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| Date |
Ship |
2013 |
Incident |
| March 12 | Celebrity Solstice | Otago Daily Times reports when the ship left Port Chalmers about 7pm yesterday, it did so minus a male passenger. Senior Sergeant Kelvin Lloyd said police had been notified about the missing man, who had left items, including his passport, on board. The assumption is that the man disembarked and didn't return to the ship. Otago Daily Times reports the man was reunited with his vessel, and his gear, yesterday after it sailed from Port Chalmers without him. He rejoined the vessel before it departed Akaroa yesterday. | Passenger missing ashore |
| February 7 | Celebrity Cruises | The Dallas News reports Pat and Gerald Woods planned the details of their cruise for months, working with Mesquite Travel on the destination and ship, the excursions and air travel. The couple bought trip insurance in case something went wrong before they sailed from Seattle in May 2011. They asked what documents they would need for the 10-day cruise, which stopped in four Alaska ports and Victoria, British Columbia, before returning to Seattle. The answer to that question resulted in a nearly two-year dispute between the couple, the travel agency and Celebrity Cruises. The couple say they knew that Gerald’s passport was expired, so Pat asked the agent at Mesquite Travel whether one would be necessary for the trip. She says she was told three separate times that he could make the trip without one. He arrived with his driver’s license, but that wasn’t adequate documentation, and it became apparent as soon as they were met at the plane by Celebrity staffers. They traveled on to the ship dock to talk to officials, but they were told “in no uncertain terms, that we would not sail without a passport because we would be in Canadian waters part of the time,” Pat said. The couple flew back to Texas on the same day they left. They were out $4,623 for the cruise, airfare and other trip expenses. They filed for their trip insurance from Celebrity Cruises when they got home, but their claim was refused. The CruiseCare insurance policy lists just five categories for which it will pay off, and even some of those have restrictions. “According to the information submitted, your interruption was due to insufficient travel documentation. Unfortunately, your reason for interruption is not among the specified reasons listed in the program that would make one eligible for a cash refund,” said the letter they received. The couple next argued through their credit card for reimbursement of the $1,765.48 they’d charged. They lost that ruling, despite the fact that Celebrity incorrectly said they had failed to show at the pier. Celebrity says online that “all U.S. citizens on cruises that begin and end at the same port in the U.S. will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as a government-issued birth certificate and laminated government-issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth.” In another section about required travel documents, the cruise line says that U.S. citizens on Alaska cruises must have a passport. Because much of the information provided by the cruise line is governmentspeak and sometimes contradicts itself, I asked Celebrity about the couple’s case, hoping for some compassion and perhaps a discount toward future travel. That didn’t happen. | Don't forget your passport |
| February 5 | Celebrity Eclipse | A Cruise Critic member reports Bill fell in St. Martins. Thought it was just some bruses and a left ankle sprain. The next morning started putting ice packs on ankle and went down to infirmary about 1:00. It was closed, but I talked to nurse, who said if I really thought it was an emergency, she would call the Dr. And charge me 200.00. Since I wasn't sure it was an emergency, we decided to wait until 4:00 wen the infirmary opened. When the Dr. X-ray my ankle, he said I had broken my Achilles' tendon and wanted me to get emergency surgery in Antigua. When I refused, he and the Captain had strong words and the next thing I knew, I was placed in a wheelchair and taken to the gangway and told me my wife would be joining me. They packed our room in about 15 mintes and put us on the pier. We waved to a few of you as the ship pulled out. We were sent to a hotel, had supper, then repacked our bags so we could fly. Then we went to the emergency room for about 10 hours. They were also upset that we would not let them do surgery, but after seeing the condition of the hospital, we know we made the right decision. We were able to get a flight to Miami and then to Charlotte, NC where we rented a car and drove to Columbia, SC. The emergency room there said surgery was a remote possibility. We contacted an orthopedic surgeon on Monday, he redid the cast and told us that the Romans used to cut the Achilles' tendon of slaves, because they could still work but couldn't run! So, we are now of the opinion that the ship Dr. was not current and we were put off the ship with no good reason. We have Travelguard medical and evacuation insurance, so we won't lose any money, but will miss the cruise. | Medical care issue |
| January 19 | Celebrity Summit | The ship failed its inspection by the Vessel Sanitation Program with a score of 81 (a failing score is anything below 86). | Failed health inspection |
| Date |
Ship |
2012 |
Incident |
| November 19 | Celebrity Reflection | Cruise Business Review Online reports the ship will miss a port of call on its current Trans-Atlantic positioning voyage due to a technical problem, passengers have been informed. The ship is on its way from Barcelona to Florida and it called at Malaga yesterday. However, a planned called at Tenerife will be omitted and the ship will proceed directly to the US, according to Teijo Niemela, editor of Cruise Business Online, who is travelling on the ship. The ship had experienced problems on its previous cruise, he said. The passengers have been told that the problems do not compromise the safety of maneouvrability of the vessel that was delivered from Meyer Werft in Germany earlier this autumn. | Technical problems - missed port |
| November 16 | Celebrity Millennium | Bay of Plenty Times reports police are investigating a complaint from the passenger that she was indecently assaulted several days ago while the ship was at sea. The ship, which had sailed from Fiji, berthed in Tauranga at 5.12am yesterday and was due to sail on to Auckland at 4.15pm last night, before heading back to Sydney at the end of its journey. The passenger, in her late 40s early 50s, alleges she was indecently assaulted while the ship was in the Fiji region. The woman subsequently alerted the ship's captain and police were then informed, and a team of Tauranga police began their investigation when the ship docked in Tauranga. UPDATE: The newspaper reports no charges will be filed in the incident because police determined that was insufficient evidence to support prosecution. | Sexual assault |
| November 8 | Celebrity Infinity | From a passenger: My wife and I cruised from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego October 8 to October 23, 2012, stateroom 2190. We had a health issue with a strong mildew/black mold odor during the whole cruise. We complained the first day and then again 2 - 3 days later, repeatedly afterward. The initial response by the room stewards was to do a lot of cleaning of the bathroom, but this did not help, and in fact, there never was much visible evidence of black mold in the bathroom. The odor was coming from the gray water drains to the lavatory sink and to the shower; and the cleaning of the bathroom did nothing to get rid of a problem in the sewers. We, in the first few days, discovered that the odor was only in the bathroom, and apparently the bathroom was under negative pressure; therefore, we could get away from the problem in the sleeping area by keeping the bathroom door closed, which is how we survived during the cruise. Late in the cruise, we attempted to block the shower drain with a wet wash cloth. This did not work well, but we did notice that after the wash cloth had been blocking the drain for several hours, that it smelled strongly on its lower side of black mold. Obviously, it was picking up black mold from the air coming from the drain. Response of the ship's staff was not very helpful. The room stewards did try unsuccessfully to clean, but that was not useful. On the 4th day we contacted the customer service desk and as a result a Greek officer then visited our room. However, nothing good happened because of his visit, and we did not attempt to contact him again because of his inability to speak English. On a later contact with the same female customer service rep, on our 12th day on board, we were offered a switch to another stateroom, however it was a downgrade and as we had learned how to deal better with the problem, we did not take the offer. We also had contact by the first service representative's boss near the end of the and cruise and were given a $200 credit toward our next Celebrity cruise. Both my wife and I had problems with coughing while we were on board, and we are still having difficulty, now two weeks later. | Custiomer (dis)service |
| October 28 | Celebrity Century | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a fire. | Fire |
| October 5 | Celebrity Summit | WGME-TV reports no one was hurt when a boat carrying 93 cruise ship passengers ran aground off Bar Harbor, Maine. Harbor Master Charles Phippen said the boat, a tender, was transporting passengers from Bar Harbor back to the ship when it hit a rocky shoal and became stuck. It happened Thursday night at low tide in rainy weather. Phippen tells WZON-AM that a fishing boat and a high-speed whale watch vessel, the Bay King III, came to the rescue to remove the passengers. Lt. Nick Barrow says the damaged tender has been taken out of service and the Coast Guard is investigating the incident. Fenceviewer reports a passenger on the cruise ship tender that ran aground near Bar Island the evening of Oct. 4 said that the impact of the crash threw nearly all the 100 people onboard from their seats. In the minutes following the accident, passenger Rex Garrett said the rattled passengers from the Celebrity Summit were left to fend for themselves. “Myself and a couple of other passengers started handing out life jackets while other guests assisted folks that could not get their life jackets on,” Mr. Garrett said via email Monday. “The crew provided no assistance to the passengers or instructions on safety procedures.” A total of 93 passengers and two crew members from the Summit were onboard the tender when it ran onto rocks between Bar Island and Sheep Porcupine Island around 7:45 p.m., during low tide and with low visibility from rain and fog. Tender #12 took “notable damage to both sides of the hull and breaches below the water line,” said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Tiffany Hayes, search and rescue coordinator at the Sector Northern New England Command Center in South Portland. “It was fortunate that there were no injuries and nobody fell in the water,” Ms. Hayes said. | Tender runs aground |
| September 3 | Celebrity Summit | A reader reports the ship left Cape Liberty (New Jersey) 4.5 hours later than scheduled. It is unclear what caused the delay. | Late departure |
| Augst 23 | Celebrity Infinity | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced a "material failure." | Material failure |
| July 16 | Celebrity Equinox | The Daily Mail reports a crew member has been arrested in connection with the rape of a British holidaymaker attacked as she was on a Mediterranean cruise with her parents. The 27-year-old woman was just hours into the 11-night when it is claimed she was targeted by the male crew member who is also 27 years old and who is believed to be part of the entertainment team. She was onboard the 1041ft Celebrity Equinox cruise liner which had left the Italian port of Civitavecchia last week and is due to arrive back there next week after stops in Pireaus, Greece, as well as Kusadasi in Turkey and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos. Police said the man was arrested just 17 hours after the Equinox left port and docked at the port of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily and last night he was still there in custody after discussions between them and the US Consulate. He is said to have met the woman in a bar on the three-year-old ship, which carries 2,850 passengers, and then spent several hours drinking with her and he then followed her back to her cabin when she said she was tired and going to bed. The man then allegedly bundled her inside and threw her on the bed where he carried out the attack before escaping - leaving his shocked victim distraught. She told her parents who alerted the captain. The suspect is being held by police in the port of Messina, Sicily while they continue their investigation |
Sexual assault
|
| May 7 | Summit | The Bermuda Sun reports an American tourist allegedly strapped $369,000 worth of cocaine to her body and came to Bermuda on board a cruise ship. Jane Howell Carmichael, 53, was charged today with conspiring with others not before the court to import cocaine between a date unknown and May 3. The Georgia native was also charged with possession of cocaine with intent to supply on May 3. Acting on information they received, the police boarded the ship and met with the defendant. After a search of her cabin, Ms Carmichael allegedly admitted having the drugs strapped to her body. Officers then found four off-white packages inside a girdle. Ms Carmichael was remanded into custody until May 21. | Drug bust |
| April 12 | Celebrity Silhouette | SKNVibes reports that sometime after 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Apr. 4) police were informed by the Security Manager of St. Christopher Air and Sea Port Authority, Raymond Cotton, that approximately two grams of what was suspected to be cannabis sativa were found aboard the ship while docked at Port Zante. Police arrived at Port Zante sometime after 8:30 a.m., a search was conducted and the drugs were found inside a cabin. A dog from the Custom Canine Division was used to conduct further searches in the area where the cannabis was found but no more of the illegal drugs were located. No one was arrested. |
Drugs found |
| April 6 | Celebrity Equinox | WSB Radio reports a 49-year-old woman is missing while on shore excursion in Mexico. She and her husband were on a diving trip along the Santa Rosa wall on March 28th, when she disappeared. Scott Turco says his wife gave him a signal that she wanted to come back up to the surface. "I turned to let the dive master know that were going up and when I turned back I didn't see her, so I assumed that had started to go up without me," said Turco. Her daughter says her mother has been on nearly a dozen dives before. "They think she might've gotten just a little too far away from the wall and got pulled in the down current," the daughter said. | Death on Shore Excursion |
| March 25 | Century | From a passenger: Scheduled to leave Honolulu at 12 midnight. Left after 3am due to engine trouble. Crew scrambled to get excursions adjusted but canceled several as a delay in arrival. Almost 3 hours late arriving to Kauai. | Late departure & arrival |
| March 21 | Summit | Associated Press reports two California men on a gay cruise of the Caribbean were arrested Wednesday in Dominica, where sex between two men is illegal. Police Constable John George said the men were seen having sex on the cruise ship by someone on the dock. The two were later charged with indecent exposure and are scheduled to appear before a magistrate Thursday morning. If found guilty, they could be fined $370 each and face up to six months in jail. The ship carrying about 2,000 passengers departed Puerto Rico on Saturday and arrived in Dominica on Wednesday. It departed for St. Barts without the men, who are being held in a cell at police headquarters in the capital of Roseau. The cruise was organized by Atlantis Events, a Southern California company that specializes in gay travel. President Rich Campbell, who is aboard the cruise, said in a phone interview earlier that he thought the two men would be released. He said he expects the two men to be released on Thursday and that they only face misdemeanor charges. "The guests actions were unfortunate but minor in this case and have no bearing on our overall guest experience," he said via email.UPDATE: The LA Times reports the men pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and said in an interview that the entire experience was "horrible." Retired police officer Dennis Jay Mayer, 43, and his partner, John Robert Hart, 41 both of Palm Springs, were ordered to pay a fine of $4,000. They were arrested Wednesday after someone reportedly saw them naked on the balcony of a cruise ship off the coast of the Caribbean island and called police. "They paid the fine to a judge, who called them rogues and vagabonds. "Me and my partner have been together for 17 years," Mayer said. "We weren't trying to put on a show for people." Mayer said authorities even wanted to have them medically evaluated. "They were going to transport us to a medical facility and have us medically examined to determine if we had engaged in sexual activity," he said. The men were held in jail for 19 hours, and Mayer said the small cement cell they were stuck in was inhumane. "No light, no water, no toilet," he said. "We were taunted all night long. They paraded us around like we were some oddity." | Gay men arrested |
| Date |
Ship |
2011 |
Incident |
| December 27 | Celebrity Summit | The Associated Press reports The U.S. Coast Guard says it has suspended a search for a 30-year-old female bartender who worked aboard a cruise ship and jumped overboard near Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard said in a statement late Monday that the Filipino woman was an employee with the Celebrity Summit cruise ship. Officials said she jumped late Sunday as the ship passed just northeast of the popular tourist island of Culebra. They did not identify the woman or say whether they had uncovered a possible motive for her action. The ship operated by Celebrity Cruises had just left Puerto Rico and was headed toward Barbados. | Crew overboard |
| December 27 | Celebrity Cruises | The Sun Sentinel reports At 1923 December 22, 2011, while at sea enroute to Port Everglades, the UPS1 of navigation systems failed and then all bridge equipment in main console powered down. Propulsion and steering were functioning properly but control of it could not be transferred to the stbd or port wings. Situation discussed (during approaching to Port Everglades) with the pilot and Master. Vessel maneuvered safely from the main console to Pier #18: no damages, injuries, etc. UPS partially repaired while in port. Faulty controller replaced on December 28, 2011. Note: Incident occurred in foreign waters. | Propulsion problems |
| November 25 | Celebrity Eclipse | St. Kitts Nevis Observer reports A couple that arrived in St. Kitts aboard the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship on Wednesday (Nov. 23) have been arrested and charged with drug possession by local police. At about 8:35 that morning, ship security was alerted to the possibility of passengers having marijuana in their cabin. A search of the couple's quarters turned up a quantity of vegetable material suspected of being Cannabis. The local drug squad was called in, and carried out an investigation. The couple, William Donovan and Shari Hoffman, both from Los Angeles, were questioned and taken into police custody. The vegetable matter recovered from their cabin was tested and confirmed as Cannabis. According to police, the couple was charged and cautioned for possession and importation of Cannabis under the Drug Act. Both were also slapped with identical charges under the Customs and Excise Act. The couple went before the Basseterre Magistrate Court around 3:00 p.m., and Donovan pleaded guilty to the charges. According to credible reports, he admitted to purchasing the marijuana on a beach when the ship docked in St. Maarten the day before. Donovan was fined EC$5000 (~US$2000), which he reportedly paid immediately after the hearing. The charges against Hoffman were withdrawn. The Observer understands that Donovan and Hoffman were not allowed to get back on the ship in light of their violation of the cruise line’s drug policies. The couple spent the night in St. Kitts, and left the island Thursday afternoon via airlift. | Drug bust |
| November 17 | Celebrity Eclipse | Virgin Islands Daily News reports Celebrity Cruises terminated parasailing excursions in the Caribbean after an accident one mile south of Water Island on Tuesday killed a cruise ship passenger and seriously injured her daughter. "All parasailing shore excursions in the Caribbean have been cancelled indefinitely, pending the outcome of the investigation," said Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. Squalls and wind gusts Tuesday afternoon may have factored into the death of Bernice Kraftcheck, 60, and the serious injury of her daughter Danielle Haese, 34, who was hospitalized overnight at Schneider Hospital. Kraftcheck and Haese travelled aboard the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship, which left Miami on Nov. 12 for a seven-night trip to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. | Death on Shore Excursion (parasailing) |
| October 5 | Celebrity Equinox | From a passenger: We were on the ship last week and a man of age 25ish jumped from the 11th floor and died. Do you know any thing about this as it has been kept very much in the dark as we were on the side of the ship from where he jumped. Some say he had a disagreement with his girlfriend and some say he was sleep walking. This was on the 26th of Sept. NOTE: I asked for further details and received the following: He jump from the 11th floor and hit the life boat metal rigging gear, it took about 30mins to get to him but was dead at the scene. As he was from the USA the states were called as well as the FBI. As there was some mystery behind this, so yes it would be good to find out about it as the man that see him fall past his window was very upset because he made a call and it took so long for any one to get to were he had fallen. | Pax death |
| September 29 | Celebrity Eclipse | The Daily Echo reports the departure of the ship was delayed for “enhanced sanitation” after dozens of passengers returning to Southampton at 5am yesterday morning from a 11-night eastern Mediterranean cruise had been struck down by the Norovirus. Sick passengers disembarking the cruise ship at the city's Ocean Terminal reported seeing “people walking around in Ghostbusters suits” ready to disinfect the vessel and the terminal. The ship's next cruise (16 day to Mediterranean and Adriatic) departed hours later than scheduled. | Illness - delayed departure |
| September 12 | Celebrity Equinox | Cruise Law News reports that according to the lawsuit papers, in October 2010, a crewmember employed as an assistant sales clerk working for a perfume concessionaire aboard the Celebrity Equinox, was raped on the cruise ship in the early morning hours after leaving the crew bar. "Jane Doe" awoke to find another crewmember sexually assaulting her. Celebrity Equinox Cruise ShipShe reported the incident to her supervisors and was examined and treated in the ship infirmary. Police in the next port of call in Israel interviewed her, and the assailant crew member was eventually terminated and sent home. Like most cruise ship sexual assault allegations, the assailant crew member was not arrested and there was no criminal prosecution. The ship doctor did not administer any anti-retroviral medications to Jane Doe. She was permitted four days off from work and thereafter returned to full time duty. Neither Celebrity Cruises not her employer, Harding Brothers which operates the perfume concession, provided her with a psychiatrist, psychologist or counselor despite her many requests for help dealing with the trauma. Jane Doe ended her employment on the cruise ship in February 2011. Jane Doe is from South Africa. She is unemployed. Neither Celebrity nor Harding Brothers have provided her with any medical treatment or assistance after she left the cruise ship as required by the doctrine of "maintenance and cure." | Rape |
| August 19 | Celebrity Summit | The Bermuda Sun reports a 48-year-old US tourist was today fined $1,000 after admitting having six grams of cannabis in his cruise ship cabin. The court heard Customs officers searched the passenger's cabin on August 17 after receiving a tip-off. The passenger was present during the search and admitted to Customs officers he had some cannabis in the cabin safe “for personal use”. Magistrate Archibald Warner ordered that the passenger, who has no previous convictions in his homeland, pay the fine immediately. | Drug bust |
| May 22 | Eclipse | The Daily Mail reports a 31 year old Filipini crew member was seen on CCTV climbing over a railing and jumping from the ship at around 10.15pm on Friday. The ship was eight miles north of the French port of Cherbourg when the incident happened. The vessel was immediately turned around and headed back towards the spot from where the man had jumped. Colleagues alerted the French coastguard but no trace of him was found during an overnight search. Emergency workers called off the search-and-rescue mission yesterday. The ship was returning from a 14-night Italian Mediterranean cruise that left Southampton on May 7. | Crew member overboard |
| May 4 | Millennium | The Associated Press reports a 63 year old woman went missing from the cruise ship between Cabo and San Diego. Her absence was realized when the ship prepared to disembark in San Diego and she could not be found. The company subsequently said according to surveillance video the woman was seen jumping overboard. A search by the US Coast Guard was not fruitful. | Passenger overboard |
| March 22 | Constellation | Cruise Law News reports Indian crew member Anthony Rodriguez went overboard on March 10, 2011. Mr. Fernandes was a 19 year employee of the cruise line. His family members in Mumbai were not notified for two days and were not given an explanation for him going overboard. | Crew member overboard |
| February 2 | Celebrity Solstice | According to a letter sent to travel agents by Celebrity Cruises, We are writing to provide you with important information regarding your clients booked on the February 6, sailing of Celebrity Solstice. Please provide this information, as soon as possible, to your clients booked on this sailing. During Celebrity Solstice’s last sailing, a small number of guests onboard experienced a gastrointestinal illness, thought to be a norovirus. In an abundance of caution, we are conducting some enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, to help prevent any illness from affecting your client’s cruise. Because of this additional sanitizing, check in and boarding is now anticipated to begin at approximately 3:00 p.m. We apologize for this delay to your client’s boarding. Since parking and seating at the cruise terminal is very limited, we ask that guests arrive at the terminal between 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m From a reader: While I was not onboard that ship in particular, I personally spoke with 5 other passengers who disembarked on Feb 6 (I was on a Carnival ship) and they reported that by Feb 2, the ship was experiencing extreme measures to combat the spread of the virus, such as mandatory use of sani gel, removal of all table items (salt/pepper shakers, etc) and limiting movement on the ship. I was told a number of passengers were very ill but none of those I spoke with had any symptoms themselves. One passenger had heard an entire floor had been quarantined, but none of the other passengers I spoke with could confirm that. However, one couple had a stateroom next door to an elderly couple, of which the man had developed illness that seemed related to a norovirus. He subsequently passed away around mid-day on Feb 5. I don’t know any further details nor can I confirm any of the information. I will note that none of the passengers I spoke with were connected with one another and the conversations happened at different times in different locations in the Ft Lauderdale airport and on our flight to DFW. UPDATE: The CDC reports 118 of 2839 passengers (4.16%) and 10 of 1227 crew (0.819%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. | Illness & Delayed departure |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2010 |
Incident |
| January 4 | Consellation | Sign on San Diego reports a computer that had been given away at an estate sale led to the arrest of a cruise-ship audiovisual manager who was taken into custody on child-pornography charges after arriving at the Port of San Diego. The 31 year old man was arrested Sunday by FBI agents and is accused in a federal criminal complaint of receiving and possessing child pornography. The investigation, conducted by the FBI’s Sacramento division, began last summer when a citizen told a sheriff’s deputy in the northern Sacramento Valley that a computer that he had been given by a woman holding an estate sale in Chico contained images of child pornography on the hard drive. The citizen, a technician, said that the woman had thought the computer was broken. The abandoned computer, which the citizen repaired, was turned over to law-enforcement officials. It contained 450 still-image files and about 250 video files of child pornography portraying a total of 44 different victims. An investigation linked Hernandez to the computer and to the address of the estate sale. According to the federal complaint the man was an audiovisual manager. In documented online chats he had bragged that he had bought young boys for sex in Mexico, the complaint said. | Child pornography seized |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2010 |
Incident |
| 15.11.10 | Mercury | SKNVibes reports 17 tourists aboard a coaster tour bus was this morning (Nov. 14) robbed of an undisclosed sum of money, jewellery, cellular phones and other personal items while on their way to visit the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (St. Kitts). The tour bus was travelling along the access road to Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park in the vicinity of Lime Kiln with 17 tourists (including a baby) when the incident occurred. “While the bus was driving up the road to Brimstone Hill, the driver saw a large branch from a tree was in his path; so he stopped the bus and disembarked to remove it. But in the process of removing the branch, two masked gunmen emerged from the bushes and said to the driver, ‘This is a #@+# robbery.’ Two other men were also in the bushes. However, the driver then ran towards a nearby gas station on the Island Main Road, from where he got assistance to call the police. “Officers from the Sandy Point Police Station responded to the call and the driver returned to the scene. However, the gunmen had already robbed the tourists of their valuables and cash and made their escape in thick bushes in the area,” said a taxi operator on the condition of anonymity. According to a release sent this afternoon from the Police Public Relations Office, police received a report of the robbery at approximately 11:15 this morning and investigations revealed that the tourists were robbed but none of them were physically harmed. | Pax robbed ashore |
| 15.10.10 | Century | The ship left Barcelona on Wednesday on a 12-night holiday in the Mediterranean, but is now stranded in Villefranche on the French Riviera. The ship's rudders have been damaged and the cruise has been cancelled so that dry-dock repairs can be carried out. Repairs should be completed in time for a re-positioning transatlantic crossing to Miami scheduled to depart on October 25. In compensation, passengers will be receiving a complete refund of their fares, plus a 25 per cent discount on any future cruise with Celebrity. A reader sent the following items from Cruise Critic: The Century experienced a broken rudder and in the process of ending the cruise. I am on board and the process in unbelievable! (not in a good way) More to follow. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1292197 Century 10/13 cruise cancelled in Nice We left Barcelona on schedule arriving villefranche this morning. two hours after our scheduled departure time, the captain announced that we had two bad rudders, the ship has to go to drydock and our cruise is cancelled. Likely that the 10/25 transatlantic will also be cancelled. We are to stay on the boat until Saturday and then they will apparently let us off in Villefranche (tenders). No idea at this point how they will handle our actually getting home...they have already committed to full refunds for this cruise plus a 25% credit towards our next cruise....but it's not clear about what they will do to get us out of Nice...hotels, flights, change fees....and we were back to back coming to Miami....and have no clue how they will handle this for us. Watch this thread for more when we know more. Ghstudio....now aboard the non moving century in Nice http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1292056 | Rudder problems -- canceled |
| 18.9.10 | Solstice | From a reader: The story on the cruise that I was on goes like this: On early Friday morning around 130 am a person fell overboard from the 5th floor. It took them about an hour to locate and rescue the person who was alive(amazing). He was fighting and very belligerent when he was rescued. They put the person in handcuffs and he was taking off the ship in the next port of sail which was Roatan Honduras. The gentleman of approximately 65 years of age had an arguement with his wife at an 80's party being held in the Sky Lounge near the bow. At about 1:30am on deck 5 starboard he removed most of his clothing and dove off the deck. Fast acting crew members threw a flashing buoy overboard immediately to mark his location and the man-overboard call was made. The Captain was summoned and many of us heard the code "Oscar, Oscar" Apparently 2-zodiacs were launched the second after some issues with the first....of this I am not certain. Upon reaching the very lucking gentleman he did not wish to be rescued and when pulled on board the zodiac became beligerant and hence was cuffed. We were told he was removed from the ship in Roatan. Yesterday in the afternoon, on our last day at sea, the Captain came on the loudspeaker and thanked his hard working crew for their efforts for the rescue. My husband recorded a You Tube video of him being rescued. There are photos here. |
Person overboard rescued alive |
| 26.7.10 | Eclipse | From a passenger: We just returned from the 10 July sailing from Southampton to the Baltic. We received a letter of a chickenpox outbreak on day 2. Also had someone removed from the ship which delayed sailing in Warnemunde, Germany... medical emergency of some sort, looked like a young person taken away in an ambulance. | Chicken pox |
| 26.6.10 | Infinity | From a passenger: During our June 18th to June 25 cruise to Alaska There were two major problems. The first in Ketchecan on June 20. We were unable to depart for 5 or 6 hours due to the bridge not able to control the engines. This forced them to skip the Tracy Arm fiords the main reason we took this trip. They gave us a $200.00 credit per stateroom which was an insult. Problem 2 on June 23rd in Skagway an electrical fire caused the power to go out for a few hours during the early seating dinner. They did not keep us informed and we left for the second time. They offered no compensation. This was our 10th cruise and the first bad one. Won't recommend Celebrity. | Fire, Engine problems |
| 26.4.10 | Zenith | According to Reuters, striking dockers and protesters at Greece's largest ports blocked hundreds of tourists from returning to their ship on Monday in a protest against reforms that negatively impact Greek ship workers. The Coast Guard said around 400 dockers and protesters prevented around 1,000 mostly Spanish passengers from returning to the ship. They were taken to hotels; the company hopes to be able to have the ship leave later today or early tomorrow morning. The ship earlier in the day wasn't allowed to dock at Piraeus and instead dropped anchor and tendered passengers to the port. | Stuck ashore |
| 7.4.10 | Solstice | A reader reports a fellow passenger on the ship was robbed while in St. Kitts. This occured not far from the port and there were several men together that were involved. |
Robbery ashore |
| 30.3.10 | Mercury | Charleston Regional Business Journal reports the ship departed two hours late (at 7PM) on Monday in order to accommodate extra cleaning given the norovirus outbreaks on the four previous cruises. While more than 22% of passengers reported ill on the cruise before the last one, on the most recent cruise only 0.5% reported ill. | Delayed departure |
| 26.2.10 | Mercury | The ship's departure from Charleston has been delayed for one day in order to permit deep cleaning. The Post and Courier reports Ppssengers who live more than a two-hour drive from Charleston were being put up in area hotels, compliments of the cruise line. All guests were being credited $50 for any extra expenses incurred, plus a $20 credit. To accommodate the delay, the cruise's itinerary was shortened by a day, with a planned call in Key West, Fla., being canceled. Passengers who sail today were to be given on on-board credit for two-days worth of their fare and a 25 percent discount on future Celebrity cruise bookings, | Delayed embarkation |
| 13.2.10 | Mercury | WBAL-TV (Baltimore) reports six people onboard the ship are being treated for exposure to carbon monoxide. Baltimore City fire officials said six crew members have been taken to local hospitals. Crew members were performing a welding operation on board the ship inside the engine room Friday and after the work was done the members began to report respiratory problems and other medical issues, and reported to the ship's medical facility. The 6 crew members were transported to local hospitals upon arrival in Baltimore. Baltimore City hazmat crews are trying to determine where the leak was coming from. | Carbon monoxide poisoning
(crew) |
| 3.1.10 | Summit | From a passenger: At St. Thomas Celebrity Summit had a bomb scare clearing passengers and providing food at a restaurant on the pier Jan 3 about 2:00pm local time | Bomb scare |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2009 |
Incident |
| 15.12.09 | Summit | Posters at Cruise Critic ask: Anyone know how many people were ill with Gastro-intestinal illnesses, norovirus, food poisoning etc on board Summit's transatlantic sailing (November 28th)? Figures heard on board varied from 20 to 157. It'd be interesting to know the actual number. Another person says: According to the info we were given on the Solstice it was high enough to go to "Code Red". If that helps. Note: Code Red means 3% of passengers reported ill (more than 60). Given the ship had left from a non-U.S. port, the outbreak may not be reported to the CDC. | Illness |
| 30.11.09 | Equinox | From a passenger: We sailed on the Nov 23 cruise. We were on deck 10 aft cabin. The area had a terrible odor that nauseated us and caused coughing attacks as well as headaches. After discussing this with Claudio an Ass't Guest Relations Manager he acknowledged that they were aware of the problem and that the Solstice was even was even worse. He claims that have resoloved the problem with the Eclipse. | Nauseous air quality |
| 6.11.09 | Solstice | From a passenger: I'm a passenger on Celebrity Solstice between Santorini and Naples. At 9PM local time tonight, a female passenger jumped purposefully from Deck 14. She has been identified by the crew but the name not released. The coast guard are conducting a search but she has not been found as yet. UPDATE November 7: Solstice searched in the darkness with spotlights for 10 hours assisted by at least one more cruise ship as well as at least one coast guard boat and an aircraft. Flares were deployed as well, but to no avail. She was not found. We continued on toward Naples and will ariive about an hour late. | Pax overboard |
| 17.7.09 | Equinox | Dutch
News reports all 2,100 crew and passengers on the ship,
currently moored in the Eemshaven in Groningen, are to be vaccinated
against measles.
Two members of the crew were diagnosed with the highly infectious
disease earlier this week.
Twenty crew members who were in close contact with the two sick people
have been moved to a hotel in Delfzijl as a precautionary measure.
The brand new ship, was due to leave for Southampton, England on
Friday afternoon. Most of the passengers work in the travel industry
and have come from all over the world. |
Measles |
| 27.4.09 | Mercury | KFMB Radio in San Diego reports the ship arrived at 7 a.m. but passengers didn't get to leave the ship until three hours later (missing flights home). That's because the passenger count didn't match with the number of people on the ship -- about five or six people were missing. The cruise started on the U.S. East Coast with stops in Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas before arriving in San Diego. | Delayed disembarkation |
| 9.3.09 |
Millennium | The cruise scheduled for March 15 (14 day from
Auckland) has
been cancelled because
the ship requires dry docking to deal with a problem with a bearing on
the propeller shaft. Passengers booked on the cruise will
receive: a full
refund of all monies paid to Celebrity for the sailing; a future cruise
credit in the amount of the cruise fare paid, which may be used for
sailings that depart on or before 3/30/10 (can to be used on holiday or
Celebrity Xpedition sailings); and up to $250 per person for airline
change fees. The ship will end in Auckland March 15th, will sail to
Sydney for repairs, and is scheduled to return to Auckland for is March
29th cruise. Source: See New
Zealand Herald |
Cancellation |
| 23.2.09 |
Summit | Sixteen passengers were injured when their bus
apparently lost control and drove into a ditch while it was returning
to the ship from a shore excursion. The accident happened outside
Roseau, Dominica; some of the injured were flown to Miami for treatment
at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The passengers sustained injuries,
including broken bones, bumps, bruises and lacerations, however,
three people were more seriously injured; five of the 16 injured were
treated and released from the hospital in Dominica. The
passengers were returning from a Caribbean Cooking Adventure
shore excursion, in which they joined local culinary experts to
learn how to prepare and present traditional Caribbean dishes.
The three-and-a-half hour excursion concluded with a scenic drive
through Roseau before returning to the pier. The ship is sailing a
seven-night Caribbean cruise that departed San Juan on February 21. |
Shore excursion accident |
| 22.2.09 |
Galaxy | From a passenger: Just came back from an 11 night crusie on
the Galaxy. We had cockroaches in our Royal Suite 1024. The ship had
propulsion problems while in port in St Lucia that delayed the ship for
about 4 hours. The sewer flooded in our cabin. |
Propulsion problems |
| 10.1.09 |
Summit | Cruise
Critic reports the ship's January 31 cruise, originally a
seven-night Southern Caribbean cruise out of San Juan, has been
shortened by a day -- the port call at Tobago has ben cancelled. The
cruise will now end on Friday, February 6 (instead of the 7th). The
ship will then immediately head into dry dock to undergo repairs for
what the line describes as "an electrical problem." The dry dock is
expected to last four days. The next cruise aboard Celebrity Summit is
on scheduled to depart from San Juan on February 14; it was chartered
-- and therefore not open to the public for booking -- for its February
7 departure; that cruise has been canceled. |
Cancelation -- Altered itinerary |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2008 |
Incident |
| 28.11.08 |
Century |
Di-ve
news reports three ships had planned visits to Malta affected by
inclement weather. The visit by Century was cancelled. |
Cancelled port calls |
| 17.11.08 |
Summit | The ship is experiencing propulsion problems that reduce top
speeds to 15 knots from the usual 24 knots. The result is that port
call have been dropped -- Split was canceled on the Nov 1-15 cruise; a
port was also dropped from the subsequent cruise. See Cruising
Talk and Cruise
Critic. |
Propulsion problems |
| 3.11.08 |
Mercury | Celebrity
Cruises' website reports the ship had to perform a medical
evacuation for two guests who developed serious and life-threatening
conditions. In order to perform the evacuation, the ship had to turn
around and return to Hawaii. The process added several hours to the
ship's sailing time and has caused a delay in its arrival back to port.
The ship will now arrive in San Diego on Friday, November 7, a day
later than scheduled. From a
passenger: After sailing 300 miles on our way back to San Diego,
the ship turned around and returned to Hilo Hawaii to evacuate
"two very sick passengers?" The port stop of Ensenada Mexico was
canceled and we came straight back to San Diego, arriving November 7 in
the morning. Lot of extra expense all the way around for
Celebrity and passengers who had to change airline tickets etc., plus
the next cruise had to to be delayed with most of the people outside
the area having to make air changes. Major impact for passengers of
both cruises and Celebrity did not credit anybody for the inconveinence
to the 4,000 people impacted. |
Delayed arrival |
| 5.5.08 |
Century | According to media
in the UK, a woman was dramatically plucked from the water after
she tripped and plunged from the gangway of the ship while docked in
Belfast. The woman is believed to have fallen while talking and walking
backwards. An Australian member of the luxury liner's crew dived into
the water at Stormont Wharf and rescued the woman before officers from
Belfast Harbour Police arrived to administer first aid. She was
transferred by ambulance to hospital where she was said to be in a
stable condition. |
Fall from gangway |
| 20.2.08 |
Millennium | A passenger from the ship this morning after a snorkeling excursion at Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda. The 65-year-old man went on a snorkeling excursion with his wife and several others. After about half hour of snorkeling, he reported feeling tired so they decided to return to the beach. While at the water’s edge, he developed difficulties breathing and reported feeling chest pains. He was assisted by other persons from the excursion, one of whom happened to be a doctor. An ambulance was called in. He was taken to the Iris O’Neal clinic where he lost consciousness and stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at about 11:20 a.m. | Death on snorkeling
excursion |
| 18.2.08 |
Constellation | A 28 year old Chinese crew member went missing as the ship approached Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). He had last been seen at 5AM and then did not show up for morning muster an hour later at 6AM. A search of the ship was undertaken but was unsuccessful. The Coast Guard wasnotified of the disappearance at 1:40PM. | Person missing |
| 4.1.08 |
Constellation | A Canadian woman died during a dive excursion to the Proselyte Reef, a few miles off Great Bay Harbour. According to her husband, she was a certified diver. Shortly after descending to the dive site she indicated she wanted to return to the surface and was brought to the surface by the dive guide and her husband and taken into the dive vessel. She became unwell shortly after. After security personnel went to get her some water she was found lying on the floor with “foam” running from her mouth and nose. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) was administered, while the dive company’s office was called for help. After the other divers had come to the surface the victim was immediately brought ashore. She was pronounced dead at approximately 10:45am by a medical doctor after she was brought back to shore by dive company Scuba Fun. | Death on
Shore Excursion |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2007 |
Incident |
| 17.9.07 | Constellation | The
ship's departure from Falmouth was delayed 2 hours because of several
accidents involving tour busses. Here is what was sent from a
passenger's Blackberry: There
were
4 accidents involving tour buses: 1) bus hit a car which caught
on
fire; 2) Another bus hit a car and the car's driver stopped in front of
the bus and acted very threatening to the passengers; 3) A
independent
mini excursion bus was sideswiped by a large tour bus severely damaging
the sides of both buses; 4) following that accident, the mini bus ran
over the foot of a pedestrian which was badly crushed. As a
result of
these incidenced the ship left port 2 hours late but was still able to
reach Dublin on time. I don't believe any Constellaion passengers were
injured. |
Delayed departure |
| 22.8.07 |
Millennium | Cruise Critic reports that about 250 people have been affected by norovirus on the present 12 night cruise out of Barcelona. Celebrity has confirmed the outbreak and says 176 of the ship's 2,242 guests [8 percent] and 22 of its 957 crew members [2 percent] experienced the illness. | Illness |
| 8.7.07 |
Millennium | The cruise
scheduled for 12 July has been cancelled in order to accommodate
repairs to the propellers. Passengers reportedly will
be given a full refund and a credit toward a future cruise. |
Cancellation |
| 3.7.07 |
Millennium | Posted at Cruise Critic: Unsceduled day at sea and no
Florence stop... Yesterday while we were in Villefranche the boat
drifted towards shore
and ended up hitting submerged rocks. (Someone wasn't doing their job).
Most people felt a shudder about 5pm last night, then noticed something
was wrong when the cooks and mechanics were looking over aft deck 10
...
Well, after a night of silence from the bridge, we discover through a
letter slipped under our door at 6am that three of the four blades on
the propeller on the starboard side were damaged. We were supposed to
leave port at 8pm, but didn't leave until 11pm. Because of the damage,
the ship can only travel at 11 knots instead of 22. They tried to go
faster, but the ship was rocking so bad it felt like a fast rolling
earthquake. We're still rocking pretty good, a mechanical rocking, not
wave rolling. We are going to have to pass up Florence today and travel
straight to Rome so they can attempt to fix it. They did credit $ to
our shipboard account because of the missed port, but it doesn't really
make up for not seeing Florence. There are some very unhappy passengers
here today, including myself. This was in addition to a 5
min blackout on day 2 at Sea. Dh was in the
casino and our poor tablemate was in the shower. No lights or water,
the pumps stopped too. And on
July 4: We did miss Florence yesterday and arrived in Rome
last night,
midnight. We we informed that partial work would be completed today
with the remainder to be completed in Naples. We spend a lovely cool
day touring Rome and boarded the ship to hear an announcement from the
captain. The new propeller blades, 5 need to be replaced not the
originally reported 3, did not arrive today. They are expecting the
crew and blades to arrive tonight and work will begin about midnight,
it's currently 8:15pm Wednesday. We will stay in Rome tomorrow and miss
Naples as far as we can tell. The captain was pretty vague, we may have
more info before the evening is over. And on July 5: Repairs are
expected to be completed later today ... a revised itinerary was
released which cancels port
calls at Naples,
Santorini and Athens. Instead, the ship will go to Corfu and
Dubrovnik, both previously unscheduled. Reports of compensation
say passengers will receive a 50% refund of cruise fare less the amount
(ranging from $500 - $1000 per cabin) given as a credit on onboard
accounts. And on July 6:
Repairs were not completed yesterday and now the ship is scheduled to
remain in Civitivecchia (port for Rome) until Saturday night (July 7)
and will still stop at Corfu and Dubrovnik on the way to Venice
(arriving July 12). Passengers were notified today that they will
be given a full refund for this cruise. And on July 7: Fifth day in
Rome and still haven't left ... passengers are getting restless and
understandably impatient. Announced
the evening of July 7: Cruise has been cancelled and
passengers may fly home from Rome or be transported to Venice and fly
from there as originally scheduled. |
Scrape bottom ---- Damaged propeller blades ---- Cruise cancelled |
| 21.5.07 |
Century | The BBC reports that an obese passenger had to be carried off by helicopter because of his size. The man, who weighs 450 pounds, was onboard the ship anchored in the Firth of Forth when he suffered gastric problems that required hospitalization. Forth Coastguard said that trying to get this man down the side of the ship and into a smaller boat was just not possible, so airlifting was the only answer. It called in an RAF Sea King helicopter to winch the man off the boat before carrying him to hospital. | Unusual Med-evac |
| 18.2.07 |
Mercury |
On-board the Mercury: the ship was forced to return to San Diego after five hours at sea so that divers could remove fishing line and rope wrapped around the starboard propeller shaft. When the ship finally left San Diego it was 13 hours behind schedule on its 14-day cruise to Fort Lauderdale. The itinerary was modified to skip the first port, Cabo San Lucas, and the scheduled arrival and departure for the second, Acapulco, was altered. Staterooms received a shipboard credit that varied based on stateroom category.. |
Delay -- Missed port |
| 1.2.07 |
Infinity | From
Cruise Critic: We
were on the second floor of the dining room
at
about 6:30PM when we were broadsided by what must have been two
enormous waves. Two folks at our table of eight, were knocked to the
floor with water, wine, dishes etc spilled on them. At the table next
to us, a woman was injured and taken out on a stretcher. The waiter and
head waiter said they had never experienced any thing like this before
and were of no help as to what we should do. The waiter said that there
were broken arms and legs suffered by galley workers. Passengers
throughout the ship later had stories of "where they were and what
happened" when the waves hit. Every bottle of booze and all glassware
all over the ship hit the floor. The books in the library were all on
the ground. The Grand piano in the theater broke legs and pedals. It
was a mess and the most astonishing thing is that neither the Captain,
nor any of his officers got on the PA system until 36 hours later to
talk about it. All he said then was "he did good since three other
ships in the same waters had to delay their cruises because they
suffered even more severe damage and injuries". |
Rogue Wave |
| 2.1.07 |
Millennium | The ship has experienced an electrical short that provides
power to the ship's port propulsion system. As a result, it has been
forced to slow down -- reducing its cruising speed from 22 knots to 17. This has resulted in the cancellation of one port -- the Dominican Republic's Casa de Campo -- but the ship will make it to San Juan, its next call, as scheduled where it is expected repairs will be made. From a passenger (14 Jan): We left San Jaun and were told the repair was complete. At midnight (after St. Thomas) the boat stopped again ... Thw captain said that due to further problems we would return to F |
Propulsion problems |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2006 |
Incident |
| 17.12.06 |
Infinity | A passenger on the 3 - 17 December South America cruise
reports that one of the tenders slammed into something and was damaged
in one of the ports -- the reduced number of tenders caused 1 to 2 hour
waits for passengers getting back to the ship. Also reported was
a small outbreak of stomach virus -- medical charges related to
the virus were waived (encouraging passengers to seek medical care) --
and passengers were not allowed to touch anything in the buffets
including tongs and the tea/punch dispenser. Those with the virus
were quarantined in their cabins for 48 hours. |
Damaged tender -- Illness |
| 3.12.06 |
Infinity | From
a passenger: The pod
system failed and we were in Lima for 36 hrs
(originally scheduled for about 11 hrs) and had to miss the port of
Arica, Chile. WHAT A BUMMER! The ship was sailing
from Fort Lauderdale (19 November) to Valparaiso (3 December). From another passenger: 1. There was a short circuit in the starboard propulsion system the night before we arrived in Lima and we sailed 16 knots instead of 22; 2. We were supposed to arrive in Lima at 06.00 am, we arrived at 18.00 instead; 3. The ship stayed overnight in Lima for a total of 30 hours (till 24.00 hrs the next day); 4. The captain came on the voice systme and explained that because of the problem we would not arrive in time in Lima and the result was missing the port of call Arica; 5. Celebrity Cruises compensated us very well (US$ 500.-) shipboard credit per cabin; 6. Most people were very content, (although sorry for missing Arica) because of the fair compensation; 7. After leaving Lima we sailed at 19-10 knots and were more than on time in Valparaiso. |
Propulsion problems -- 24 hour
delay |
| 25.11.06 |
Summit | The ship reported that 12 of 942 (1.27%) crew and 72 of 1911 (3.77%) passengers had reported ill on the 11 - 25 November cruise from Los Angeles to San Juan (Puerto Rico). Symptons were consistent with gastrointestinal illness (e.g., norovirus) | Illness |
| 17.11.06 |
Millennium | Celebrity announced today that the 10 December sailing is
canceled due to a problem with the propulsion system. The ship
will enter dry dock to replace a port thrust bearing, and is expected
to return for the cruise scheduled for 17 December. Guests booked
on the caceled cruise will receive a full refund and a free cruise of
equal value from North America of up to seven nights, departing before
31 December 2007. |
Canceled Cruise |
| 16.11.06 |
Mercury | The Seattle
Times and Seattle
Post-Intelligencer report that Celebrity Cruises faces
a $100,000 fine for the Mercury dumping 500,000 gallons of untreated
wastewater into Puget Sound. Though it initially claimed it
hadn't dumped, shipboard documents contradicted the company's
claim. The dumping happended 10 times over nine days in September
and October 2005. |
Environmental |
| 3.11.06 |
Century | According to a story from the Associated Press and posted
by WVEC.COM, three passengers were med-evaced by the USS Wasp from
the
ship following
injuries sustained when the ship rolled in high seas. The ship
left Malaga on 30 October, stopped in Madiera 1 November and will
arrive in Miami on 9 November. |
High Seas / Injuries |
| 2.11.06 |
Century | A
73 old British man travelling alone has gone missing from this 14 night
transAtlantic cruise. The cruise began in Barcelona 27October
and
ends 13 November in Miami. The passenger was reported missing 1
November after it appeared his room hadn't been used. |
Passenger Missing |
| 21.8.06 |
Summit | The ship pulled into Seward with a dead humpback whale on
its bow. The whale was spotted by longshoremen after the vessel
tied up. A necropsy is scheduled to determine whether the whale
was alive or dead when it was struck. |
Whale Strike |
| 10.8.06 |
Infinity | Celebrity today canceled the 13 September sailing in order
to replace one of the ship's two propulsion pods. The affected
pod's electrical system is failing to supply maximum cruising speed and
the ship is unable to maintain itineraries as scheduled. |
Propulsion problems / Cancellation |
| 8.8.06 |
Summit | A tour bus accident injured 15 passengers on a shore
excursion from Juneau. None of the injuries were lifethreatening,
however one passenger remained in hospital after the ship left.
The bus driver has been cited for reckless driving. |
Bus Accident |
| 18.7.06 |
Infinity | The cruise was was delayed 24 hours while a short
circuit was repaired. According to passengers, however, the ship
is still having
problems with the pod (propulsion system). Sitka has been
cancelled as a port of call and the stay at Hubbard Glacier has been
shortened. Passengers have been given a $500 onboard credit per
cabin and a credit of $200 for their next cruise. |
Propulsion Problems -- Missed Port |
| 16.7.06 |
Infinity | The ship experienced propulsion problems and skipped Sitka
on the cruise that ended
today in Vancouver. The propulsion problems were also responsible
for a late arrival in Vancouver and late debarkation (approximately
2:00 PM). Each cabin was given $500 as an onboard credit,those
having to change flights were alotted up to $100 per person,
accommodations were provided for those "stuck" in Vancouver overnight,
and a $200 credit for future cruises was given. |
Propulsion Problems -- Missed Port |
| 8.6.06 |
Infinity | An accusation of passenger (male aged 47) on passenger (male
aged 84) sexual assault was filed with the Alaska State
Trooopers. Because the incident was purported to have occured on
June 4, when the ship wasin Canadian waters, investigation will be
continued by the Vancouver PD. |
Sexual Assault (Pax on
Pax) |
| 19.5.06 |
Mercury | Coast Guard officers removed the captian from them ship after he failed a breath-alcohol test during a routine safety inspection. The ship delayed its departure from Seattle until a new captain was located. On July 31, the Captain pled guilty to operating a ship while under the influence of alcohol; he paid 1 fine of $15,000 and placed on probation for one year. He also was banned from entering U.S. waters as an employee of any commercial vessel for one year. | Intoxicated Captain |
| 13.5.06 |
Summit | The May 20 sailing has been canceled so the ship can go into
drydock for the replacement of its starboard thrust bearing. The
ship is expected to return to service on May 27. |
Canceled cruise |
| 10.5.06 |
Summit | Irate passengers planned protests over skipped ports after propeller troubles caused calls at Seattle and Sitka, Alaska to be cancelled. Passengers criticized Celebrity for failing to disclose mechanical problems before the Summit left California May 7 on the 13 night cruise. A cruise line spokesman said the problem was not confirmed until the ship left port. Political Gateway reports: "There's a lot of pissed-off people here from Australia and Germany and other places who wanted to see Seattle," Vancouver passenger Patrick Regan told the Seattle Times."Greetings from the prison ship," Dr. Ira Goodkofsky of Sherman Oaks, Calif., wrote his daughter in an e-mail. "We are literally being held captive on this ship."Goodkofsky said a "huge group" of passengers planned a casino sit-in to protest, the newspaper reported.The cruise line denied it was holding passengers hostage, said most were understanding of the situation and all had been refunded $200. | Propulsion problems -- Canceled Ports |
| 1.5.06 |
Mercury | From a passenger: On the 4/28-5/8 2006 sailing from San Diego to Mex. Rivera the ship lissed Mazatlan due to a partial breakdown of main bearings in one of the propeller shafts. The ship went from Cabo San Lucas to Acapulco in order to effect repairs. The engineering staff said considerably abnormal levels of metal shavings were noted in the bearing packs indicating an imminent breakdown. A $25/person credit was issued for missing Mazatlan -- we spent 2 days in Acapulco instead of one. | Missed Port |
| 4.4.06 |
Mercury | From a passenger onboard after two cruises with illness
outbreaks: We left San Diego on 03/27 - 4/07 cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Embarkation was slightly delayed so the ship could be completely sanitized as 5% of the pax on previous cruise reported symptoms of GI illness. We were told that some sanitizing efforts would be ongoing while the ship cruised. The reality was this: On day three they began spraying every surface with chlorine bleach around the clock. Doors, walls, hand rails, chairs, tables, desks, mirrors, elevators both inside and outside. Literally everything. We left the ship in Acapulco on Sunday (April 2) because the living conditions were unbearable. Walls were running with chlorine, clothes were being ruined, breathing was difficult, eyes and mucus membranes irritated from exposure to the fumes. Many pax were annoyed and angry but I guess my tolerance is far less than theirs. Celebrity agreed to pay for a flight home from Acapulco. Passengers remaining onboard were told Tuesday night (April 4) that they would receive a 25 percent refund of the amount paid for this sailing, and a 25 percent credit for a future Celebrity cruise (based on the amount paid for this sailing). |
"Cost" of sanitization Pics from March 17 - 27 cruise |
| 23.3.06 |
Millennium | Twelve people died and two were injured in a tour bus accident in Arica, Chile. According to local news reports, the bus went off a steep cliff at approximately 4:30 p.m. The injured were taken to a local hospital, and a doctor and nurse from Millennium were sent to assist the injured and notify the families of the deceased. Celebrity is flying family members of those killed and injured to Chile on Thursday. Millennium will remain in Arica until further notice. The ship was in the fourth day of a 14-night South America cruise that departed Valparaiso, Chile, on March 19 and is scheduled to conclude in Fort Lauderdale on April 2. | Delay caused by Pax Accident |
| 16.3.06 |
Millennium | During the night of March 15,
the ship sailed into a storm with 40 foot waves that makes it almost
impossible to remain on your feet. At midnight, the Captain tried to
escape the storm by diverting the ship into a Chilean fjord, but on
approaching concluded that entering it was too dangerous. The ship
headed back out to sea and faced the storm. During the evening and
night, there was lots of damage: in the main dining room, during late
seating, glasses, plates, etc. are thrown of the tables onto the floor;
the huge flower vase at the bottom of the grand staircase falls and
breaks. In bars, glasses and whine bottles fall and break. In the
specialty restaurant, the harp falls and is damaged; wine bottles fall
out of the cabinet and roll over the restaurant floor. The water of the
indoor Thallasotherapy pool floods into the aft hallway and elevator
banks; the elevators are put out of service. The glass sliding door
between the outdoor and indoor pool shatters. The damage to the
shopping mall is the worst; displays and products are spread out over
the floor.
|
Storm encounter |
| 8.3.06 |
Millennium | While docked at Puerto Madryn, at approximately 10 AM, sudden winds caused the ship to break away from the dock. The gangway collapsed into the sea. Celebrity was very fortunate that nobody was on it at the time. The Captain first tried to re-dock the ship, but because the winds remain strong, left port. Tendering passengers who were left ashore back to the ship through the rough seas was a challenge. (Check www.celebrityatsea.com, Millennium, Archive, Bridgecam, March 8, from 9 am onwards to see the ship drift from the dock, pulling back, and finally leaving port.) | Gangway collapse |
| 19.2.06 |
Millennium | As was the case on the cruise ending January 22, the Falkland Islands were dropped from the itinerary. According to a passenger, the Captain told us the seas would be too rough to tender at the Falklands. We had an extra day at sea and had an early arrival at Uruguay. I looked up the weather in the Falklands -- good seas and about 15 knots of wind. We learned later that two other ships (one was the Albatross) stopped at the Falklands the day the Millennium skipped it. The ship traveled rest of the cruise at about 18 knots, well below the 25 knots we were making earlier in the trip. There was some speculation that the reason we put in to Uruguay early was to get installed a part that was flown in, but that was just a rumor on board. | Skipped port (Falklands) |
| 4.2.06 |
Millennium | The
Daily Telegraph (UK) reports that several hundred passengers signed
a petition complaining they were not adequately compensated after a
South American itinerary was changed because of bad weather.
Stops at both Puerto Madryn and the Falkland Islands were dropped
on the crusie ending January 22. According to the article: "Apart
from low-key apologies from the captain, the only compensation
offered was an open bar before dinner on one night ... Even then, the
drinks menus were removed from the bars and we were
encouraged to believe the open bar meant choosing from trays of wine or
two garishly coloured fruit cocktails. We also were given some extra
bingo sessions." Passengers report, subsequent to the cruise,
that their compensation requests were denied. |
Missed Ports (Falklands & Puerto Madryn) |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship | 2005 |
Incident |
| 20.12.05 |
Millennium | From a passenger: A lady fell between the ship and dock at Dominican Republic -- we were
told that she was looking over the banister into the water, got dizzy
and fell. Staff was right there ... by the time my husband and I
disembarked a couple of men had jumped in and were helping her
out.
She looked fine-just panicked. Scary! |
Fall overboard |
| 30.11.05 |
Millennium | The ship will will be delayed upon arrival and departure Dec 2, 2005 into Port Everglades, due to Tropical Storm Epsilon. Passengers were contacted by Celebrity and told not to arrive at the pier until 3pm with a port departure of 7pm. They were also advised that the Coast Guard will board and inspect the ship for its annual inspection. | Delayed |
| 31.10.05 |
Zenith |
The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Celebrity Cruises
to overturn a $1 million judgment awarded a Zenith passenger who was
raped by a ship's waiter while the was in Bermuda. Accoridng to
an article in the Royal Gazette, the decision to reject the appeal has
broader ramifications since the lawsuit could have established a
shield for the cruise industry from suits over crew-member assaults
against passengers. |
Court decision |
| 2.6.05 |
Summit | As indicated below (May 25), the cruise ending today was
shortened to 6 days because of the need for ship repairs. It is
indicated there that "compensation appeared generous", but one
passenger has written to say that that was not the case: "We were told we would receive a $300 per
cabin on board credit, and
25% discount on future cruise. After the cruise we inquired where our credit was, at which
time we were told that our rate was too low, and thus we didn't qualify
for the credit. In fact, we will receive NO compensation
for our 7 day cruise that was turned into a 6 day cruise!!!" So much
for being generous. |
Shortened cruise -- no
compensation |
| 25.5.05 |
Summit | In order to replace a radial-bearing unit that is showing
premature wear in the ship's starboard propulsion system, the May 27
cruise is being shortened by one day (meaning the stop in Ketchikan is
dropped) and the June 3 cruise is cancelled. Passengers affected
appear to have been generously compensated. |
Cancelations |
| 23.3.05 |
Infinity | The March 27th 10 night cruise from Ensenada to Honolulu is
cancelled to the ship can enter drydock to replace the starboard thrust
bearing in the ship's propulsion system. The company expects the
ship to return to service on April 6. Passengers on the canceled
sailing were given a full refund and a free cruise of 10 days or less
in the coming year. |
Cancelation |
| 17-31.1.05 |
Infinity |
From a passenger: There was a fire in statefoom 7067 that gutted the place - scary for a fire at sea. |
Fire |
| 27.1.05 |
Millennium | Several passengers reported the ship returned to St Thomas
shortly after leaving the harbor, because of "an accident with a crew
member" -- a 21 year old worker was purportedly crushed by a hydraulic
door and died. |
Accidental death |
| 21.1.05 |
Zenith |
At the end of a routine lifeboat drill involving the crew members, there was a technical problem with one of the wenches used to lift the lifeboat leaving the boat dangling (click here). Fortunately, no one was injured. We left St. Kitts six hours late necessitating bypassing the port of Grenada. Celebrity, however, issued a $100.00 on board credit to each cabin. | Delay |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship | 2004 |
Incident |
| 8.9.04 |
Zenith | A Honduran worker was arraigned in a Bermuda court for
"unlawful assault and causing bodily harm" to a female co-worker.
It is alleged that the co-worker received injuries to her face as a
result of being attacked with a bottle. |
Assault Crew on Crew |
| 1.9.04 |
Summit | It was announced that the ship will enter drydock for a
pre-emptive repair to its starboard propulsion system. As a
result, the September 10 cruise has been cancelled, the cruise
beginning September 17 will be delayed until September 20, and the
cruise beginning September 3 will have itinerary adjustments to
accomodate the ship's top speed of 18 (rather than 20) knots. |
Propulsion problems Cancellation |
| 27.8 - 3.9.04 |
Mercury | A 40 year old passenger went
missing the second day of the cruise. The cruise line calls the
disappearance a suicide but the family thinks otherwise, especially
given that the cruise line had withheld information from them.
(See Arizona Republic, November 10, 2005, "Daughter vanishes while on
Alaskan cruise: The strange disappearance of Miriam Carver) For
more information see
here. |
Passenger missing |
| 12.6 - 19.6.04 |
Zenith |
The
following report was received: "Sailed with
Celebrity
on this cruise. Sewer smell throughout ship, water was brown in our
cabin,
toilet vacuum system out for 2 days. My wife became ill and reported it
to
the staff who immediatly drew blood and treated her for stomach
"virus".
Cruise line admitted there was a problem with the sewer system but
denied
my wife was ill from this.We noted the placement of hand sanitizers at
the
gang way immediatly following." |
Sewer
smell |
| 7.4.04 |
Galaxy |
380
passengers were stranded ashore in Charleston, SC when
the ship was forced by the Coast Guard to leave its berth
because it had failed to file its manifest paperwork on time
(reportedly for the third time). The ship departed and waited
outside twelve miles from shore and then after the required wait
returned to pick up those who had been left behind. The ship was
fined $32,500 for failing to file the required paperwork on time. |
Screw
- up |
| 12.3.04 |
Infinity Millennium |
It
has been announced Millennium will assume the March 28
and April 11 Panama Canal itineraries scheduled fot Infinity, which
will go into dry dock to repair it propulsion system.
Millennium's March 28 seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise has
been cancelled. After leaving dry dock, Infinity will assume the
Millennium itineraries scheduled for April 4, 11, and 18. |
Cancellation |
| 9.3.04 |
Infinity |
It
has been reported by passengers (and confirmed by
the company) that the ship is experiencing propulsion problems and
sailing at reduced speeds on its South American cruise. Though
the ship can cruise at 22 knots, it has been operating at speeds no
higher than 16 knots. It is unclear the degree to which
alterations have been made in the itinerary. |
Propulsion
Problems |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship | 2003 |
Incident |
| 28.7.03 |
Summit |
Charges
filed against a 33 year old male accused of
inappropriately touching a passenger during a massage. Source: Alaska
State Troopers Press Release, Aug 7 |
Sexual Assault |
| 16.7.03 |
Millennium | The July 22 cruise (11 days from Barcelone to Venice) is
being cancelled
so the ship can enter dry dock and have replaced a thrust-bearing unit
in the ship's port propulsion system, |
Cancellation |
| 11.7.03 |
Summit |
Delayed
departure (two days) to allow time for repairs after
the ship was holed during the previous cruise. |
Delay |
| 9.7.03 |
Summit |
The
hull was damaged when
the vessel, under the control of a marine pilot who called out
instructions as a crew member steered, hit a rock leaving Hubbard
Glacier. The result was a 10-foot-long hole
in the ballast tank midway along the hull, and a 140-foot-long
crease. The ship docked safely at Seward on Friday (July 11). |
Holed |
| 16.5.03 |
RCCL | Miami Herald reported on May 17 that a suit had been filed
charging that RCI and Celebrity Cruises charged
at least $150 million in fraudulent taxes
to passengers that the companies pocketed as additional fare revenue.
A settlement reached in 1997 in a similar case barred RCI and
Celebrity from charging customers "any fees in addition to the
advertised initial ticket price, except those fees acrually passed on
by the company to a government agency." (See "Cruise lines accused of
fraud," Jay Weaver and Dale K. Dupont, Miami Herald, May 17, 2003) |
Port taxes |
| 29.1.03 |
Infinity |
Cruises
sailing February 2 and 13 and February 23 are
cancelled in order to replace the thrust bearing unit of the port
propulsion pod. The ship is expected to re-enter service on March
3. This is the third time since its delivery that the Infinity
has required repairs to its mermaid podded propulsion until. |
Cancellation |
| 29.1.03 |
Infinity |
The
transcanal cruise scheduled to end in San Diego on
February 2 will end in Acapulco on January 30th instead. |
Engine problems |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship | 2002 |
Incident |
| 2.11.02 |
Millennium | Two crew members (a plumber and an air conditioning technician) arrested for sexual assaulting and battering and female youth counselor. In a lawsuit filed in December, the victim alleges that the company failed: to provide her with medical treatment and counselling, to preserve evidence from the crime scene, to perform adequate background checks on employess, and to respond to complaints of sexual harassment and asaaults aboard its vessels. | Rape |
| 9.6.02 |
Infinity |
It
was reported by the Juneau Empire (June 12, 2002) that
the Coast Guard is investigating a near miss by two ships (Legend of
the Seas and Infinity) entering Juneau harbour. The incident was
reported by concerned residents shortly after it occurred at about 10AM. |
Near Miss |
| 5.5.02 | Constellation | A leak in the starboard propulsion pod delays ship's delivery and causes its first cruise to be canceled. | Late delivery / Cancellation |
| 13.4.02 & 20.4.02 | Infinity | Cruises canceled for unscheduled dry-dock to repair the ship's propulsion pods. | Cancellation |
| 8.4.02 | Summit | Cruise shortened from eleven nights to seven nights to accommodate unscheduled dry-dock. | Cancellation |
| 29.3.02 | Summit | Cruise canceledfor unscheduled dry-dock to repair the ship's propulsion pods. | Cancellation |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship | 2001 |
Incident |
| 11.6.01 | Infinity |
The ship is stranded in
Vancouver due to mechanical problems and two scheduled sailings to
Alaska cancelled. |
Engine problems & Cancelations |
| 3.6.01 |
Galaxy |
Damaged propeller leaving Amsterdam -- cruise cancelled |
Cancelation |
| 24.1.01 |
Millennium | The ship will be placed in
drydock to repair an underperforming electric motor, causing
cancellation of cruises scheduled for April 1 and 8. |
Cancelation |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship | 2000 |
Incident |
| 30.8.00 |
Millennium | The ship will be drydocked from
November 15 to December 17, causing the cancellation of 4
cruises. The drydocking is to correct a vibration detcted under
certain sea conditions. |
Cancellations |
| 7.7.00 |
Millennium | Engine and plumbing
problems. Stockholm skipped; goes to Germany for repairs. |
Engine problems |
