Celebrity Infinity accidents and incidents

27 June 2024Crew / Passenger Deaths

On June 27, 2024, the ship docked at Port Kavala (Greece) and offloaded the body of a 45-year-old male crew.

The man (from Indonesia) was found dead in his cabin while the ship was en route from Thessaloniki to Kavala.

From Kavala, the body was transferred to Komotini for a medical examination and autopsy.

The incident occurred during the 7-day "Best of Greece Cruise" (itinerary June 22-29, roundtrip from Piraeus-Athens) visiting Santorini Island (Jun 23), Kusadasi-Ephesus (Jun 24), Thessaloniki (Jun 26), Kavala (Jun 27, port stay 8 am-5 pm) and Mykonos Island (Jun 28).

22 July 2023Structural and Technical Issues

On July 22, 2023, while berthed at Porto Corsini's cruise pier, the ship broke the bow mooring lines/ropes due to strong winds.

Fortunately, there was no allision and any damage to both the ship and the dock. Celebrity Infinity, using its bow and stern thrusters and being assisted by three tugboats, was safely remoored.

The incident occurred at the beginning of the 7-day "Greece, Turkey and Croatia Cruise" (itinerary July 22-29, from Porto Corsini to Piraeus/Ravenna to Athens) with call ports in Croatia (Port Gruz-Dubrovnik), Greece (Nafplio-Mycenae, Rhodes Island), Turkey (Kusadasi-Ephesus), Greece (Santorini Island, Piraeus-Athens).

18 July 2023Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

On July 18, 2023, during the scheduled stay in Port Kerkyra (Corfu Island Greece/8 am - 6 pm) was disembarked a 48-year-old male crew in need of medical treatment.

The man (employed as Assistant Refrigeration Engineer) sustained a right-hand finger injury while working on equipment. He was offloaded and hospitalized in a private clinic.

The incident occurred during the 7-day "Greece and Croatia Cruise" (itinerary July 15-22, Athens to Ravenna) visiting Greece's Mykonos Island and Corfu Island, and Croatia's Dubrovnik, Zadar, and Split.

21 March 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) On March 23, 2020, a male crew tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus) two days after disembarking the liner (on March 21). The man was on the last voyage (before the ship was laid up / anchored off Port Tampa FL). The 5-day Western Caribbean Cruise (itinerary March 9-14) was a roundtrip from homeport Miami to Florida (Key West) and Mexico (Cozumel).

On March 29, a second crew tested Coronavirus-positive. Following the second case, the ship implemented emergency health protocols. All the staff and crew were transferred from their crewdeck cabins and isolated in separate passenger staterooms for a 14-day period. Allowed to leave the rooms were only those on duty.

On April 4, the parent company (RCCL-Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd) officially confirmed a crew fatality (3rd confirmed Coronavirus case) on Celebrity Infinity.

14 December 2018Propulsion / Power Loss

On December 14, 2018, due to propulsion issues (bow thruster malfunction), liner's departure from call port Key West Florida was delayed by ~6 hours. The vessel was berthed at Naval Station's pier, with scheduled departure 5 pm. Upon leaving the dock, two of the mooring lines got entangled in the starboard bow thruster propeller (propulsion unit, 1 of all 3). A pilot boat with two divers was sent to untangle the ropes.

The accident occurred during 4-day Bahamas Cruise (itinerary Dec 13-17) roundtrip from homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale FL) to Key West and Nassau.

April 2018Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

April 2018, CDC reported on itinerary April 17 to May 2, a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infected 111 passengers (out of 2140, or 5,2%) and 7 crew (out of 970, or 0,7%). All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (predominantly diarrhea) and were quarantined to their cabins for 48 hours. The ship was on 15-day Panama Canal cruise from San Diego CA to Fort Lauderdale FL.

February 2018Propulsion / Power Loss

Due to technical / propulsion system issues, the 14-night "Antarctica Cruise" (itinerary February 18 - March 4, 2018) roundtrip from Buenos Aires was modified. The original South American itinerary included Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Antarctica (Paradise Harbor, Elephant Island), Falkland Islands (Port Stanley), Puerto Madryn (canceled) and Montevideo.

As the ship operated at reduced speed, from the itinerary was dropped call port Puerto Madryn Argentina  (March 1, replaced with a sea day) and 2 call ports (Ushuaia and Cape Horn) were with shortened port times.

As compensation, all passengers were refunded (the amount equal to 1 day).

03 June 2016Ship Collision / Allision

(pier collision) On June 3, 2016, while docking in call port Ketchikan Alaska, at ~ 2 pm the ship hit Berth 3.

The accident resulted in damages to both the vessel and the dock. According to the Harbormaster, the damage made the dock unusable until fixed. Repairs cost around USD 2 million. Damages included the metal bridge and two of all three mooring dolphins.

After the collision, the cruise ship was docked at Berth 2. The vessel sustained hull damages (a small hole and a minor scratch) both above the waterline. No taking on water, listing or any injuries were reported. Gusty winds in the area were around 45 mph / 70 kph.

Repairs at Berth 3 started on June 7 with a scheduled finish on July 5. The accident occurred on 7-day Alaskan cruise (itinerary May 29 – June 5) roundtrip from homeport Vancouver BC (Canada) to Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan.

Note: Actually, this type of marine accident is called “allision” (striking a fixed object) as opposed to “collision” (striking another vessel.

November 2015Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

On November 20, 2015, the ship experienced an (unreported) illness outbreak, arriving under “Code Red” in homeport San Diego CA. The incident occurred during a 15-day Panama Canal cruise (itinerary Nov 5-20) from Florida to California (westbound transition Fort Lauderdale to San Diego). Passenger embarkation for the next scheduled cruise (the reverse / eastbound Panama Canal transition itinerary Nov 20 – Dec 5) was delayed due to cleaning procedures.

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. Strangely, this illness incident was not reported by the CDC.

April 2015Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

March-April 2015, CDC reported on voyage Mar 29 to Apr 13, a Norovirus outbreak affected 106 passengers (out of 2117, or 5%) and 6 crew (out of 964, or 0,6%). The ship was on a 15-night Panama Canal transition cruise from Fort Lauderdale FL to San Diego CA.

On the previous 14-night South American cruise (itinerary Feb 15 to Mar 1) roundtrip from Buenos Aires Argentina, passengers reported an illness outbreak which affected between 1/3 to 1/2 of all people on the ship. The sick were suffering from influenza-like symptoms, many also experiencing respiratory system problems.

April 2013Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

March-April 2013, CDC reported on voyage Mar 17 to Apr 1, a Norovirus outbreak affected 101 passengers (out of 2086, or 4,8%) and 17 crew (out of 927, or 2,1%). The ship was on a 14-day Caribbean cruise from homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) Florida.

23 June 2010Propulsion / Power Loss

On June 23, 2010, in the evening, while the vessel was docked in call port Skagway Alaska, an electrical fire incident caused power loss for ~3 hours.

20 June 2010Propulsion / Power Loss

On June 20, 2010, the ship was docked in call port Ketchecan Alaska and delayed its departure by ~6 hours due to mechanical problems. The Navigation Bridge was unable to command the engines. The incident caused itinerary change (Tracy Arm Fjord was dropped).

03 December 2006Propulsion / Power Loss

On December 3, 2006, the ship was on 14-day South American cruise (itinerary (Nov 19 – Dec 3) from Florida (Fort Lauderdale to Valparaiso-Santiago Chile). As the propulsion system failed (starboard Azipod), the vessel had to stay an extra day (~25 hours) in call port Lima Peru for repairs and the itinerary was changed (call port Arica Chile was dropped). Passengers were compensated with US$ 500 in onboard credit per cabin.

September 2006Structural and Technical Issues

The September 13, 2006 voyage was canceled for drydock repairs. The ship’s starboard Azipod was replaced.

16 July 2006Propulsion / Power Loss

On July 16, 2006, propulsion problems resulted in reduced speed and itinerary changes during a 7-day Alaskan cruise from homeport Vancouver BC Canada. Call port Sitka AK was dropped. The vessel also arrived ~2 hours late in Vancouver.

As compensation, all passengers received US$500 in onboard credit per cabin, US$200 per person onboard credit for a future Celebrity cruise, plus US$100 PP for flights change fees. The next itinerary (departure July 18) was delayed by 1 day. Sitka AK was again skipped, while the Hubbard Glacier stay was shortened. All passengers received US$500 per cabin onboard credit plus US$200 onboard credit for next Celebrity cruise booking.

July 2006Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In July 2006, CDC reported on the voyage July 9 to 16, a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infected 105 passengers (out of 2282, or 4,6%) and 20 crew (out of 952, or 2,1%). All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea) and were quarantined to their cabins. The ship was on 7-day Alaskan cruise roundtrip from homeport Vancouver BC Canada.

23 March 2005Structural and Technical Issues

On March 23, 2005, the 10-night Hawaiian Islands cruise from Ensenada Mexico was canceled to allow the ship to enter drydock for repairs (replacement of the starboard Azipod’s bearing/propulsion unit). Booked passengers received full refunds and free Celebrity cruise certificates (10-days or shorter itinerary).

January 2005Fire Accident

In January 2005, a passenger reported a cruise cabin fire incident on deck 7, causing severe damage to stateroom number 7067.

January 2005Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

On two consecutive itineraries in January 2005 (Jan 3-17, and Jan 17-31) were reported hundreds of passengers (over 800 on both voyages) affected by major Norovirus cruise outbreaks.

On the second voyage, the illness outbreak was even called “epidemic” (with 600+ infected). The crew was cleaning constantly and sanitizing everything. The food was served with latex gloves. The buffet was waiter-served.

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.

09 March 2004Propulsion / Power Loss

On March 9, 2004, during the South American voyage, the vessel experienced propulsion issues and operated at reduced cruising speed (max 18 mph / 30 kph) which caused itinerary changes.

29 January 2003Propulsion / Power Loss

On January 29, 2003, engine issues forced the cruise company to end early the current Panama Canal transition cruise. According to schedule, the voyage had to end in San Diego CA (on Feb 2) but ended in Acapulco Mexico (on Jan 30). Next three scheduled Mexican Riviera itineraries (departures Feb 2, 13, 23) were cancelled for drydock repairs (replacement of the portside Azipod’s bearing).

April 2002Structural and Technical Issues

In April 2002, two itineraries were canceled, allowing the vessel to enter drydock for propulsion system repairs.

June 2001Propulsion / Power Loss

In June 2001, two Alaskan voyages were canceled due to engine problems.