When first launched in 2000, the brand new Celebrity Millennium featured rotating pods on her stern in place of traditional shaft and rudder. Finland’s ABB had been supplying Carnival and Royal Caribbean vessel with their popular and reliable Azipods for a few years by then so Celebrity wanted to make the switch. Celebrity had chosen to go with rival Rolls-Royce’s Mermaid pod. A decision they’d soon regret. Celebrity’s Millennium fleet were soon hit with problems related to premature wear and tear. This forced the line to cancel several cruises at a time as the only way to access the pod is out of water in a drydock. The problems seemed to go away and we hadn’t seen this problem pop up lately.
That was until this weekend. Celebrity announced that while sailing a 7-night Alaska cruise, the Celebrity Millennium encountered a propulsion problem and forced her arrival into her turnaround port to be delayed by several hours. She will not be requiring a drydock however repairs are expected to be completed by Tuesday. In the meantime guests are embarking her and she’ll remain docked in Seward, Alaska. Then when repairs are complete, she’ll sail to Vancouver in time for her next departure.
photo via ebearing.com