• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Woman sold her house and spent $562,000 to go on three-year cruise that never set sail

Home> Community> Life

Published 09:15 14 Nov 2024 GMT

Woman sold her house and spent $562,000 to go on three-year cruise that never set sail

Meredith Shay sold her house for a cabin on a cruise that never set sail

Callum Jones

Callum Jones

A lot of us have dreamed of selling up and starting a new life somewhere else, but the vast majority won't go through with it in the end.

Well, Meredith Shay decided to take the plunge and become one of 1,000 passengers to sail to 135 different countries over three years.

She spent a whopping $562,000 for a cabin with a balcony, and she could only afford all of that after selling her home.

The cruise never set sail (Life at Sea)
The cruise never set sail (Life at Sea)

Advert

"I've no children or grandchildren so I am free, happily so at this point. Why not do something like this?" she told the Mirror at the time.

"I like new experiences as it keeps me fresh. I've been looking for about two years [for a cruise]."

Shay also sold a lot of her possessions, as there wouldn't have been enough room for it in her cabin, and even hired out a storage unit to hold some of her more prized assets.

But that proved to be all for nothing in the end, as the cruise's operators ended up cancelling the trip altogether, citing rising costs for its cancellation.

Advert

Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of the company that was running the ship, stated 'unrest in the Middle East' as a reason for the ship never setting sail, while he expressed being 'extremely sorry for the inconvenience'.

She spent over $500,000 on a cabin (Getty Stock Photo)
She spent over $500,000 on a cabin (Getty Stock Photo)

In a first-person piece for the Guardian, Shay penned: "The company, Life at Sea, couldn’t complete the purchase of a ship, it was reported. We were told its investors had pulled out, citing unrest in the Middle East.

"Later, we learned that Life at Sea was still trying to buy the cruise vessel passengers were supposed to be boarding, days later, as some of them arrived in Istanbul to get on there.

Advert

"The company promised to give us our money back, with the first instalment of three refund payments due next week."

While it's a pretty annoying situation, Shay is looking on the bright side, even though the cruise for her was very much seen as a dream.

"My motto in life has always been to experience, learn and then grow," she added. "I’ve tried to take the news on the chin. I’ve suffered a lot of loss in my life, and I have learned that looking for the positive works better than living a sad life."

Featured Image Credit: Meredith Shay/Life at Sea Cruises

Topics: Travel, Cruise ship

Callum Jones
Callum Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Woman who sold all her possessions to go on three-year cruise kicked off over leaked WhatsApp messages
  • Witnesses describe what they heard as girl fell overboard on Disney cruise and dad jumped in to rescue her
  • Man who went on 2,000-person nude cruise reveals what would happen if a passenger got aroused
  • Woman who lives on a cruise ship shares the four things she's banned from doing

Choose your content:

an hour ago
4 hours ago
a day ago
  • an hour ago

    Woman bombarded with hundreds of Amazon parcels for over a year discovers shocking reason why

    Kay, from San Jose, even started refusing the deliveries that contained one specific item

    Community
  • 4 hours ago

    Psychologist issues warning to anyone who owns a Labubu with unexpected way they're 'deeply symbolic'

    The trinkets are booming, but an unexpected way they're 'deeply symbolic' may put you off

    Community
  • a day ago

    Man who paid $120 for a 'professional cuddler' reveals why it's not sexual

    The man opened up about his experience on Reddit after feeling 'terrified' beforehand

    Community
  • a day ago

    The Halo Effect explained as people share the ways it makes their lives easier

    It turns out that attractiveness can be a double-edged sword, though...

    Community