Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Cruise ship Millennium suffers mechanical problems in Ketchikan

The 2013 Cruise season has offered up a few challenges for the Celebrity Cruise line, as their cruise vessel the Millennium has suffered some high profile mechanical issues through August.

Earlier this month propulsion problems, left Celebrity Millennium passengers cooling their heels in Seward, stuck in the Alaskan community for three days while repairs were made to the vessel.

Over the weekend, propulsion problems once again struck the Millennium, this time as it was leaving Ketchikan, sending the vessel back to port, which while beneficial to Ketchikan merchants, isn't exactly what the 2,000 passengers had in mind when the signed on for their Alaskan cruise.

Parts of the current cruise itinerary have been cancelled in the wake of the propulsion problems and with Millennium still in dock on Monday, it was a full day of port calls in the community, with five cruise ships vying for the four cruise berths available in the community.

The Millennium is scheduled to end its cruise in Seward on August 23rd, providing it can eventually get there.

KRBD public radio in Ketchikan offers up some background on both the troubles of the Millennium and how Ketchikan handled the over abundance of visitors on a very busy Monday.

The Celebrity line has one port call in Prince Rupert this year, when the Celebrity Century makes a port call on September 23rd, with 1,800 visitors anticipated on that day.

That visit will mark the end of the 2013 Cruise Season for Prince Rupert and the North coast.

Update: Things get a little worse for those booking passage on the Celebrity Millennium, the vessel was  pulled from service, with cruises cancelled for August 23rd and 30th, as well as trips planned for September 6th and 13th.

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