San Francisco Frontiers - Long-delayed cruise leaves Belfast after four months

"We are going to have one heck of a time tonight, we are going to party like there's no tomorrow," beaming passenger Joe Martino told AFP before boarding.

The Odyssey residential cruise ship pulled out from Belfast harbour at 2240 GMT as passengers cheered on board.

But even Monday's departure was hit with yet another technical hiccup.

Dozens of passengers were left waiting in Belfast's cruise terminal beyond the scheduled boarding time as a last piece of required paperwork was held up.

After Mike Petersen, head of the US-based firm Villa Vie Residences that owns the Odyssey ship, at last announced the green light for the ship's exit passengers shrieked with elation and hugged each other.

"The the exhilaration of getting on that ship, when it takes off it will be the feeling of a lifetime," said Martino, 61, an actor from Chicago who spent the last four months waiting in Belfast.

Passenger Holly Hennessy, holding her cat named "Captain", said ecstatically: "I've been in Belfast for four months and two days, but hey, who's counting!"

- 'Everything went wrong' -

The Odyssey was scheduled to set sail from the Northern Irish capital on May 30 on a three-and-a-half-year cruise.

But outfitting, certification processes and engine repairs all took much longer than expected.

"Everything that could go wrong went wrong," Martino said.

The ship had undergone repairs for engine trouble in drydock at Belfast's Harland & Wolff, the famed shipyard where the doomed Titanic was built more than a hundred years ago.

Further delay was caused by the shipbuilder going into financial administration this month.

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.

During the long wait, 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 instead.

Some decided to explore Northern Ireland, while others took the opportunity to travel in Europe or join other cruises while the Odyssey remained stuck.

They then flocked back to Belfast in recent days for the expected departure, which will see the ship head first to Brest, then Bilbao, the Azores, and across the Atlantic towards the Caribbean.

The floating town, which can accommodate around 600 passengers, is due to visit all seven continents with more than 425 stops in 147 destinations planned.

Port stays will last between two to seven days.

Y.Harris--SFF