Regent Seven Seas Cruises canceled the Seven Seas Voyager’s most recent cruise, citing a technical malfunction in one of its pod-propulsion units.
Regent said that attempts to make repairs were not successful, forcing the line to cancel the ship’s Oct. 3 cruise from Athens.
The 700-passenger Voyager remains docked in Athens, serving as a hotel for guests while Regent makes arrangements to fly them all back to their city of origin. The cruise line is paying airline change fees and covering any fare increases.
The cruise line said that all ship services remain fully functional and that passengers can take complimentary tours in and around Athens over the next two days.
Regent said it expects to have all passengers on their way out of Athens by Oct. 6; complimentary hotel accommodations will be arranged for anyone who has not left by that date.
The ship will leave Greece on Oct. 6 for Genoa, Italy, where the pod will be repaired. Regent said once the ship is in the yard, it can assess whether further cruises will be interrupted.
This is the second time in less than two years that Regent has had to cancel Voyager cruises because of pod problems. In April 2009, the ship was out of service for a month to repair a propulsion pod that was damaged by fishing nets near Singapore.