For Keri Witman, Life at Sea – the ultimate three-year cruise around the world that aimed to cater to working digital nomads – was billed as the opportunity of a lifetime.
Before jumping all in, she checked in with clients – Witman is the founder and president of Clever Lucy, a locally based boutique digital marketing agency – and sold her house in Oakley leading up to the ship’s departure from Istanbul, Turkey, initially scheduled for Nov. 1.
That date came and went, as the trip was delayed, but she remained optimistic. Life at Sea passengers were told they’d still board before the end of the month.
Starting Nov. 17, the word spread: The trip had officially been called off. Miray Cruises, which owns Life at Sea, failed to secure a ship.
Witman still hopes to find another long-term, residential cruise in 2024.
Clever Lucy is a remote-first firm already, and she and her team already put a plan in place for her travels.
“These last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement and change,” she said in a statement to Cincy Inno. “While Miray Cruises … has been very communicative about recent business challenges that led to the cruise cancellation, I remain hopeful to be part of a long-term, residential cruise in 2024. I am also very grateful for the community of people who I have connected with over the last few months (who would have been my new neighbors). Many of us are in touch and collaborating on a 'Plan B' together.”
The three-year trip – a first of its kind – included stops at more than 140 countries across the globe.
The Life at Sea opportunity came about in a random and roundabout way. Witman said she’d been feeling restless. She was sick of maintaining her home, but didn’t want to sell the property, move into a condo and do the same thing over again. She loved to travel, but mostly only got to do it for work, and one-off trips didn’t carry enough allure.
In a casual conversation with a friend over dinner on a Friday, a cruise was mentioned. The two Googled ideas for a bit and moved on.
The next morning, Witman was served up an ad for Life at Sea. “I appreciated that working in the digital world,” she quipped.
By Sunday, she had scheduled a call with the cruise team. She put a deposit down almost immediately after. The starting cost for the Life at Sea experience, according to the cruise company's LinkedIn, was $29,999.
Life at Sea said all passengers would be given full refunds in installments. It also has offered to pay for accommodation until Dec. 1 and flights home for anyone stranded in Istanbul.
