More Bearing Problems for Millie - Millie Cancellation (Combined Thread)

[AstridSJ]

Celebrity Cruises is canceling one sailing on Millennium to replace the port thrust bearing in the ship's propulsion system. The ship must enter drydock to replace the bearing, which will result in the cancellation of its December 10 sailing. The ship is expected to return to its scheduled sailings on December 17. The cancelled sailing is a seven-night Caribbean cruise, roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.

Guests booked on the cancelled sailing will receive a full refund and a free Celebrity cruise of equal value from North America of up to seven nights, departing on or before December 31, 2007, excluding holiday and Celebrity Xpedition sailings. Travel agents will receive full commissions for the cancelled sailing, plus a $50 rebooking fee per stateroom when their clients reschedule their cruise.

"I sincerely apologize to our guests for the disruption this cancelled cruise will cause them," said Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises. "We will do everything we can to assist them onboard other sailings. Millennium continues to operate safely, however, this is a matter that can only be addressed through repairs in a drydock."

Celebrity has established a special help desk to assist guests and travel agents with rebooking, air transportation, land tours and other issues. That toll-free number is 1-888-281-9343.

The cancelled cruise is expected to have a negative impact on the earnings of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. of approximately $.02 per share.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, with a combined total of 29 ships in service and six under construction. The company also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Canada, Australia and Europe through its cruise-tour division. Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com, http://www.celebrity.com or http://www.rclinvestor.com.

SOURCE Celebrity Cruises

Lynn Martenstein, +1-305-539-6573, or Michael Sheehan, +1-305-539-6572, both ofCelebrity Cruiseshttp://www.royalcaribbean.com< Return to Previous

[Lois R]

Well at least they're getting it taken care of before we sail on her in June. Although she hasn't had the awful history that Summit and Infinity have suffered. My sympathies to those whose sailing is being cancelled.

 

Here is a link to the press release: Millennium bearing

 

I feel bad for those on 12-10 as well......lets hope

12-17 is ready...I am on that one:eek:

[mahdnc]

Lois,

 

I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

[greeneg]

Fingers crossed here too, Lois....

 

Funny, it seems to me that it is always the Port Bearing, never the Starboard...poor Millie.

[J-man]

Hi, all. I was just informed by my TA that Celebrity has cancelled the 12/10 Millennium cruise due to propulsion problems. We're getting a refund plus a future cruise credit equal to the value of our cruise. I don't know if other Millennium sailings are affected. :(

[Lois R]

Hi Ed and Mahdc, thank you:)

 

I was reading the press release too. Hopefully we will sail

as planned.

 

But for me, I am quite lucky with my job. I have a lot of vacation

time and if it happened it was cancelled, the full refund

AND a free cruise would be very acceptable to me.

 

 

Now its just wait and see. Hope the ship gets fixed

and everything works out.:)

[Aquarius2]

Last Year just before her TA to Fort Lauderdale she had to go into Drydock as well IIRC and the Departure ex Barcelona has been delayed for two days....

 

Anybody knows where the Drydock will be? Maybe Freeport?

 

Or will it be in Europe and her Crossing back to Fort Lauderdale will be affected again...

 

Anyway, poor Millie, maybe she just needs some rest....:cool:

 

Have a great Weekend everbody!:)

 

Cheers,

Phil

[two rabbits]

It is indeed, so sad, that Celebrity allows these problems to continue. The inconvenience to passengers, over the years, is what bothers me the most. While the thought of a "free cruise" appeals to some, for those who are unable to easily reschedule their vacations, I hope they are all are able to make other arrangements. I hope no one who is onboard now is losing to much of their vacation.

[Lois R]

It is indeed, so sad, that Celebrity allows these problems to continue. The inconvenience to passengers, over the years, is what bothers me the most. While the thought of a "free cruise" appeals to some, for those who are unable to easily reschedule their vacations, I hope they are all are able to make other arrangements. I hope no one who is onboard now is losing to much of their vacation.

 

Hi tworabbits, I agree with you. I am lucky with a good boss

and plenty of time off available.

 

One question for you though, how would people on the ship

now be losing vacation time? Maybe I am not understanding

your comment?

[J-man]

I believe her point was not that people currently on the ship are losing vacation time, but that they may have their vacations disrupted if Millennium has to miss ports, limp around at half speed, etc.

 

Unfortunately for us, we're booked for the 12/10 cruise, and we do have limited/restricted vacation time. I just got the news a few minutes ago, but it looks like we'll be spending this weekend trying to figure out how to salvage something from this mess.

[Lois R]

Hi J-Man, sorry.....I didn't realize what the comment meant.

 

I know not everyone can juggle their vacation time.

 

I hope you are able to find something acceptable

cruisewise for you and the family.

[Aquarius2]

Just wanted to add, that I do really feel sorry for everbody affected, I

would be very disappointed...:(

 

But Heads up, I guess there should be some Availability on other Cruises from Florida for 7 Nights, as this Time is known for being low-season.

 

Anyway, hope you all make the best out of it.

 

Cheers,

Phil

[J-man]

Thanks for the sympathetic words! It's appreciated!

 

Our TA was quick to suggest two alternatives with the same departure date/port. There's an NCL ship and a Royal Caribbean ship. I'm really hesitant, though... we had been looking forward to Celebrity, and what I've been reading recently about NCL and RCI aren't quite as favorable. Then again, a ship that actually moves is better than one that doesn't. :rolleyes:

 

There doesn't seem to be much else available in December. January might be the best option. Of course, we have a mixture of flights and hotel bookings to rearrange to make anything happen. Sigh.

[Lois R]

Hi, can you wait one week? I believe there are cabins

available on 12-17...we have a nice roll call going for it.

You would be very welcome to join us:)

[two rabbits]

Hi tworabbits, I agree with you. I am lucky with a good boss

and plenty of time off available.

 

One question for you though, how would people on the ship

now be losing vacation time? Maybe I am not understanding

your comment?

 

Hi Lois, I just meant that since the dry dock is not scheduled until December 10, I hope that the people on board do not suffer the same fate as other "pod cruises" have suffered and miss a lot of ports and have the time shortened in the ports that they do make also curtailed. Typically another pod failure does mean limping around on a crippled ship. This, I know would not bother those who cruise a lot, but for myself who plans over one year for my one cruise per year, it would make a big difference.

 

J-Man, Good luck in your new plans, maybe you can snare a last minute cruise deal somewhere.

[Cruise Junky]

Thanks for the sympathetic words! It's appreciated!

 

Our TA was quick to suggest two alternatives with the same departure date/port. There's an NCL ship and a Royal Caribbean ship. I'm really hesitant, though... we had been looking forward to Celebrity, and what I've been reading recently about NCL and RCI aren't quite as favorable. Then again, a ship that actually moves is better than one that doesn't. :rolleyes:

 

There doesn't seem to be much else available in December. January might be the best option. Of course, we have a mixture of flights and hotel bookings to rearrange to make anything happen. Sigh.

 

Go for RCI. Your travel arrangements are way too confusing to try and change, go and enjoy yourself.

[Lois R]

Hi Lois, I just meant that since the dry dock is not scheduled until December 10, I hope that the people on board do not suffer the same fate as other "pod cruises" have suffered and miss a lot of ports and have the time shortened in the ports that they do make also curtailed. Typically another pod failure does mean limping around on a crippled ship. This, I know would not bother those who cruise a lot, but for myself who plans over one year for my one cruise per year, it would make a big difference.

 

J-Man, Good luck in your new plans, maybe you can snare a last minute cruise deal somewhere.

 

Thank you for the explanation. I didn't mean any harm by the question

and glad you didn't take offense to it.

Thanks again.

[terrierjohn]

Since we are on her in Feb. I hope they take this opportunity to give her a good wash and brush up, and repair any other broken bits. ;)

[caviargal]

Go for RCI. Your travel arrangements are way too confusing to try and change, go and enjoy yourself.

 

First, I am so sorry for those that are affected by this issue and have no flexibility with dates and vacation.

 

Lois, I really hope the issues do not affect your sailing as well.

 

For those wanting options, this is a great week for values, actually, the best of the year. I imagine that most of the lines still have excellent space.

 

For those considering RCI, may I suggest that you try for a Radiance class ship (Jewel, Radiance, Serenade, Brilliance) to get the closest experience to X. There will still be differences but these ships are beautiful and the best in RCIs fleet. I would stay far away from Voyager class but that is JMHO.

 

On this particular, the kids and teens that are often issues on RCI should not be a problem. And the Radiance class ships are built on the same platform as the M class of X with more passenger capacity. I think they are beautiully designed and the Solarium and Champagne Bar are lovely areas that X does not offer.

 

I would not personally opt for the older RCI ships.

 

JMHO for those not too experienced with RCI.

[MRGACRUZR]

We're on the Med/Transatlantic cruise prior to the 12/10 cruise. Just got a call from X and Naples (Pompeii) has been cancelled and replaced by a day at sea and a $300 per cabin on board credit for CC. Hope that's all they end up cancelling. A transatlantic with one pod could be an adventure. The last Med cruise we were scheduled to go on was cancelled because of 9/11. RCL didn't even deploy the Grandeur to the Med that year.

 

Hope the folks on the 12/10 cruise find a way to make the best of this. Like some others said....the Millie is definitely not the only Caribbean cruise for that week.

 

Rick

[tomcruiser1234]

Hey,

 

1 port for $300, not bad in opinion. Naples was having problems anyways.

 

My concern is what happens crossing the Atlantic on 1 Pod.

[Drew B]

It is indeed, so sad, that Celebrity allows these problems to continue. The inconvenience to passengers, over the years, is what bothers me the most. While the thought of a "free cruise" appeals to some, for those who are unable to easily reschedule their vacations, I hope they are all are able to make other arrangements. I hope no one who is onboard now is losing to much of their vacation.

 

No offense, but that particular argument drives me CRAZY! :mad: They are not "allowing" these problems to continue WILLINGLY. They have no other realistic options. Seriously, they lose millions and millions of dollars with these cancellations and compensations. Do you think they WANT that? If there was a way to permanently fix the problem within any acceptable business model, they would have done so years ago! Do you have an idea about how they can solve the problem? Without going bankrupt? If so, I'm sure they'd love to hear it!

 

It is a shame that these ships have this problem, and there is a very real (albeit slight) possibility that any trip you schedule aboard an M-Class ship will be affected. I wouldn't blame anybody who refused to book their precious vacations on M-Class ships as a result. However, to suggest that X should just "fix" it is WAY too simplistic...

[Druke I]

You are absolutely correct.

 

Some just don't understand!

[blueboro]

X really needs to get these problems SOLVED. I personally love the Millenium class ships but will not book in the future due to the numerous dry docks for propulsion problems. As a previous post mentioned, the RCI Radiance class ships are in the same class and are beautiful...although on the Brilliance the food was not as good as our last Summit cruise.

[caviargal]

 

It is a shame that these ships have this problem, and there is a very real (albeit slight) possibility that any trip you schedule aboard an M-Class ship will be affected. I wouldn't blame anybody who refused to book their precious vacations on M-Class ships as a result. However, to suggest that X should just "fix" it is WAY too simplistic...

 

I wonder if the deployment of Solstice is because X is planning to sell these ships or transfer them to another division of the parent?

 

It would be a real shame from the perspective of X moving to a bigger ship size which IMO is a big step away from what has set them apart from the pack.

 

But one does have to wonder...