a fight.
Celestyal has already announced the ship will replace their Celestyal Olympia next year. "Gilligan!"
The new vessel will offer Life at Sea Cruises residents an enchanting fusion of amenities and convenience with redesigned staterooms, a business center with offices, a cigar and wine bar, along with other creative offerings, the company said.There will also be a 24-hour on-call hospital with complimentary medical visits, learning and enrichment lectures, and opportunities to engage in volunteer and philanthropic initiatives.
During the three-year journey, the 42,000-ton vessel’s voyage will span over 130,000 miles covering 382 ports, seven continents, and 148 countries.
“Seeing such an overwhelming interest in our itinerary and unique ports where we will always be in summer is truly thrilling,” added Ethem Bayramoglu, COO of Miray Cruises.
“This is evidence of the allure of our extended world cruise concept and the exceptional experiences that await our residents aboard MV Lara.”
Prior to its inaugural departure from Istanbul on November 1, 2023, Miray Cruises will be hosting a series of welcoming events and revelries in Turkey for all booked residents which coincides with the 100th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the Turkish Republic."
This article says that the company couldn't afford to buy the ship.
WPVI ABC6 Philadelphia: Three-year Life at Sea cruise is canceled; company acknowledges it has no ship
Excerpt:
In his message, Ugurlu claimed that "Miray is not such a big company to afford to pay 40-50 million for a ship," but that it had "presented the project to investors, and had official approval from some of them to buy the vessel."He said that while the company had made the down payment for the ship, the investors "declined to support us further due to unrest in the Middle East."
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, a week after the ship's sale was originally supposed to have concluded. Life at Sea didn't respond to a query about what prior unrest they were referring to that could have impeded the completion of the transaction.
-PJ