Two Le Boreal cruises canceled to repair ship

Ponant has canceled the Nov. 30 and Dec. 10 departures of Le Boreal, a yacht that was damaged by a fire on its previous cruise.

Ponant evacuated all of the passengers from Le Boreal after a fire “of a technical nature” broke out as the ship was cruising near the Falkland Islands. The passengers were repatriated last weekend, Ponant said.

The ship is now at the quay in the East Cove Military Port in the Falkland Islands, and will be towed in the next few days to Punta Arenas’ shipyard in Chile for repairs.

The 264-passenger ship had just started a 15-night round trip Antarctica sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, on Nov. 15. The itinerary included a visit to South Georgia before landing in Antarctica and touring Deception Island.

Celebrity cruise cancelled to fix Constellation

By Tom Stieghorst
Celebrity Cruises said its Nov. 21 departure of the Celebrity Constellation is being canceled so the ship’s engines can be repaired.

The three-night cruise to the Bahamas is being scrubbed because Celebrity needs to replace a large engine component that can only be done in dry dock, spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said.

“Due to the shipyard’s availability, we decided to cancel the short cruise so that we could perform the work in November,” Martinez said.

Passengers booked on the Nov. 21 cruise can get a full refund or reschedule on select Constellation sailings in 2015 at lowest available rates or on any Celebrity sailing at prevailing rates and receive a $100 onboard spending credit per cabin.

Cunard cancels January Queen Victoria cruises

 

Cunard has been forced to cancel two cruises by Queen Victoria in the New Year as a result of maintenance work being brought forward by almost a year.

A 12-night cruise to the Canary Islands from Southampton on January 3-15 and a five-night trip to Amsterdam and Cherbourg January 15-20 are affected.

The work is being brought forward as a bearing on one of the ship’s propulsion units will need replacing ahead of the ship’s previously scheduled dry dock in December 2015.

“This has no impact on the safety of the ship but it is timely for the bearing to be replaced prior to the ship’s round world cruise beginning January 20, 2015,” the line said.

A future cruise credit of £100 per person is being offered to all affected passengers which can be used in conjunction with any alternative Cunard booking made for cruises departing within the next two years.

Full refunds of any money paid will also be available should affected passengers not want to to re-book an alternative cruise with Cunard.

Passengers and travel agents have been informed.

Cunard director Angus Struthers said: “While we are sorry to be cancelling the two cruises, we are looking forward to welcoming all those affected back aboard a Cunard ship in the near future, perhaps on Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth, both of which will be sailing in 2015 fresh from their make-overs.”

Refurbishment of Queen Victoria at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg will create nine single cabins, re-modelled from part of the ship’s casino.

Large flat-screen TVs are being installed in all cabins and sun awnings will be erected on the open area near the stern Lido pool and on both sides of the Grills Upper Terrace area near the top of the ship to offer more shade on deck.

Scrubber technology is being installed aboard Queen Victoria to match that now aboard Queen Elizabeth in line with the company’s commitment to minimising its environmental impact. This involves the installation of a filtration system for the exhaust gas from the ship’s engines.

The changes are being made following the success of sister ship Queen Elizabeth’s recent refit at the same yard.

Struthers said: “Queen Victoria’s multi-million pound refit will ensure this much-loved ship remains in tip-top condition for her world cruise in 2015 and beyond.”