Source: Cruise Junkie dot Com


Events at Sea by Millennium

Events by Ship:
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The events listed have been reported in the public domain or to cruisejunkie by passengers or crew members onboard.  The list is by no means comprehensive.  For that reason it is necessary to be cautious in drawing conclusions from the potentially limited data.  Keep in mind that some companies may be more transparent than others about things that go wrong; conversely, some companies may be better at concealing events and thereby project an appearance that is inaccurate.  With that said, the following list is still interesting, as are the patterns seen viewed separately by ship.




dd/mm/yy
2009
Incident
9.3.09 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
15.2.09 The Juneau Empire reports the ship has been cited for two air quality violations in Alaska during the 2008 cruise season. Environmental
dd/mm/yy
2008
Incident
20.2.08
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
dd/mm/yy
2007
Incident
8.7.07
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
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
2.1.07
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 ort Lauderdale and miss Nassau . A large gathering of unhappy passengers protested and demanded their money back but to no avail. Compensation varied but for us was $700 per cabin and 25% off the next cruise.
Propulsion problems
dd/mm/yy
2006
Incident
17.11.06
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
23.3.06
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
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
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
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
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
2005
Incident
20.12.05
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
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
27.1.05
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
dd/mm/yy
2004
Incident
12.3.04
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
dd/mm/yy
2003
Incident
16.7.03
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
16.5.03
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
dd/mm/yy
2002
Incident
2.11.02
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
dd/mm/yy
2001
Incident
24.1.01
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
2000
Incident
30.8.00
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
Jul.00
Engine and plumbing problems.  Stockholm skipped; goes to Germany for repairs.
Engine problems




Illness Outbreaks at Sea by Millennium

Illness Outbreaks by Ship:

dd/mm/yy
Outbreak
Incident
3.3.10 The CDC reports that 157 of 2020 passengers (7.76%) and 23 of 938 crew (2.45%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. The ship arrives at San Juan March 5th from an 11 day cruise. From a passenger: I was onboard the Feb 22 - Mar 5 cruise. I, my daughter and sister-in-law that stayed in the same cabin all came down with the Norovirus. I have been on 27 cruises, and never before have I experienced anything like this. It was horrible, and the medical staff handled the situation poorly. We were so sick, called down to the medical and they stated they would be up to our cabin in 30 minutes. 3 hours later, we called back and were then told we would have to come down. Let me tell you, you are so sick and weak, this would have been impossible. We finally made it down hours later, and were treated. It isn't pleasant to go and sit in such a small area with more sick people who have this illness. We have been given a credit for only one day, which was the length we were in isolation, which in my opinion is a joke....You are so sick and weak after this that is took us three days to feel up to anything and then for the rest of the cruise we didn't do any excursions, with the fear of being out on a catamaran and having a flare up. It really limited the rest of the cruise. I might add, that while having been on other cruises, RC for example, you always see them cleaning the public areas. We never saw this on the Millennium, until after several days of the captain coming on and announcing that the virus was going around did they really start to try to clean the public areas. After we came down with the virus, on about the fifth day of the cruise, they took away anyone being able to serve themselves in the buffet or dining room. So sorry it took them so long, even after knowing people were coming down ill, did they start the process that should have been enforced since the first day of anyone coming down with the illness. Illness
13.6.09 From a passenger: My wife and I were on the cruise from Seward AK to Vancouver BC and I experienced Norovirus.  Was terribly sick for 24 hours; ships doc arrived 13 hours after my request to see him.  Was isolated for a second day, as well as my wife to ensure she did not have it.  Celebrity seemed to respond very well, requiring staff to dispense water, juices, coffee, etc., and even removing salt/pepper shakers from tables.  Those who were isolated were asked to gather at special place on ship to disembark in advance of all other passengers (as required by Canadian health authorities, or so we were told).  40 of us were in that group (including spouses/travel companions who may not have contracted the virus, so at least 20 of the ~2000 passengers had been infected). Celebrity compensated us for our "lost days" (2 for me; 1 for my wife) - total of $1,200, which, as I am told, is far more than most cruiselines would do. Illness
22.8.07
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