Celebrity Constellation accidents and incidents

26 January 2024Crew / Passenger Deaths

On the morning of January 26, 2024, while the ship was at anchorage in George Town Harbour (Grand Cayman UK), a 45-year-old male crew was found unresponsive onboard.

The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) was contacted at ~8:30 AM (~13:30 UTC) and officers and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to the ship.

The man (a Filipino national) was offloaded and ambulanced to the George Town Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The incident occurred during the 12-day "Ultimate Caribbean and The Americas Cruise" (itinerary Jan 24 - Feb 5, roundtrip from Tampa, Florida USA) with call ports in the Cayman Islands (George Town Harbour), Costa Rica (Puerto Limon), Panama (Colon), Colombia (Cartagena) and Mexico (Cozumel).

January 2024Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In January 2024, CDC reported that on the voyage January 3-12, a Norovirus outbreak affected a total of 68 passengers (out of 2056, or 3,31%) and 7 crew (out of 948, or 0,74%).

The predominant symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea.

The ship was on a 9-day "New Orleans and The Caribbean" cruise (itinerary roundtrip from Tampa Florida) visiting Louisiana USA (Port NOLA/New Orleans), Mexico (Cozumel, Costa Maya), and Belize City.

March 2023Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In March 2023, CDC reported that on the voyage March 6-17, a Norovirus outbreak affected a total of 87 passengers (out of 2062, or 4,2%) and 10 crew (out of 960, or 1,04%).

The predominant symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea.

The ship was on an 11-day "Ultimate Caribbean and The Americas Cruise" roundtrip from homeport Tampa (Florida USA) with call ports in Florida (Key West), Colombia (Cartagena), Panama (Colon), Costa Rica (Puerto Limon) and Mexico (Cozumel).

09 May 2022Other Incidents

On May 9, 2022 (at ~3 pm Italy time / 5 pm UTC), while docked at Port Civitavecchia (Rome, Italy) and during bunkering/refueling, the bunker barge Punta Azzurra (1986-built/IMO 8420347) reported an engine room fire.

During the accident, Punta Azzurra was moored alongside Celebrity Constellation for fueling the cruise liner.  Port authorities were immediately notified and a rescue operation was conducted using two tugboats, pilot boats and a fireboat.

The tugboats detached the barge from the ship and towed it to Quay 23. The engine fire was successfully extinguished by the barge's crew thus preventing the possibility of a major explosion and oil spill.

The incident occurred during the 13-day Mediterranean cruise (itinerary May 3-16, from Barcelona to Ravenna), with call ports Palma de Mallorca, Toulon, Villefranche-sur-Mer/Nice, Livorno, Civitavecchia (port stay 7 am - 7 pm), Taranto, Dubrovnik, Split, Koper.

28 May 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

On May 28, 2019, due to a medical emergency/medevac, the cruise liner delayed by ~1 hour its scheduled for 5 pm departure from Port Thira (Santorini Island, Greece). A male passenger was offloaded from the ship and ambulanced to Thira's General Hospital. The itinerary was not affected.

The incident occurred at the end of 10-day "Greek Isles Cruise" (itinerary May 21-31) roundtrip from homeport Venice (Italy) to Croatia (Dubrovnik), Crete Island (Souda-Chania) and Greece (Piraeus-Athens, Mykonos Island, Rhodes Island, Santorini Island, Katakolon-Olympia).

05 April 2019Propulsion / Power Loss

On April 5, 2019, while en-route from Phuket to Colombo, the liner lost power and was drifting without propulsion for ~1,5 hours. All hotel services remained operational and without disruptions. The vessel was approx 800 km (500 ml) west of Phuket Island.

The accident occurred during the 15-day repositioning cruise from Singapore to Abu Dhabi (itinerary April 2-17) with call ports Phuket, (Thailand), Colombo (Sri Lanka), India (Cochin, Mormugao, Mumbai), Muscat (Oman) and Dubai (UAE).

28 October 2018Ship Collision / Allision

On October 28, 2018, due to harsh weather in Western-Central Mediterranean (heavy rain storm with strong winds), in call port La Spezia (Italy) the Celebrity ship broke moorings. As result, the vessel departed from the pier, became adrift and contacted (with its stern) the berthed Costa Magica.

Three tugboats were dispatched to assist the liner but failed to prevent the collision. Both liners sustained only minor hull damages - central-aft (Constellation) and bow-starboard (Magica). Soon, the tugs managed to take under control and re-dock Celebrity Constellation.

The incident occurred during 11-day "Spain, France, and Italy Cruise" (itinerary Oct 19-30) roundtrip from homeport Civitavecchia (Rome) to Ajaccio (Corsica), Malaga, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Sete, Toulon, Portofino (replaced with La Spezia) and Livorno.

June 2017Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In June 2017, unofficially was reported that on the 10-day Europe-Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Rome-Civitavecchia (itinerary June 15-24) around 300 passengers suffered from Norovirus symptoms (stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea) and were quarantined to their cabins.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

26 May 2017Propulsion / Power Loss

On May 26, 2017, due to propulsion problems, the ship’s departure from Barcelona (Spain) was delayed by 2 days. The problem was caused by the newly upgraded software that controls the ship’s propulsion system.

These problems started soon after the vessel left the scheduled 2-week drydock in Marseilles France. Because of the accident, the ship had to change its scheduled itinerary, replacing call ports Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Villefranche-sur-Mer (Nice, France) with Genoa (Italy). The ship left Barcelona on May 28, 2017.

31 May 2016Crew / Passenger Crimes

On May 31, 2016, a 31-year-old male crew was arrested in Salerno Italy and charged with attempted murder. The man (of Jamaican origin) was employed on the ship as a cook. He attacked with a “big knife” a co-worker (38-year-old head chef, of Indian origin), stabbing him in the stomach. The incident resulted in serious injuries requiring emergency treatment at a hospital ashore. The stabbed man was in critical condition.

The perpetrator started his shift at 5 a.m., reportedly in a state of alcohol intoxication. According to maritime law, the crew on crew attack with a dangerous weapon renders the vessel “unseaworthy”. Such crime also creates strict liability on behalf of Celebrity Cruises as an employer.

2016Other Incidents

(itinerary changes) For the whole 2016, Celebrity Cruises canceled the ship’s visits (overnights) to call port Istanbul Turkey. These changes were due to the Salipazari Port (Galataport) construction project. The development of Istanbul’s Galataport was completed in 2018.

02 February 2015Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On February 2, 2015, a 66-year-old male passenger was reported missing and presumed fell overboard. The man was last seen on a CCTV camera at ~3:30 am, when the ship was approx 25 ml / 40 km south of Summerland Key island (the Florida Keys, east of Key West FL). The conducted search operation didn’t find the body.

09 February 2014Propulsion / Power Loss

On February 9, 2014, the ship experienced a power loss while docked in call port Key West FL. The power failure lasted for ~90 min. During the incident, the ship’s backup systems supported all critical systems on board.

29 January 2014Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On January 29, 2014, a 45-year-old male crew fell overboard. The man (of Indonesian origin) worked on the ship as a cook. He was reported missing at ~2:30 am, when the liner was on the second leg of 5-day Western Caribbean cruise and en-route back to homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) from Cozumel Mexico.

15 December 2013Propulsion / Power Loss

On December 15, 2013, engine problems (with one of the vessel’s gas turbines) resulted in a prolonged stay in call port Key West Florida (an extra day) and itinerary changes. The scheduled call port Cozumel Mexico was replaced with sea day followed by a 1-day stay in Nassau Bahamas).

October 2013Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

September-October 2013, on a 12-day Black Sea cruise in Europe (itinerary Sept 25 to Oct 7), the ship reported a Norovirus illness outbreak affecting over 300 people (~4,5% of all passengers and ~3,5% of all crew).

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

November 2012Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In November 2012, a UK news media reported a major Norovirus outbreak during 12-night Baltic Sea cruise in Europe. When the ship returned to homeport Southampton England, over 350 people (passengers and crew) were suffering from Norovirus symptoms (nausea and vomiting). The next cruise embarkation (on Nov 6) was delayed several hours due to onboard sanitation procedures.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

February 2012Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

January-February 2012, CDC reported on the voyage Jan 28 to Feb 11, Norovirus affected a total of 102 passengers (out of 1992, or 5,1%) and 12 crew (out of 946, or 1,3%).

10 March 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On March 10, 2011, a male crew was reported missing and presumed fell overboard. The man (of Indian origin) worked for 19 years for the company. The conducted search and rescue operation didn’t find the body.

04 January 2011Crew / Passenger Crimes

(sexual) On January 4, 2011, a 31-year-old crew was arrested and charged with child pornography. The man worked on the ship as an entertaining performer. FBI found on his personal computer ~450 photographs and ~250 videos containing child pornography, with 44 different minors involved.

June 2010Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

May-June 2010, the ship reported a Norovirus outbreak affecting 164 passengers and 29 crew during 12-day Baltic Sea cruise to Scandinavia and Russia leaving from homeport Amsterdam Holland. The next scheduled itinerary (June 9-21) was delayed for cleaning and sanitizing.

November 2008Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In November 2008, during a 10-day Caribbean cruise from homeport Fort Lauderdale, the ship reported a total of 63 people (62 passengers, 1 crew) suffering from Norovirus symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea).

18 February 2008Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On February 18, 2008, a 28-year-old crew fell overboard. The man (of Chinese origin) was last seen at ~5 am and was reported missing when he failed to show up for the muster drill. The ship was approaching homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) Florida. The conducted search was unsuccessful in finding the body.

04 January 2008Crew / Passenger Deaths

On January 4, 2008, a female passenger died on Celebrity Cruises sponsored shore excursion in Philipsburg, St Maarten. The woman (of Canadian origin) was on a diving excursion to Proselyte Reef (near Great Bay Harbour).

Being a certified diver, soon after descending she indicated she doesn’t feel well and wanted to surface. She was taken into the tour boat by the guide and her husband but shortly after became very unwell. A crew went to bring her water and when he came back he found her lying on the floor, foaming through the mouth and nose. CPR was performed immediately, then the woman was brought ashore where was pronounced dead.

October 2006Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In October 2006, CDC reported on voyage Oct 16 to 27, a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infected 65 passengers (out of 1955, or 3,3%) and 1 crew (out of 978, or 0,1%).

On the next scheduled itinerary (Oct 27 to Nov 7), another Norovirus outbreak affected 72 passengers (out of 1776, or 4,1%) and 13 crew (out of 967, or 1,3%).

All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) and were quarantined to their cabins.

November 2002Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In November 2002, during westbound Transatlantic repositioning cruise from Europe to Florida (Barcelona Spain to Port Everglades Florida), a total of 134 people suffered from a gastrointestinal illness (Norovirus outbreak).

05 May 2002Propulsion / Power Loss

On May 5, 2002,  the vessel’s delivery by the French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique was delayed due to propulsion system issues (oil leakage in the starboard Azipod unit). The incident also caused an Inaugural cruise cancellation.