Reports suggest that the sale of the AIDAaura cruise ship (aka Miray MV Lara) from Carnival Corporation's AIDA Cruises to Life at Sea Cruises for a planned 3-year around-the-world cruise may be facing difficulties or could have already fallen through.
Life at Sea Cruises (brand of Miray Cruises Turkey) claims that the sale is delayed, and they intend to proceed with their itinerary program, albeit possibly delayed by up to two weeks.
AIDAaura has been docked in Bremerhaven Germany since the completion of her farewell voyage on September 21st. The handover was originally scheduled for September 29 but faced repeated delays. Life at Sea Cruises acknowledges the delays in transferring money to Carnival Corporation but asserts that it will be completed in the coming days.
Reports in Germany suggest that tax authorities are also scrutinizing the purchase.
Life at Sea Cruises confirmed that they were in Germany for the handover but encountered delays. Their crew voluntarily left the cruise vessel, as remaining on board before the handover was deemed impractical. They hope to return on board next week.
This isn't the first challenge the Turkish company has faced in its plans to launch a cruise spanning 1095 days and visiting 382 ports. Originally priced at USD 30,000 per year, they initially introduced the smaller vessel MV Gemini (volume 19000 GT-tons) for the World Voyage.
In June, they switched to a larger vessel, referred to as the Lara, with adjusted pricing of up to US$115,000 for the 3-year voyage. Reports indicate that some of the best cabins were listed for nearly US$600,000. The ship, renamed MV Lara, has volume 42300 GT-tons and 627 staterooms accommodating 1266 passengers.
The company limited occupancy to 80% of capacity to create a more spacious experience.
MV Lara was initially scheduled to move to a dry dock in Rotterdam for an overhaul in preparation for the trip. The company had plans to add features such as a wine bar and cigar lounge.
While the website still reflects a departure date of November 1 from Istanbul with additional stops in Barcelona on November 5 and Freeport, Grand Bahama Island on November 15, reports suggest that the ship might begin the voyage several weeks later from Amsterdam or in the Bahamas.
AIDA had previously announced the retirement of the AIDAaura in 2023, marking the 4th cruise ship removed from the brand since the onset of the crisis in 2020.