Nearly 500 holidaymakers on the MV Van Gogh had been held in the Portuguese port of Funchal since Tuesday as a result of a legal dispute.

But after spending two nights stuck on the vessel, the boat has been allowed to complete its journey on to Falmouth, Cornwall.

The cruise liner set sail on January 4 for a round-the-world trip costing its 460 passengers anything up to £9,000.

It took in the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Caribbean, Ecuador, Tahiti, New Zealand, Sydney, Mauritius and Cape Town.

Passengers were due to arrive in Falmouth on Saturday. But a dispute between the administrators of Travelscope, the previous operator, and current owners Dutch-owned Club Cruise resulted in a court order detaining the vessel in Funchal.

Receivers had the MV Van Gogh impounded while trying to claw back £1.5 million from the current owners.

The cruise was originally booked through Travelscope but, after it went into administration, Association of British Travel Agents arranged for the Van Gogh trip to go ahead in a one-off arrangement.

Angry passengers have accused administrators of holding them "to ransom" over the dispute.

But their ordeal appeared to be over following the agreement.