Earlier this year, a company called Life at Sea Cruises emerged with a bold idea: What if you simply never left the cruise?


Now, to most people, this sounds like hell on earth. But to cruise people — those special few who love getting robbed in beach towns around the world — this seemed like a dream come true. A life at sea starting at just $30,000 for three years? Who wouldn’t want that?



Quickly, Life at Sea Cruises began to gather reservations, and after a few delays, the company announced that their boat would be setting sail on November 30th. The only problem: They never got around to actually getting a boat.


“After weeks of silence, the company has acknowledged to passengers that it has no ship, and has canceled the departure,” writes Julia Buckley for CNN.



Although the company promised to launch their vessel from Turkey, they apparently didn’t consider that doing so would require having a vessel to launch. Now, those who traveled to Turkey ready to spend their next three years on the waves are instead stuck eating döner kebabs while a man in a fez tries to steal their ice cream.


“Some of the passengers who booked the 111 cabins sold are still in Istanbul, having made their way there ahead of the original departure date,” explains Buckley. “Others say they have nowhere to return to, having sold or rented out their homes in anticipation of the round-the-world voyage, as well as jettisoning their possessions.”



As for why the company didn’t have a ship, Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray Cruises, which owns Life at Sea, said that they couldn’t afford it. Sounds like a problem you should have taken care of before you sold people a cruise, eh, Vedat?


For the time being, those who bought tickets will slowly (allegedly) be given their money back. The company is also hopeful that they can launch a cruise of a similar length in the future — only this time, they swear they’ll remember to buy the boat. Promise.