Stricken cruise ship that spent months in Belfast is on its way back hours after leaving
The ship finally set sail on Monday night, only to head back to Belfast just hours later, ITV News' Peter Smith has the latest
A luxury cruise ship, which finally set sail on Monday after spending four months in Belfast for repairs, is expected to return to the city on Tuesday due to incomplete paperwork.
In May, the Villa Vie Odyssey became stranded due to unexpected repair works, forcing passengers to become familiar with the sights of Belfast instead of embarking on a three-and-a-half-year voyage.
Passengers cheered, applauded and hugged the liner’s chief when he confirmed on Monday night they were ready for departure from Belfast port ahead of their cruise but unfortunately, it didn't get very far.
On Tuesday the ship remained docked off the Co Down coast and information on the Belfast Harbour website indicated it was expected to return to the port in the afternoon with another departure scheduled for 11pm.
In an interview on Tuesday, the chief executive of Villa Vie Residences, Mikael Petterson, told ITV News that the ship's delay was "nothing" like the Fyre Festival.
The notorious 2017 festival made headlines after it failed to provide even basic accommodation or food, leaving passengers hungry and stranded on a remote island in the Bahamas.
Mr Petterson said: "We have a perfectly working ship... delicious food and great service - it's nothing like the Fyre Festival.
"Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding and we'll be on our way here soon, and we'll be sold out before Christmas."
Mr Petterson "guaranteed" the ship would leave within the next 24 hours, adding: "I can't ultimately control the people working there in the administrative part of the department of the DMV."
He said the ship has enough food to last three weeks and ensured there are no mechanical issues onboard.
One pair of would-be voyagers became engaged while waiting for the cruise to begin.
Gian Perroni, from Vancouver in Canada, and Angie Harsanyi, from Colorado in the US, got to know each other as they walked to and back from the ship in the past few months.
After a proposal under a supermoon, they said they have found their soulmates. Today in a video sent to UTV, the pair joked: "So, we're not quite done with Belfast yet."
"I guess we get to say bye-bye Belfast twice," says Gian Perroni
Andy Garrison, 75, who said he will be on board for at least three and a half years, said he arrived in Belfast for what he thought was three days in August and ended up there for six weeks.
He said he wanted something to do, so he ordered a model of the Titanic which he built over three or four days.
Asked if he was worried it could be seen as a bad omen, he said: “No, I’m not. As a matter of fact I’m going to put this on the wall of my room.”
He said the passengers had been “resilient” in waiting for the repairs to be completed and described them as a “really nice group”.
“I like Belfast a lot actually, I would stay here and enjoy myself except I’m leaving on a ship,” he said.
“I am so happy to be sailing away, I’m ready to go. We stop briefly in Brest, France, and then we go to Spain, we go to Portugal, and we head across the ocean to go to the Bahamas, where we stay for a while in the Bahamas.”
The luxury cruise offers rentals from 35 to 120 days, or villas can be purchased ranging from £90,000 to £260,000.
Owning a villa on board guarantees the room for a minimum of 15 years, but the ownership stays valid for the entire operation of the ship.
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