Celebrity Cruises has cancelled the
remainder of its June 30 sailing and its next departure, set for
July 12, on the Celebrity Millennium, due to damage the ship's
propellers sustained after hitting a rock on July 2.
On July 8, the
line said it had to cancel the remainder of the Millennium's
current cruise, which began June 30, and the ship's next cruise,
scheduled to depart July 12. Celebrity said the ship would reenter
service for its July 24 sailing.
The ship's
propellers struck a submerged rock while anchored off Villefranche,
France, Celebrity said, following an electrical malfunction on July
2.
Three of the four
blades on the starboard propeller and one on the port propellers
were damaged and need to be replaced, the line said.
Celebrity sent
the ship directly to Civitevecchia, Italy, where it thought divers
could make the repairs while the ship was docked.
The line said it
had cancelled all port calls since July 2 as it tried to fix the
propellers, but said it has now concluded that a drydock is
necessary because it has been unable to remove and replace one
propeller blade.
The Celebrity
Millennium departed on a 12-night Mediterranean sailing from
Barcelona, Spain, June 30; the sailing was scheduled to conclude in
Venice on July 12.
Celebrity said it
is assisting guests on the June 30 sailing with adjusting flights
home from Rome and Venice, and that it has arranged for charter
flights to New York from Rome to take place through Wednesday.
Guest not returning home from Rome will be transported to Venice to
meet their previously scheduled flight or post-cruise
activities.
Passengers on the
June 30 sailing were given a full refund of their cruise fare,
Celebrity said, and will also receive a future cruise certificate
worth 50% of the value of their cancelled sailing, valid on
Celebrity or Azamara Cruises.
Celebrity also
said guests booked on the July 12 sailing will get a full refund of
their cruise fare and a future cruise certificate worth the entire
value of the cancelled sailing, valid on Celebrity and
Azamara.
The company said
that the cancelled cruises are expected to have an all in, negative
impact on the earnings of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. of
approximately $0.14 per share.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Johanna Jainchill at [email protected].