Cruise Passengers Evacuated From Grounded Ship in the Galapagos

A Celebrity Cruises ship ran aground Tuesday in the Galapagos Islands, causing the cruise line to evacuate its 46 passengers and several crew members to another vessel nearby.

According to the Miami Herald, the Celebrity Xpedition was in the midst of a seven-day Galapagos sailing scheduled to end on November 9 when the incident occurred. A spokesperson for the cruise line said there were no reported injuries.

The passengers on the Celebrity Cruises ship were transferred to the company’s other vessel in the region, Celebrity Flora, and sailed to Quito, Ecuador, where they were supplied hotel rooms for the night and flights home Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/RCLcorp/status/1191887797399019521?ref_src=twsrc^tfw” rel=”nofollow

“We regret the inconvenience this has caused our guests and will be providing guests a 100 percent refund for this sailing and a full credit for a future Celebrity cruise vacation,” a Royal Caribbean (the parent company of Celebrity Cruises) spokesperson said in a statement.

A Celebrity Cruises representative said there were no reports of environmental damage where the Celebrity Xpedition became grounded, but the company would be carrying out a full assessment of the condition of both the ship and the surrounding area.

The cruise line has not revealed if the incident would cause its next sailing to be canceled, but a spokesperson said any impacted passengers would be informed if there are changes.