Passengers on the round-the-world cruise which was stranded in Belfast for five months are on course to reach their first stop tonight.
The Villa Vie Odyssey, the first “perpetual world cruise”, made global headlines after its trip was stalled in the city, where it remained all summer undergoing repairs.
It eventually set sail on Monday night, but only travelled a short distance before dropping anchor in Belfast Lough, a few miles off the coast of Bangor.
The luxurious liner was delayed once more as it waited for paperwork to be completed, before passengers could finally embark on their journey around the world.
Luxury liner sets off from Belfast after being stranded for four months
On Wednesday, it was reported the vessel would return to Belfast. However, it remained just off Bangor until the following day.
Then, on Thursday afternoon, the ship could be seen finally setting sail after five months.
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In a social media post, cruise writer Dave Monk (AKA ‘Shipmonk’) shared a video of Villa Vie Odyssey passenger Holly Hennessy holding her pet cat, Captain, as the cruise moved away from Northern Irish shores.
In the video, she says: “We’re moving. I’m sorry I didn’t get the horn for you.
“We can see [Northern Ireland] in the distance. We’ll miss you, right, Captain? We’re going to miss Belfast.”
A separate video included in Mr Monk’s post shows passengers celebrating aboard the luxury cruiser, while a third video shows the ‘christening’ of the vessel at sea.
The plan had been to make for Scotland to refuel, but the liner changed direction for its scheduled destination as it had enough in the tank to make the journey.
Luxury cruise ship passengers find love while marooned in Belfast
According to CruiseMapper.com, the ship is making its way across the Irish Sea, heading towards the south coast of England.
It seems on track to dock in Brest, France, at 9pm tonight — four days after it was originally due to depart, before it was held up by paperwork delays.
The vessel is expected to make several stop-offs after Brest, before heading to the Bahamas in the Caribbean.
The luxury cruise offered rentals from 35 to 120 days, or ‘villas’ for prices ranging from £90,000 to £260,000.
Owning a villa on board guarantees the room for a minimum of 15 years, but the ownership stays valid for the entire operation of the ship.
Many of the passengers thanked the people of Belfast for hosting them for many months, praising locals and hailing the pubs and restaurants the city had to offer.