Belfast’s ‘bon voyage’ to passengers caught on £27k-a-month cruise

Passengers on an ill-fated luxury cruise ship who have been stranded in Belfast for three months have now been given a civic reception to thank them for their patience.

Some of the tourists had paid as much as £27,000-a-month for an epic three-year luxury cruise voyage around the world – only to spend the entire summer stuck in rain-lashed Northern Ireland after the vessel developed engine trouble.

Many have long since exhausted local sights like the Titanic Museum and the Giant’s Causeway – so on Monday they were given a new destination as the Lord Mayor of Belfast threw open the doors of City Hall to welcome them.

And with sea trials of The Odyssey due to begin this week – and their cruise expected to finally begin soon afterwards – the moment also represented the city saying ‘bon voyage’ to its unlikely temporary residents.

Among those enjoying tea, coffee and pastries with the mayor were self-styled ‘cruise ambassadors’ Melody Hennessee, 65 and her retired doctor husband, John, 77 – who insist that passengers haven’t let delays get them down.

Retired estate agent Melody told MailOnline: ‘We are having fun.

‘We have become one big family, and are enjoying each other’s company – we eat together, we drink together, we party together.’

Melody went on: ‘We love Belfast. We have done just about every tour that you can possibly think of, that you offer. I don’t think there’s anything we haven’t done. We have had a blast. We loved the Titanic Museum, that’s one of my favourites’

John added: ‘And the distillery….We have been drinking quite a bit of Guinness.’

On the rain in Belfast, Melody said: ‘South Florida where we come from is very hot so the weather is a big shock as far as temperature goes, but we actually had three days of sunshine. We were so excited about that.’

Also at the reception yesterday were Kiwis Mark and Katrina Howard, both 49, from South Auckland, New Zealand – who like the Hennesses were upbeat.

Campervan consultant Katrina said of the long delay to the cruise: ‘I have actually found it to be quite beneficial, because we’ve got to know the residents really well now, and I feel like if we’ve been sailing, we probably wouldn’t have had that opportunity.

‘It’s been great. There have been some people that have struggled, but everybody’s got a different view of where they’ve come from and what they’ve got and how they can survive this time.’

Software engineer Mark – who is ‘working from home’ from their cabin on board – said he had enjoyed his time in the city.

‘Belfast is great,’ he said. ‘We’ve really enjoyed the time we spent here. We’ve seen a lot more than we thought, but it’s been really lovely.

‘You’ve got a lot of history here, a lot of history. I hate to talk about The Troubles and stuff, but it is actually really fascinating for tourists and some of your buildings, the architecture.

‘But it’s the actual Belfast people, particularly, and you’ve got the best bus system we’ve seen in the whole b***** place.

‘And the people – we’ve found them to be really personable, really lovely and really welcoming.

‘I have been on a cruise before but nothing like this. This is a whole other level. So we’ve been on a few, sort of like two week cruise around Pacific islands and stuff, which is quite common.

‘Nothing this long term, nothing as serious.’

‘We’re here for three and a half years. There’s a little bit of a delay at the beginning, so, but at the end of the day, it’s only a fraction of the time.

‘I mean, it’s easy to complain, but we are kept in the loop with it, we’re told what’s going on, the progress that’s happening.’

Retired shipping business owners Cheri, 63, and Michael Edwards, 69, from Washington State in the US have been on three world cruises in the past.

The couple insist they have been enjoying Belfast’s ‘neat vibe’ and immersing themselves in city life – as well as taking trips around Europe to pass the time.

Michael, 69, said: ‘This is our third time in Belfast. We have been seeing the sights, especially, trying to get the feel for the local taverns and pubs, you know, city life.’

Cheri, 63, said: ‘Belfast is a really cool city. It’s got a neat vibe.

‘People here are so friendly and so kind. I mean, I’ll take a picture, the whole sidewalk will shut down for me to take a picture of a window. And I’m like, Why are you all stopping? Everybody’s so nice, it’s been a delight.

‘Our goal was to travel and spend more time in places than you can on a traditional cruise ship. You get, like, six to eight hours in a port, and then boom, onto the next one.

‘We wanted to travel and spend time, and we’re doing that. So this is what we wanted. I mean, it’s not exactly the way we imagined it.’

Starr Davis, 56, from Hollywood, Florida, retired as a corporate trainer the day before she arrived on the ship – and has explored the city and taken other holidays to the Republic of Ireland, Wales, England, France, and beyond.

She has been keeping a daily blog, entitled ‘Starr of the Odyssey’ on her social media.

She told us: ‘We’ve all signed up for adventure.

‘If I’m not on the ship, I’m gonna have the adventure on land. I’ve worked really hard to retire, and I’m gonna have a great time.

‘I’ve had a great time in Belfast. I’ve done the City Hall tour. I have also been to Giant’s Causeway.

‘I’ve also been to Dublin, and I went down to Cork. I’ve been to Tenerife, Marrakech, I got to go on a camel. We went to Disney in Paris, I wandered around Wales, and London.’

The Mayor of Belfast who was hosting yesterday’s event, Alliance Party Cllr Micky Murray, said the only complaint he’d heard from passengers had been over the amount of rain.

He said: ‘I didn’t even know they were in the city until last week when they blew up on social media and in write ups.

‘They have really enjoyed their time here and embraced life in Belfast.’