Celebrity’s Constellation Returns to Shipyard

Celebrity Cruises' next ship delivery, Constellation, is returning to the builders' French shipyard, following sea trials, to correct a leak in its starboard propulsion pod. This delay in the ship's delivery will cause the cancellation of one chartered cruise, sailing May 5, 2002. The ship's builder, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, of St. Nazaire, France, will make immediate repairs to correct the leak, which is allowing seawater to enter the pod. "We apologize to our guests for this unexpected situation," said Jack Williams, president and chief operating officer of Celebrity Cruises. "We need to ensure that all aspects of a new ship are operating properly before we take delivery. We look forward to a speedy correction of this situation and smooth sailing moving forward." The May 5 sailing was a seven-night charter to depart from Barcelona, Spain. If the ship's May 12 cruise needs to be cancelled in order to complete the repairs, a full refund and additional compensation will be provided to impacted guests. The exact timing and full extent of the repairs will be known by Monday, May 6.