Two strangers stranded in Belfast for months waiting for their cruise to get under way have fallen in love and are set to marry when the ship sets sail.
Gian Perroni and Angela Harsanyi were both meant to be on the Odyssey for a three-and-a-half-year cruise from 30 May, when engine problems forced them to stay in Northern Ireland.
But while staying in the city, they started dating, and found they “completely meshed”. Four months into their relationship, they’re engaged.
“We found that we had so much in common and enjoyed being in each other’s company, so much that we really couldn’t picture a life without each other,” Ms Harsanyi told The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee.
Mr Perroni told Sky they came to Belfast in May, but the ship “ended up having a lot of issues that had to be addressed – many of them were surprises as we came along the way”.
He added while the cruise company – who have “been looking after us, taking care of us, covering our expenses” – worked to fix the issue, the two met and “became friends”.
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“About six weeks ago, we found ourselves commuting daily back to the ship, back to our hotels in central Belfast,” he then said.
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“And we just created a really deep friendship that blossomed into romance.”
After being asked how she knew if Mr Perroni was the one, Ms Harsanyi said: “When you know, you know.
“Once I became friends with him and spent a bit of time with him, especially over the last five weeks, I started to get an understanding of his morals, his values and his future beliefs.”
Mr Perroni said the couple had spent so much time in Belfast that it felt right to propose there.
“We started talking about getting married a few weeks ago,” he said. “It’s a first marriage for Angie – it’s not my first marriage, but I wanted to do it right.
“We nice found a nice little jeweller in town, we picked out the ring together, and then I was planning on asking her on the ship, but we were out one night walking along the River Lagan – during the supermoon last week – the time just seemed right. So I popped the question.”
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The wedding will be onboard the ship, and their honeymoon is already taken care of with more than 400 stops on the cruise to go.
Ms Harsanyi said: “It probably couldn’t get any better than that, right? We’re getting married between the Panama Canal and Costa Rica.
“With Gian being from Costa Rica for the last six years, I have the best tour guide imaginable.”
Watch the full Tuesday broadcast of The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee online or on the app here
