Celebrity Cruises Constellation Drifts Off Italian Coast Following Power Loss
On August 2 2025 Celebrity Constellation suffered a technical power failure off Italy drifting for nearly three hours while guests endured no lights AC toilets or hot meals—restored power allowed the itinerary to continue .
Overview
On August 2 2025 the Celebrity Cruises ship Constellation experienced a major power outage while sailing through the Ionian Sea roughly 25 miles southeast of Crotone Italy during its 11 night Mediterranean voyage from Ravenna to Rome The vessel drifted at 12 knots far below its normal cruising speed for nearly two to three hours before engineers managed to restore power and resume normal operations .
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Itinerary and Timing
- Departure Port Ravenna Italy .
- Departure Date July 28 2025 .
- Scheduled Arrival Civitavecchia Rome August 8 2025 .
- Disruption Point During a planned day at sea en route to Messina Sicily the outage caused the ship to drift near Crotone .
Onboard Conditions
The sudden power failure resulted in severe discomfort for passengers aboard the Millennium class ship .
Key impacts included .
- No lighting .
- Non functional air conditioning .
- Inoperable toilets .
- Cold meals only as galley operations were interrupted .
One passenger described the situation as HOT just an hour into the blackout with internal temperatures quickly rising to nearly 80°F 27 °C .
Discussions on Reddit and Cruise Critic likened the experience to the notorious Carnival Triumph poop cruise from 2013 However most guests acknowledged that this incident was less severe with sanitation and safety maintained .
Crew Response and Technical Resolution
Celebrity Cruises responded promptly .
Emergency generators activated immediately to power critical systems such as communications fire detection and navigation .
- Engineering teams onboard alongside shoreside support diagnosed and gradually restored power .
- Within two hours partial power returned and full propulsion followed shortly thereafter .
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson later confirmed the disruption was due to a technical issue but did not specify the root cause or necessary repairs .
Background & Context
- The Celebrity Constellation has been in service since 2002 carrying approximately 2170–2184 guests and around 1000 crew .
- This incident follows mechanical issues on Celebrity s newer flagship Celebrity Beyond which experienced propulsion failure in July leading to itinerary changes and reduced speeds throughout August–October 2025 .
Such back to back operational issues are prompting growing concern over fleet wide reliability and maintenance practices .
Key Impacts and Takeaways
- Passenger discomfort No lights air conditioning toilets or hot meals .
- Drifting incident Ship reduced to 12 knots for up to three hours .
- Prompt crew action Power restored efficiently no injuries or emergency evacuations .
- Itinerary unaffected The ship continued to Messina and remained on schedule toward Rome .
- Ongoing concerns Repeated technical issues highlight the need for stricter maintenance standards across the fleet .
Final Word
While the Constellation outage disrupted guest comfort and raised eyebrows safety systems worked as intended and the crew acted decisively to restore normal operations However given this and other recent events Celebrity Cruises may face intensified scrutiny and calls for improved transparency and maintenance protocols as they navigate the peak travel season .