Passengers on the Alaska-bound Celebrity Cruises' ship Celebrity Eclipse finally got underway on Monday, August 29, nearly a day behind schedule, due to issues caused by a labor dispute involving a tugboat company.
The passenger liner missed the 4 pm Sunday departure time from Port Vancouver (BC Canada) because it was attached to a barge whose crew refused to remove it.
Just after 12:30, Celebrity announced that Eclipse was getting underway and thanked passengers for their patience.
To make up for the lost time, the planned visit to Icy Strait Point/Hoonah (Chichagof Island) was dropped from the itinerary.
Passengers will get an OBC/onboard credit equal to 1,5 days.
The Canadian Merchant Service Guild started job action on all 30x Seaspan tugboats in the province on Thursday, August 25, after it said contract negotiations had reached an impasse.
According to Seaspan, a different contractor it had hired to bring the barge in after the strike started had delivered it on Sunday but its unionized members had refused to remove it in solidarity with the striking group.
The contract workers had eventually agreed to tow the barge out.
At the time of the accident, Celebrity Eclipse was on a 7-day "Alaska and Hubbard Glacier" itinerary (roundtrip from Vancouver, August 28 thru September 4) 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.