Passengers on a world voyage that has been stuck for four months in Belfast considered abandoning ship after being left without flushing toilets – branding the doomed cruise liner ‘SS Clusterf***’.
Those living on board say that the stench of sewage was left ‘wafting through the corridors’ – with another saying the situation was ‘Third-World’.
Residents complained that the tv channels and the swimming pools are not yet operational – and said the company even messed up smashing the champagne bottle against the side, which took three attempts before it broke.
Joe Rhodes, who has been writing about his experiences on board the doomed ship, said that the water broke on the very first night after they set steam from Ireland.
In an understated passage, he said: ‘It’s all been somewhat disappointing, somewhat shoddier and somewhat less functional than the brochures led us to believe.’
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And when they finally got to their first stop – Brest, in France – passengers were trapped on the ship because there were not enough port workers to set up a gangplank.
Soon things went from bad to worse, when all the water was cut off and residents found themselves with no way to flush their toilets – supposedly because the wastewater tanks were not properly installed.
While this was fixed later that day, the hot water did not return until their second day in Bilbao.
He continued: ‘Most Residents didn’t realize this — the shutdown happening in the middle of the night — until AFTER they’d made deposits, so to speak. Yep, we awakened to the faint smell of s**t marinating in a hundred unflushed bowls, wafting through the corridors, gently mixing with the ocean breeze.’
Mr Rhodes told The Telegraph: ‘Things have gone much more smoothly since Bilbao. No more problems with the hot water or non-flushing toilets. The food has gotten exponentially better and things are going pretty well, much closer to what we’d anticipated the cruise would be. The beer is still terrible, though.’
The Villa Vie Odyssey had been scheduled to leave Belfast since May for a three-year, round-the-world cruise but was delayed due to unexpected repairs.
Earlier this month, passengers were in good spirits as they finally prepared to set off on their expedition.
They cheered and hugged chief executive of Villa Vie Residences, Mike Petterson, when he confirmed that night that the liner was ready to depart Northern Ireland.
But the cruise ship returned less than 12 hours later and remained in Belfast Lough as Mr Petterson said it still had to complete administrative paperwork.
The vessel was expected to make several stop-offs before heading to the Bahamas.
But due to unexpected repair works, the 125 passengers have been forced to while away their summer with city booze cruises and sight seeing tours in Northern Ireland.
To make the best of their situation, some passengers turned to inhaling Vitamin D pills to offset the effects of the sullen Belfast sky.
Others focused on themselves and found love, with one couple who met while marooned on the port getting engaged there just four months later.
Despite the relative understanding some passengers showed, there was also fury among their ranks – with on lady claiming she was ousted from the cruise after her private WhatsApp messages critiquing the operation were leaked.
Chief Operating Officer Kathy Villalba claimed that had ‘received over a dozen formal complaints from residents’ about her negativity and it was ‘impacted the morale and well-being of other passengers’.
But before they were forced to make their way back, the unlucky tourists said they made the most of the celebrations on deck.
Retired doctor David Austin from Georgia in the US told on October 1: ‘A few of us literally partied until sunrise. Joyous to the point of disbelief that is actually happening.’
Passenger John Frim told the BBC he was a little ‘confused’ by the situation but was ‘happy to be home’ and have slept in his ‘own bed’ on the ship for the first time.
Another passenger, Mary Ann Demsar, said she was still ‘very excited’ to be going to ‘see the world’, adding: ‘It’s been tough getting here with all the delay.
‘But I’ve had the time of my life these last five months exploring Ireland and Europe and enjoying everything Belfast has to offer.’
Ms Demsar, who is Canadian, added: ‘Not sure exactly what’s happening but we are going to be docking back in Belfast today [October 1] and then leaving later on. There is some paperwork that still needs to be done.’
After they set sail again for the final time at the start of this month, passenger Holly Hennessey said: ‘Hallelujah! All of us are beyond words, delighted, and the celebration is already under way.’
The celebrations continued on deck as videos surfaced of the residents cheered and hugged Mr Petterson, when he confirmed that the liner was ready to depart Belfast.
Many of the passengers thanked Belfast for hosting them for many months, praising the people and the many pubs the city has to offer.
One man, who carried a self-assembled model of the Titanic on board on Monday, said he enjoyed Belfast but was ready for the rest of the cruise.
The luxury cruise offers rentals from 35 to 120 days, or villas can be purchased for £90,000 to £260,000.
Owning a villa on board guarantees the room for a minimum of 15 years, but the ownership stays valid for the entire operation of the ship.
Villa Vie Residences has been contacted for comment.