The cruise ship Celebrity Infinity was compelled to conclude its 13-night sailing several hours early after a significant technical failure occurred near the Greek coast as the ship was approaching Piraeus, Greece, on the morning of February 15th, 2026.
The vessel had departed Barcelona on February 3rd for a repositioning passage to its planned Mediterranean season, but lost onboard electrical power at approximately 03:00 local time, affecting essential services such as lighting, air conditioning, water systems and elevators while underway. The interruption in electrical generation coincided with emergency signals heard over the ship’s public address system, a practice code linked to onboard fire-related contingencies, though the operator did not publicly attribute the failure to a specific source.
With propulsion and hotel systems offline, local tugs were engaged to assist the ship into port at Piraeus. Normal operations could not be sustained at sea, and Celebrity Infinity was secured alongside such that disembarkation could proceed ahead of the originally scheduled conclusion of the cruise on February 16th. Passengers left the vessel on February 15th as arrangements were put in place to conclude the voyage ashore.
Following the early termination of the sailing, Celebrity Cruises communicated arrangements to address the disruption to travellers’ plans. Compensation packages offered to those affected included reimbursement for the unused final day’s fare, prorated credits for onboard packages such as beverage and connectivity services, incidental expense allowances and assistance with flight changes where necessary, consistent with industry practice when operational issues significantly alter schedules.
In the immediate aftermath, the cruise line also notified booked passengers that the next scheduled sailing from Piraeus would be cancelled to allow additional time for further inspection and repair work. At the time of reporting, the company had not issued detailed technical findings regarding the cause of the outage.
This incident marks a repeat occurrence for Celebrity Infinity, a vessel entering service in 2001 and part of the cruise line’s Millennium-class fleet, which has experienced similar electrical and power disruptions in the past. Previous events, including small fires and associated blackouts, have led to altered itineraries and extended yard stays, underscoring the operational complexities of maintaining older tonnage in active service.
For more Celebrity Infinity incidents and accidents, see the ship's CruiseMinus page.