CNN
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To say that there have been many twists and turns within the story of the three-and-a-half-year cruise is one thing of an understatement.
Villa Vie Odyssey initially set off from Belfast, Northern Eire on Monday evening after a delay of round 4 months, however didn’t get very far. After touring just some miles into the Belfast Lough waterway, it halted, apparently due excellent final “paperwork.”
A number of extra departure deadlines got here and went, leaving passenger and people watching on shore more and more unsure about what was really occurring.
Nevertheless, the ship, previously the Braemar operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Strains, is now on the transfer.
As of 11:00 a.m. GMT (7:00 a.m. ET) Friday, Odyssey was nicely on its approach to Brest, France, in accordance with marine monitoring web site Vesselfinder.
Villa Vie CEO Mike Petterson instructed CNN on Friday that the ship would stay in France for someday, earlier than heading to Bilbao, Spain.
The information will little doubt come as a aid to passengers, a lot of whom have paid tens of 1000’s of {dollars} and, in some instances, given up their properties, to be able to embark on the delayed cruise.
On Thursday, Holly Hennessey, who’s cruising together with her cat, instructed CNN that she and fellow passengers had just lately loved “a tiny christening ceremony” on board the ship and had been excited to have lastly been “given permission to go.”
“It’s positively not what we had been anticipating, and it’s been irritating at instances, however we all know we’re about to embark on the journey of a lifetime,” US passenger Angela Theriac, who’s touring together with her husband, instructed CNN final month.
Petterson beforehand indicated that the delayed departure was because of an extended than common certification course of.
Whereas the ship was in-built 1993, it has been held to the requirements of a brand new vessel, mentioned Petterson.
CNN’s Julia Buckley and Marnie Hunter contributed to this report.