West Oxfordshire pensioners Ray and Margaret Young were believed to be among passengers finally heading home last night after their cruise liner was set to be allowed to leave Madeira.

They were stranded with nearly 500 other passengers aboard the Van Gogh on the last leg of a round-the-world cruise when it was detained by the Portuguese authorities in the port at Funchal.

The voyage has been anything but plain sailing for the couple, who last year feared they would not even start their once-in-a-lifetime trip, after booking through failed travel firm Travelscope.

The ship was detained on Tuesday as it was preparing for the final stage of a three-month voyage.

Holidaymakers were due to arrive at Falmouth, in Cornwall, tomorrow but a dispute involving the administrators of Travelscope, which used to operate the ship, led to the delay.

But last night the cruise ship was set to be released after a compromise was reached.

In December, the Youngs, from Milton-under-Wychwood, feared they had lost their £15,000 holiday when Travelscope went into administration but the Association of British Travel Agents arranged for the cruise to go ahead.

At the time Mr Young, 85, said: "We started paying for this trip in July 2005 and we planned it to be our last big trip. It's absolutely fantastic it's back on now and we're looking forward to heading off in the new year."

The voyage took passengers to some of the world's most scenic destinations including Antigua, the Panama Canal, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and islands in the Atlantic.

Mr and Mrs Young were unavailable for comment last night.

Van Gogh Cruises is based in Cheltenham and is a subsidiary of Dutch-owned Club Cruise. Mark Horwood, Van Gogh Cruises' managing director, said Travelscope's administrators were behind the detention, making "alleged claims" relating to previous charter agreements.

As the Oxford Mail went to press, a spokesman said "a verbal agreement had been reached" to free the liner, but nothing had been officially signed.

Passengers complained yesterday of being held to ransom, as lawyers acting for the cruise liner liaised with the authorities in an effort to prevent further delay by allowing the matter to be handled once the vessel returned to Falmouth.

The liner set off on January 4 on a trip that cost up to £9,000 per person.

Among the passengers was the actress Shirley Anne Field, who yesterday told the Daily Mail: "They've had three months to sort this out, but they waited until now to ambush us.

"They're just trying to hold everyone on board to ransom."

An Abta spokesman said: "The tour operator has assured us the passengers will be returned home either by ship or plane to fit in with the existing schedule."