Passengers are due to begin boarding Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey cruise ship in Belfast this afternoon for a three-year cruise that has been delayed by more than four months.

The 30-year-old ship, bought from Fred.Olsen, should have set sail on its continuous round-the-world voyage from Southampton in May, but its departure was postponed multiple times due to the need for extensive repairs.

However, the owner said the 924-passenger ship, which last sailed in 2020 as Braemar, was finally fit to sail.

In a video posted on Youtube last Friday, a spokesperson for Villa Vie Residence said ‘It’s official, we have passed MCA (UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency trials) and we have passed public health.

“We are good to go. If all goes well, we can move to D1 (cruise terminal) here and we maybe sailing away on Monday. “

The ship is due to be moved from the Harland & Wolff ship repair quay to Belfast’s D1 Cruise Terminal at 2pm today to board passengers. It is then due to depart at 4pm.