They were supposed to be in Reykjavik, then Stockholm, then Paris. But for cruise passengers Angela Harsanyi and Gian Perroni, it was the romance of Belfast’s docks that did it.
After four months being stranded in the Northern Irish capital as their cruise ship underwent urgent repairs, the two former strangers this week announced their engagement, saying their enforced stay in the “magnificent” city had been key to finding love.
Harsanyi, 53, from Colorado, and 62-year-old Perroni, a Canadian who formerly lived in Costa Rica, were thrown together in May when the 650-berth Villa Vie Odyssey’s departure from Belfast was suddenly delayed due to problems with its rudders and gearbox.
Rather than embarking on their 425-destination, three-year cruise, passengers were moved to local hotels and have been entertaining themselves in and around the city, which Harsani said had been “absolutely magical … one of the greatest experiences of my life”.
She first met her future husband in the early days of the enforced stay, after which they became close friends along with a small group of other passengers.
“About six weeks ago, we started walking back and forth to the ship every day together,” she said.
“It was about an hour’s walk, there and back every day. And through that, we really started finding how similar we were and how much we really enjoyed each other’s company. And we found out that the hour walk wasn’t long enough … We found that we definitely had a lot more in common, and wanted to be more than friends.”
One pink tourmaline ring and two matching tattoos later (“it’s a Trinity knot for everlasting love”) they plan to be married onboard next spring, as the ship sails between the Panama Canal and Perroni’s former home of Costa Rica.
“I’ve never been married, so he’s a pretty special man, I think, to have won my hand and my heart over,” said Harsanyi. “Gian has very old-fashioned mannerisms, and he has a lot of compassion. He’s caring. He’s very friendly, he’s funny. He is very calm and stable. He is very compassionate. He’s romantic. I mean, I don’t know how much time you have, but my list is pretty long.”
He is also, she notes, very understanding – Harsanyi bought her long-term residence on board with her sister Lisa, who will join the cruise in the coming months, and she intends to honour her pledge to share a cabin with her rather than move in with her new partner.
“One part I really love about Gian is that that doesn’t bother him at all. He really respects that this is a girls’ trip, and that’s what I came here for – and it’s pretty hard to find a man open enough to that when he first gets married.”
Harsanyi owned a beauty salon in Loveland, Colorado, but decided it was time for a change two and a half years ago.
“I decided just to change everything about my life,” she said. “It sounds kind of crazy to say, but I got tired of being so comfortable.” A maritime adventure was particularly appealing. “Being in Colorado, we definitely don’t have any oceans surrounding us, so I just wanted the very opposite of what I was used to.”
For Perroni, who still works as a director of an online marketing company, it had been a similar quest for adventure after the end of his earlier marriage, she said. “He just got tired of the in-and-out, same routine stuff every single day. He said when this [cruise information] hit his inbox and he read about it, he knew immediately he was going to do it.”
With the ship having finally passed sea trials, they are excited about the prospect of setting sail soon, possibly within the coming week. Some passengers were disappointed about missing the first part of the trip, taking in Iceland, Scandinavia, Germany and France, but Harsanyi said she “absolutely, utterly enjoyed Belfast”.
“I think it is a beautiful, fun, vivid, resilient community. I’ve never met friendlier folk in my life. The bars are a blast. The culture is wonderful. The architectural designs knock my socks off. The country is spectacular. If there was more sunshine, I would be here for ever.”
