Cruise ship stranded in Ireland for months returns to port — hours after setting off on world voyage

The luxury cruise ship that was stranded in Northern Ireland for four months finally set off for its world voyage — just to almost immediately be forced back to port Tuesday.

The Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey ship, which had been scheduled to depart Belfast in May before it was plagued with repair issues, set sail on its three-year trip late Monday night.

However, within just hours the ship was forced to backtrack and return to dock Tuesday because final pieces of paperwork weren’t completed, the BBC reported.

Villa Vie Residences’ ‘Odyssey’ cruise ship, docked at the Harland & Wolff ship repair dock in Belfast, on September 26, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

The liner, which docked off the coast overnight with some 125 passengers on board, is set to arrive back in Belfast’s harbor at about 1:30 p.m. local time before departing again at 11:30 p.m.

“Not sure exactly what’s happening but we are going to be docking back in Belfast today and then leaving later on,” one of the passengers, Mary Ann Demsar, told the outlet.

“There is some paperwork that still needs to be done.”