Stranded cruise ship passengers bid bitter-sweet farewell to Belfast

BELFAST – A luxury round-the-world cruise ship beset with technical delays and docked in rainy Belfast since May is finally set to depart, prompting mixed emotions among its passengers.
“Belfast has been a good place to wait,” Randy Cassingham told AFP, sitting in a rented apartment alongside his wife Kit and scrolling on a laptop through photographs of their unexpected temporary home.
“But we sure didn’t expect to wait here for four months, so we’re really looking forward to leaving,” said the 65-year-old writer from the US state of Colorado.
The Odyssey cruise ship, owned by US-based firm Villa Vie Residences, was scheduled to set sail from Belfast on May 30 on a three-and-a-half year cruise.
But outfitting, certification processes and engine repairs all took much longer than expected.
The delay had an unexpected benefit for two of the passengers.
Initially strangers, they fell in loved while walking around Belfast with other stranded passengers and are now engaged to be married at sea.
After passing sea trials this month, the Odyssey is finally due to leave “within seven days”, its agents, Hamilton Shipping Port Services, told AFP on Wednesday.
They did not specify an exact date.
Passengers are able to either buy or rent long-term cabins on the so-called “residential” cruise ship, with the promise of unlimited voyages around the globe.
The floating town, which can accommodate around 600 passengers, is due to visit all seven continents and has more than 425 stops in 147 destinations planned.
Port stays will stretch from two to seven days.
Many passengers — including the Cassinghams — sold their homes and possessions, and rehomed pets so they could live permanently on board.
But instead of spending the northern hemisphere summer months in exotic climes like the Azores islands and the Caribbean, the cruise liner remained in dry dock at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
Passengers could spend all day on board the ship but were not allowed to sleep there, so spent the nights in hotels or rented apartments.
Some decided to explore Northern Ireland, while others used the opportunity to travel in Europe or join other cruises while the Odyssey remained stuck.
Passengers are now flocking back to Belfast for the expected departure, which will see the Odyssey head to the Azores, then across the Atlantic towards the Caribbean.