The luxury cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey, stranded in Belfast for 4 months, remains anchored off the coast of Northern Ireland after 2 unsuccessful departure attempts for her round-the-world voyage.
Originally scheduled to embark on a 3-and-a-half-year "perpetual" cruise on May 30th, the vessel was delayed due to necessary repairs, leaving 125 passengers in Belfast throughout the summer.
After boarding on Monday night, passengers anticipated the start of their long-awaited journey. However, the ship anchored just a few miles away in Belfast Lough and has stayed there since.
Villa Vie Residences, the operator, stated on Tuesday that “administrative paperwork” was still pending before departure from the Belfast area. The ship was initially expected to sail on Tuesday night at 11:00 p.m., but by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2nd, she remained anchored in the same location.
The Villa Vie Odyssey briefly left port late Monday but traveled only for an hour before anchoring north of Bangor, just a short distance from Belfast Lough, where it has since remained.