Belfast to the Bahamas: The cruise, the cat and the catch

On a wide October day, a fewer miles disconnected the Irish coast, a vessel of champagne was popped, arsenic a cruise liner yet started to move.

The 125 passengers connected the Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey were jubilant.

But their travel had been 4 months successful the making.

The boat, scheduled to depart for a travel of 3 and a fractional years astir the world, had been in Belfast Port since May.

This is simply a communicative of dashed hopes, delays, repairs and paperwork, positive relentless positivity from the passengers of the ship.

Just however did the communicative of the "cursed cruiser" unfold?

For 3 months the vessel and its passengers went unnoticed until 1 mates attended a fashionable drama nighttime successful Belfast.

Upon proceeding American accents successful the assemblage the comedian started to grill the guests and got the full "stuck successful Belfast" story.

Like immoderate saga it went viral connected Tiktok and was picked up by a BBC journalist.

It emerged that immoderate of the passengers had packed up their homes and their lives, acceptable to marque the vessel their caller abode.

Instead, the presumption from the cabins, which they were not allowed to slumber in, was Belfast Lough successful Northern Ireland.

It sounds frustrating, but rider Holly Hennessy and her Siamese feline Captain took things successful their stride.

She and Captain captured the hearts of radical successful Belfast and beyond.

The Florida autochthonal told the BBC it was the devastating nonaccomplishment of her lone lad Brent that had determined her to enactment positive.

“I learned that the mode you take to look astatine things makes each the quality successful the world," she explained.

“Rather than focussing connected the loss, I chose to absorption connected the unthinkable acquisition I had for 21 years.

“A vessel that has to wait? This is nothing.”

Brent, a "gifted young man", died days aft a car clang successful 2002.

“He had precise insignificant injuries, yet was fixed a almighty symptom med. Two days later, helium was gone,” she told the BBC.

Living astatine oversea helps her consciousness person to her son.

“Charting a caller beingness aft your lone kid dies has to beryllium a deliberate thing.

“We were a h2o family. Part of the crushed I truthful emotion being connected the h2o is that’s wherever I consciousness Brent. Our fondest memories impact boats. Brent died successful 2002 and his dada Roger successful 2019."

For Holly, unit go similar household connected extended voyages.

She besides hopes that Brent’s woman astatine the clip of his decease volition articulation her for portion of the journey.

“We are inactive precise close,” she said.

Time is simply a healer, she said, but the nonaccomplishment is exponential.

“It’s the nevers.

"Never a wedding, ne'er person grandchildren, ne'er ticker a vocation and household blossom. My state to unrecorded connected a vessel comes astatine a precise precocious price. I person thing holding maine to the USA.

“But I besides consciousness I shouldn’t discarded that freedom.”

The vessel that Holly and Captain person made their location is 31 years old.

The company, Villa Vie Residences, bought it from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines successful 2023.

By 2024 it had arrived astatine Queen’s Island successful Belfast to beryllium outfitted successful April up of its cruise.

The voyage day was shifted erstwhile problems arose with its rudders and gearbox.

The company's CEO Mikael Petterson said bringing the vessel retired of a layup "proved a small much challenging" than expected.

In information the unexpected layover successful Belfast outgo the institution millions of pounds.

What bash you bash erstwhile you person 125 residents and obscurity for them to go?

Residents had been fixed the enactment of buying their compartment outright alternatively than paying a regular complaint for their country similar a accepted hotel.

The outgo of buying a compartment tin scope from $99,999 to $899,000.

It allows them to stay onboard beyond the Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey's archetypal three-year tour.

One mates who had enactment each their eggs successful 1 handbasket were Randy and Kit Cassingham.

They sold their location successful the Colorado mountains and each their belongings to go residents of the vessel but successful Belfast they were part-time residents.

Passengers could walk clip connected the vessel during the time portion waiting for a departure date but had to disembark successful the evenings to enactment successful hotels.

Their compartment comes successful astatine six-figures and volition beryllium their location for the beingness of the Odyssey ship.

Melody and John Hennessee from Palm Beach successful Florida utilized the clip spent successful Belfast to physique the largest suite connected the ship.

Ahead of their departure the brace joined a radical of passengers saying 1 past goodbye to Belfast.

"Belfast radical are astonishing – truthful benignant and generous. Thank you Belfast," said Melody.

However they said they were excited by the quality that the vessel was to acceptable sail and precise overmuch "ready to get it”.

Though it was not rather a "love boat" scenario, strangers Angela Harsanyi and Gian Perroni fell successful emotion portion docked successful Belfast

They are acceptable to wed erstwhile the vessel sets sail.

Ms Harsanyi, 53 and from Colorado, said 62-year-old Canadian Mr Perroni and she had met successful the aboriginal days of being stranded.

"We recovered that we had truthful overmuch successful communal and enjoyed being successful each other's institution truthful overmuch that we truly couldn't representation a beingness without each other," Ms Harsanyi told Sky News.

The mates besides got matching Celtic trinity knot tattoos.

The vas had immoderate last inspections to walk this week earlier it was signed disconnected to sail connected Monday night.

There was enthusiasm arsenic it was announced that the vessel would yet leave.

Passengers boarded the cruise liner successful the evening acceptable for their escapade to statesman determination was joyousness and adjacent tears from immoderate of them.

It near the larboard conscionable aft 23:30, somewhat aboriginal than its scheduled departure clip of 23:00.

Mr Petterson said the hold-up related to administrative paperwork.

After months of media sum the vessel slipped retired of the larboard quietly.

But it was not over.

The vessel anchored disconnected the County Down seashore overnight and had been expected to acceptable sail again connected Tuesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, portion the vessel remained anchored conscionable extracurricular Bangor, the BBC's Ireland Correspondent, Chris Page, went retired to accidental 1 last goodbye.

Within shouting region from the deck, CEO Mikael Petterson said they would beryllium sailing disconnected "any infinitesimal now".

"Any infinitesimal now" turned into the adjacent day.

But immoderate naysayers astatine this constituent would beryllium proved incorrect connected Thursday afternoon.

In fact, the CEO's connection to BBC News NI little than a week agone that "there are ever going to beryllium haters but the non-believers volition beryllium believers arsenic we sail retired implicit the adjacent fig of days" proved to beryllium semi-prophetic.

Residents recorded videos, expressing joy, as the vessel slipped off, excited to acceptable sail.

The Odyssey arrived successful Brest successful France astatine 06:00 connected Saturday.

For Holly and Captain it's conscionable the adjacent limb of a large escapade and she uttered the words that had been 4 months successful the making:

"We are truly sailing - it's yet happening."