Quickie squeeze

A delay almost dampened the excitement of hundreds who booked a three-and-a-half-year cruise on the Villa Vie Odyssey. Passengers endured a four-month wait while the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship was anchored off the coast of Bangor, Northern Ireland.

When the Villa Vie Odyssey finally set sail from Belfast port on 30 September, last-minute paperwork held the vessel in the Belfast Lough waterway. Villa Vie CEO Mike Petterson blamed the lengthy certification process for the delay of the pricey cruise. The ship resumed its voyage on 4 October, heading to Brest, France, CNN reported.

At Dunedin Airport in New Zealand, efficiency is a priority. To ensure flights and travelers are not delayed, a sign with a controversial reminder was recently posted at the passenger drop-off area.

The sign reads: “Max hug limit 3 minutes.”

A photo of the sign went viral on social media, sparking mixed reactions. Some critics called the hugging time limit inhumane, unfair, and ridiculous. Others suggested it should be only 15 seconds, said it made sense to avoid crowding, or found it reasonable, adding that similar signs should be posted at school drop-off zones, according to rova.nz.

Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono defended the policy, telling RNZ radio that a 20-second hug is enough to trigger a burst of the “love hormone” oxytocin while still allowing the departing person to hug more friends and relatives.

For those who want more time, the lower portion of the sign offers an alternative: “For fonder farewells, please use the car park.”