GTS ''Celebrity Infinity'' (formerly ''Infinity'') is a operated by

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 19 ...

, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. She measures and long, and holds a capacity of 2,170 passengers across 12 decks. After Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent with French shipbuilder

Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire river and ...

in February 1998, she was floated out in June 2000 and delivered in February 2001, making her the second ''Millennium''-class ship to join the fleet following ''

Celebrity Millennium GTS ''Celebrity Millennium'' (formerly ''Millennium'') is a cruise ship operated by Celebrity Cruises. She is the lead ship of her namesake class, whose ships are powered by gas turbines. Delivered in 2000, she is the oldest operating ship in C ...

.''

Construction

In February 1998, Royal Caribbean signed a letter of intent with French shipbuilder

to build two new ships, with an option for two more, that would make up a new class of ships, dubbed the ''Millennium'' class. Designed to be an evolution from Celebrity's ''Century''-class ships, the two ships were initially planned to measure , have a guest capacity of approximately 1,900, and be delivered in June 2000 and January 2001, respectively. In March 2000, Celebrity announced the second ''Millennium''-class ship would be named ''Infinity.'' On 9 June 2000, she was launched from the shipyard in

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 25 February 2001, Celebrity took delivery of ''Infinity'' in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

after she embarked on a

transatlantic crossing Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...

from Saint-Nazaire. Formal naming festivities were held on 29 April 2001 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where ''Infinity'' was christened by Solveig Wilhelmsen. Celebrity Infinity 23

Service history

The ship's maiden voyage was originally scheduled for 3 February 2001, a 14-day cruise from

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...

in Fort Lauderdale through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

before arriving in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

for her inaugural season. However, the voyage was later postponed by one month to 3 March 2001. Her inaugural season also included cruises to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

before she headed to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

in summer 2001, joining fleet-mate ''

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

.'' Since 2002, she has also cruised to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

from

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

and Fort Lauderdale, and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

from

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

and throughout the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. On 3 June 2016, while docking in Ketchikan, Alaska, the ship crashed into the dock on her port side, causing a 10-to-15-foot scrape along her bow above the waterline and heavily damaged the dock. Winds were reportedly gusting to 45 miles per hour from the ship's starboard side at the time of the accident, which accelerated the ship's approach. There were no reported injuries or pollution caused by the incident. In addition to the damage to the ship, the collision caused $2–3 million in damage to the dock. The ship was quickly repaired and resumed sailing following the collision. In summer 2020, ''Celebrity Infinity'' was scheduled to sail in the

, but the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

forced the cancellation of the season. Following the cruise line's pause in operations, she is scheduled to resume sailing from Port Everglades on 25 June 2022, sailing weekly Caribbean voyages. Beginning in summer 2023, the ship will be stationed year-round in the Mediterranean, making it the first time Celebrity will have a year-round operation in the region.

COVID-19 pandemic

On 23 March 2020, two crew members reportedly tested positive for the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

, raising concerns among crew members of their safety while on board. On 14 April 2020, nearly two weeks after a crew member died aboard the ship, a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

lawsuit was filed on behalf of over a thousand Celebrity employees over the company's allegedly inadequate response measures to outbreaks aboard its ships.

Design and specifications

Along with her sister ships, ''Infinity'' is equipped with a

turbo-electric A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine (steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts. Tu ...

COGAS Combined gas and steam (COGAS) is the name given to marine compound powerplants comprising gas and steam turbines, the latter being driven by steam generated using the heat from the exhaust of the gas turbines. In this way, some of the otherwise ...

power plant. The COGAS plant consists of gas and steam turbines, with the latter being driven by steam generated using the heat from the exhaust of the gas turbines. In this way, some of the otherwise lost energy is reclaimed and the specific fuel consumption of the plant is decreased. Propulsion is provided by two "Mermaid" azimuth pod-propulsion units from Kamewa and Cegelec (now

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

). The ship also has three bow thrusters.

Recurring pod-propulsion issues

''Infinity'' and her sister ships have experienced problems with the pod-propulsion system. Months following her delivery, Celebrity reported ''Infinity'' began experiencing problems with a faulty ball bearing in the ship's starboard propulsion unit; it necessitated an emergency dry dock repair in June 2001 in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, which resulted in cancelled sailings. In April 2002, more dry dock repairs were made to the ship's propulsion pods, as they were reportedly showing premature wear, preventing her from cruising at maximum speed. In a third dry dock in February 2003, Celebrity had all ball-bearing units on ''Infinity'' replaced, forcing the cancellation of two sailings. A fourth dry dock took place in April 2004 to replace a thrust-bearing propulsion unit. A fifth dry dock was held in March 2005 to replace the ship's starboard thrust bearing unit. A sixth dry dock was performed in September 2006 to repair one of the ship's propulsion pods. Numerous unsuccessful repairs led Royal Caribbean to file a lawsuit against Rolls-Royce and Alstom in August 2003 for $300 million to recover lost revenue and the costs associated with the faulty pods on all four ''Millennium''-class ships. Royal Caribbean settled the lawsuit in January 2010.

References

External links

Official website
{{Celebrity Ships 2000 ships Maritime incidents in 2016 Ships built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...