Cruise ship stranded in Belfast for three months

Belfast

A cruise ship scheduled to depart Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 30 May has been stranded there for the past three months due to technical issues

The ship, Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey, had arrived in the city to be outfitted ahead of a planned three-year voyage encompassing 425 ports across all seven continents.

However, due to issues with the gearbox and rudders, this has not happened, with passengers forced to seek accommodation on dry land.

According to a report by the BBC, while the company is permitting passengers to spend time on the ship during the daytime, they must disembark in the evening.

This includes some passengers who have bought their cabin outright, for a sum of between $99,999 (£76,000) and $899,000 (£684,000).

Villa Vie Residences CEO Mike Petterson stated in response to concerns that he expects the ship to finally depart next week – although the company has previously missed a revised launch date of 20 July.

According to research from Holidaysafe, there has been a big increase in cruise travel insurance claims for ‘missed ports’ in recent years, with this type of disruption now making up 25% of all cruise insurance claims, compared with just 2% in 2019.