Celebrity Infinity

GTS Celebrity Infinity (formerly Infinity) is a Millennium-class cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. She measures and 294 m long, and holds a capacity of 2,170 passengers across 12 decks. After Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique in February 1998, she was floated out in June 2000 and delivered in February 2001, making her the second Millennium-class ship to join the fleet following Celebrity Millennium.

Construction

In February 1998, Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique to build two new ships, with an option for two more, that would make up a new class of ships, dubbed the Millennium class.[2] Designed to be an evolution from Celebrity's Century-class ships, the two ships were initially planned to measure, have a guest capacity of approximately 1,900, and be delivered in June 2000 and January 2001, respectively.[2]

Service history

The ship's maiden voyage was originally scheduled for 3 February 2001, a 14-day cruise from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal before arriving in San Diego for her inaugural season.[3] However, the voyage was later postponed by one month to 3 March 2001.[8][5] Her inaugural season also included cruises to Hawaii[9] before she headed to Alaska in summer 2001, joining fleet-mate Mercury.[10]

Since 2002, she has also cruised to South America,[11] Antarctica,[12] the Caribbean from San Juan, Puerto Rico[13] and Fort Lauderdale,[14] and Europe from Harwich[15] and throughout the Mediterranean.[16]

On 3 June 2016, while docking in Ketchikan, Alaska, the ship crashed into the dock on her port side, causing a 10 to 15 ft scrape along her bow above the waterline and heavily damaged the dock.[17][18] Winds were reportedly gusting to 45 mph from the ship's starboard side at the time of the accident, which accelerated the ship's approach. There were no reported injuries or pollution caused by the incident.[17][18] In addition to the damage to the ship, the collision caused $2–3 million in damage to the dock.[19] The ship was quickly repaired and resumed sailing following the collision.[20]

In summer 2020, Celebrity Infinity was scheduled to sail in the Mediterranean,[21] but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the season.[22] Following the cruise line's pause in operations, she is scheduled to resume sailing from Port Everglades on 25 June 2022, sailing weekly Caribbean voyages.[23] Beginning in summer 2023, the ship will be stationed year-round in the Mediterranean, making it the first time Celebrity will have a year-round operation in the region.[24]

COVID-19 pandemic

On 23 March 2020, two crew members reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, raising concerns among crew members of their safety while on board.[25][26] On 14 April 2020, nearly two weeks after a crew member died aboard the ship, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of over a thousand Celebrity employees over the company's allegedly inadequate response measures to outbreaks aboard its ships.[27]

Post-Covid

On February 15, 2026, the ship completely lost power during a cruise near Piraeus, Greece. Four tugboats towed the helpless ship into port and its subsequent cruise was canceled.[28]

country	Malta
owner	Royal Caribbean Group
operator	Celebrity Cruises
registry	2001–2002: Monrovia, 🇱🇷 Liberia 2002–2008: Nassau, 🇧🇸 Bahamas *2008–present: Valletta, 🇲🇹 Malta
ordered	February 1998
builder	Chantiers de l'Atlantique St. Nazaire, France‡R1R‡
yard number	S31
launched	9 June 2000
christened	29 April 2001
sponsor	Solveig Wilhelmsen
acquired	25 February 2001
maiden voyage	3 March 2001
in service	2001–present
identification	Call sign: 9HJD9 *

Construction

Service history

COVID-19 pandemic

Post-Covid

Design and specifications

Recurring pod-propulsion issues

External links

References