The former Fred. Olsen Cruise ship was hampered by yet another delay as it dropped anchor just outside port at around 11:30 p.m. on Monday due to outstanding “paperwork.”

Villa Vie's is not the first extended cruise plan that's run into problems. Another company, Life at Sea Cruises, had scheduled a three year round-the-world cruise - the first of its kind to be relatively affordable - for departure in 2023. That voyage was postponed again and again, before being canceled definitively in November.

A cruise ship taking passengers on a 3 ½-year around-the-world voyage has finally sailed from Belfast, after spending four months stuck in the Northern Ireland capital.