Live from Millie 6/30-7/12- Damage

[berryhappy24]

Unsceduled day at sea and no Florence stop...

Yesterday while we were in Villefranche the boat drifted towards shore and ended up hitting submerged rocks. (Someone wasn't doing their job). Most people felt a shudder about 5pm last night, then noticed something was wrong when the cooks and mechanics were looking over aft deck 10. If the cooks are looking over, it really must not be normal.

Well, after a night of silence from the bridge, we discover through a letter slipped under our door at 6am that three of the four blades on the propeller on the starboard side were damaged. We were supposed to leave port at 8pm, but didn't leave until 11pm. Because of the damage, the ship can only travel at 11 knots instead of 22. They tried to go faster, but the ship was rocking so bad it felt like a fast rolling earthquake. We're still rocking pretty good, a mechanical rocking, not wave rolling. We are going to have to pass up Florence today and travel straight to Rome so they can attempt to fix it. They did credit $ to our shipboard account because of the missed port, but it doesn't really make up for not seeing Florence. There are some very unhappy passengers here today, including myself.

This was in addition to a 5 min blackout on day 2 at Sea. Dh was in the casino and our poor tablemate was in the shower. No lights or water, the pumps stopped too.

I'll keep you updated when we hear more.

[lansonlady]

Thankyou for your post berryhappy24,

Please keep us updated. I hope they sort the damage out quickly so it doesn't affect your cruise too much more.

[ATLfuzzy]

Oh dear. Hope this was sorted out very quickly.

[cs1]

What a shame to miss Florence!! We were on the Millie over New Year's when she had problems and we skipped 2 ports( out of 4). There was a passenger "revolt" as the captain met with passengers in the theater. He had quite an attitude and it was unpleasant.

Anyway, we wound up getting a shipboard credit and a future cruise credit for the fare discount. We were, however on the Millie med 2 summers ago also and commented that if we had missed 2 med ports we would not have been happy at all considering the cost of that cruise. Lets hope you don't skip any more ports.
CS

[YOW]

Sorry this is happening, berryhappy24.

If it's any consolation, Florence is (IOHO) overrated. I know others on this board will differ on la bella Firenze, but I'm not just saying this to make you feel better. You're missing large crowds, long lines, overpriced everything, and indifferent-to-rude treatment of tourists. Don't get me wrong, there's much of Tuscany and Umbria that's great, it's just that Florence didn't do it for us.

[iandjm]

Oh dear, looks like dry docking will be required to change the prob blades, and maybe even a pod replacement (as per QM2 last year). The damage that would have been caused if the prop was rotating at the time of hitting the rocks will more than likely be extensive. Keep us informed with any developments

Tnaks for the message, we really appreciate live information like this

Ian

[J-man]

They broke my ship!!!

[iandjm]

Hey J-man,

I agree. How dare they do that to my favourite ship. Millennium is the best. One good things about where it happened is there are loads of shipyards nearby where hopefully any required dry docking can take place. I cant imagine cruises continuing at 11 knots.

I hope we hear something soon. I really feel for those onboard now

Ian

[Karynanne]

Originally Posted by YOW

Sorry this is happening, berryhappy24.

If it's any consolation, Florence is (IOHO) overrated. I know others on this board will differ on la bella Firenze, but I'm not just saying this to make you feel better. You're missing large crowds, long lines, overpriced everything, and indifferent-to-rude treatment of tourists. Don't get me wrong, there's much of Tuscany and Umbria that's great, it's just that Florence didn't do it for us.

Overrated? It's an incredible city! My first trip there was a land trip, and in winter...no crowds, no lines, and I had the opportunity to really explore this historic, art-filled mecca. Yes, some shops can be expensive, but if you get off th beaten path, and venture into cafes and local stores...you'll find goods that are beautifully made, and unlike anything here in the U.S.

Karyn

[hcat]

sorry the ship is damaged--very negligent on their part. But happy no one was injured. We had our port changed from tendering at Villefranche to Cannes in Sept so hope it is a better spot to anchor.

[bella1979]

OMG! I am on that cruise next Wednesday. Do you think they can get it fixed in time?

[Xellent]

Heads are going to roll over this one. There is no way they can fix this problem in a hurry. I think there will be a cancelled cruise sooner than later.

You would think that after the Santorini incident the officers would be a little more vigilant about drifting near a rocky shore.

[editor@cruisecritic]

hi, we're following up on this with Celebrity and will let you know, either via a news item or, if the damage is minor and there are no more changes, right here...stay tuned!

Best,

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown
Editor
Cruise Critic

Originally Posted by bella1979

OMG! I am on that cruise next Wednesday. Do you think they can get it fixed in time?

[bububr]

Accidents happen. Its just a fact of life.

Sorry this had to happen, but its not the end of the world. Ports are skipped ocassionally for many reasons, having a mechanical is just one on the long list.

On the upside with a 'future cruise' credit. you now have the opportunity to try a different itinerary that you may have been considering, or even going back on the same one to do the things you didn't have time to do the first time around.

Smile, this is not the end of the world; and certainly like everyone else we've all made a mistake or 2 during our lifetime.

Don't be too hard on X.

Dave

[hcat]

sorry to respectfully disagree but an accident is one thing this was something else apparently...-someone was in charge of this not happening--& did not do the job!
We are awaiting our very first trip across the pond for a Sept Medit cruise on Century. It costs lots of money & many hrs of planning & looking forward to all the ports. Bad weather & accidents can't be avoided but this does not sound like either of those to me..... That ship is probably going to have troubles for the rest of the trip & the next one may get canceled if it can't be fixed! Hope those on board are able to compose themselves & enjoy their cruise....

[YOW]

Originally Posted by Karynanne

Overrated? It's an incredible city!

My wife and I may be in the minority on this one, and as they say about other things (including cruises), 'your mileage may vary'. But I'm willing to keep an open mind, karynanne. If we'd been there off-season the experience could have been quite different. And we'd go back any day and spend time in the surrounding towns and countryside. Didn't help that we stayed in a mosquito-infested overpriced sauna of a hotel room, and got little sleep. I suppose it's like a first impression of a cruise line or ship -- sometimes things just snowball and never recover.

[jordie]

OMG OMG OMG i cannot believe I am hearing this! i have planned for 14 months for this and OMG! i am supposed to be leaving in 6 days for this!!!!!!!!!!

[bella1979]

Jordie,
I am in the same boat as you (no joke)...I am so upset right now. I can hardly breath.
They have a week to fix it....let's just keep repeating that over and over.

[jordie]

I am literally having an anxiety attack

[hunter2004]

Thanks. We would be very unhappy to go that far and miss it. We don't mind missing out on carribbean port though because we visited all the time.
This January 6 will be our first cruise on Celebrity Millennium. Hope all ok.