Belfast, United Kingdom:
A luxury round-the-world cruise ship, beset by technical delays and docked in rainy Belfast since May, finally departed the Northern Irish capital late on Monday, sparking celebrations among passengers.
“We’re going to have a great time tonight, we’re going to party like there’s no tomorrow,” beaming passenger Joe Martino told AFP before boarding.
The residential cruise ship Odyssey departed Belfast harbor at 10:40pm GMT as passengers on board cheered.
But even Monday’s departure was hit by another technical problem.
Dozens of passengers were left waiting in Belfast’s cruise terminal beyond their scheduled boarding time as a final piece of required paperwork was held up.
After Mike Petersen, head of the US-based firm Villa Vie Residences that owns the Odyssey ship, finally announced the green light for the ship’s departing passengers, they squealed with elation and hugged each other.
“The excitement of getting on that ship will be the feeling of a lifetime when it takes off,” said Martino, 61, an actor from Chicago who has been waiting in Belfast for the past four months.
Passenger Holly Hennessy, who was holding her cat named “Captain” in her arms, said ecstatically: “I’ve been in Belfast for four months and two days, but hey, who’s counting!”
‘Everything went wrong’
The Odyssey was due to depart from the Northern Irish capital on May 30 for a three-and-a-half-year cruise.
But the equipment, certification processes and engine repairs all took much longer than expected.
“Everything that could go wrong, went wrong,” Martino said.
The ship had been undergoing repairs due to engine problems at Harland & Wolff’s dry dock in Belfast, the famous shipyard where the doomed Titanic was built more than a hundred years ago.
Further delays were caused by the shipbuilder’s financial administration this month.
Passengers can purchase or rent long-term cabins on the so-called “residential” cruise ship, with the promise of unlimited travel around the world.
During the long wait, passengers could spend the entire day on board the ship, but were not allowed to sleep there, so they spent the nights in hotels or rented apartments.
Some decided to explore Northern Ireland, while others took the opportunity to tour Europe or join other cruises while the Odyssey remained stuck.
They have then returned en masse to Belfast in recent days for the expected departure, which will see the ship sail first to Brest, then to Bilbao, the Azores and then across the Atlantic towards the Caribbean.
The floating city, which can accommodate approximately 600 passengers, will visit all seven continents with more than 425 stops at 147 planned destinations.
The stay in the port lasts two to seven days.
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