The passengers of a luxury cruise ship marooned in Belfast for four months have thanked the city for hosting them as they prepared to begin a global voyage.

People were carrying souvenirs from Belfast, including a model of the Titanic, as they waited to board on Monday evening.

The vessel is to depart just before midnight after last-minute paperwork was obtained.

The Villa Vie Odyssey became stranded in the Northern Ireland city for longer than planned due to unexpected repair works in May.

Passengers have since become familiar with Belfast and the sights of Northern Ireland, with many saying they had fallen in love with the city.

They bade Belfast farewell with a bike tour and a meal as they expected to depart on Monday on what should be a three-year trip.

Andy Garrison, 75, who said he will be on board for at least three and a half years, said he arrived in Belfast for what he thought was three days in August and ended up there for six weeks.

He said he wanted something to do so he ordered a model of the Titanic which he built over three or four days.

Asked if he was worried it could be seen as a bad omen, he said: “No, I’m not. As a matter of fact I’m going to put this on the wall of my room.”

He said the passengers had been “resilient” in waiting for the repairs to be completed and described them as a “really nice group”.

“I like Belfast a lot actually, I would stay here and enjoy myself except I’m leaving on a ship,” he said.

“I am so happy to be sailing away, I’m ready to go. We stop briefly in Brest, France, and then we go to Spain, we go to Portugal, and we head across the ocean to go to the Bahamas, where we stay for a while in the Bahamas.”

Cyndi Grzybowski, 69, from Appling, Georgia, said she had always wanted to see the world and was excited for the voyage to begin.

“My better half passed away three years ago so this is giving me an opportunity to get off the farm, literally, and see the world, which is something that I have wanted to do,” she told reporters on Monday.

“My son has been so supportive of this because when this opportunity came up, I was really humming and hawing because I’ve been on the farm for 27 years, and he said, ‘Mom, the only thing I’ve heard you talk about is going to see the world’.

“We started out as strangers in Southampton and Belfast and now we truly are family. We had two amazing parties yesterday with the pedal bikes… and last night at Revolution de Cuba, we had a get-together with fantastic food.

“Thank you all so very much – truly, Belfast has been such a wonderful place. I have so enjoyed every minute here.”

The luxury cruise offers rentals from 35 to 120 days, or villas can be purchased ranging from £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.

Belfast was not the only thing would-be voyagers fell in love with over the past few months – two became engaged on the Lagan Weir Bridge under a supermoon.

Gian Perroni, from Vancouver in Canada, and Angie Harsanyi, from Colorado in the US, first met in Belfast four months ago and started walking through the city on their way to and back from the ship.

Mr Perroni said the two are “made for each other”, adding: “We found our soulmates.”

Mike Petterson, chief executive of Villa Vie Residences, was applauded by waiting passengers after telling them the ship was on the way at around 7pm.

Speaking to reporters at the cruise terminal, he said he was “a little stressed” as efforts were made to clear “a few last-minute things”.

“It’s administrative paperwork. We needed the right person to press the button, at the end of the day. It’s been done and we’re putting the vessel in motion right now.

“The harbour master has been in direct contact with the MD. We’ve been expecting this outcome for hours.”

He said departure was due at 11.59pm – a minute before the terminal closes.

“The good news is that we have complete clearance and we will be out of here very, very, very soon.”

Asked how would he remember Belfast, he said “your summer is horrible” and “you can’t cook to save your lives, but you do know how to drink”.