The 2022-built Celebrity Beyond cruise ship halted a luxury Mediterranean voyage to aid in a rescue operation.
The liner changed course (skipping Catania, Sicily Italy) to assist a coastguard operation already underway, aimed at rescuing 200+ migrants stranded in the Mediterranean.
Previously set to visit Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, and Piraeus-Athens over a 12-day journey before docking in Naples, the ship departed from Port Civitavecchia-Rome on Monday, August 28th. Passengers were informed by the Captain the next day that the ship would participate in the rescue of migrants whose vessel had broken down at sea.
The Italian Coastguard successfully transferred the migrants onto the cruise ship. The migrants' destination after the rescue remains unclear, but it's possible they will be transported to Santorini (the next scheduled stop) where they will be offloaded.
For more Celebrity Beyond incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.