The saga of the cruise, the cat and the catch

On a clear October day, a few miles off the Irish coast, a bottle of champagne was popped, as a cruise liner finally started to move.

The 125 passengers on the Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey were jubilant.

But their journey had been four months in the making.

The boat, scheduled to depart for a trip of three and a half years around the world, had been in Belfast Port since May.

This is a tale of dashed hopes, delays, repairs and paperwork, plus relentless positivity from the passengers of the ship.

Just how did the story of the “cursed cruiser” unfold?

For three months the boat and its passengers went unnoticed until one couple attended a popular comedy night in Belfast.

Upon hearing American accents in the crowd the comedian started to grill the guests and got the whole “stuck in Belfast” story.

Like any saga it went viral on Tiktok and was picked up by a BBC journalist.

It emerged that some of the passengers had packed up their homes and their lives, ready to make the ship their new abode.

Instead, the view from the cabins, which they were not allowed to sleep in, was Belfast Lough in Northern Ireland.

It sounds frustrating, but passenger Holly Hennessy and her Siamese cat Captain took things in their stride.

She and Captain captured the hearts of people in Belfast and beyond.

The Florida native told the BBC it was the devastating loss of her only son Brent that had determined her to stay positive.

“I learned that the way you choose to look at things makes all the difference in the world,” she explained.

“Rather than focussing on the loss, I chose to focus on the incredible gift I had for 21 years.

“A ship that has to wait? This is nothing.”

Brent, a “gifted young man”, died days after a car crash in 2002.

“He had very minor injuries, yet was given a powerful pain med. Two days later, he was gone,” she told the BBC.

Living at sea helps her feel closer to her son.

“Charting a new life after your only child dies has to be a deliberate thing.

“We were a water family. Part of the reason I so love being on the water is that’s where I feel Brent. Our fondest memories involve boats. Brent died in 2002 and his dad Roger in 2019.”

For Holly, crew become like family on extended voyages.

She also hopes that Brent’s girlfriend at the time of his death will join her for part of the journey.

“We are still very close,” she said.

Time is a healer, she said, but the loss is exponential.

“It’s the nevers.

“Never a wedding, never have grandchildren, never watch a career and family blossom. My freedom to live on a ship comes at a very high price. I have nothing holding me to the USA.

“But I also feel I shouldn’t waste that freedom.”

The ship that Holly and Captain have made their home is 31 years old.

The company, Villa Vie Residences, bought it from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines in 2023.

By 2024 it had arrived at Queen’s Island in Belfast to be outfitted in April ahead of its cruise.

The voyage date was shifted when problems arose with its rudders and gearbox.

The company’s CEO Mikael Petterson said bringing the ship out of a layup “proved a little more challenging” than expected.

In fact the unexpected layover in Belfast cost the company millions of pounds.

What do you do when you have 125 residents and nowhere for them to go?

Residents had been given the option of buying their cabin outright rather than paying a daily rate for their room like a traditional hotel.

The cost of buying a cabin can range from $99,999 to $899,000.

It allows them to remain onboard beyond the Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey’s initial three-year tour.

One couple who had put all their eggs in one basket were Randy and Kit Cassingham.

They sold their home in the Colorado mountains and all their belongings to become residents of the ship but in Belfast they were part-time residents.

Passengers could spend time on the ship during the day while waiting for a departure date but had to disembark in the evenings to stay in hotels.

Their cabin comes in at six-figures and will be their home for the lifetime of the Odyssey ship.

Melody and John Hennessee from Palm Beach in Florida used the time spent in Belfast to build the largest suite on the ship.

Ahead of their departure the pair joined a group of passengers saying one last goodbye to Belfast.

“Belfast people are amazing – so kind and generous. Thank you Belfast,” said Melody.

However they said they were excited by the news that the ship was to set sail and very much “ready to get it”.

Though it was not quite a “love boat” scenario, strangers Angela Harsanyi and Gian Perroni fell in love while docked in Belfast

They are set to marry when the ship sets sail.

Ms Harsanyi, 53 and from Colorado, said 62-year-old Canadian Mr Perroni and she had met in the early days of being stranded.

“We found that we had so much in common and enjoyed being in each other’s company so much that we really couldn’t picture a life without each other,” Ms Harsanyi told Sky News.

The couple also got matching Celtic trinity knot tattoos.

The vessel had some final inspections to pass this week before it was signed off to sail on Monday night.

There was enthusiasm as it was announced that the ship would finally leave.

Passengers boarded the cruise liner in the evening ready for their adventure to begin there was joy and even tears from some of them.

It left the port just after 23:30, slightly later than its scheduled departure time of 23:00.

Mr Petterson said the hold-up related to administrative paperwork.

After months of media coverage the ship slipped out of the port quietly.

But it was not over.

The ship anchored off the County Down coast overnight and had been expected to set sail again on Tuesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, while the ship remained anchored just outside Bangor, the BBC’s Ireland Correspondent, Chris Page, went out to say one final goodbye.

Within shouting distance from the deck, CEO Mikael Petterson said they would be sailing off “any minute now”.

“Any minute now” turned into the next day.

But any naysayers at this point would be proved wrong on Thursday afternoon.

In fact, the CEO’s word to BBC News NI less than a week ago that “there are always going to be haters but the non-believers will be believers as we sail out over the next number of days” proved to be semi-prophetic.

Residents recorded videos, expressing joy, as the ship slipped off, excited to set sail.

The Odyssey is due to arrive in Brest in France at 06:30 on Saturday.

For Holly and Captain it’s just the next leg of a great adventure and she uttered the words that had been four months in the making:

“We are really sailing – it’s finally happening.”