World cruise passengers (and cat Captain) stranded in Belfast for three months

Travellers have once-in-a-lifetime trip delayed as technical issues hit Villa Vie’s Odyssey’s maiden voyage

Passengers who paid more than half a million pounds for a three-year world cruise have been stranded in Belfast for three months.
The Odyssey, operated by Villa Vie Residences, was meant to sail from the Northern Ireland capital on May 30 for the first leg of its voyage.
But instead of setting out on a journey that will circle the globe, visiting 425 ports and more than 100 islands in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the ship has been plagued by delays and problems with its rudder and gearbox.
It remains in dock near the yellow cranes of the Harland & Wolff shipbuilding company that built the doomed liner Titanic in 1911.
That has left its passengers with no choice but to sample the Belfast craic this summer, rather than sipping cocktails in the Caribbean.
Holly Hennessy, 67, from Florida, a self-confessed “cruise addict”, who is travelling with her cat Captain, is trying to make the most of the ship’s time in Belfast but is eager to get to sea. She said: “I have always wanted to live on a ship, and it will be a dream come true for me.”
On the weather in Belfast, Ms Hennessy told The Telegraph: “It hasn’t felt like summer. It has been winter as far as I’m concerned. I’m used to the Florida sunshine. I had to go out and buy vitamin D tablets.
“There have been a few days of sunshine when I have been able to get out and walk along the river. The people are so nice.
“You have to make the best of it. I have been walking everywhere and getting to know all the shopkeepers in Belfast. There’s a bunch of us that have been here so we have really contributed to the Belfast economy.”
Ms Hennessy usually spends the summer months in Milwaukee, and she said she was “homesick” for the Midwestern city.
“If you’re a traveller, things don’t always go to plan, but it’s rare for something like this to happen for three months,” she said. “I have taken three cruises around the world already so I’m not doing this to visit countries, it’s more to be able to live at sea.
“That being said, I was looking forward to south-east Asia.”
She said Captain has enjoyed life in Belfast but has taken time to adjust to “the noise of a big city”.  “He’s used to the water,” she said.
Despite having enjoyed her time in Belfast, Ms Hennessy said she was now eager to leave. 
“I would have liked for the problems to be resolved in June, but now I’m just waiting,” she said.
While in Belfast, passengers have been able to spend time on the ship, which boasts amenities including fine dining, a golf simulator, and a swimming pool, during the day but must disembark at night.
The cruise company is paying for hotel rooms in the city for the passengers while they are waiting to begin the voyage.
“We can have all of our meals and they even have movies and trivia entertainment, almost like cruising except we’re at the dock,” said Ms Hennessy.
“We have eaten in every restaurant and had a Guinness in every pub,” said Stephen Theriac, another passenger, who joked he might apply for residency in Belfast. “It is just all part of our adventure.”
As well as taking traditional passengers, Odyssey is also one of the world’s first cruise ships to carry residents.
The residents have bought their cabins, costing between £78,730 and £708,590 plus monthly fees, outright for the 15-year life of the vessel.
With daily costs on board as low as about £70 many people will find it cheaper than living on land.
The inaugural 1,301-day journey from Belfast was meant to head to northern Europe before visiting Iceland, Greenland, Canada and the east coast of the United States.
From Miami, the ship will sail to the Caribbean and down South America, past Antarctica then back up the west coast of the US before travelling to Japan, the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand before a short spell in dry dock in late October 2026.
Mike Petterson, the chief executive of Villa Vie Residences, told the BBC that the Odyssey would launch by the end of next week.
He said: “When you’re the first at doing something, you will run into hiccups, but we’re definitely getting there, and although we are late, we will launch.”