Woman sells home to fund 3-year luxury cruise only to have dream trip canceled last minute

An Ohio woman had her plans to go on a three-year luxury cruise turned upside down after the cruise company canceled the trip.
Keri Witman, a marketing agency director, sold her home to embark on a $32,000 trip around the world to visit 148 countries.
However, her dream trip was cancelled when Life at Sea Cruises informed her they couldn’t secure a ship for the journey.
The cruise promised a three-year stay onboard, visiting 148 countries and 382 ports across all continents.
Starting from Istanbul, the package included food, travel, internet access, medical care and more, with prices starting at $30,000 per year for each guest.
READ MORE: McDonald’s secretive new chain CosMc’s to open its first location in Illinois
Witman said: “I’ve been working over the last eight months to really get everything in line, my life organized, so that I can make it happen.
“It was really disappointing to find out it wasn’t going to pan out.”
She told The Enquirer she had picked the specific cruise because it would allow her to keep managing her company remotely while she traveled around the world.
Witman sold her home and signed a short-term lease for an apartment to reserve her room, which cost $38,500.
She said: “I called everybody, I kept expecting someone to tell me that (this was a bad idea) and I called my financial investment folks, and they’re like, ‘You should do it.’
“Like, these guys are the most conservative financial people, I cannot believe they’re telling me I should do it.”
The cruise company planned to buy a ship but the purchase collapsed as another company secured the shop.
Witman became concerned about the trip after multiple pushbacks for when the cruise would finally depart, delaying making other plans while waiting for updates.
She told The Enquirer: “It was just in a spot where you didn’t want to plan anything forward.
“Once I knew it was a question, I was like, ‘Do I make a (dinner) reservation for January?'”
An Instagram post from Miraycruises announced that Life at Sea Cruise will be offering refunds to guests from December 1 up until February 2024 in monthly instalments.
Customers were furious about the abrupt cancellation, claiming they had been left without a home after selling to pay for their tickets.
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to Daily Express US