Villa Vie's is not the first extended cruise plan that's run into problems. Another company, Life at Sea Cruises, had scheduled a three year round-the-world cruise - the first of its kind to be relatively affordable - for departure in 2023. That voyage was postponed again and again, before being canceled definitively in November.

The luxury cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey finally left Belfast Harbour but had to return - months after it became stranded in Northern Ireland due to unexpected repair works

An around-the-world cruise ship, which set sail on Monday after months of delays, is still in Belfast Lough. Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey was scheduled to leave the city in May but has been beset with delays and five months after arriving, the ship has yet to leave Northern Ireland waters.

The Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship has finally set sail after four months stranded in Belfast. The ship was due to leave on a three-and-a-half-year cruise on 30 May but engine problems left the boat stuck in the city. But just before midnight on Monday, September 30, the cruise ship finally set sail.

After a four-month delay in Belfast, cruise passengers aboard the Odyssey have finally begun their 3½-year around-the-world voyage.

After a frustrating four-month delay, residential ship Villa Vie Odyssey finally set sail on its “endless” world cruise on Monday evening – but travelled only a few miles from Belfast, before returning to port.

A luxury cruise ship which was stranded in Belfast for four months is to return to the city just hours after it finally set sail. Chief executive of Villa Vie Residences Mike Petterson said the liner still had to complete administrative paperwork before it could finally depart to undertake a three-year round-the-world cruise.