Celebrity Millennium

The ship was built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.[1] She was the first new-build vessel for the brand following the merger between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, and also Celebrity's first new-build not built by German shipyard Meyer Werft.[1] She was launched on 7 November 1999 from the shipyard.[1] She set out for her first set of sea trials on 7 April 2000 and her second set on 21 April 2000.[1] She was initially scheduled to be delivered on 31 May 2000,[4] but her delivery was delayed to 22 June 2000.[3] She was christened in Southampton on 26 June 2000 by Robyn Roux, wife of French celebrity chef Michel Roux.[2] Her first port of registry was Monrovia, Liberia.[2]

Millennium's original hull livery featured a predominantly dark blue paint with yellow and white bands across the vessel.[2] Upon delivery, she became the world's first cruise ship to use a turbo-electric COGAS power plant.[1] Combined gas and steam (COGAS) is the name given to marine compound power plants comprising gas and steam turbines, the latter being driven by steam generated using the heat from the exhaust of the gas turbines.[1] In this way, some of the otherwise lost energy can be reclaimed and the specific fuel consumption of the plant can be decreased.[1] Propulsion was provided by two "Mermaid" azimuth pod-propulsion units from Kamewa and Cegelec.[1]

The ship was also built featuring the Olympic Restaurant, a specialty restaurant that contained the walnut wood panels that were used on the RMS Olympic (sister ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic) and removed and preserved when the ship was sold for scrap in 1935.[1][5]

Following her christening, Millennium sailed for her maiden voyage on 1 July 2000 from Amsterdam to the Baltic.[2]

Prior to 2012, Celebrity Millennium has sailed in Europe,[7] Australasia,[8] and the Caribbean.[9][10] Since December 2012, when the ship first sailed in Asia after arriving at her homeport of Singapore,[11] the ship has been primarily deployed to Asia in the winter[12][13] and to Alaska in the summer.[14] In fall 2021, she is scheduled to be re-deployed to sail the Caribbean.[15]

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in February 2020, Celebrity cancelled all Asia cruises on Celebrity Millennium. The ship was re-deployed to Los Angeles and was slated to sail complimentary cruises in March and April 2020 for first responders and military personnel.[16][17] However, all sailings were cancelled after the company halted operations on 13 March 2020.[18]

In March the ship was placed under a no-sail order, effective through July, by the Centers for Disease Control. As of May 2020 Millennium and two other cruise ships were at anchor offshore from San Diego. Approximately 480 crew were reportedly still aboard Millennium.[19]

Months following her delivery, Millennium encountered problems with the bearings of her pod-propulsion system, which resulted in cancelled sailings for an emergency dry dock in December 2000 for repairs in Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.[20] Further repairs proved unsuccessful and Celebrity ultimately filed a lawsuit against Rolls-Royce and Alstom in August 2003 for US$300 million to recover lost revenue and the costs associated with the pods.[21][22]

In July 2007, the ship's propellers were damaged after striking a submerged rock during an electrical malfunction near Villefranche-sur-Mer.[7] The damage forced Celebrity to cancel the ship's current and following Mediterranean sailings and was expected to negatively impact the earnings of Royal Caribbean by approximately US$0.14 per share.[7]

In August 2013, the ship encountered problems with the electrical parts of the pods' motors that forced the cancellation of the ship's remaining Alaskan sailings.[23] The problem reportedly cost the cruise line approximately US$13 million in lost ticket revenue[24] and an estimated total of US$31 million with all incurred expenses combined.[22] The ship went into emergency repairs in September at dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas.[22]

In May 2011, a female passenger in her sixties was declared missing when she failed to disembark at a port call in San Diego. Security cameras on the ship showed that she had jumped off the ship into the waters between Cabo San Lucas and San Diego.[25]