World cruise passengers (and cat Captain) stranded in Belfast for three months

That has left its passengers with no choice but to sample the Belfast craic this summer, rather than sipping cocktails in the Caribbean.

Holly Hennessy, 67, from Florida, a self-confessed “cruise addict”, who is travelling with her cat Captain, is trying to make the most of the ship’s time in Belfast but is eager to get to sea. She said: “I have always wanted to live on a ship, and it will be a dream come true for me.”

On the weather in Belfast, Ms Hennessy told The Telegraph: “It hasn’t felt like summer. It has been winter as far as I’m concerned. I’m used to the Florida sunshine. I had to go out and buy vitamin D tablets.

“There have been a few days of sunshine when I have been able to get out and walk along the river. The people are so nice.

“You have to make the best of it. I have been walking everywhere and getting to know all the shopkeepers in Belfast. There’s a bunch of us that have been here so we have really contributed to the Belfast economy.”

Ms Hennessy usually spends the summer months in Milwaukee, and she said she was “homesick” for the Midwestern city.

“If you’re a traveller, things don’t always go to plan, but it’s rare for something like this to happen for three months,” she said. “I have taken three cruises around the world already so I’m not doing this to visit countries, it’s more to be able to live at sea.

“That being said, I was looking forward to south-east Asia.”