The return of Celebrity Silhouette to Southampton England on Sunday morning, October 22, has been postponed by ~12 hours due to the impact of Storm Babet, which has disrupted the embarkation process for the upcoming voyage.
As a result, some passengers will experience an unexpected overnight stay in a hotel, as the ship was slated to arrive at 5 PM BST on Sunday afternoon. While the liner will permit late-night embarkation on Sunday, its departure from the port is not scheduled until Monday afternoon.
Due to adverse weather conditions associated with Storm Babet, the Celebrity Silhouette was compelled to alter its planned itinerary, omitting its visit to Vigo, Spain. Furthermore, the vessel had to spend an overnight stay in Lisbon, Portugal, due to the storm. This extended stay in Lisbon is causing a delay in the embarkation process for the next leg of the cruise.
Storm Babet generated wind gusts of up to 50 knots along the western coast of Europe, leading to disruptions from the shores of Scotland down to Gibraltar. At the time of this report, the vessel is traveling at a speed of 20 knots (23 mph/37 kph) back to Southampton.
Celebrity sent a letter to embarking passengers early Saturday morning that read the following:
"As promised, we’re reaching out with an update for your Celebrity Silhouette Transatlantic Cruise.
While we were hoping to gain some time on our way to Southampton, the port closure of Lisbon on our prior sailing and adverse weather, delays our arrival on Sunday. As a result, we want to provide options that offer flexibility and convenience.
Here are the boarding options available to you:
October 22 between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM.
October 23 between 7:00 AM and 10:30 AM."
Celebrity Cruises will reimburse travelers up to US$243 to cover hotel stays in Southampton.
Celebrity Silhouette is set to embark on its next cruise, a transatlantic voyage, as it repositions itself to Florida, thus omitting its scheduled stop in Ponta Delgada, Azores. The revised itinerary commences with departures from Southampton on Monday, with planned ports of call at Kings Wharf Bermuda, on October 30, and Nassau Bahamas, on November 1, culminating with its arrival at Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA on November 2.
Inclement weather conditions have caused a series of disruptions to cruise itineraries in recent months, exemplified by the delays encountered by ships departing from New York City due to substantial flooding.
Following the Transatlantic crossing (RepositionCruises.com), Celebrity Silhouette will spend the winter season serving destinations in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
For more Celebrity Silhouette incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.