A luxury liner that has been stranded in Belfast for the past four months has finally set sail, but hours later it remains anchored off Colorado’s Down coast.
Late Monday night, the approximately 125 passengers aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey erupted into applause and cheers as they waved farewell to the city.
However, the ship had only sailed a few miles and remained near Bangor on Tuesday evening, with reports suggesting it would return to Belfast port.
Details: Inside the cruise ship Villa Vie Residence Odyssey that ran aground in Belfast, there are 3 restaurants, 5 bars and a pool
According to the Belfast Port website, the ship is scheduled to return to port at 1:30 p.m. and leave Belfast again at 11 p.m.
Passengers boarded the ship around 8pm on Monday after the liner’s captain confirmed the ship was ready for departure.
The luxury liner left the port at around 11:30pm and moored overnight in Belfast Lake before starting its voyage later today.
A man who brought a buildable model of the Titanic aboard the ship on Monday said he had fun in Belfast but was ready for the rest of the cruise.
Another woman from Georgia, who had always wanted to see the world, thanked Belfast for hosting her and said it was an “amazing place”.
The plan is for Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey to always sail around the world, visiting all seven continents and stopping at more than 425 ports in 147 countries on its first cruise.
The ship was scheduled to leave the city on May 30, but was held up due to a series of mechanical and technical problems.
The departure date was revised many times due to problems with the rudder and gearbox.
Cruise ship residents have spent the past four months familiarizing themselves with the city and the tourist attractions Northern Ireland has to offer.
A would-be navigator got engaged while waiting for his cruise to begin.
Jean Perroni from Vancouver, Canada, and Angie Harsanyi from Colorado, USA, got to know each other while traveling back and forth by boat over the past few months.
After a proposal under a supermoon, they said they had found their soulmate.
On Sunday, cruise ship passengers bid farewell to the city of Belfast on a party tour by bicycle.
About 50 passengers, who bought cabins for low-six-figure sums, first gathered at City Hall before setting off on several beer bikes for a tour of the city center.
While Villa Vie was stranded in Belfast, some residents returned to other homes, some traveled, but many remained in the north.
Andy Garrison, 75, who said he would be on board for at least three-and-a-half years, said he arrived in Belfast in August thinking it would be three days, but ended up staying six weeks.
He wanted to do something, so he ordered a model of the Titanic and spent three or four days building it.
Asked if he was worried it would be seen as a bad omen, he replied: I’m actually planning to put this on the wall in my room. ”
He said passengers had been “persistent” in waiting for repairs to be completed and described them as “a really great group”.
“I actually really like Belfast and unless I’m leaving on a boat, I’m going to stay here and enjoy it,” he said.
“We’re very happy to be sailing. We’re ready. We’ll make a short stop in Brest, France, then we’ll go to Spain, then Portugal, then across the ocean to the Bahamas, where we’ll be staying for a while.”
Cindy Grzybowski, 69, of Appling, Georgia, said she has always wanted to see the world and was excited to begin her voyage.
“My good mother passed away three years ago, so this gave me the opportunity to literally get off the farm and see the world, which is what I wanted,” she told reporters on Monday. He told the group.
“My son was very supportive of this, because when this opportunity came up, I was really humming and humming because I had been on the farm for 27 years, and my son said, I’m going to see the world about “Mom, That’s All I Ever Heard About You.”
“We started as strangers in Southampton and Belfast but are now truly family. We had two great parties on pedal bikes yesterday… and last night we had great food at Revolution de Cuba. We had a fun social gathering.
“Thank you so much everyone. Belfast has truly been an amazing place and I have loved every minute here.”
