Celebrity Eclipse accidents and incidents

19 May 2023Coast Guard Medevacs

On May 19, 2023, while the ship was approx 100 mi / 160 km off Oregon's coast, a male passenger was medevaced by a USCG helicopter crew dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria (Sector Columbia River).

The man (experiencing stroke symptoms) was airlifted on a stretcher from the ship's helipad and flown to Warrenton OR, from where he was transferred onto a RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter and taken to Portland's OHSU Hospital (Oregon Health & Science University Hospital).

The incident occurred during the 12-day relocation voyage from Hawaii to Canada (Honolulu to Vancouver, itinerary May 9-21) visiting Hawaii's Lahaina (May 11), Kailua-Kona (May 13), and Hilo (May 14) and BC Canada's Victoria (May 20) and Vancouver (May 21).

December 2022Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) On December 9, 2022, Celebrity Eclipse docked at White Bay (Sydney NWS Australia) carrying 1500+ COVID-positive tourists. The infections were registered after conducting mandatory onboard testing during the voyage.

NSW Health authorities were not that concerned as the state's and Sydney City's COVID infection rates were already up.

The outbreak occurred during a 12-day "New Zealand Cruise" (itinerary Nov 27 - Dec 9, roundtrip from Sydney) that visited NZ's Fiordland NP, Port Chalmers/Dunedin, Lyttelton-Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, and Auckland.

28 August 2022Other Incidents

Due to to issues caused by a labor dispute involving the tugboat company Seaspan, the ship's Alaskan voyage with a scheduled departure on August 28, 2022, from homeport Port Vancouver was delayed by nearly a day.

Just after 12:30 pm on Aug 29th, Celebrity Cruises announced that Eclipse was getting underway. To make up for the lost time, the planned visit to Icy Strait Point/Hoonah (Chichagof Island) was dropped from the itinerary. As compensation for the missed call port, all passengers received an OBC (onboard credit) equal to 1,5 days.

The vessel missed the Sunday departure time (4:30 pm/Aug 28th) because it was attached to a barge whose crew refused to remove it. The Canadian Merchant Service Guild started a strike (involving Seaspan's all 30x tugboats) on August 25th. Seaspan hired a different contractor to bring the barge in after the strike started. The barge arrived on Aug 29th but its unionized crew refused to remove it in solidarity with the striking group. The contract workers eventually agreed to tow the barge out.

The accident occurred at the beginning of a 7-day "Alaska and Hubbard Glacier Cruise" (itinerary Aug 28 - Sept 4, roundtrip from Vancouver BC Canada) with call ports/destinations Hoonah (Aug 30/canceled), Hubbard Glacier (Aug 31), Juneau (Sept 1), and Ketchikan (Sept 2).

A second cruise ship, Oceania Regatta, was also delayed by the dispute on Saturday.

For more Celebrity Eclipse incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.

May 2022Propulsion / Power Loss

Due to propulsion issues, in May 2022 Celebrity Cruises modified one Alaskan itinerary and canceled another voyage.

The company emailed all affected customers, informing them that the cancellations were made to allow the ship to enter a 7-day drydock for hull cleaning.

"Due to recent marine growth that has developed on the ship’s hull (a natural process that you might know as barnacle growth), and our commitment to following local environmental procedures we are putting Celebrity Eclipse into a dry dock for 7 days in order to safely and responsibly clean the hull".

The sea life attached to the hull has accumulated so much that it was dragging the ship, forcing her to navigate at lower speeds. The ship was also banned to sail into Alaska's sensitive ecosystems for bringing microorganisms from the south (California and Mexico) where the ship was previously deployed.

As result, two "Alaska and Hubbard Glacier" itineraries (both roundtrips from Vancouver Canada) were affected. The  May 15th voyage (Sitka, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan) remained as planned but call ports' stay times were modified/significantly shortened. The May 22nd voyage (Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan) was canceled to allow the drydocking.

On the modified voyage, all passengers received a US$100 in OBC/onboard credit as compensation for the reduced port times.

March 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) Due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, the current South America cruise was cancelled on March 15, 2020. After the ship was denied passenger debarkation in Chile (Puerto San Antonio), it continued directly to the USA, with a planned arrival in Port San Diego CA on March 30th.

Next table shows the affected voyage (15-day itinerary) from Chile to California. The voyage's prices started from ~USD 800 pp (double-occupancy inside cabin rates).

Chilean authorities didn't allow disembarkation but gave the ship permission for a technical stop (to refuel and load provisions).

On March 20, Port San Diego temporarily banned all homeported cruises. On March 23, the port declared a local emergency allowing it to request resources and assistance from government agencies. Cruise ships arriving at Port San Diego must be cleared by the Port Authority, San Diego County health officials, CDC, USCG and US CBP (Customs and Border Protection).

On March 29, San Diego County health officials announced that none of the 1500 passengers was showing virus symptoms. The approaching Celebrity Eclipse was cleared for entry by all necessary (health and maritime) agencies. On March 30, the liner docked in Port San Diego (at B Street Terminal) with ~2500 people onboard. On March 31, all passengers and some crew were disembarked after temperature screening conducted by CDC personnel at the cruise terminal. Following testing were confirmed 4x COVID-19 cases (1 passenger and 3 crew tested Coronavirus -positive). The infected crew had been isolated onboard after reporting respiratory symptoms. One of them was in serious condition and hospitalized ashore, the other 2 remained quarantined on the ship. The passenger (elderly woman) was in critical condition and ambulanced to Sharp Memorial Hospital.

The ship left San Diego in the afternoon on March 31, heading for Acapulco (Mexico), where arrived on April 4. There were disembarked ~200 passengers who didn't have appropriate for entry into the USA documents. The ship then returned back to San Diego (arrival on April 7) where remained docked with only its crew onboard.

On April 4, an 83-year-old man from QLD Australia (former passenger) died in Sydney NSW (at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital). By the time, Queensland had a total of 271 confirmed cases. On April 5, a former male passenger died at home (being self-quarantined) from COVID-19 complications. His wife also tested positive. On April 9, another crew from the ship was ambulanced.

On May 1, San Diego Port Authority announced that the ship (which circled off California's coast) has a total of 63 Coronavirus patients out of 977 crew total.

09 February 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

On February 9, 2019, a 74-year-old male passenger was medevaced approx 485 km (300 ml) off southern Argentina's coast (Port Rawson). The elderly man reportedly collapsed on the ship and had to be airlifted and transported to a hospital.

Cruise liner's doctor reported that the man was struggling to breathe and had low blood pressure. The medevac operation was conducted by an Argentine Navy's rescue helicopter assisted by an aircraft.

The incident occurred during 14-day Antarctica Cruise (itinerary Feb 3-17) roundtrip from homeport Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Antarctica (Paradise Harbor, Elephant Island), The Falklands (Port Stanley), Puerto Madryn, and Montevideo.

15 August 2018Coast Guard Medevacs

On August 15, 2018, a male passenger (with suspected cardiac arrest) was medevaced from the ship navigating in Saltee Islands, approx 5 km (3 ml) off Wexford Ireland's coast. Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 was dispatched at 4:15 am. The operation was assisted by a Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat. The man and his wife were winched and transported to Dublin.

The incident occurred while the liner was en-route from Dublin to Cobh-Cork, during 12-day British Isles cruise (itinerary Aug 6-18) roundtrip from homeport Amsterdam Holland to Invergordon, Leith-Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool, Dublin, Cobh-Cork, and Guernsey (Channel Islands).

May 2016Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In May 2016 was reported a Norovirus outbreak during ship's 14-day Baltic cruise itinerary. Reportedly, illness issues started on day 3 with the cleaning crew deployed around the vessel. Sick passengers were reported at Oceanview Cafe, Spa Cafe and Theater Lounge.

Via liner's PA system was announced Code Red, and every day the Captain regularly made announcements mentioning hand washing. Lido buffet restaurant (generally self-serve) was put on staff service. From day 6 onwards, all buffet stations were covered and served. Menus and condiments were removed from the tables at all dining venues (except Dining Room and specialty restaurants) and hand sanitization before entry was required. Reportedly, dispensers in public restrooms frequently lacked soap. On day 8, Mast Grill (poolside burger bar) opened for the first time.

According to some sources, around 300 passengers plus crew contracted Norovirus during the voyage.

May 2013Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

A UK media reported a Norovirus outbreak on the liner after it docked in Southampton on May 25. The ship returned from a 14-day Mediterranean cruise (itinerary May 11-25). The Norovirus infected a total of 77 passengers and 5 crew (or around 1,8% of all passengers-crew. While berthed in Southampton, the vessel underwent extensive cleaning and sanitation.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

22 April 2013Crew / Passenger Crimes

On April 22, 2013, a 27-year-old male crew was arrested when the ship docked in homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) Florida. The man (Huan Shen, of Chinese origin) was charged with grand theft. He was accused of stealing a total of USD 7900 cash from 2 other crew members (his cabinmates, also Chinese).

12 April 2013Crew / Passenger Crimes

On April 12, 2013, a total of 55 passengers and 2 crew were robbed at gunpoint while on Celebrity Cruises sponsored shore excursion in Soufriere (St Lucia). No injuries were reported, although an alternative source mentioned a female passenger fell and broke her leg. The incident happened when the tour bus visited Soufriere’s Botanical Gardens.

(law news) On April 15, the local police arrested 1 of the 4 suspects. The man in a written statement confessed to the armed robbery and was charged.

23 November 2011Crew / Passenger Crimes

On November 23, 2011, 2 passengers (a couple from Los Angeles CA) were arrested in Basseterre (St Kitts) and charged for drug possession. In the morning, the ship’s security staff searched their cabin and found marijuana.

The local drug police boarded the ship and started an investigation. They questioned the couple and took them into custody. The recovered drugs were tested positive for cannabis. In court, the couple pleaded guilty and were fined ~US$2,000 each. They were not allowed to embark the vessel, so were flown back home on the next day on their own expenses.

17 November 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

On November 17, 2011, a 60-year-old female passenger died and her daughter (aged 34) was seriously injured on a Celebrity Cruises sponsored shore excursion in St Thomas USVI. The accident occurred at ~4:30 pm during a parasailing excursion (tandem riding), approx 1 ml / 2 km south of Water Island.

Pending the investigation’s outcome, the cruise company canceled all parasailing excursions in Caribbean ports. The injured woman was hospitalized at Schneider Hospital. The ship was on 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise from homeport Miami to Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Maarten.

September 2011Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In September 2011, a UK news media reported Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) affected the ship’s 11-day Eastern Mediterranean voyage roundtrip from homeport Southampton England. All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea) and were quarantined to their cabins. After the passenger disembarkation at Ocean Terminal (Southampton), the liner and the cruise terminal were sanitized.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

20 May 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On May 20, 2011, a 31-year-old crew jumped overboard. The man (of Filipino origin) was reported missing approx 8 ml / 13 km north of call port Cherbourg France. CCTV camera captured him at 10:15 pm to climb over a railing and jump overboard. The conducted search failed to find the body.

The ship was in the English Channel, returning to homeport Southampton England from a 14-day Mediterranean roundtrip itinerary.

July 2010Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

On July 26, 2010, the ship reported chickenpox (varicella) illness outbreak on day 2 of the July 10 Baltic Sea cruise from Southampton UK. Some of the sick passengers were disembarked in call port Warnemunde-Rostock (Germany).

April 2010Other Incidents

In April 2010, after the volcano eruption in Iceland (Eyjafjallajökull volcano), flights to the UK were suspended, leaving nearly 2000 UK tourists stranded in Bilbao Spain. The newly launched cruise vessel was sent to Bilbao out of Southampton England on a “goodwill” voyage (itinerary April 21 to 23) and carried the tourists back home.