They were supposed to have set sail from the Harland & Wolff dockyards in Belfast, best known as the home of the Titanic, on 30 May.
But after years being out of service, work to get the Villa Vie Odyssey's seaworthiness certified took longer than expected. The vessel was due to depart just before midnight last night after last-minute paperwork was obtained.
One passenger, Holly Hennessy, a retired wealth manager from Florida, said "most of us don't really care" and that they were just excited to get going.
"The shuttle buses have been booked to bring us aboard today at 5pm," said Hennessy yesterday. "First of all we are supposed to be heading to Brest in France, then Bilbao and Vigo in Spain, Porto in Portugal then the Azores, Bermuda and then the Bahamas."
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