Celebrity Cruises faces issue; Royal Caribbean tightens key rule
After having cruises on two of its ships canceled or significantly disrupted by technical issues in July, Celebrity Cruises is seeing its string of bad luck continue into August.
A third Celebrity Cruises ship has now joined Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Beyond in experiencing technical difficulties this summer.
The cruise line's troubles began in early July when a minor electrical fire on board Celebrity Infinity led to major problems. The ship experienced a power failure and technical issues afterward that forced it to cancel the rest of its port stops and stay docked in Kusadasi, Turkey for days as emergency repairs were completed.
Then, Celebrity Beyond, one of the cruise line's newest Edge Class ships, began experiencing propulsion problems that are now slowing down the rest of its summer cruise season in the Caribbean. Despite canceling a cruise in July so the ship could undergo emergency repair work, the cruise line had to adjust cruise itineraries through October to accommodate the ship's reduced sailing speed.
Now, another Celebrity Cruises ship sailing in the Mediterranean experienced a sudden setback that left many passengers concerned.
Doug Parker shared details on the latest Celebrity Cruises snag, and other cruise news, including how Royal Caribbean is tightening a key beverage package policy, on the Aug. 4 edition of Cruise News Today.Celebrity Constellation loses power while sailing in Italy
Cruise News Today Transcript:
This is Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here's your cruise news for Monday, August 4th.
Passengers aboard the Celebrity Constellation experienced a full power outage while the ship was sailing off the coast of southern Italy over the weekend.
Now, for about two hours, the ship had no air conditioning, no flushing toilets or hot meals. It drifted at a low speed before power was eventually restored and the ship resumed course up to Messina.A report to our tip line says guests were given a free drink and WiFi for the inconvenience. Celebrity Cruises has not commented at the time of broadcast and passengers described poor communication during the blackout.
The incident follows other technical issues across two other ships over the past month with Celebrity. In early July, Celebrity Infinity broke down in Turkey where it stayed for five days for repairs while closer to the states, Celebrity Beyond was out of service for a week due to propulsion issues, which are still ongoing.
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Royal Caribbean stops making exceptions to drink package rule
And Royal Caribbean is tightening enforcement of its drink package policy. Yeah, now while the cruise line has long required all adults in the stateroom buy the Deluxe Beverage Package if one person does, it used to grant exceptions, especially for pregnancies or non-drinking guests. But as of August 1st, that flexibility is long gone.
According to Royal Caribbean Blog, a company spokesperson confirmed saying, quote: 'Royal Caribbean will no longer be able to grant exceptions to our policy.'
This move follows a rise in people asking for exemption requests and concerns about guests sharing drink packages.Norwegian Cruise Line cuts costs while upholding standards
And during a business update, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings says its 200 million dollars in cost savings this year and 300 million projected by next year won't impact the guest experience.
CEO Harry Sommer said that these savings are coming from smarter purchasing and operational efficiencies, not service cuts. He did add that some of the money is actually being reinvested, including upgrading food offerings across the company's 34 ships.
CFO Mark Kempa said that guest satisfaction remains strong and that NCL will continue tightening costs while maintaining its onboard standards.
Last week, Norwegian reported a total of 2.52 billion in revenue in Q2. That's up six percent from the same quarter last year.And cruise line stocks were down on Friday. Carnival Corporation: down 2.3%, 29.07. Royal Caribbean: down 1%, 314.25. Norwegian: down 4%, 24.50. And Viking: down 2%, 57.56.
If you have a lead on a story, let us know: tips@cruiseradio.net.
Here in Seoul, South Korea, I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today. Have yourself a great Monday.
(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 Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
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