Celebrity Cruises cancels sailing; Carnival opens Celebration Key
Just a couple of weeks after a fire on board Celebrity Infinity derailed a bucket-list cruise through Greece, another Celebrity Cruises ship has been struck by technical difficulties.
This time, the mechanical problems led the cruise line to cancel the ship's next sailing just hours before passengers were set to board — leaving them stranded in the embarkation port and scrambling to save their vacations.Although incidents like this are rare in the cruise industry, they're becoming unusually common this summer, and not just among Celebrity Cruises ships. Two ships from sister cruise line Royal Caribbean recently faced propulsion problems that delayed their voyages, as did Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess. Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star even lost power and had to be towed back to port.
While passengers on board some of the impacted cruises had some disappointing changes to their cruise itinerary as a result of their ship's propulsion problems, Celebrity Cruises passengers have been the most negatively affected by recent cruise ship technical troubles.
Doug Parker shared more details on the latest Celebrity Cruises failed voyage, and other cruise news, including the grand opening of Celebration Key – Carnival's new exclusive destination, on the July 21 edition of Cruise News Today.Celebrity Cruises ship unable to set sail on cruise from Miami
Transcript:
This is Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here's your cruise news for Monday, July 21st.
Stuck in Miami, yeah, Celebrity Cruises has canceled the Celebrity Beyond sailing that was scheduled to depart from Port Miami yesterday.
The move comes after a propulsion failure over the weekend, which delayed the ship's return to PortMiami and then left it reportedly running on just a single propeller. Passengers were first told Saturday about a delayed embarkation, but by Sunday the cruise was scrapped entirely.Celebrity Cruises said in a statement, quote: 'During our previous voyage, the ship experienced a technical issue that affected its speed. While our teams have been working diligently, we need additional time to complete necessary assessment and repairs.'
It went on to say, 'After carefully considering all options, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the July 20th sailing. Guests will receive full refunds, future cruise credit and reimbursement for travel costs.'
This incident follows a wave of mechanical problems across the cruise industry, including another Celebrity ship that was stuck in Turkey a couple of weeks ago, and Norwegian Star, which was towed back to New York City shortly after leaving about a week ago.Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration Key is now open
Three, two, one.
Yeah, Carnival officially opened Celebration Key on Saturday, its brand-new destination on Grand Bahama Island.
Now, Carnival Vista made the first call with its guests experiencing the world's tallest sandcastle, the Caribbean's largest freshwater lagoon, and the largest swim up bar anywhere.Celebration Key features five portals — or zoned areas, over 30 drink and food venues, and more than a mile of white sand beach.
It's expected to host two million guests annually, growing to four million by 2028.
Be the first to see the best deals on cruises, special sailings, and more. Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas heads to Spain for finishing touches
And Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas has officially left the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland. The second in the line's Icon Class was delivered on July 10th and began her journey to Spain on July 17th.
Once outfitting is complete, Star of the Seas will head to Florida for a series of short cruises in August before launching regular seven-night sailings from Port Canaveral starting August 31st.And cruise line stocks were mixed on Friday. Carnival Corporation: up slightly, 29.55. Royal Caribbean: up half percent, 350.10. Norwegian: flat, 23.59. And Viking: up one and a half percent, 58.33.
If you have a lead on a story, let us know: tips@cruiseradio.net.
Have yourself a great Monday. I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
, or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
This story was originally reported by TravelHost on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
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