Celebrity Millennium in Asia Experiencing Propulsion Issues

[Christine Frances]

I PM'd Celebrity on Facebook and rec'd this response quickly:)

 

Celebrity Millennium has experienced an electrical issue that is affecting the ship’s propulsion. Since we became aware of the issue, our engineers onboard have been working to resolve the problem. However, until the problem is solved, the ship will be sailing at a reduced speed.

As of now, we don't expect any future sailings to be affected.

[ghstudio]

I think everyone is hopeful that the Millennium will leave on schedule and make all the stops...it's a fantastic cruise. Now that they are in port, albeit, not a shipyard, they should be able to get whatever's needed for repairs.

[LeftcoastBC]

"Celebrity Millennium has experienced an electrical issue that is affecting the ship’s propulsion. Since we became aware of the issue, our engineers onboard have been working to resolve the problem. However, until the problem is solved, the ship will be sailing at a reduced speed.

As of now, we don't expect any future sailings to be affected."

 

If my memory is correct that is what was always said when one of the pods failed. It is not something that they can sail on with passengers if indeed it has happened again. Hopefully it is not.

I don't want to sound doom and gloomy but anyone following this thread for info on future cruises needs to be aware.

 

It is not an easy quick fix however there are ship yards over in that area that could do it with the correct parts getting there.

[love to sail - brian]

We board on 4/25 for the TP from Shanghai to Seward. Hoping they get the issues resolved. Millennium was our first X ship and can't wait for this cruise and to be on her again.

 

Was funny, today I was remembering the "bucket of bolts" with the X on the funnels, aka, Chandris Fantasy ships, I would see in ports as a kid, then I remembered...in the late 70's and early 80's, most cruise ships were "buckets of bolts"' tired, old and abused, once glorious (for their time) ocean liners that had been converted to cruise ships.

 

Wishing everyone on the 4/11 cruise, smooth sailing and a wonderful time!

[Christine Frances]

The pod failure on the Millie happened just before we boarded in Auckland 4 yrs ago in April 2009 (and 2 cruises prior to our were cancelled for drydock/repairs) I am pretty sure it had something to do with Rolls Royce manufactured pods and X won a large lawsuit. (Please correct me if my memory has this wrong) I am not sure if X switched out these defective pods or not but there hasn't been any problems with them that I am aware of since this event in 2009.

[JoePDX]

The pod failure on the Millie happened just before we boarded in Auckland 4 yrs ago in April 2009 (and 2 cruises prior to our were cancelled for drydock/repairs) I am pretty sure it had something to do with Rolls Royce manufactured pods and X won a large lawsuit. (Please correct me if my memory has this wrong) I am not sure if X switched out these defective pods or not but there hasn't been any problems with them that I am aware of since this event in 2009.

 

You are correct. Sit was settled out of court in 2010.

 

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/RCCL,-Rolls-Royce-settle-Celebrity-pods-lawsuit/

 

Joe

[Flying is for Planes]

We board on 4/25 for the TP from Shanghai to Seward. Hoping they get the issues resolved.

 

You would feel more reassured if Celebrity would actually tell what is going on

[ORDPLATAA]

Greetings Everyone-

 

We disembarked the Millennium this morning (Thursday, April 11th) here in Hong Kong. The information you have heard is correct - there was an electrical issue with one of the pods and that cut our speed just about in half so the decision was made to skip Halong Bay. The issue first popped up on Monday (April 8th) as we were two hours late into Chan May. It wasn't until late in the evening that word officially started that there was an issue and then, at 12:30am, an announcement was made that we would be missing our stop as there was no way to go to Halong Bay and make it to Hong Kong on schedule. We were all given $100pp OBC as a goodwill gesture. On Tuesday afternoon the Captain advised that they would try one last attempt to fix the issue that required the ship to be stopped for about 3 hours. We floated out in the South China Sea - it was very foggy and the foghorn was sounded every few minutes. At no time did passenger areas lose electricity (blenders were whirring away!). Pool games went on and we even managed to get a bit of sunburn even with all the fog! Yesterday (Wednesday) was a bit rock and we were moving mighty slow. I think we made better time than expected as we seemed to be at Macau before you could blink an eye (sort of like spending the night doing circles between Cherbourg and Southampton!). Anyway, we arrived around 5am "ish" nearest I could tell and folks started disembarking around 7:20am. We docked at the Ocean Terminal in Kowloon (in fact I can see the ship from our hotel window). It is a damp and rainy day here in Hong Kong. we went by the ship twice on the Star Ferry today and didn't see much activity - not sure if that is because of the weather or if there are any other issues involving the ship. I will post if/when we see it sail.

 

On a side note, we had a very good time onboard. Our trip was a charter sailing with Atlantis Events. I would have to agree with some of the comments that (for the most part) the ship is in good shape. There are, however, some changes to it that just seem to have closed off some of the flow around the ship and it feels "walled off". There just doesn't seem to be much light on decks 4 and 5 with Bistro on 5 and Cellar Masters taking up a ton of space. Blu was a delight and a real highlight for us. We had previously sailed on the Infinity and Constellation and really loved the M-Class ships but, after I sailed on the Eclipse two years ago, I am really hooked on the Solstice class ships.

 

Safe travels to all and I hope that everyone on this upcoming leg get out okay.

 

Bob

[lorry like a truck]

My goodness, I do hope they fix the problem.. We are going on board on the 25th April. Coming from Australia. A long way to go for a fizzer. LOL I suppose there is nothing you can do but pray.

[vermonter16]

Thanks for the update! Please keep us posted! We will not be on Millie until 10 May but would still like to see Celebrity fix the problem for others that will be sailing before us.

[Sandel]

Yes, please keep us informed. We are also boarding on 4/25.

 

Thanks

Sandy and Del

[hawkeye3d]

They had 2 repair boats alongside, worked well into the night. Some equipment alongside on the dock too. The boats are gone now so hopefully all is fixed, we'll know for sure later today as tey haven't told us anything

[LeftcoastBC]

They had 2 repair boats alongside, worked well into the night. Some equipment alongside on the dock too. The boats are gone now so hopefully all is fixed, we'll know for sure later today as tey haven't told us anything

 

good luck

[ORDPLATAA]

They had 2 repair boats alongside, worked well into the night. Some equipment alongside on the dock too. The boats are gone now so hopefully all is fixed, we'll know for sure later today as tey haven't told us anything

 

Hope it all works out for your sailing. What we heard from some crew was that if they weren't able to fix it here in HKG, she would have to go into dry-dock for 5-7 days.

[ghstudio]

which passengers are currently on board....the last day of the previous cruise or the first day of the new cruise?

[ORDPLATAA]

which passengers are currently on board....the last day of the previous cruise or the first day of the new cruise?

 

The Atlantis trip ended yesterday (April 11th) and all pax disembarked. The next sailing had pax embarking the afternoon of April 11th and sailing today (April 12th) at 8:00pm.

[IMNiles]

which passengers are currently on board....the last day of the previous cruise or the first day of the new cruise?

 

First day. They are overnight in HK before departing on 12th eve.

[Joe Beach]

looks like she is underway, as of 12:30am Hong Kong she is east doing 15 knots, guess they actually fixed it. Use marinetraffic link in post above

[MVPinBoynton]

Great news indeed!

[vermonter16]

Hope that is a good sign! Hopefully it wasn't a temporary fix and just something more simple.

[patty1955]

Hope that is a good sign! Hopefully it wasn't a temporary fix and just something more simple.

They're crossing the Pacific in 2 weeks. I don't think they'd make a temporary fix

[centrevillecruisers]

looks like she is underway, as of 12:30am Hong Kong she is east doing 15 knots, guess they actually fixed it. Use marinetraffic link in post above

 

Not trying to hijack a thread, but thanks for the tip on that website. Very cool!!!

[vermonter16]

They're crossing the Pacific in 2 weeks. I don't think they'd make a temporary fix

I hope you're right. We are on her for her first cruise this season in Alaska.

[Skyrules]

 

I'd also add that if the problem was caused by a net that was floating, untethered to anything, then it was completely unforeseeable or avoidable by the captain and bridge. That sort of stuff does happen. It is highly unlikely that this incident was caused by lack of maintenance or poor design....the gremlins that are haunting Carnival these days.

 

Hope all goes well and the next cruise gets underway on schedule....

 

 

When we did the All Access tour on Millennium at Christmas the Captain talked about the fishing nets in the river at Phu My (Saigon) as being one of the biggest challenges of that port. He also commented that there was no way for a ship the size of Millennium to avoid the nets. If they were in they way, he had to go through them.

[CruisinMaterial]

When we did the All Access tour on Millennium at Christmas the Captain talked about the fishing nets in the river at Phu My (Saigon) as being one of the biggest challenges of that port. He also commented that there was no way for a ship the size of Millennium to avoid the nets. If they were in they way, he had to go through them.

 

It's not just Phu My but also Chan May! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the net come up from under the ship! We were so blessed not to have that happen on our sailing but it was a close call. In a lake in Cambodia (same cruise - overland tour) the Ton le Sap Lake cruise there were boats in the river getting their propellers jammed up with fishing nets. :eek: At least those folks could float over to the side and jump out and fix the propellers which lifted out of the water... not so much on the Millie! :cool:

 

Glad they worked it out for the cruisers heading to China! :D I'm jealous about the sights they'll see but not about the potential exposure to the new strain of bird flu. :eek: