May 13, 2024
8/1/23 Enter Life at Sea by Miray
I tempered my disappointment with Storylines.com when I saw an advertisement for another Residential Cruise Ship proposing a sail date of November 1, 2023! Enter
Life at Sea
by Miray, a Turkish company that was buying a 15-year-old cruise ship and retrofitting it in dry dock for continual 3-year world sailings, that was basically the same itinerary and concept as
Storylines. Miray
had paid a deposit to Aida Cruises of Germany
to take possession of their Aura
ship in September 2023, when it would finish its charters, and then drydock the ship and renovate it to a Residential Cruise ship ( remove casino and children areas and convert to business center and lounges). They advertised that we would sail out of Istanbul, as
Miray’s MV Lara, on November 1, 2023.
In August 2023, I signed a typical cruise contract and paid a deposit. I investigated renting out my shore house in Ocean City and opted instead to sell it in October, with the thought it would be easier than managing from afar and I most likely would not be in a hurry to return. I also negotiated the sale of my car to a family member, who offered to drive me to airport in November and do the transfer then, Easy Peasy!
All through September and October I was busy downsizing my possessions; getting a bunch of medical precautions and a significant number of vaccines and prescriptions in place; procuring a time-consuming Chinese visa in NYC; securing an appointment for a 10 year renewal on my passport and ultimately preparing myself for departure. I shipped four 40# boxes, full of dry goods, provisions and clothes to the port for pickup and bought my airline ticket to travel w/ 2 suitcases and a carryon. I opted to meet the ship on November 15, 2023 in the Bahamas, after it did the trans-Atlantic crossing from Istanbul, to have a couple more weeks of family time.
In late October,
Miray
advised us that the transfer of ownership was taking longer than expected and we would be delayed but hold tight, all was good. Fellow passengers who were already enroute to Istanbul or had nowhere to live come November 1, traveled to Istanbul, and were put up by
Miray
in a hotel where they were given 3 meals a day, plus excursions, while they waited. We were all patient and trusting. Then SHOCKINGLY on November 19th,
Miray
advised us the trip was CANCELLED!! A Greek company had bought the ship;
Miray
claimed their investors pulled their support due to unrest in Middle East and they lost the purchase of the Aura! In late November, I got settlement paperwork from
Miray
for a full refund and paid to have my four boxes returned to me from the port. The News outlets had a field day with our devastation and Saturday Night Live even did a bit about it in weekend update with Colin Jost!
Today we went to see the coastal Naidiri Village that has recently won the Top Prize in global restoration, for their ocean reef project. The reef restoration was borne out of necessity to solve their dwindling food/ main protein source for the village, of fish. It was started by 2 of the villages rugby players and today is run by the local teenagers (mostly boys) in the village. It was great seeing how empowered and proud they were of their amazing efforts.
The port agent offered several trips to areas around Lautoka . We chose the trip to Serenity Island Resort which included van and boat transfers and lunch. It was a really nice day enjoying the sun, reef, pool, turtles and amenities!
I organized a group tour for a fun day experience. We had a great day despite the rain that decided to join in. We started with a 45 minute van ride out through the city, into the countryside. Then we got in long boats and went up river to a waterfall, some swam or cheered on the guides to cliff dive. Then back in the boats to visit Sabata Village where 50 family members live as a community existing totally off the land, along the river. Next was a quick boat ride to our BBQ lunch spot. After lunch we got to tube down the river, through light rapids, for just about an hour. We ganged our tubes together with the guide - we had a chain of 14 in my group and the guides totally blew us away singing hymns for a good chunk of the journey. It was truly moving in that place with the rain drizzling and all of us linked together. Loved it!