TA on ship with mechanical problems

[Dennis Holland]

Just notified yesterday that our Med and TA on the Millennium is being revised due to a mechanical problem. The cruise after ours 12/10 in the Caribbean has been cancelled and the ship is being put into dry dock for repairs. We now are crossing the Atlantic in 7 days instead of six. The cancelled our Naples stop and shortened Villefranche and Malaga so my previous question of getting to Alhambra is now mute. I am leery of being on the high seas on a ship already experiencing a mechanical problem. Any advice, any recourse? This is not a change due to an act of God or warfare. The cruise line just keeps repeating the same info. to us and our travel agent says well you get a $300 hipboard credit. Big deal on a cruise that is costing us close to $9,000.


Thanks for letting me vent and would appreciate any feedback.

[Raoul Fiebig]

Dennis,

the "Millennium" is suffering from a problem with one of its Mermaid propulsion systems. These podded propulsion units have been plagued with problems for years and have cost Celebrity Cruises millions of dollars already. The company has sued the British manufacturer Rolls-Royce for US$ 300 million over this. There have been a total of a dozen incidents already on the four "Millennium"-class ships.

Once must realize, however, that this disaster is not the cruise line's fault, but the cruise line is a victim of this, as well.

There is no reason to worry about the ship's seaworthyness or general condition because of the current problem. The pod in question is still in use but cannot be used to its full capacity. Plus, the ship has a second fully independent Mermaid pod, as well.

I cannot offer you additional advice but I hope the above is helpful, anyway.

[LHT28]

Were you offered another cruise date & able to cancel this one?

You will probably be fine but I know what you mean about worrying.

[Dennis Holland]

They gave $300 per cabin but I think it should be at least $300 per person for the missed port and shortened stops at the other two. We had excursions that had to be cancelled. We did not lose any money but we picked this itinerary for the ports, the sea days were to rest after a busy week that now is not so busy.
No offer to change to another cruise or cancel.