Belfast: all aboard the love boat as couple from stranded cruiser prepare to tie the knot

Two strangers who have spent nearly four months stranded together after their round-the-world cruise ship was grounded in Belfast - are getting married.

Gian Perroni and Angela Harsanyi are passengers on Villa Vie Residences' 'Odyssey' ship which has been beset by delays since sailing into the city at the end of May during the first leg of a three-year cruise.

It is understood the ship underwent tests on repairs to its rudder and gearbox.

Since then passengers have been allowed to spend time on the ship during the day, but must disembark in the evenings.

It was during this time that the pair stuck up a romance.

"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 - originally from Canada - 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 said 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".

"About six weeks ago, we found ourselves commuting daily back to the ship, back to our hotels in central Belfast," he then said.

"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, who's from the US, 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."

Meanwhile, the cruiser is expected to set sail again some time this week.