Guests sailing aboard Celebrity Infinity were caught off guard when a reported electrical fire led to a "total blackout" onboard, leaving them unable to proceed to Mykonos. After being stuck in Turkey for two days, the remainder of the ports on the 7-night cruise have been unexpectedly canceled.
Initially, cruisers were hopeful that they'd depart Kuşadası, Turkey, around 8:00PM. local time on July 9. However, the ongoing technical issues couldn't be resolved in time. As such, Celebrity Infinity will remain docked in Kuşadası through Friday, July 11.
"At this time, we have made the difficult decision to adjust the remainder of our scheduled itinerary," reads the letter delivered to guests' cabins.
"Celebrity Infinity will remain in the beautiful port of Kuşadası, Turkey, through Friday at 3:00PM, with an all-aboard time of 2:00PM. We will then return to Athens, Greece, for debarkation as originally planned on Saturday."
The original itinerary had them sailing from Turkey to Mykonos, Greece; Kavala, Greece; and Thessaloniki, Greece. Although Kavala had been removed from the itinerary due to the lengthened stay in Kuşadası, guests were still hopeful that they'd call at Mykonos and Thessaloniki.
The letter continues, "We understand how disappointing this update may be, especially for those who were looking forward to the remaining destinations on our journey — we are deeply sorry, and our teams are working diligently to ensure your remaining time onboard is meaningful."
This means that on the 7-night "Best of Greece" cruise, guests will have only visited two out of 5 ports of call: Santorini and Kuşadası.
Compensation
Celebrity Cruises is offering impacted guests the following:
- 50% of the cruise fare refunded in the form of a refundable onboard credit
- 50% of the cruise fare issued as a future cruise credit (FCC), which can be used on a Celebrity Cruises voyage next year.
Shore excursions in Mykonos, Kavala, and Thessaloniki will automatically be refunded to guests' SeaPass accounts in the form of an onboard credit.
Additionally, Celebrity's shore excursion team has planned complimentary, curated tours for Thursday, so guests can explore beyond Kuşadası and Ephesus. They are available to be booked in the Celebrity Cruises app beginning at 10:30AM local time on July 9.
While the ship remains docked in Turkey, certain onboard amenities, including the shops are casino, must remain closed.
The reported electrical fire broke out on July 7
"Today...while most guests (including myself) were ashore there was [a] small electrical fire onboard Celebrity Cruise’s Infinity while docked in Kusadasi, Turkey," shared one passenger to the r/celebritycruises Reddit thread.
The result was a "total blackout" for a few hours. With no power onboard, the communications systems were down, cabins lost air conditioning, shows were delayed, and kitchens came to a halt. Understandably, guests were frustrated, and the warm temperatures in Turkey didn't help the situation, either.
Read more: Celebrity cruise ship stuck in port after suffering power issues
Future guests are anxiously awaiting updates on their itineraries
If Celebrity can't fix the ongoing technical issue, they might be forced to cancel future sailings to give them more time to repair the affected systems.
"I spoke to Celebrity via phone, got through to their internal team who said as of now [there are] no updates for us. I'm on the July 19 sailing and hoping for the best," wrote on nervous guest on Reddit.
Another added, "I’m on the August 9 sailing, and I’m even feeling nervous! Hoping they get this sorted out as quickly as possible while obviously ensuring the ship can safely sail on these future cruises!"
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
