The 3-year Cruise to All 7 Continents Has Been Canceled — Here’s Why

A three-year-long cruise meant to take travelers to 135 different countries across seven continents has been canceled.

The cruise, which first started accepting reservations earlier this year with cabins starting at $29,999 per year, was canceled after the company Life at Sea Cruises admitted it didn’t have a ship, CNN reported. The cruise was initially set to launch from Istanbul on Nov. 1, but had since been postponed to Nov. 11 with the start port relocated to Amsterdam and then postponed again to Nov. 30.

However, on Nov. 17, passengers who signed up for the multi-year journey were told there would be no cruise after all. Instead, the company reportedly promised to refund travelers who signed up for the cruise to the tune of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A representative for Life at Sea Cruises did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Travel + Leisure. 

 The company had been initially planning to buy a retired AIDA Cruises ship, but the ship was purchased by Celestyal Cruises, CNN reported. Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray Cruises, which owns Life at Sea, later sent out a message telling passengers the company could not afford to buy the ship and saying he was “extremely sorry for the inconvenience.” 

When the cruise was announced, it was touted as a three-year journey stopping in 375 ports of call and traversing 130,000 miles. The trip was supposed to take place aboard a ship featuring spacious cabins, dining and entertainment options, a wellness center, a pool, and work spaces like a business center.

Beyond this doomed cruise, there are plenty of around-the-world voyages travelers can sign up for like Silversea’s 2026 trip that takes travelers to 37 different countries, or the 155-day cruise with Azamara that will bring sailors to all seven new wonders of the world.