Why lobster has forced Celebrity to cancel third Galapagos cruise

Jason · June 13, 2013

Celebrity Cruises has cancelled their third Xpedition sailing as a result of losing the license necessary to sail the Galapagos. The official press release, direct from the cruise line, reads:

"The Galapagos National Park has cited Celebrity Xpedition for transportation and storage of 26 pounds of frozen lobster tails in the Galapagos while out of season. Because of this, Celebrity Xpedition’s license that is necessary to enter the Galapagos National Park has been temporarily suspended by the local authority. Unfortunately, this has made it necessary to cancel the June 16 sailing of Celebrity Xpedition.

We will provide all guests with a full refund of the monies paid for their June 16 sailing. We will also provide them with a 25% future cruise credit for another Celebrity Xpedition cruise. The credit is based on the amount they paid for their June 16 cruise and may be used for a future cruise on Celebrity Xpedition within the next two years. Future cruise certificates will be mailed to guests' home addresses or to their travel agent within two to three weeks.

Additionally, if a guest purchased air transportation through Celebrity Cruises, we will provide them with a full refund. For guests who did not purchase air transportation through Celebrity Cruises, we will reimburse them for their airline change fee.

Celebrity Cruises is truly sorry for this disruption of our guests’ vacation. We understand their excitement and anticipation for exploring the Galapagos onboard Celebrity Xpedition. Celebrity Cruises is committed to complying with the rules and regulations of the Galapagos, which are designed to protect and safeguard this unique and pristine environment.

While we will proactively contact guests booked on the Sunday, June 16, sailing of Celebrity Xpedition, they also are welcome to call us at 1-888-829-4050 in the U.S. and 1-408-916-9001 internationally.

We continue to engage in dialogue with the Galapagos National Park on our guests' behalf, and will provide any new information as it becomes available."

Press Release Source: Celebrity Cruises

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jacketwatch · June 13, 2013

Seems like a steep price for 26 lbs. of lobster meat. With all the money they have to reimburse that's got to be the costliest lobster ever. :D

JohnG · June 19, 2013

Celebrity's license has been restored but they had to cancel one more cruise, the June 23 one:

"Local authorities issued the 45-day suspension late last month after discovering 12 kilograms of frozen, out-of-season lobster tails onboard the ship. Although it was purchased legally during the season, the dispute between the cruise line and authorities lies in a new rule that requires all lobster to be consumed within five days of the end of the season -- a regulation enacted March 11 but not communicated to cruise ship operators until April 22."

http://www./news/news.cfm?ID=5390