Delayed cruise ship finally on the move again after ‘paperwork’ glitch

By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN

(CNN) — To say that there have been many twists and turns in the tale of the three-and-a-half-year cruise is something of an understatement.

Villa Vie Odyssey initially set off from Belfast, Northern Ireland on Monday night after a delay of around four months, but didn’t get very far. After traveling just a few miles into the Belfast Lough waterway, it halted, apparently due outstanding final “paperwork.”

Several more departure deadlines came and went, leaving passenger and those watching on shore increasingly uncertain about what was actually happening.

However, the ship, formerly the Braemar operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, is now on the move.

As of 11:00 a.m. GMT (7:00 a.m. ET) Friday, Odyssey was well on its way to Brest, France, according to marine tracking website Vesselfinder.

Villa Vie CEO Mike Petterson told CNN on Friday that the ship would remain in France for one day, before heading to Bilbao, Spain.

The news will no doubt come as a relief to passengers, many of whom have paid tens of thousands of dollars and, in some cases, given up their homes, in order to embark on the delayed cruise.

On Thursday, Holly Hennessey, who is cruising with her cat, told CNN that she and fellow passengers had recently enjoyed “a tiny christening ceremony” on board the ship and were excited to have finally been “given permission to go.”

“It’s definitely not what we were expecting, and it’s been frustrating at times, but we know we’re about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime,” US passenger Angela Theriac, who’s traveling with her husband, told CNN last month.

Petterson previously indicated that the delayed departure was due to a longer than usual certification process.

While the ship was built in 1993, it has been held to the standards of a new vessel, said Petterson.

CNN’s Julia Buckley and Marnie Hunter contributed to this report.

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